Dallas Days & Austin Nights

Beau and I took a trip to Austin and New Braunfels to float the river and visit some friends. My office has introduced Summer Hours on Fridays, which means I get a hand full of 1/2 days until October! So, we kenneled the dogs (tugs at our hearts every time) and headed down to Austin. We were at El Arroyo, my FAVORITE mexican restaurant, in time for Happy Hour and met our friends Pam, Parm and Bobby for dinner. Delicious crab enchiladas - my mom and I get them every time we eat there!

After that, we headed to the Lustre Pearl, Austin's coolest new outdoor bar for a couple of beers and to meet my friend Patsy, whom I haven't seen since the wedding! It's been too long and we had SO much catching up to do. It was great seeing everyone!

Saturday morning, we headed down to New Braunfels to meet our friends Nikki and Brad for some lunch and then off to the Comal River! Twice! Since the Comal is the world's shortest river, we were able to hop on the bus and go for Round 2! Which wasn't pretty. It was a hysterical time and plenty "you had to be there" stories but it involved Beau's McGyver-like rigging of the beer tube (just give him some nylon rope and watch him go!), shoes and coolers, a blender-like motion of water that the 4 of us were sucked into after one of the tube chutes, toppling over in tubes, 2 rescues by my dear husband, a really bad cut on my finger and Nikki injuring her arm. A great time had by all! And afterward, an AMAZING dinner at the Gristmill! Our next trip may just be a tour of my favorite central Texas restaurants!

Days go by....

I have that Keith Urban song in my head right now. Maybe because I've been thinking of all the time that has passed since I last updated this. Here are some things that have happened since we last chatted:

A/C kicked the bucket - in June!
Brinkley, Shelby and I were homeless for a full week! It seemed so much longer while I was going through it all since Beau was traveling and each day I thought was moving back home. So I never packed more than a days worth of clothes. We stayed at Nick and Annie's 1 night (or was it 2?) and then A Loft (a W hotel) the rest of the week. It was fun to be in the hotel but stressful with the doggies since the hotel made it clear that barking could result in them inviting me to leave ;-) In the end, we have a great new A/C system! A big THANK YOU to Nick/Annie to offering their home to my crazy pack. :-)

Family Reunion - July 4th weekend - Omni Ft. Worth
What a great weekend in Ft. Worth with the fam! We had delicious meals, fun conversation and an incredible fireworks show. Uncle Jimmy arranged rooms at the brand new Omni hotel and also had us set up in one of the newly finished condos to watch the fireworks show. It was a beautiful night and we were on a corner balcony with a great view! Added treat: we were able to see about a dozen other shows in the distance since the night was so clear. Four thumbs up from the Reynolds!


Rahr Brewery/Roger Creager
Our friends Ken and Karl celebrated their birthdays at Rahr Brewery in Ft. Worth and what a fun day it was to be out with friends drinking good beer! We had pizza at Mellow Mushroom afterward and then headed off to see Roger Creager, my favorite!! The night didn't necessarily "improve" since Beau (and Whit and Thea) ended up on a mechanical bull, I angered some fellow concert goers and we got a noise complaint at our hotel later (really?? we were all old and in bed by midnight).

Mama came to visit!
What a perfect weekend with Mama! We were busy, busy with running errands, eating til we were miserable and getting the second guest bedroom outfitted with extra touches before Ma comes to visit in September for her Birthday!! I can't wait for that weekend:-) If anyone has any ideas of cute retirement areas in DFW for 2 resistant-to-changes parents, send them my way! ;-)

Beau's B-day - Aug 16
We are having a little party at the house for Beau's birthday/our housewarming! I am getting excited and just hope the house (and the menu) will come together by then.

