It's Game Day- Get Your Monogram On!

I feel like I am late to the party on the monogram. I grew up having things like my dance bag, sweatshirts or bags monogrammed but then I just kind of stopped. I think it grew harder to find a place to do monograms and then at some point in college, I had in the back of my mind that I would eventually get married and my initials would change...so I just stopped.

Then I did get married and my initials changed and I went through some sort of identity crisis. It is really hard to change your name. It's really hard to all of a sudden not have the same last name as your family or your sister. Four years later I feel I am finally settled into being AGW.

A few weeks ago Kristina told me to enter a blog contest she saw where Marley Lilly was going to send a few bloggers an item to blog about...so I entered. They asked me to describe my blog and I was a bit stumped....so I said I write about my life sarcastically. This blog is basically an exercise in not taking myself too seriously.

May I also point out that it is really sweet how my sister is thinking of me as she trolls her instagram. 

So I entered. And guess what....last Saturday I had a notification that we had a package and Gregg arrived upstairs with a box that had this inside:

A creme colored scarf with my initials in a dark brown. AGW. That's me! 

Coincidentally I was also getting dressed/more like prepared to freeze at the Texas A&M game that evening before we drove to College Station that day. I thought hmm...this goes perfectly with my outfit, it is really cute, I think this will be the ultimate test of this scarf. It is SEC game worthy with its southern monogram style...but will it keep me warm....stay tuned for the verdict...

My new scarf packed in my bag to head to College Station with my A&M gloves courtesy of Forever 21. A neck scarf for my Grandpa. Beanie hats. You get the picture. It was basically like we were moving to College Station for the day and trying to stay warm.

Let me tell you what would have made for a cuter bag though:

Monogrammed Large Jute Bag 

It has a zipper, it is lined and in black it would work very well sitting in the stands. It is the perfect "throw around and throw everything in" bag. You know what I am talking about...everyone needs one and you really need one with a zipper. Instead I took a big purse that I shouldn't have taken and was not super durable in the elements and well...I think it is going to recover but the poor bag was never intended for such use.

Back to my story...finally made it to College Station. Gregg and I headed to see some friends briefly before Kristina arrived with Papa. They were driving up on the A&M bus from San Antonio.

Wearing my scarf. Staying warm. 

One final picture in front of what is the soon to no longer exist side of Kyle Field. Look how cute my AGW scarf looks.  I know they appreciate me renaming it my AGW scarf.

Can I also point out that it is really fun to wander around your old college campus drinking beer? Luckily the tailgate I went to was giving out some free koozies. But I think a fun stocking stuffer or addition to a gift for a friend who loves a tailgate would be a monogrammed koozie. It would also be the perfect gift if you had a friend who just got engaged or a friend who just had a baby...since everyone I know seems to fall into one of these groups recently, this seems appropriate. The newly engaged friend would appreciate seeing her new initials and the new mom would appreciate you thinking of her return to the land of beer and wine. She'd probably also appreciate a cute monogrammed onesie for the baby. Onesie inside of the koozie. Boom. Done. Someone is getting that soon.

You could do blue if your friend is a new boy mom, pink if they are a new girl mom. any color if they are a new fiancé. I could come up with tons of reasons to buy this koozie. 

It's also really cute that you could choose to put the monogram on the bottom instead. 

Post-beer....Kristina arrived with Papa.

These two. The hilarious duo. 

The second she got off the bus she was showing me the mini wine bottles she had stolen from Dad...she had one left. And you know what...she could've used a koozie too...granted she wasn't drinking a water bottle... but I think this size would've worked best

It is a water bottle "koolie" but considering the size of Kristina's mini wine bottle, I think this has multiple purposes. I also think I need one of these for summer. I may also be getting her one for her  upcoming summer honeymoon.

After wandering around and hitting up another tailgate with Papa we finally were ready to head into the game.

See those smiles? Approximately 5 minutes after this picture it started drizzling, then raining. Do these look like the faces of people prepared for freezing temps AND rain. 

