30 things at 30

Upon turning 30, my friends and I decided I need to make a 30 year old bucket list. I've always had a life's to do list, but never really tried to do them proactively.

But after living for 3 decades now, I realize I don't have time to waste. So I am challenging myself to try 30 new things in my 30th year of life. Fun! And a little scary. My list is tentative and not really in order, so I will post them as I achieve each one.

30th on my list is something that comes at an opportune time that I have never done before: pumpkin carving.

Reactions from people around me were the same; Whaaaaat? Seriously?

I hope people don't think I missed out somehow or lived a boring life. I would not trade my life with anyone; I went through struggles and hardships, and experienced things I wouldn't want anyone else to go through. But I wouldn't be me if I didn't go through all those things. I am definitely stronger because of them. It humbled me and gave me empathy for people in similar situations. I know what's important in life, and I thank God that I have a loving family and friends around me that support me.

Okay, on to my pumpkin carving!

30. Pumpkin carving 10-13-12

Kristin and her friend Lacey helped me with my first pumpkin carving experience and it was really fun! The perfectionist in me came out at times, but they reigned it in and kept reassuring me when I messed up. A chunk of the 'W' came off, but I used the pumkin carving blade I broke and used it like a toothpick to attach it. Here is the result:

Wicked 30! :)

Kristin looking dangerous!                 

Step 1: Pick the pumpkin.

 I chose the "mama bear" sized pumpkin in the middle.

Step 2: Cut off the top...

I look a little scary there..

...and pull it out.

Step 3: Take out the "guts" and carve it smooth.

It was a slimy process. Not my favorite part.

Yea! All cleaned out!

Step 4: Pick a design and tape it on the pumpkin.

I was trying to decide between the cat/pumpkin (top left) and a witch pattern, but when I saw the 'Wicked' one I knew I had to do that one. Mostly because of my love for the musical, Wicked! Unfortunately I did not realize the difficulty level was high AND letters are tedious. But it was worth it.

The girls, hard at work!

Step 5: Poke, peel, and start carving.

I added 30 to my design.

The letters were difficult to carve and I was the last person to finish, but I did it!

Yep, we're professional carvers. Haha.

I'm really glad I finally carved a pumpkin. Now I have 29 more to go! :)

My Birthday Weekend

I feel like I've had an Indian wedding; I've celebrated my birthday since Friday. And why not? I'm 30!
I have to say, 30 isn't so bad. I cringe less and less when I tell people I'm 30 years old. I think that's progress.

Well, my lovely friend Ari blogged about my birthday so instead of reblogging, I will just put a link to her blog here: lavender and pink - happy-birthday-flo

Thanks Ari!

From left: Heather, Joanna, Kristin, 30 year old me, Sarah, and Arianna

Photo credit: lavender + pink

Kings and queens, and birthday wishes too

"Today I feel perfect!"

"Happy Birthday. Hug!"

"How are you going to drink that coffee?"

"Are you 68? Um... 23?"

"Is it fun being a teacher? I think it's fun."


Today was full of funny quotes from my students.  My amazing room dads and awesome friends surprised me for an early birthday celebration at school!

 I walked in this morning to such festivity:

Ari, thanks for the decorative cup o' joe and birthday song!

My room dads secretly asked all my students to bring flowers for a class bouquet. In all my years of teaching, I have never gotten so many flowers (although teacher appreciation week comes close). It was really cute seeing my class holding all the flowers in line.

Balloons, everywhere...

My thoughtful friend Caitlin + crew got me the Dorothy TOMS I blogged about a few weeks ago!

I have happy feet!

...and flowers everywhere.

I took most of the flowers and made this lovely bouquet:

And my room dad even baked this HUGE cake for me and to share with all the teachers.

It was delicious and had turquoise lettering too. :)

                                                                  Before . . .    and after.

In addition to the flowers, my kids made me cards and drawings. One student wrote me a letter which was too cute!

To be honest, I had been dreading turning the big 3-0. I remember at 16 thinking, 'Man, will I ever be that old?' And in 3 days, I will be. People around me kept telling me 30 will be fantastic but all I could think of was wrinkles and aching bones. But today I realized how blessed I am to be who I am, where I am, and how I've gotten to this point. What I thought was going to be a curse, is actually a blessing.
Thirty is going to be fantastic!

Good Eats

This past Saturday I went to the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show downtown at the Dallas Convention Center. I drove (I was really proud of myself) but I probably would have been lost without my friend's gps, so thank you Sarah!

