Champagne taste on a Beer budget

If you haven't heard of Ballard Designs yet you are MISSING OUT!
My Aunt Sherry clued me into this place and I am forever hooked...  Get on line and order their free magazine so you can enjoy it too!
http://www.ballarddesigns.com/

For those that love Pottery Barn (which I do) but can't quite fork out those $$$ just yet, this store is for you!

A lot of the items are Pottery Barn-esque without the price tag. 

Cute in the Kitchen!

How stinkin' cute are these aprons from Anthropologie!!!

I also gotta have this oven mit and hot pad!

Short Lived Hiatus :)

Ok, ok... How about I change that to posting only FAMILY stuff :)  Take it easy I'm still learning!  I will keep posting on BOTH blogs now... how about that?

Just wanted to share a couple pictures from Father's Day....

Ashton, John, Jesley, Eric, Jeremy, Donny

Lilly, Stephanie, Jesley, Candace, Andrea, Me, Jayden, Jana

On Hiatus...

Well folks, we are going to take a hiatus from this personal blogging until our family starts to grow... I just don't feel the need to disclose every social outing we have...and I don't think you all really care that much about the party we went to last weekend...that's what facebook is for anyway, right?

In the meantime, Donny and I decided that we are going to start a blog about food - since eating is our favorite thing to do!  Especially eating out.  I have read multiple reviews on line and I just think I can do better than them.  One blog in particular sent us to a restaurant that was NOT what it was made out to be.  So, how do you ensure something is done right? Do it yourself. 

We are calling it 'Funky Town Food Critic'.  Check it out when you have a chance or when you just can't figure out where you want to eat tonight.  I have been to well over half the restaurants in FW and would consider my palette pretty experienced.  I dare you to visit these places and prove me wrong :).

See ya back here in a few months!
Until them... www.funkytownfoodcritic.blogspot.com

Love, The Garcia's

Guadalupe River 2010

Its that time of year! For our annual float trip down the Guadalupe.  There were 14 of us this year.  We stayed in cabins vs. camping like we usually do.  Thank goodness we did because it was SOOOOO hot!!!! The water was FREEZING!!! Definitely colder than usual, I am assuming its because it is so early in the year.  We cooked out Friday night, woke up to breakfast burritos (which I did not get to participate in b/c of some bad McDonald's from the day before - i do not eat McDonald's usually but b/c we were on the road I made an exception...never again)... then ate at the Gristmill in Gruene for dinner Saturday night.  Great trip! Great times! Great people!

Couples that went:

Donny & Christi Garcia

Tony Kim & Lindsay Joyce

Justin & Jennifer Howard

Jody & Erica Setliff

Alan Starr & Candess Herring

Jeff & Stacey Thomas

Billy & Amanda McGough

  

Colonial 2010

Went to the Colonial on Saturday and it was SCORCHING hot!!! I think it was 95 in the shade.  Every year afterward I tell myself we are not doing this again next year...but we always do.  It really is fun hanging out with everyone and despite the heat we had a lot of fun!  The only thing that made it worse this year is that our A/C went out on Friday so we spent the entire weekend without cool air to come home to.  It wasn't too bad since we spent most of the weekend busy and not at home but the A/C guy is fixing the fan as we speak so I will go home to a nice cool house!

A few fun girls saoking up the sun...

Me, Lindsay, Jennifer, & Heather

Miss Ashely Nickell

Mrs. Jennifer Howard

Miss Lindsay Joyce

and last but cerntainly not least...

Scott, Tony, Donny, & Jeff

John's 28th Birthday @ PK

We went to PK this past weekend and had a blast as ususal!  We just laid back and enjoyed some peace and quiet.  We did have a little excitement on Saturday afternoon when John and Eric found an abandoned sail boat nearby.  John contemplated the idea of sailing it for awhile then hopped on and sailed away! It was pretty funny with the ripped sail but quite impresssive that he was out there raging the rapids and steering without any problem...he got up to like 20 mph! It was really windy out there.

After being pushed to the other side of the cove and having no way home, Eric rescued him with his fishing boat...

They endured the fighting for several minutes before deciding to re-abandon the ship and call it a day.

Among the many hi-lights of the weekend we saw a snake, several lizzards, too many nasty spiders, and my first live coyote! I was so excited.  I have heard them in the distance all my life but have never actually SEEN one live and in person. 

What can I say, I dig the wilderness :) 

I also had to take some pictures of the Brazos on our way home b/c it was sooo red and looked pretty next to the gorgeous color green of the grass and trees.

Donny would also like for me to post a picture of a rotting dead coyote by the side of the road but I will spare y'all.