It’s that time of year again. Everyone’s looking for costumes. Last year, Beau and I were ballerinas. I had a plan for this year, but weather and a last minute trip made that plan impossible to carry out.
This year, we’re a farmer and a pumpkin patch.
Last night at midnight, Dylan and I ran to Walmart because we didn’t have any costume ideas, it was midnight of Blog + Dog before Halloween, and where else is open and shoppable that late? This costume pairing was a last minute thing to say the least. Walmart had a cute pumpkin costume for Beau. Sold. There were wearable short overalls. Not necessarily my thing but fine. I have boots and flannel at home. Farmer it is.
I’m embracing my agricultural heritage this year. Beau is embracing her destiny as my punkin’.
Honestly, I don’t give a crap about Halloween. I think it’s fun to dress up with Beau. I mostly see Halloween as the gateway holiday to the holiday season I wait for all year long. Happy Halloween now bring on Christmas!!!
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna & Beau
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3779861″]
Having a gourd time at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas. | Skirt | Bralette | Blanket |
These photos were taken at Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas, where there were lots and lots of cute pumpkins, so I took some pumpkin pictures.
I love autumn. It’s my favorite season. Pumpkin spice isn’t my jam, but apple cider sure is. After moving to Houston, fall is one of the things I miss about my Northern life. Fall here in humid Houston regularly visits the 90s. Yay.
I keep it real. My Instagram is a reflection of my real life, and my real life takes place in Houston. Instagrammable fall doesn’t exist here, so unless I’m traveling, I would be lying to you if I posted all the autumnal vibes.
Beach photos almost never end up looking anything but warm and tropical.
Other Houston bloggers, mostly of the fashion variety, are posting fall outfit inspo pictures, and I feel like I’m going to die for them. It’s hot. I’m not putting on a sweater for a picture. Nope.
Changing of the leaves is beautiful, but non-existent here. If I find myself somewhere it’s occurring, you’ll see it. Until then, you’re gonna see skirts, green grass, tank tops, pools, and bright blue skies.
I hate pumpkin spice. I took a taste of the Starbucks drink when they first came out with it or I first became aware of it, and I hate it.
Pumpkins are amazing. I have nothing against them; other than the spice capitalism and consumers have forced upon it. The pie is delicious. Roasted, soup, puree, and stuffed is all up my alley. I just don’t post them because everyone else is, and I’m here to be different.
Mood often sways the way my pictures turn out, and it’s hard to be in the autumnal, sweater, scarf, and cozy socks kinda mood when it’s 90 degrees and as humid as Satan’s crotch after hot yoga.
Houston winter feels like a casual fall to me, and it doesn’t come until after the new year, so you’ll see cozy from me for three weeks in mid-January or February, then it’s back to your regularly scheduled shorts and tees.
Being uncomfortable in a sweater or scarf in Texas is not worth a cute picture. I’ll do a lot for pretty photos but not that.
Houston
Houston
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3751798″]
Three years ago last Tuesday, I moved to Houston. I knew zero people. I knew almost nothing about the city except: NASA and it’s an hour away from the beach. Dylan and I were very, very poor. We didn’t even have a couch at that point in time. We were saving money in every way we could, which means we didn’t get out and do much at first.
There are tons of perks to being in a big city, especially one as international as Houston. Food is my favorite part of a diverse cities because of the access to obscure and unknown foods. The problem is food costs money. When I moved here, there was very little money and a lot of food to try. It was easier not to tempt myself. I did go on the hunt for gelato. I love ice cream a lot. I love gelato A LOT more.
I found Sweet Cup shortly after moving to Houston. I fell in love with them for their gelato. I liked them even more when I found out they are a female owned business. The owner is even sweeter than her gelato! Sweet Cup was the first Houston business to follow my blog on Instagram. Actually, they were the first business to follow my blog on Instagram. I had no following and no real direction. Although currently, it could be argued my direction is no direction. I bop in literally whenever I’m in that part of town. I’ve even been known to drive across town for a cup. It’s delicious.
Houston has been home for three years, and I love it. I wasn’t sure if I would that first year because life was hard; I was poor. I couldn’t enjoy the city to its fullest or tastiest at first. Over the last two years, I have fallen more in love with the city, met friends, explored, and tried new foods. But for me, Sweet Cup tastes like Houston. In the beginning, it was all I could afford. Now, it’s a reminder of how far I’ve come and the dreams I’m still chasing. Three years have come and gone in a flash. So much has changed, but some things are just as sweet.
Worth A Read Meh Length 289 Quick Review The Barbizon is now condos but used to house hundreds of girls looking to make it in NYC. What happens when the lives of a long-time resident and new resident collide?
The Barbizon really did exist as a women’s only residence in New York City. In 2005, the building was converted into condominiums. Fiona Davis creates a world where the two identities of the Barbizon meet in her novel The Dollhouse. A mystery with a touch of love and a lot of independent women searching for belonging.
Rose, a journalist, lives in the Barbizon with her boyfriend in 2016. Her boyfriend decides to go back to his ex-wife, Rose is left with a lot of time on her hands and a curiosity about the women who have been in her building for decades. Darby, an elderly tenant, never leaves her apartment without a veil, and the mystery piques Roses interest. Models, night clubs, drug raids, friendship, and more. Rose is on a journalist’s hunt with a personal investment.
Davis crafts the plot of The Dollhouse well. The chapters alternate between following Rose in 2016 and Darby in 1952. There is restraint in the story telling and tries to add some good twists, but I found the plot fairly predictable.