Yay for my new dining room table! Boo to my ugly landscaping. We have really been working hard to get the house complete. But I'm realizing that a house is never "complete". There are always new projects and things I will want to spruce up. [sigh]

Launch of the new TCF Facebook page!
At the office, we have been working tirelessly to get the latest campaign up and running for The Cheesecake Factory! We have been watching the fan count increase dramatically over the past several weeks! The incentive? A chance to win a trip to Vegas for you and NINE friends!! How exciting. I haven't had much time to think about that though since we are pushing full force ahead toward our Drive Out Hunger Tour that kicks off 8/31 to assist Feeding America. What's not to love about a cross-country tour to fight hunger in America. It's been quite a ride! ;-)

ReyRey needs a break

For those of you who don't know, Rey Rey is us (the wedding was commonly referred to as 'ReyRey '09' by my friends)...

We have been crazy busy recently and I have so many updates (and not many pictures, ugh)...here it goes:

The house was struck by lightning. Yep, 2 months after living here, at 5:30 in the morning we awoke to the loudest explosive lightning noise ever! Thank God Beau was home! We have had a good amount of damage - the biggest being wall fixtures blew off the walls. Oh, and our electronics are fried. I couldn't have taken care of everything w/o Beau here! He has been in town the past 2 weeks so he took care of scheduling the insurance adjuster, Verizon Fios, an electrician, etc. We are still waiting to hear back on the electronics but the Insurance company was very speedy to get the first check cut. At the end of the day, we are so blessed the house didn't catch on fire!! Looking at the damage, one can't help but wonder how we didn't have a fire. We have singed black areas around light fixtures, the pieces that blew off the walls and the mirrors in the master bath. We are so fortunate! :-)

Then, a week later, we had ANOTHER storm, which blew down a piece of our fence. So, Beau spent the past 2 days putting up a brand new 8 ft. fence - and it's awesome!! He and his dad did such quality work and it was about 98 degrees yesterday so they deserve a big high 5 and a vacation after that! I do think we have pictures of the new fence although I'm just devastated that I don't have pictures of my hottie husband in his cowboy hat, shades, big tool belt and massive power tool in his hand - so hot!! :-)

My Birthday was last week and Beau threw me a surprise party in Uptown! He is the sweetest man :-) I thought we were going down there for dinner and having drinks first but when we walked into Blackfriar, many of my friends were there to greet us and we had a great time! Not too shabby for a weekday Birthday! He gave me my very first "Happy Birthday to my Wife" card ;-) I will save it forever (unless of course I lose it, which tends to happen with me).

Beau also gave me a Blackberry Storm, which turned out to be my B-day present! I don't think he was planning on it but this is what happens when lightning strikes your house the day before your Birthday and you don't have A/C or TV. We were bored and hot so we went shopping! I still can't text on it. So, if I don't write you back - that's why...

My friend Brooke is in town from New Zealand, her first trip back home since she moved almost a year ago. It was great to see her! Beau and I went to a BBQ at Chris and Hailey's to welcome her back and then I went on a much-needed girls weekend trip to Brooke's parents' lake house. Everything was perfect and we had so much fun. I think I found the place that Beau and I should retire (next year)...

We call her Brookie of the Year:













Beau starts traveling again - for 4 weeks. This time will probably be the hardest for me - he's going to training in CA Mon-Fri and gets in late Fridays - then back out first thing Mondays. He is so fortunate though b/c they furloughed 40-50 consultants in his company so he is very lucky to have a job after being on the bench. And then they have a project for him after that. His Manager fights so hard for him and we are so lucky for that. Not to mention, his Manager Mark and his wife got us the coolest wedding gift! It's this hi tech blender (like you see in William-Sonoma) w/ several margarita mixes! It's awesome and quite a coincidence since Beau recently broke his old one making a protein shake. We love Mark and Cathy and are very lucky to have someone working so hard for Beau!

My Mom received the wedding pictures she purchased!! Here are some of them - what an amazing night/weekend!!!

Ceauch Beau

I guess Beau is bored. The wedding, honeymoon, new house, traveling weekly for work, new puppy and high maintenance wife just aren't enough for ole Beau. He is now the Coach of a Men's baseball team!! 30 year-old-ish men running around in baseball pants re-living their high school/college days for 9 innings - and he is the head (and only) Coach! I'm teasing and am so proud of him :-)

My goodness - never a dull moment around the Reynolds house. More to come on the Monster's, I mean Brinkley's, preferences of chew toys (i.e. my new area rug, his new bedding and my baby Shelby).

