the dairy free life.

Not missing my cheese and milk too bad when I can pack a lunch like these....

Great quote

"a Friday isn't a Friday unless you have tequila."

Signs of spring?

dairy free?

I was trying to think of something good to give up or change within myself for Lent. 
God obviously laughs when we make plans of our own.

I debated practicing guitar daily, giving up Facebook, reading the paper more often, meditation...you name it!

Then, I went to the allergist today and was HIGHLY encouraged to give up dairy.  My reaction to dairy and whey/casein was really high and I have been BEGGING my doctor to give me options to fix my sniffles, cough and itchy throat. 

If you know me, you know that I THRIVE off of queso, can eat multiple cheese sticks in one sitting, and that if I could "only take one item to a desert island" it would most definitely be something dairy.

So here I sit.  I am thinking about it.  Strongly considering it.  I have already found a great book online to order, have perused Pinterest for some fabulous recipes, and consulted my bff who went dairy-free for her baby when she was nursing. 

I am definitely going to sleep on it.  But I am so intrigued by the idea of a challenge, a positive change, feeling better, aiding my body with what it needs.....

Would this force me to eat more fruits and veggies?
Would I feel more energized?
Will I lose weight?
Is this going to be a lot of work?
What if I can't stick with it?
How can I avoid being that girl who shows up to eat somewhere and has rules to follow?

I found a few great websites and came across this quote:

"When people think of change, they think of sacrifice. I think it should be more about perspective. Instead of losing something, you’re gaining something like health. Making better decisions and choices on a daily basis leads to real change.”  - Attune Foods 

Suggestions welcome. :)

we owned the night

This past weekend I had a fabulous visit from my Papi.   I sure missed seeing my mom also, but it was so fun to have my dad roll into town after work on Friday and do some more Dallas exploring with another buddy in tow!

The last time my dad and I had a FULL trip together was my junior year in high school when we hit Highway one to do some college visits in California.  What a fun time we had together.  I take after my dad in a lot of ways and spending time one-on-one with him was so good for my soul. :)  

Let's just say, when the Casanovas get together, there are a few things you can count on:
-lots of food
-taking pictures with our iphones of all of the amazing food
-shopping 'til you drop ("Shopping rejuvenates me.  I never get tired." - my dad at Highland Park Village)
-swapping hilarious stories
-feeding off of each other's humor and bantering all the live-long day
-cuban coffee brewing
 

Needless to say, several of these things took place.

We enjoyed an incredible meal at a Salvadorian restaurant near my apartment (helloooo sangria margarita and churrasco plate!), drove around Papi's old kicks in Dallas (SNUFFERS! KELLERS!), watched the Grammy's and SMASH (if you have not gotten on board yet, catch up.  This show rocks!) on the DVR,  hung out in our pajamas in my cute apartment in the mornings, shopped at some incredible boutiques and cleaned up at William's Sonoma. :)

The highlight of the weekend was our Saturday night outing.  My dad got us tickets to see Lady Antebellum on their whirlwind tour across Texas as they stopped in Dallas to play at the American Airlines Center.

What a fun time!  I haven't been to a big, huge concert like that in ages and it was so fun to see such a great group.  The musicians were on fire, since they just won the Grammy last weekend.  Their harmonies, energy and showmanship was incredible.  We had amazing floor seats and had a nice view of the performance.  We danced, clapped, held up our cell phones, and sang along all night.  Who doesn't love a great country music performance?

gotta love the crazy drunk lady dancing in the aisle? 

 

I honestly love ALL of their songs and can't pick a favorite - but this is always a classic. :)  Seriously I have been listening to them nonstop now!

The opening act was Darius Rucker, who is now doing his own act since Hootie and the Blowfish disbanded in the 90s.  He sang some of his old songs (which had the crowd going WILD) and did a nice job of selling his new singles.  His voice is so warm and unique and my family has loved Hootie since our days back in Austin listening to the local radio.  He even came back on stage to sing with Lady A mid-concert and it was a total party on-stage!  I love this song:

I took so many photos and videos so that I can relive all of it over and over again!