We all could've used a rain jacket over the tons of layers of clothing we already had on...the irony is I was sitting there thinking I wish I had a rain jacket like I had when I was in college that said Pi Beta Phi and lo and behold this is the same thing but I could get it with my initials. Granted, I would love to still sport my sorority letters everywhere I go but I may need to update.  

Sigh. To be dry.

Don't be fooled by the smiles. We are FROZEN.

I tried getting the monogram portion of the scarf in a large amount of 'stand selfies' Kristina and I were taking because we were losing and frozen. It wasn't working out so well and this is the best one. But I was as warm as I could be given the elements. 

The verdict: This scarf did its job keeping me warm and looking as cute as possible given the weather. 

Let's be honest, we look pretty rough. We left at halftime and found warmer and drier temperatures across the street at the MSC where we finished watching the game. There's my AGW scarf. Still keeping me warm.

The only that would've been better is this sweatshirt....which I think I need for winter. It's cute enough that I can wear it indoors lounging or running errands and look like I got dressed even though I didn't. That is my favorite kind of weekend outfit, fyi.

It comes in a lot of colors but duh, I want it in purple. This neon is amazing though. It gives the  sweatshirt such pizzazz! 

There are approximately 5,000 other things I could've used to stay warm at the game. I was already wearing leggings, jeans, cowboy boots, wool socks, and two shirts and a jacket and a hat but clearly that wasn't enough for or any of us. 

Maybe a fleece vest would've made the difference...or a fleece...or who am I kidding we were never going to make it out of there warm or dry. The other people in the stands that dressed in full on hunting camo gear with wind jackets and pants though clearly came more prepared...similar to the guy next to us in the stands who brought a cardboard box to shield himself from the rain. We have so much to learn.

Crazy game days of being crammed into Aggie football games with these people- they are some of my most cherished memories. We won't have these exact season tickets or seats next year but it's been a fun ride full of wonderful memories with Papa, class of '47.

Hope you enjoyed my game day recap combined Marley Lilly post! 

Go get your monogram on! 

Growing Into My Cut

I cut my hair. Now let me back up. It had been entirely too long since my last hair cut/highlight....my hair had gotten long. Too long. People like my hair long. So they say. I don't really know what my preference is in all honesty. I don't like it really short but I also don't know the magic length. I just know it hits a certain point and it's like my hair won't do anything anymore. Let me back up for a second time. My hair barely does anything as it is....it is straight. So again in all honestly I do not know what my perfect hair length, hair style is....I have been alive 30 years and my hair has nothing to show for it. I feel so defeated.

But Saturday while we were in Dallas I visited my hair stylist and we were chatting. I told her I wanted to try my hair darker for winter....which I did. Then I told her I wanted some length off. Which we did. Then she did a new layered hair style. And before I knew it...my hair was cut and styled and inside I was freaking out and quasi-mourning the loss of the long hair I had just a few hours before and hated. What is wrong with me.

Regardless....here are the results....

Thursday evening- en route to Dallas/McKinney/the rehearsal dinner. Oh yes, did I mention we had a wedding this weekend?  That's all we do- attend weddings, wedding events or wedding planning events these days. I also throw in a baby shower or two also.

Hair cut time

The aftermath- please note my hair won't look this styled with this cut for awhile. This is also a bad pic of Gregg but good of my hair (minus the awkward one strand) so it stays. 

Gregg the groomsman for his best friend and our best man.  It's pretty amusing to go to a rehearsal dinner with long hair and show up the next day with a new do- Be advised that it really confuses people. 

So there we go. I don't know. I am still undecided. Kristina keeps saying your hair is not short. She is right. I think it's confusing me because it's thin on bottom and lots of layers on top. In two weeks I will like it more but I have to get used to the layers. I need to figure this thing out.

I need to "grow into my cut"

Pack. Unpack. Repeat.

7 weekends. And a day trip. From August 22 to October 10 I was out of town every weekend. Every. weekend. Now, I love to stay busy but I think in my elder age of 30, I now know my limit. And that limit? That would be 7 weekends. And a day trip.

