Life (Or What I'm Up To)

This past weekend:

-Brad's family visited
-Got a pedi in my favorite color, Essie Fiji (Put that on your toes and just try to have a bad day. Not possible.)
-Ate some Fort Worth Favorites: Los Vaqueros, steaks from Roy Pope's, and Black Forest cake from Swiss Pastry
-Discovered Beauty Brands along with their 1-liter sale. Expensive shampoo on the cheap. Good deal.
-Sat inside and soaked up the a/c. Air conditioning is one of God's blessings. Amen?!

I also have a couple of books that people around me have handed me to read. To be quite honest I've had them both for a while, and I can't get motivated to crack the covers. One of them is a bit controversial (The Shack) and the other is a book on grace by the current pastor of First Dallas. I will most likely to read the grace one first. I am dreading reading the other because I think the person who gave it to me said it was One of The Best Books They've Ever Read. I already know that I don't agree with that. I mean, come on, it's not written by Jane Austen. But both of them will probably be a good jumping off point for conversations with those that loaned them to me. So, I guess I should get started.

Now that I have rambled about putting off reading some books, my nail polish, and cake, surely one of these topics has sparked an opinion from you. I want to know: what your favorite nail color is OR whether you've read The Shack and think it's whack (or not) OR you think Swiss Pastry black forest is de-lish OR you agree that Jane Austen is the best OR a Hallelujah for A/C. Thank you Lord!

Hope you're having a good week!

A Boy and His Toys

A Boy and His Toys, originally uploaded by emgentry02.

Someone got an iPhone today...

In Which I Reserve the Right to Change My Mind

Well over a month ago I dragged Brad into Garden Ridge Pottery. I can't even remember why we were out and about, but he was kind and went into the store with me. While we were there, we stumbled across a sale on their large wall mirrors, which was great because I've been needing one for the house.

We bought what I deemed The Perfect Mirror, and once we got it home, I wasn't sure it was so perfect anymore. But of course, I wanted to sleep on it. (And it was huge and heavy, and it didn't seem like I was going to get much help or sympathy returning it to the store.)

The next day, I determined that I still loved the mirror, but now wasn't so sure of the table that sat below it. Luckily, I found another table in PB that would be perfect with the mirror. So now my bargain mirror was going to cost me an extra $400 to make the look complete.

Ridiculous, right?

So fast forward to Sunday. I was clearing out no man's land (that is, our 2nd guest room) and pulled the giant mirror back out. And looked it over again. And looked over the table again. I love them both. Together. Reunited and it feels so good. Brad hung it on the wall, and it's just what I want today.

We'll see what I think tomorrow. But for now I am just slightly irritated that I had a mirror that could've been hanging in my entry this entire time.

Tupinamba's: A New Aggie Tradition

Last week was a busy week with dinner with friends on Tuesday and our anniversary dinner on Wednesday night, among some other things we had going on.

Tuesday night I met a group of girls at Tupinamba's over in North Dallas. Tupinamba's has somehow become a tradition with a group of us over the past SIX (girls, can you believe that?) years. The location was introduced to us by the Reed's before they moved back to God's Country (Aggieland, of course). We met there as single girls, and then we met there as married girls. And Tuesday, we dwindled down one more as Mikalah and Jarrod prepare to fly south to Austin. We'll miss having them close by, but we'll be going to visit as often as they will let us!

One reason we love Tupi's (other than the delicioso Mexican food and the fantastic company of friends) is that it's an Aggie owned and operated establishment with menu items such as Shelby Metcalf cheese dip, the RC Slocum plate, and the t.u. Special (chicken tacos.) They also have other tasteful Aggie tributes in the dining room, along with other Aggie paraphernalia throughout the restaurant. Such as this:


You would think I would take some sort of group picture, but no. Instead, I have the lovely Laura pointing out the Ladies Room sign. Gig 'em!

Adventures in Bacon Cooking

The Best Turkey Bacon We've Ever Eaten!, originally uploaded by allen texas.

I watched a vegetarian cook bacon at my house this weekend, and I think that is pretty funny.

Why, you ask, did I make her cook the bacon? Simple. Because I burned almost an entire package trying. Apparently low to medium heat is a temperature concept I don't grasp very well. I've never cooked bacon before.