(I stole this off of their website..oops!)

It was fun to have a mini adventure right here in town.  We decided to take the DART rail into the concert venue and walked up a few blocks to try an incredible new pizza joint.  I felt so urban!  Relying so often on my car to get me around Dallas, it was nice to try something new!

Thanks Papi for such a fun time.
Thanks for the new apartment sussies, the champagne, the company, the concert tickets and the memories!
Here's to many more road trips to see each other!
I love you so!
Love, Scout

Flying solo

This was my first valentines where I was truly single since high school. And I am so proud of myself for how well I did. What a day of love and blessings!

Sarah and I have fully embraced the chocolate, pink/red, and self-love aspect of this celebration by treating ourselves to little luxuries all month. It's the simple things. Bowl of candy, weeknight glass of wine, shameless chick flick marathon, giving each other earrings we picked out for ourselves just because....

Today was a red-letter event at school. I had royal treatment: surprise fro-yo and a ten minute massage in the teachers lounge, students flitting around my room in clashing red and pink, teddybears holding tulips and handmade cards with gummy candy crudely pasted inside, hugs all afternoon and such sweet moments!

We danced half of the afternoon away to every song in my iTunes that had "love" in the title and they got along so well. One of the best playlists I have ever made. Get yourself a copy!

And this is NOT an "I hate men" post, by the way. My two best guys in Dallas reminded me that not all men are evil...Jeff and Beau surprised me with flowers.

 

I had my first night singing on stage at church with Garrett, my favorite karaoke partner, and he made a pretty good valentine. And my favorite man (my dad!) is coming into town this weekend to take me on a daddy daughter date!!!

Just because you are single doesn't mean theres no one to love or that no one loves you (sorry, Queen!). Who needs a man when you have 12 little spirits to love on all year? I could not have been more excited to send (as early as six am) texts and emails all day to girlfriends, cousins and sibs. I loved having an excuse to hug my coworkers, give just-because presents and compliment others excessively.

And what about me? (self-love is highly underrated. It's my new favorite hobby). Why not write down three things I love about myself, try something new alone, and do what I want to do all month?

The celebration is not even over yet.

I leave you with the lyrics to my favorite love song/dance song/80s song.

The power of love is a curious thing
Make a one man weep, make another man sing
Change a hawk to a little white dove
More than a feeling that's the power of love

Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream
Stronger and harder than a bad girl's dream
Make a bad one good make a wrong one right
Power of love that keeps you home at night

Chorus 1 :
You don't need money, don't take fame
Don't need no credit card to ride this train
It's strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes
But it might just save your life
That's the power of love
That's the power of love

First time you feel it, it might make you sad
Next time you feel it it might make you mad
But you'll be glad baby when you've found
That's the power makes the world go'round

Chorus 2 :
And it don't take money, don't take fame
Don't need no credit card to ride this train
It's strong and it's sudden it can be cruel sometimes
But it might just save your life

They say that all in love is fair
Yeah, but you don't care
But you know what to do
When it gets hold of you
And with a little help from above
You feel the power of love
You feel the power of love
Can you feel it ?
Hmmm

Chorus 3 :
It don't take money and it don't take fame
Don't need no credit card to ride this train
Tougher than diamonds and stronger than steel
You won't feel nothin' till you feel
You feel the power, just the power of love
That's the power, that's the power of love
You feel the power of love
You feel the power of love
Feel the power of love

 

bachelor + chocolate covered strawberries = best monday night! 

broiled grapefruit

There is NOTHING I love more than Texas grapefruit. 

I loved it so much my Abuelo used to ship me boxes of it in college to my dorm room in Virginia and when I moved back to Texas I immediately started regularly buying it at the grocery store. 

Heck, I love it so much, I named my car after it - Ruby Red :)

Tonight my roommate and I made this delicious, SIMPLE dessert!

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/broiled-grapefruit.html

It's a MUST try.  Perfectly crunchy, warm, sweet yet tart, and light!

needle in a haystack.