Regardless of the amount of caffeine I consumed over these past 7 weeks to stay awake during the week, I have loved celebrating these people in their big moments and making really fun memories in the process. Here is the cliff notes version of the adventures:

August 22-24
Location: San Antonio
Event: Kristina gets engaged!
Disclaimer: Most stressful experience of my life but we pulled off the most ridiculous surprise engagement ever. So fitting for these two. 

August 29-September 1
Location: Houston > Austin > Fredericksburg > Austin > Houston
Event: LC in town, mini visit to Austin, drop off LC at her friend's house for weekend, head to Fredericksburg for a Bachelorette party for Gregg's best man/best friend's fiancé (got that?), back to Austin to pick up LC, back to Houston. This was ridiculous. But I have said it before...LC and I will do crazy things so we get to see each other, even it means we both plan simultaneous weekend events during an LC visit to Texas. We are insane.
Disclaimer: I will never do this much driving in one weekend again. 

September 6-7
Location: Dallas
Event: Co-host A&M game watching couples shower for Gregg's best man/best friend and his fiancé.
Disclaimer: When hosting one of these, it is nice if the game is not on a rain delay for 2 hours. Oh well, clearly we made do with other entertainment. 

September 12-14
Location: San Antonio
Event: Kristina is a bridesmaid for one of her childhood friends.
Disclaimer: My family loves a wedding. Don't believe us? Wait until Kristina's. 

September 19-21
Location: San Antonio Riverwalk
Event: A's Bachelorette Party weekend
Disclaimer: I may be from San Antonio but I know nothing about the Riverwalk and had to use my GPS to navigate us around all weekend.

September 26-28
Location: Galveston
Event: Hayley's Bachelorette Party weekend
Disclaimer: When you are celebrating one of your college besties getting married with the other college bestie who is 6 months pregnant standing next to you, all of a sudden you feel like it is the end of an era. You also feel old.

October 3-5
Location: San Antonio
Event: Wedding planning with sister-zilla
Disclaimer: Everytime we are home, Kristina somehow gets tricked into doing all this handy work around the house and I manage to avoid it. It's good to be the older sister. 

Surprise weekend event: I'm a MOH!
Disclaimer: I do in fact plan to share all the behind the scenes fun and fighting of the next 10 months of my life helping to plan this. 

October 11
Location: College Station
Event: A&M vs. Ole Miss
Disclaimer: Technically this was not considered a weekend trip because I didn't have to pack a bag and got to spend the day with Gregg. (you may have noticed this husband of mine was absent from the majority of these weekend trips) However, it required driving. It also ended at 2am when we got home. Therefore I am throwing it in as a bonus.

BOOM. This may or may not explain my blogging absence. Not that anyone cares other than my mother but there you go. Even though the weekend trips and events are not over, I do have a free weekend in my future. It might as well be a giant finish line being crossed. I require that every once in awhile to recharge. It could also be called Analisa crawls into a cocoon for the weekend with TV, wine, pizza, pinterest and Chloe. If Gregg is around then that is a bonus too, but not required.

Cheers! 

Friday 5

1. Last week while traveling to Florida, I picked up Vogue magazine on a whim for my flight. I came across this announcing Christian Louboutin was coming out with a pricey and chic nail polish line to resemble his shoe line. The signature color of course being red.

Perfect gift in my opinion for the nail fashionista, or yourself. My question is if I could ever bring myself to use it seeing as how pretty it is unused.
photo cred Sephora 

2. The greatest thing about a vacation is calories don't count. Travel and Leisure confirms that with their list of America's best bakeries. Making the list is one of Gregg's favorite from NYC, cookies from Levain bakery. When I visited, he took me to try one and with the hot summer sun melting the chocolate as I stuffed my face with a chocolate chocolate chip cookie, sitting on a bench in the Upper West Side, I decided that was heaven.

Be sure to add them to your list next time you are in NYC
photo cred Levain Bakery

3. #blackcatselfie This article said people in the United Kingdom are not adopting black cats because they don't photograph well. Ridiculous. Needless to say, we are obviously big black cat fans around here.

Does this look like someone who does not photograph well? 

