Before we begin, I must say these last two days were my absolute favorite. It felt like Katie & Billy lived here with us (wishful thinking!) and we were on a big ol' double date. It just felt so right...if only I could convince them to move here...
Sunday evening began the tour de Houston. To us Houstonians, downtown is really no big deal. Maybe it's because we're used to it and take it for granted? Perhaps it's because downtown is nothing but one way streets and all it does it drive me bat sh*t crazy? Either way-it was so neat to see Katie and Billy's reactions when we'd pass by all the really big buildings! First, Ohio doesn't have rodeos. Second, it snows 90% of the year there and now, they don't have tall buildings?! Strike three, Ohio, yer out! ;) Kidding. But Billy is mildly obsessed with real estate of any kind so you could totally tell he was in his element when he saw the downtown skyline!
Beau and I really wanted them to capture every single thing about us and our hometown so we took them by U of H, Beau's frat house and even stopped for a photo op in front of the DZ house! (Where all my sisters at?!)
Dinner was devoured at the Downtown Aquarium. It's basically a HUGE aquarium with a restaurant inside. I've been here a few times a
lonngggg time ago and forgot just how cool it really is! Eating dinner next to sharks and sting rays?
Yes, please!
Dinner was followed up with beer tasting at The Yardhouse in City Center. Beau and I used to live right by this bar and spent several
hundreds of dollars in booze fun nights here so it was only appropriate we take them back there.
It goes without saying a fire, footie pjs and a movie (The Lucky One) were a necessity when we got back home. :)
Monday morning we showed Katie & Billy around the Galleria area did a little shopping (ahem-while the boys found a bar to booze at) and also where I surprised her with something I've been wanting to get her for a while now...
Sidenote: the only thing that sucks about having a DSLR camera is that NO ONE else knows how to use them. Sorry for the blurry pic...someone needs to teach that man in Kate Spade how to use a real camera! ;)
What's in the bag?!
Outside reads: "Birds of a feather. Two of a kind. Perfect fair. Partners in crime. Peas in a pod. Sidekick."
Inside reads: Best Friend Ever
I pinned this bracelet a LONG time ago and it was just the perfect time to get it for her. :) A little something we each have to remind ourselves of one another. Cheesy? Yes. But when you live SO far away from someone you feel like you've known for your entire life, you do what you can.
PS: She may or may not have shed a tear in the store. That Katie...she's a real softy! ;)
Aight-moving right along...
Following the Galleria was a stop at the infamous Waterwall...
Which also served as a perfect little photo session with Katie & Billhead! :)
Aren't they just the cayuustest?!
Our final destination for the trip was one last stop at the Houston Rodeo to see none other than THE Jason Aldean!
...but not before a very important poofing session in the parking lot...
(tutorial coming soon!) ;)
I think I speak for millions of women when I say there is absolutely NOTHING sexier than a man in ripped jeans, cowboy boots and a microphone in his hand. Beau-the only thing you're missing is a microphone. Get on that, mmmkay?! ;)
Tell me Katie & Billy don't make perfect little Texans?! (Except the tennis shoes, Billhead.)
I won't even go into detail about the airport situation the next morning. There were hugs, and tears, and tissues, and more tears, and it I hated
every. single. minute of it. Not because of fear of never seeing one another again (
because lezbehonest, we'll have another trip planned soon enough), but more so because truthfully, it downright
sucks to live thousands of miles away from someone like Katie. Someone who just gets you. Someone you are so different from yet have SO much more in common with. Someone who feels like your sister, even though you've officially only known each other for a couple of years and have only really met in person 3 times now.
Katie-it was so surreal having YOU in MY city. SO surreal! Waking up with you and Billy only a staircase away, sharing laughs on the front porch, sipping moonshine from a mason jar, crashing on the couch after a late night out, repeating one-liners from the Billhead ("Can we get some more tomatoes?"), getting ready together in the mornings and making ice coffee pit stops made me feel like you were a part of my everyday life and that the distance between the two of us didn't even exist. I cherish our friendship more than you know and am so very grateful this crazy blogging world brought you and Billy into our lives. We love and miss Y'ALL so so much! You don't even know. Come back soon, ya heard?! ;)
Whew! Mushy stuff ends here. Tomorrow you'll get to see little Miss Oakley's very first photoshoot. She's a little sassafras, y'all! I can't wait to show her off. ;) In the meantime, here's a little something to tide you over:
We can't get enough of her clumsy body and forehead wrinkles!