 

As one of my resolutions I decided this year to go on more "Dallas adventures."  Once a month I am going to try my darndest to take advantage of being back in Texas, having a big city at my fingertips, and live life to it's fullest right underneath my nose. 

Last month, I took Leigh Anne to the Farmer's Market, Stock Yards in Fort Worth and explored shopping and dining in a whole new neighborhood - Bishop Arts. 

This month, my roommate Sarah and I finally took on one of day trips we had been talking about since we moved in together.  Legendary CANTON, TEXAS!  

 Every month, on the very first weekend, Canton has a fabulous, larger-than-life antique and thrift extravaganza!  It has been featured in Country Living Magazine, showcased on television and people at work have mentioned to both of us that we need to go.  Sarah and I likened it to "the State Fair on steroids" because aside from furniture, antique jewelry, vintage clothing, TONS OF JUNK, and more there were also fried food trucks, rides for kids, and TONS of people to watch. ;)

 

(Papi, I almost got a funnel cake!)

 

We scoured and scoured through sheds of trash-turned-treasures and had a total blast trying on jewelry, imagining our "future mansions" where we would have room and money for all of our desires, and we probably walked longer than I have ever been on my feet.  Thankfully, the weather was cold but sunny - so we didn't have to brave any sweltering Texas heat OR wet February weather (like usual).  

And at the VERY last 20 or 30 minutes before the sun went down - we scored a few gems.  Sarah has quite a knack for a bargain (I am hoping this will rub off on me!) and was cracking me up telling me, "I can just feeeeeel it" as we weeded through tent after tent of chairs, tables, boxes of tools, pottery, etc. 

We are so excited to have two new chairs on our patio (just in time for SPRING in Dallas!) and a beautiful iron/wood piece of artwork to hang in our living room to add some height/warm color.  We had our eye on a few other pieces, and even found things we wanted to buy but the vendor had walked off to get a corndog - HA! 

The whole day was SO FUN!  I am really enjoying time with Sarah more and more and decorating our place together is SO fun.  Not only that, but what a cool adventure, and fun time we had perusing, shopping, giggling at WIERD items, and making our own little mini-vacation from the normal weekend.   AND we got so many things (little artwork pieces for Sarah's bedroom, I got a few birthday gifts for friends who are having upcoming parties) and together we spent less than $200 TOTAL!!!!

 

I couldn't help but think about my mama.  She is the BIGGEST fan of antiquing and furniture shopping.  I kept telling Sarah that my mom would have spent 8 weeks there and never seen it all or soaked it all up.   She has GOT to come and visit me so we can go.  No joke - I am already thinking about the next time we go back!

 

 

 

Our living room with the new artwork hanging up. :) 

 

Sweet Sarah and I carried our furniture ALL the way back to the car! 

We were so tired and delirious at this point - giggling the WHOLE way. :)

 

(R.I.P. beautiful wire wreath....) 

  

Best looking patio in Dallas! :) 

Feb.

I had this big long brainstorm about a post to celebrate six months in Dallas. I woke up this morning and said a little rabbitrabbit for good luck. We all know how much I love a mini milestone AND this one is wrapped up in a new month!

However, after a long day at work, nasty emails going around, students in tears and arguments during a game I tried to teach today, I ran into my mentor in the hall at school and broke down before morning snack. Gah.

Let's just say, sometimes, life is overwhelming. Sometimes everything feels hard.

Luckily, Anne is amazing and we decided to leave school "onthedot" and bask in the winter 70 degree weather, toast to half a school year with tequila-ritas and let it all out.

Whew!
I think it's a true sign of fitting in when you can grab a last minute Wednesday drink. Don't you? That's when you know you have arrived. Today was a bad day just like any other, but it also reminded me that I am truly feeling like I am settled. Like this is my new normal. Bad mixed in with the good, routine mixed in with new experiences. Tomorrow is a new day. In my big ol' city.

Happy six months to me. ;)