Overall The Dollhouse maintains a nice pace throughout the story and avoids clichés until the last five pages when she throws a good book in the toilet. I actually did not mind this one at all, but the last bit just ruined it for me. Davis does a good job maintaining a consistent and interesting pace, but the ending comes quickly and suddenly. It’s as if her editor asked her to wrap everything up with a nice bow and throw the love story completely out of proportion with the rest of the story. It was saccharine and a little vomit inducing how spoonfed it was. What was an interesting story about finding oneself and relationships between women ended up being a deflated mess of an ooey-gooey love story.
If I could erase the last five pages, I would like The Dollhouse much better. I’m trying not to let the ending overpower the other nice 200 or so pages, but I can’t.
Memorable Quotes “His eyes, which were the color of seawater, had a laserlike intensity that made politics the obvious career choice. That or terrorist interrogator.” “Not scared of change, like Darby was, but scared of staying put, staying unchanged.”
Beau really hated the pool float. | Swimsuit | Hat | Floatie |She did a lap around me to make sure the floatie wasn’t eating me, then said “See ya, Mom!” | Swimsuit | Floatie | Hat |
I have loved water my entire life. I’m happiest sitting by the ocean. I used to crave summer for days at the pool or on a boat at the lake at my grandparent’s in Wisconsin. My brother and I could spend all day playing in the pool.
I’ve had dogs my entire life. Some have loved the water even more than I do. Some have hated any water outside of their drinking bowl. Some have been ambivalent except on the very hottest of days. They are living breathing beings with emotions, preferences, and dislikes just like people. You can’t make a dog like the water.
I didn’t really give much thought to if Beau would be a water dog or not when I brought her home. It didn’t matter either way. The first couple of months going to the dog park, she was pretty tentative about the dog pools and lakes. She loved romping through the muddy puddles. The muddier the better. It wasn’t until a gaggle of ducks started goading her one day that she dove into the water proving she could swim and wouldn’t take crap from anyone let alone a flock of audacious ducks. Ever since that day, she has been my water baby.
Our first summer together, we went to Southern California. After 26 hours in the car, we drove straight to a dog beach at Ocean Beach in San Diego. We hopped out of the car, let Beau off the leash, she ran head first into the ocean, and had explosive diarrhea all over the place. So great….
We have friends with pools, and Beau LOVES going for swims and running around between her water adventures. So much so, she even knows what routes we take to get to their houses, and she perks up the moment we make certain turns. She’s hilarious. Always cautious with her first toe dips, she’s soon jumping in and taking a spin around. I can’t keep her out, which I don’t want to. She loves to jump in after me and swim a circle around me before hopping out and running a few laps around before jumping back in again.
Beau loves lakes, oceans, puddles, streams, rivers, and pools. Anxiety riddled and cautious, she never has a probably enjoying the water or a good swim. With the Texas heat on full blast ten months out of the year, water is a great way to have fun and stay cool.
bisous et обьятий,
Beau and RaeAnna
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3689037″]
Shrimp and grits is a southern staple. Depending on the region and the chef, the recipe varies drastically. Some sauces are similar to etoufee, a broth, a red sauce, or something in between. I like to make mine with a tomatoey, chickeny broth. I like to saturate the grits with as much cheddar cheese as physically possible because cheese is delicious. I’ve made this for friends and all over the country. As my grandpa would say, it’s a solid B+, which is high praise, and he requests it every time I visit.
This is one of my favorite dishes to eat and make for people I love.
Ingredients
Shrimp (raw)
Scallops (raw) (Optional)
Mushrooms (Optional)
Brussel Sprouts (Optional)
Artichokes (Optional)
Bell Pepper (Optional
Garlic
Onion
3 large Tomatoes or 8 oz package of cherry tomatoes
Bay Leaf
3 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Turmeric
1 tbs. Honey
Olive Oil
1 cup Grits or Yellow Cornmeal
½ cup Milk
1 tbs Butter
1 ½ cup Water
1 cup Cheddar Cheese (or more to taste)
Salt/Pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°
Chop mushrooms/bell peppers into bite sized pieces. Half brussel sprouts and artichokes. Place on a cookie sheet and coat veggies with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 15 minutes or until browned.
Chop onions and garlic. Cook in sauce pan with 2 tbs. olive oil until translucent. Add in cumin, chili powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper. You can add more or less spices depending on your tastes.
Chop tomatoes if using large/Toss in whole cherry tomatoes into the pan with the garlic and onions. Add one tbs. of water. Cover and let simmer for five minutes.
In medium saucepan bring water, milk, butter to a boil. Slowly add grits or yellow cornmeal, whisking constantly to avoid clumps. Let mixture come to a boil. Then, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir often to avoid burning.
Tomatoes should reduce and have a decent amount of liquid being very saucy. Add ½ cup water and stir to mix.
Make sure to be checking grits. When the liquid is almost gone….
Add shrimp and scallops to tomato mixture. Cover. Shrimp and scallops should be thoroughly cooked in five minutes.
Stir cheese into grits. Cover and set aside.
When shrimp and scallops are done, add the roasted veggies to the tomato/shrimp/scallop sauce.
To Eat Place grits in a bowl or plate, then ladle a generous portion of the shrimp/scallops/veggies tomato sauce on top. You can garnish with green onions or chives. Dig in!!!
Variation You can always add in some andouille sausage to give it a NOLA kick or just add some extra yum.
I also love playing with the veggies you use. You can use as many or as few kinds of veggies as you want. In my opinion, the more the better!