;-)
xoxo

Share the Celebration - The Cheesecake Factory style

I never really talk about work here. So, here we go, ode to the place where I spend the majority of my life and the people I see more than my beloved husband and dogs.

We are getting busier and busier at work, which is a great problem to have in this down economy. The Cheesecake Factory is more committed than ever to invest in their brand, engage with their guests and do what it takes now to make their future better than ever. And yours truly is all about that!!

We are the Agency of Record (AOR) for The Cheesecake Factory (TCF) so every living, breathing idea, project, dream and promotion comes through my department, Client Partnership (CP). There are now 4 of us in CP for TCF - we started out just Heather and me - so they HAVE gotten us help :-) We then manage every single deliverable, budget, creative brief, etc. until the Client is happy and everything is out the door or gone 'live'.

Our most recent promotion for Q2 was Share the Celebration (STC), where we produced a microsite, sweepstakes, emails, display, paid search, in-restaurant collateral, bouncebacks and direct mail to support the initiative.

Boooo - I was going to include a screen shot of the microsite but Beau's mac won't let me :-( Oh well, time for bed anyway. My 14 hour work day is O-V-E-R and I have to take Brinkley to the vet tomorrow to get neutered & then begin this routine all over again. Maybe Brinkley will be more chill now that he's 1/2 a man....Sad that work has now become the LEAST stressful part of my day. ;-)

BEAU COMES HOME TOMORROW!!! :-) G'night.

Meet Brinkley!

I would like to introduce the newest member of our family, Brinkley Reynolds! He's a 9 month old Field Springer Spaniel and he is the love of Beau's life :-) We were looking for a hunting dog and decided on this breed b/c of their size and how great they are around kids. He still has a lot of puppy in him but he's too gorgeous for me to get too upset with him :-) He loves Beau's shoes and my bras but he is such a lover and eager to please.

We found him through a Field Springer hunting seminar that Beau found. The Springer Rescue place was taking so long to get back to us and Beau wanted to see what it was all about. I didn't really think we would come home with a dog! It was an amazing experience. There were about 30 people there, all with springer and shotgun in hand. The dogs were all so disciplined and seemed to truly love the sport of hunting. Brinkley (full name Kantagree Brinkley) comes from an amazing blood line, his parents and grandparents have all received the master level of open field something or other. Who knows but we ate it up ;-) It's all hunting related but it might as well be show dog stuff b/c he's SO pretty!

Beau gave Brinkley his first haircut today and what a stunner! He's SO soft! He and my Shelby are getting along beautifully, now that she has proven that this is her house and that he's merely an extended-stay guest ;-)

Dr. Amanda Elaine Caldwell

Amanda graduated with her Ph.D. this weekend! Her doctorate is in Experimental Psychology (don't ask me any other questions - it's complicated!). We spent the weekend in Fort Worth for her graduation and it was so special! I loved every moment of being with her and honoring her achievements!

Beau and I also LOVE Fort Worth and can both see ourselves moving there someday. Hence, my boot purchase!! They are amazing! Maybe Dr. Caldwell and Andrew will let us move in with them and take care of us for the rest of our lives. Maybe not.

I loved being with our parents and Andrea too. Miss them all so much. I could get used to seeing them every couple of weeks (or days)! I will post pictures as soon as I have them. Oh, you've heard that before from me? I know. I also said I would post more about the honeymoon and wedding but I haven't :-( Worst blogger ever. But it's still my plan.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Beau and I are planning for an exciting Memorial Day weekend here in town with friends, adopting a rescue dog and continuing projects on our new home! Meanwhile, I will continue to stare at the wedding pics just posted by the photographer :-)

Congratulations Amanda!!! The only good thing about not being there with you anymore is that I'm not crying and crying tears of joy! What an emotional day! SO proud of you! xoxo

Back to Reality

I know, I know, I said I would tell more Tahiti stories. But I'm tired. We made it back to Dallas - just in time to discover that Shelby is sick :-( Poor baby. We took her to the vet and he thinks it's stomach troubles. This too shall pass ;-)

I still owe you wedding stories - I LOVE my memories of my wedding day and do need to put them down here but want to put pictures with my blog post. Sooo, more to come on that later.