So thank you, Kylene, for teaching me how to cook bacon, although you will not eat it yourself. You are a good friend.

Piano Lessons

I grew up with a piano in my home. I grew up with a piano that was played a lot in my home. I had never contemplated life without access to one until I went off to college, where I had to trek to the MSC to a practice room if I wanted some quiet time to play. Since then, I've been without, playing when I can, with a stretch of violin lessons right after college in an effort to learn something a little more portable. Not quite the same, but fun anyway!

I'm now in a home of my own, and until this weekend, I hadn't realized just how much more that would make my house a home. Don't get me wrong--my house has been a home all along, but it seems more complete somehow now that I can sit down and reclaim a part of me that has been suppressed for many years at this point.

(My mother is probably reading this right now and saying, "And you fought me tooth and nail over those lessons. I told you so." It's true kids. Listen to your parents.)

Anyway, now that I have a piano of my very own, I am rediscovering something that has all but gone the way of the dinosaur--the Baptist hymnal. What beautiful words and melodies fill that book. The pages are laden with poetic truths of Jesus and his beauty, revere for the power of God working in the life of but simple people, and wisdom to seek Him with all your heart. One of my favorites is the first one I ever played for hymn festival (you played a hymn for a judge--kind of a competition, but really you just compete against yourself. And you got a ribbon!)

A discussion in my Sunday school class this past weekend really drove this home to me on reading God's word for just simple practicality of living a life that is pleasing to the Father, rather than dissecting for the purpose of theology only. I hope their beautiful simplicity will inspire you today as well.

Wonderful Words of Life
by Philip P. Bliss

Sing them over again to me
Wonderful Words of Life
Let me more of their beauty see
Wonderful Words of Life

Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty

Beautiful words, wonderful words
Wonderful words of life
Beautiful words, wonderful words
Wonderful words of life.

Why do birds suddenly appear?

Everytime you are near?

Just like me,
they long to be
close to you.

Happy 3rd Anniversary, with extra cheese. You are my favorite.

Love,
Emily

I Enjoy Yellow (and how it came to live on my walls)

I will first and foremost admit that I read quite a few blogs on home improvements and take in several magazines on home decor. I might watch a bit too much HGTV. All of this led to the Mellow Yellow Paintapalooza of '08.

It all started with a simple e-mail on Thursday, the 3rd. Disregard the subject because it is random.

From: Emily Gentry
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 9:52 AM
To: Gentry, Bradley W
Subject: RE: Bicycle

I am bitten by the home improvement bug today.

And from there, I managed to convince my husband that our home would never be perfect unless the guest bedroom were painted a lovely shade of butter yellow.

After paying Will Smith our annual July 4th movie tax, we headed to the Big Orange to discover a paint sale, much to our delight. In no more than 5 minutes, we had picked out The Perfect Yellow for the guest room. It resembled a color straight out of Pottery Barn's summer catalog--just perfect to go with the blue duvet in the front room. And then we began to paint.

Y'all. It was Big Bird Yellow.

OUCH!

It took us a wall and a half of "oh this is cheery" and "oh I bet it will look even better with a second coat" until it finally gave way to "oh no we can't possibly have a room this bright," and "I think the highway department needs their paint back to stripe the roads."

Back to Home Depot we went. After studying the paint swatches quite a bit longer this time, we chose a shade lighter, then thought better of it and chose one TWO shades lighter. It turned out to be exactly what I wanted.

Now that we're on this side of the holiday, and I have to say I learned a whole lot that weekend. Here's what I gained:

1. I enjoy a good home project with my husband. It's fun, and we make a good Team.
2. Move all the furniture out of the room you're painting because it will make life a lot easier in the long run.
3. If you disregard #2, remember where the paint can is when you decide to move a piece of furniture in the room. That was a messy lesson.

Josh Hamilton

Holy cow.

Good move Rangers. Good move.

Weekending

free wifi mittens, originally uploaded by dorywithserifs.

This weekend included some much needed time to just be, and I was so thankful for the downtime.

I made a great discovery on Thursday afternoon--I had more vacation days left for the year than I thought (praise the Lord!) so I decided to take Friday off. It was nice to sleep in with nothing else to do.