4. This made me laugh: 8 Thoughts That Go Through Your Head When Everyone Around You is Having Babies and You're Not 

5. It is 100 degrees and I am dreaming of new pajama pants. Go figure.

Have a great weekend! 

Vegas Family Vacay

Awhile ago, as in June, a family known as mine went to Las Vegas for a good ol' fashioned family vacation. I am sure you can picture it…organized travelers, perfect weather, getting to the airport early, no rushing to our flights…..

WRONG! First there was a torrential downpour that soaked me while trying to pick up some sandwiches pre-airport. 

Then we had to get all these bags checked  (if you look closely, you can see above that is the curbside line of people out of control because of rain delays earlier in the day). Plus get the car parked. Plus get wheelchairs. And of course we were on time. <insert major sarcasm>

And who came to the rescue? None other than my little sister. …I still sit here in shock months later. Dad and I parked cars and she got all boarding passes, all bags checked and we headed straight to security.

And upon arrival, Dad gave up trying to figure out taxis and got a limo. In Las Vegas there is a limo line and a taxi line which is very convenient for people like us traveling with an army of family.

After we had arrived and checked-in, the three of us headed downstairs at The Bellagio to get To-Go food for dinner.  As you can see by our drinks, we weren't just going to sit there waiting for food without entertaining ourselves.

Monday night (unknown to Kristina or me) kicked off the beginning of the double vacation Kristina and I were on that week in Las Vegas. Family Vacation by day….and sister Vegas vacation by night….

Night 1: Kristina and I hit up Marquee Nightclub at the Cosmo….the next morning I got up early to share coffee with Papa….let's not judge my appearance. Then after about 4 hours we finally made it down to the pool….it only took a few fights and an act of Congress...but we were on our way….

The Bellagio has lots of pools. Lots of beautiful and amazing pools. It is also approximately 115 degrees in Las Vegas so you don't want to do anything but spend the entire day in the a/c or in a giant pool of water. Once we finally made it down there, it was amazing. 

For the next few pictures please just sing the words "I'm so fancy….you already know…."

And then after dinner…..it was sister Vegas vacation night 2 at Hyde at Bellagio:

Imagine being eye level with the fountains, behind a huge glass opposite side of the strip. You can feel the wind as the fountains dance. It's also funny that while everyone else on The Strip is watching this set to the tunes of Frank Sinatra you are listening to the tunes of Usher. 

And that brings us to Wednesday morning and another day of family vacation: 

This quickly became our ritual…morning coffee, splitting a cherry danish with Papa….and for me also Tylenol.  

Later in the day Wednesday, we decided to venture down The Strip to the Venetian. To say we looked like a parade would be an understatement….

That plus a hungry sister who can.not.function. when she is hungry had us all in lovely moods by the time we made it to lunch at The Venetian….

In the family…a little food and a lot of wine goes a long way….

The best part though was when my Dad got tired of us. Not a joke.  After we took the family picture, he started talking to the table next to us. It all started so innocently with Dad saying "so where you guys from…" and 10 minutes later I was snapping photos to document the evidence. <That is my Dad in the middle in the dark blue shirt>

One of the funniest moments though was when Kristina and Papa decided to wander along pretending to be part of a tour group….they totally blended in well don't you think?

Then began Night 3 of Vegas Vacation:

Fizz Champagne Lounge which is one of my favorite places in Las Vegas. Gregg and I discovered this little gem during our visit last December.

Then we spent Thursday, our last full day, wandering around with a lot of ridiculousness: 

 Kristina jamming out in the O souvenir shop.

And then there was her big production in the Shania Twain gift shop…

A little Grandpa-Granddaughter gambling at Caesar's Palace  

And after watching the Spurs win the finals we had our own finale to our Sister Vegas vacation week Thursday night at Encore Beach Club:

When people ask how our vacation was I tell them "it was a nonstop circle of we love each other, we are having the best time, we want to kill each other, we are all fighting, we are eating, we are drinking, we are laughing, we love each other" and so on and so on…." 

These people are crazy but these are my people.