getaway

Wow... it's been a while since I blogged. Weird how life gets so busy. I actually kept promising myself I was going to blog in the evening - but then, I had to run errands or go workout or go to events or see my fiance, or the internet at my place wasn't working properly - and I just never got around to it. So, if you spend your days hanging onto my every word, I apologize for disappointing you for almost a month.

It has been quite a summer so far. I don't remember my summers in childhood being this busy or stressful - maybe they were for my parents, I don't know. It's nice to have a lot of things to keep me occupied, but sometimes I think I wouldn't mind getting home at 5:30 and just doing nothing for a few hours. Wedding planning is coming along - things keep coming up that I forgot about, but we're dealing with it. I had a nightmare earlier in the month that it was the day before the wedding and I realized I never ordered invitations - but in real life I ordered them last weekend, so hopefully that prediction won't come true. This summer has really seen a lot of change - I feel like half my friends are moving away from Dallas, which is so sad, but they are all going to take on exciting new challenges in their new homes, which is awesome for them. And of course, I'm finally started to get settled in the new place, although the decor is half-finished and looks super weird right now. The cat is (hopefully? tentatively?) making his first solo run into the great outdoors this weekend, and I am gathering a large collection of kitchen appliances in much better condition than what I currently own, thanks to Jonathan's and my generous and wonderful friends and family members.

I was able to go to Fredericksburg with the boy and his parents over the first weekend of July. That was so fun because I love being down there, and he got to see the place we're getting married for the first time (obviously he loved it)! They actually gave us a tour of the winery - super cool. I wish I was rich so I could start a vineyard.

at Becker Vineyards with my handsome fiance

Another highlight was the fresh peaches from the Texas Hill Country (the best) - although we had some really nasty peach "ice cream" basically tasted like frozen half and half with some peach chunks in it. Not good. But the peaches themselves were AWESOME. I love stone fruit in the summer. It just feels so right.

peachy goodness.

We stayed in a big ranch house out away from town. It was so quiet and peaceful - the property had longhorns roaming around on it, not to mention deer and antelope. The next door neighbor had peacocks roaming around too - talk about weird birds. My favorite wildlife were the hummingbirds. I love them so much. I never knew Texas had a hummingbird population (because I always associate them with trips to Colorado) so I was really excited to see hummingbird feeders on the porch.

and the sunsets were great.

I love those short weekend trips you can take in the summer. It's just so nice to get away and enjoy time with the people you love. Even though I spent a large part of my weekend running around doing wedding things, I still loved having the chance to get away from Dallas and chill. When you get up before 8 am pretty much every day, even being able to sleep for an extra hour is a huge blessing.

So if anyone feels like turning to me for advice in a time of need/stress/what have you, here's mine: go away. Just grab a friend (take me!) and go somewhere scenic, and detox for a few hours, a few days, whatever you've got available. It's those moments that make summer so great.

And for the love of God, eat a fresh peach.

PS this is the fruit pizza I made for the 4th of July. It's my favorite holiday. It was DELICIOUS.

Yum. America.