After lunch I took my car in to have the oil changed and the tires checked because one of my tire sensor lights was lit up. One thing in particular I enjoy about the dealership I go to is they have free WiFi. (And for the record, why don't more places provide that service? It's a cheap and easy way to score Customers.) So it was nice to sit there for an hour on my MacBook, instead of watching the Tyra show. And my new car has officially been welcomed to our under construction neighborhood--the tire light was on due to a nail.


Saturday we picked up my piano in Corsicana with the help of my parents to load and Laura and Erich to unload. Thank you again for the great help, Erich! We made Cindy's homemade ice cream and had a good visit with them. After that, I stayed up until almost midnight playing through old music. Feels like home.

Sunday included a good morning at the Lord's house and a not so good lunch at Mexico Real. I finished off the afternoon hanging with Alisia at her pool. Good times!

More Summer Nights

We love our town. There is always something fun to go and do, between the great museums, fun restaurants, and just all around fun people. Last Thursday night Brad and I went to 'Stars Under the Stars' in Sundance Square. Almost every Thursday night since summer began, Sundance Square has been showing movies out on a big screen at the Chisolm Train parking lot. That night's feature was Spiderman, which I had never seen before. It was so fun! I didn't think I would enjoy a "comic book movie" but was pleasantly surprised. Don't you just love hometown happenings?

Summer Nights

Someone in my house is very into Black Gold on truTV. They are following two teams of roughnecks out in West Texas who are in a race to strike oil. We are cracking up at some of their comments...like "he's one of these kind of kids whose been to college so he thinks he's smart. He scored 800 to a million on his SAT so he's real smart. So he doesn't think he needs to listen..." There's one kid called Peanut who looks about 12. Anyway, if you haven't caught it, it might be worth setting your tivo for a rainy day.

So, what random summer shows can you not get enough of while you're soaking up the air conditioning (or waiting for The Office to come back)?

Independence Day Weekend

FireWorkS, originally uploaded by ♥ForUrEyeZOnly♥.

I just finished up some household tasks that have me ready to face the week. I don't know if you have specific areas of your house that, if clean, make you feel so much better. Mine is for sure the kitchen and the laundry basket. The sink and counter tops are shiny, the pantry and fridge are fully stocked, and as for the laundry, I just have a few more things to hang up, and I'm good to go.

Right now I'm watching Extreme Home Makeover, and they are building a home for a Marine who was permanently injured in Iraq. It is sure to be a tear jerker. I am so thankful to live in a country with such a rich fabric of heroism and service to one another woven into its history.

We did quite a lot this weekend. For one, we painted our guest room. To our past and future guests, your room is now a pleasing shade of yellow. That was Quite.An.Adventure. that I'll save for later this week. Thursday afternoon we started off the weekend with a showing of Hancock. It was pretty good, but beware of bad language. I also went to Canton on July 4th early in the morning with Sherry. We got some great deals and had a great time!

We have the great pleasure of living in a neighborhood with fantastic view of downtown Fort Worth so we sat at the top of the big hill and took in about 3 or 4 fireworks shows across the city like Concerts in the Garden, the Fort Worth Cats game, and some from TCU stadium from what we could tell. It was fun and so nice to stay out of any traffic. That night we ate at Star Cafe in the Stockyards. I think it's our new favorite.

I hope you had a great long weekend! God bless America!

A Short History of Carmex and Me

Carmex was a staple in my house growing up (and still is), but I didn't like sticking my finger in the little pot. I also didn't like getting glue on my fingers in elementary school. (Actually--let's be real--I still don't like getting grossness on my fingers, but that is another post for another day.)

Next came the squeeze tube. It was too gooey. And the taste--no way! Then along came the click stick. I personally feel that it was a huge step forward for Carmex, except now the taste was waxier than before. Then they added a cherry flavor to the line up. Cough syrup, yuck. Well, finally, the makers of Carmex have gotten it right with new strawberry flavored Carmex in the stick form. It is perfection in a medicated lip balm that is almost as good as Lipsmacker. You heard it here.

Find it in the pharmacy of your local discount superstore.

(If I have already told you about strawberry Carmex in person, thanks for listening again. Can you tell I ♥ strawberry Carmex?)

Attention Andy Griffith Fans

Matlock is in the latest Brad Paisley video 'Waitin' on a Woman.' It's very sweet. If you don't like it, well then you have issues that just can't be helped by this blog.