It was a fun experience; although I wish there was more food samples and less product promoters, but all in all, it was great. I was also disappointed that I didn't get to try Bobby Flay's food, but it was still cool seeing him in person! He's a funny guy.

 Bobby Flay!

I am definitely making this cast iron potato salad!

He was very nice to the kids. Lucky kids. :) 

The rib eye steaks smelled SO good! 

 Yum.

I hope I can eat his food some day.

Me and my photographer friend Sarah! kk

After the expo we decided to go eat at Sissy's the restaurant that Bobby Flay mentioned (he also mentioned Fearing's but that's $$$$). It was a cute little place near Velvet Taco's and Tei Tei Robata. I absolutely loved the yellow doors and southern style.

 The white blossom tea that I will NEVER get again. I thought it was refill, but at $9.50 a glass, it was not.

I love that yellow door! 

 I got the crab cakes. The salad was delicious. The crab cakes were too salty though. I prefer  Bistro N's crab cakes.

My friend got the fried chicken. It was delicious!

We had a chocolate cake whose name is a little inappropriate; other than the peanut butter bottom, it was good. The cake itself was so moist and perfect. Comparable even to my chocolate cake...

A little patio area outside the restaurant.

I was considering this place for possibly my birthday dinner, but I think this place is better as a lunch place. Or I could just hide under a rock. After all, I am turning 29A. :)

Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show

Okay, I know I blogged only 10 hours ago, but I have to tell you about this event! Go here: Metro Cooking Dallas and you can see all the details.


I saw this billboard on the way to the Dallas flea yesterday so I googled it this morning and found tickets on living social for only $36! I chose Bobby Flay. I really wanted to see Giada, but she'll be in Houston.
Anyway I hope to take lots of foodie pictures and eat amazing food. I am EXCITED!!!!!!!

the Dallas flea

Mentally, I was really excited about going to the Dallas flea market event; waking up at 7:30 on a Saturday however was not my body's idea of a good time.  I really miss being young. At 22, I could stay up until 3:30 without getting tired the next morning, but now I need at least 9 hours of sleep. I don't miss the drama, just the energy.

Anyway, it was so worth going! I've been to flea markets on a larger scale in Canton (Canton has more food items and animals) and the etsy spring bash, which was amazing! I'm glad I grew up going to garage sales with my parents; I love seeing unexpected things (like 10 cent books) especially if it has a good price.

We rode the Dart and it was pretty easy to get there. I'm glad we went early because when we left, a larger crowd was coming in. I took pictures with my phone until it died; I took over 100 photos, so it did pretty well. At least it died at the end, unlike in the middle of my Harry Potter Studio Tour. I'm still mad about that.

Looking pretty at 10 a.m. Ari, Joanna, and Caitlin

Toms x3.  I should have worn my Toms! :)

Waiting for our ride. I wish Dallas was more bustling on the weekends..

Joanna, the model. :) I love stripes!

Here we go!

The furniture was so cute! I LOVE the gray chair, but sadly, I don't have $600 to spare. I got a picture of it for free though. :)

The jewelry there was so pretty! And I am not really a jewelry person. I like the 2nd earrings to the left.

The quirky, familiar, and chevron (my new favorite version of stripes).

I love old stuff!

I love candid photos :)

Patty melt @ Ruthie's

Caitlin looks like a professional photographer. :)

The fox shirt is from  Dowdy . Their shirts were so cute!

The letters above are carved from actual books. I was sad that they didn't have k's. The girl said almost everyone was looking for a k. :(

I only bought one thing today, but I absolutely love it! It's a bracelet by gemelli and it has one of my favorite colors: turquoise. I may have to buy some more of these bracelets.

I came back home around 3:00 because I got a little lost and ended up driving for 40 minutes! Then, instead of taking a nap, I decided to blog. :)

I went to the Saturday service at Prestonwood and I liked it, but I was so tired I couldn't really absorb anything. But I loved the praise; the Getty's were there (Irish composers/singers) and they were amazing. As they were speaking, I kept thinking 'Man, I really wish I had an accent.' And Texan doesn't count.

Well, I feel like I have just enough energy to brush my teeth and fall into bed. Goodnight, bloggers.

blog lovin!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I finally joined blog lovin (now that I know what it actually is!) I am so ready for a fun filled weekend! I will update soon :)