A Little Piece of Texas

View from the plane

My mom and I just landed in Texas!

I am currently on vacation in Texas. I love Texas, and everything that comes with it. I get to see my family, drink sweet tea, enjoy the nice hot weather, and visit new places.  One of my favorite things about Texas is what my family likes to call the Texas chat. No matter where you are and who it is you are likely to get sucked in talking to a stranger for about 20 minutes about anything under the sun. the only part that this is menacing is when you are ready to go and you cant leave because someone in your party has been sucked into the "Texas Chat". But it can be great you get to meet new people, learn new things and spread your own knowledge, as well as disobey that great old rule of "Do Not Talk To Strangers!".

I have to study this book

There are so many great fun things that you can do in Texas, and the variations are great. There is fabulous food, exciting adventures (or terrifying if you're me), great shopping, and nice places to relax. Last night we ate at my favorite restaurant here in Texas ( Texas Boarders, their sweet tea is amazing and my favorite) they also have some to die for queso. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Today we went to Brazos State Park, it has alligators, and venomous snakes, THAT ROAM FREE.  These things were not expressed to me before our journey embarked, and let me just say that when they were figured out upon arrival there was some sever anxiety. I am an adult. And yes, yes I cried. I was oh so excited when it was time to leave and go back home. Do not get me wrong my non-terrified family loved it, and it was a gorgeous place. However, it was very hard to enjoy the scenery when you are looking for alligators and snakes that obviously mean impending death is near.     

The Brazos State Park

After the tears trying to enjoy Brazos

The menu cover of my favorite Texas Cuisine 

A couple days ago we all went to the San Jacinto Monument and the USS Texas. The monument is the tallest monument in the world and was a lot of fun to go up to the top and look around in. However, I enjoyed the USS Texas much more. It is a huge battle ship that served in both world wars and is 100 years old. We got to go all over the ship and see what life was like. It was really interesting, not to mention HOT on the lower decks. Finding my inner child and playing with the guns on the ship was a blast as well.  

View from the top of the monument

San Jacinto Monument

My Auntie and I being silly at San Jacinto

The USS Texas

Finding my inner child on the guns

Being Sailors!

In side the USS Texas on some of the beds.

My Texas Family and I (minus my uncle)

Tomorrow we are going to the beach. I am stoked for that! We will be going to the Gulf of Mexico, I have never been so it will be a first for me and I cant wait. I love the beach and I cant wait to experience it in a new atmosphere. To all traveler this summer I hope you have a great and fabulous vacation. Stay safe and live large! 


P.S. To the HOT guy that sat next to me on the plane to Texas. I love you and we should get married. 

xoxo Tessa    

Summer Time Drink

Picture from my instagram (laurydoodle)

Watermelon is currently my best friend, it tastes so good on it's own and also in the smoothies I've been making. As I write this I'm downing a good sized mason (actually kerr) jar of watermelon + strawberries + black iced tea (also a bunch of ice!). I've had so many of these this past week or so, I just want to live off of them.

The first few I had I left the pulp in, it was fine until I got to the end and all the pulp was there, so this time I strained it, and while it was a bit difficult but much more annoying I like it so much better! The end is now only sad because there is none left, and not because I don't want to drink it.

For awhile I never experimented with juices, it was just berries all the time, sometimes with mango, but that was it. I saw someone just drink watermelon on instagram, and I just could not wait to try it.

I decided to add in the iced black tea because it was either that or water or milk, and neither of the other options sounded good. If we had had apple juice I would not have hesitated at throwing some in.I'm very glad that I didn't pause with the tea. One of my personal beliefs is that tea will cure anything, you just have to find the right one.

xoxo Lauryn

Nails: Seduce Me from Chineglaze

The Art of War: A Knitter's Tale

Over the past week I've completed two knitting projects, with a total knit time of about 15 hours. Which is a totally normal time and week, if I had not done the projects all in one go.

The first project was a dishcloth that my mom now has and is currently using, this took me 5 hours. I watched a good amount of the West Wing while making it, even if I missed out on a very good portion of sleep to do it. That same Monday, Tessa was asked to make a diaper cover and bow tie set, thinking she had time she agreed and started on it. Although quickly finding out that her window of time to make them shrunk down to only a few days, I enlisted my help, and boy was it war!

I started the day before it was supposed to be done, and I finished the next day at nearly 5 o'clock, an hour after it was supposed to be done. I'm not sure where I hit the point in which I no longer cared about how it looked, as long as it looked done, but I hit it hard. I had messed up on a big portion of it and did the wrong stitch, instead of seed stitching I ribbed. I remember looking at this is a blank face trying to decide if I cared or not, it was hardly a battle.

I managed to finish it, and I'm honestly not sure how, I was very sleep deprived and the whole time is just a passing blur. My fingers hurt so much, what with the tiny ends of the needles poking into them so much, and my hands knew the movements so well I was sure that I would just keep knitting if I fell asleep. Which turns out to be untrue, for I did fall asleep and no knitting got done for several hours.

Lesson learned: DON'T TRY TO KNIT A PRETTY BIG THING THE DAY BEFORE. NO. DON'T DO IT. DO. NOT. DO. IT. DON'T TRY TO ATTEMPT IT. JUST DON'T. YOU ARE BEING RIDICULOUS. NOW.
Lesson for people who want other people to knit them things: I don't care how good of knitters they are, or how fast, GIVE THEM AT LEAST A WEEK TO KNIT THE THING. MORE IF IT'S A BIGER PROJECT OR MORE COMPLECATED. TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT AND SEE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE THEM. DON'T JUST ASSUME IT WON'T TAKE LONG. OR YOU HAD BETTER BE PREPARED TO PICK UP YOUR OWN SET OF NEEDLES AND GET TO WORK.

xoxo (gossip) Lauryn