A Hippopotamus for Christmas

Woohoo - I got my very own Hippo Hero for Christmas!! Sure, I was excited about the new DSLR and I managed to actually surprise Mr Price with his new watch (he thought he was getting a computer)... but seriously...



If you don't know the song, you really should hear it.....

Merry Christmas from Family

Meredith, Kim, Madeleine, Matt, Daddy, Mom, Joe, Emily

Do you believe in Santa?

Joe does.

11 Gruene Years

Because nothin' really says the holidays like Jerry Jeff Walker at Gruene Hall the weekend before Christmas -- This year marks the 11th year of the Shrum-Jones families getting together for a racus weekend of family bonding. A fantastic gift exchange (thanks, Home Depot) capped off my jell-o shots & jingle bells.

And yes, the moms are still dressing all of us the same for the weekend. Even the wee ones:

The group has grown quite a bit over the years... The more the merrier cetainly proved true in this case

The Cookie-thon

An annual tradition is born! Thanks ladies, for a magnificent time. Impressive effort making the neighborhood smell like fresh-baked cookies for blocks. See you next year!

Biff

Quite possibly one of the coolest chance-encounters ever: Who knew that hanging out at the Driskoll Bar we would meet the Mr. Biff Henderson!
Such a cool guy -- didn't realize he was from North Carolina. They were in town doing work for Habitat for Humanity.

Now if only I can meet Sarajul and Mujibar....

Messing with the Magi

A year-long lesson in over-committing. Cattle Baron's Ball ended last May.

A Christmas Affair: The Gift of the Magi raised ~$750k for local charities which is fantastic.

Here, with my fellow Ticket & Marketing committee. What was the gift of the Magi you ask? That this year of over committing to community service and fund raising finally ended! I love SafePlace, American Cancer Society and all the great stuff Junior League does for the community, but I think all three in a 10 month span is a bit much. Everything in moderation, right?

I have no idea what I will do with all this free time and lack of stress now that they're all over. I do know, however, that I will be placing a note by my phone that says "no, sorry I can't" to remind me next time.

Girls' Night Out

Seriously… what is it that makes rickshaws so much fun?! Other than a couple bottles of champagne between old friends, of course.



Brittany, come home more often!!

I cannot remember the last time I was at Magnolia late night, but I'm pretty sure it was with you and probably about 8 years ago...

If you’re tired, you TAKE a Nap-a, you don’t GO to Napa…

Okay, so it's actually 'MOVE' to Napa, not just 'GO'... and it's 'tired of New York' not just tired in general... but I think I could move to Napa. If I had to leave Austin, that is. I am not however, tired of New York. Just thought we should visit the other coast.

So Happy Birthday to me! We had a fantastic time in the Napa Valley touring Chandon, Cakebread (our favorite), lunch at V. Sattui, and Silver Oak. Sonoma was lovely too—much nicer weather and the company of Brett & Angie. The wineries we toured left something to be desired... La Crema was a big disappointment but we Hook and Ladder is a new favorite (in spite of the cranky lady who worked there).

Again we were reminded of what a small little world it is: we stepped into the basement at V. Sattui to get out of the dripping rain and -surprise- ran into Paula, Alice and Jenn. Although Joe was with them all week at work- no one managed to mention to the others that they were heading to California for the weekend. So we traveled 2,000 miles to hang out with the same folks we left behind.

Capping off our wine tasting were fantastic nights out in downtown Palo Alto and a silly night out in San Fran with Brett & Angie and Brittany & Tim.

We’re still impressed with your fantastic parking skills, Brett! They’re crazy, crazy.