We began painting the house today! Hooray!! The UGLY colors are finally becoming 'our' colors, a process for which I have never taken part. I love the color shopping aspect, not so much the painting part. I will blog about those colors w/ pictures too once we get it the way we want it.

Good night...[yawn]

Story Time.....

I have to move fast b/c our internet card only lasts 24 hours!

Yesterday we took a tour of the interior of the island by Land Rover. We went with 2 other couples and became fast friends. The guide took us up winding mountains, which was terrifying at times but the views were so worth it! This place is gorgeous from all angles and we took pictures of all of it and still didn't feel like we were capturing all of the island's beauty! On the tour, we also saw an ancient Temple, fruit plantations, the area of the island where Marlon Brandow shot the movie where he met his Tahitian wife (the name of the movie has escaped us). We ended the trip at a distillery where we took about 5 shots of the various liquor they make on the island - all a huge ploy to get the tourists to buy, buy, buy. Soooo now our bath tub looks like a college frat party. But you really can't beat coconut rum and fresh pineapple juice! Beau even recommended drinking it for breakfast - slow down sister.

When we arrived back from the tour, it was time for our couples massage! Everything was so clean and professional, just like in the states! It was well worth - not to mention we received 50% off. Maybe we should go again today... :-)

I love the locals here. They take such great care of their island and themselves. We are staying on the island of Moorea and it's so clean. There is no litter anywhere, they don't use plastic or Styrofoam and none of the homes really have "junk" hanging around. They are proud and I wish I could learn more about this place. I will have to do some research when we get back. We learned some on our tour yesterday but their English can be very broken and what I did learn only made me want to know more.

Tonight we are taking a sunset cruise, which I am looking forward to! We are also snorkling and feeding creatures tomorrow so I will blog on that too.

Nana!! (goodbye!!)
xoxo

Bonjour from Tahiti!

We have been here for 4 days now and I still can't believe the scenery around us. Everywhere you look, it's just breathtaking! Beau bought me a wireless card from the front desk just so I could blog! :-) The combination of the beautiful scenery and the French being spoken around us is incredible! So beautiful.

I'm a little overwhelmed with so much to say and only wish I had been blogging since our first day here. Maybe later. Prepare yourself for rambling....

A few quick notes about our trip so far:

Business class on Air Tahiti was wonderful! We landed and I didn't want to get off the plane. It was my first time to fly in a plane with 2 aisles AND chairs that lay almost flat AND where each seat has it's own flat screen TV. I'm in love. It makes an 8 1/2 hour flight seem like no time at all. I kind of can't wait to fly back ;-)

We are staying in an above water bungalow and it's fantastic!! I really thought we would experience no A/C, bugs, minimal luxuries - but OH NO! This place looks like it was just remodeled yesterday w/ beautiful hardwood floors, oh-so-clean everything, heavenly king size bed and a glass bottom in the living area that lights up at night! The back deck is very private with lounge chairs, a granite counter top table to eat room service food (which we have done and it's amazing) and bottom level deck to sun bathe and swim and snorkel from. It even has a shower where you can rinse off. Even better than all this is the modern bathroom with one of those 'rain' shower heads, granite floors, a stand alone, gorgeous tub and 2 sinks where the bowl sits on top of the counter. Too cool. Oh, it comes equipped with a flat screen TV too but the only English channel is CNN and Beau doesn't want one bit of reality in this room ;-) The room also has remotes for everything - how lazy can one be? I have figured it out!!

I'm telling you all this b/c I sincerely recommend this place to ALL my family and friends - it's truly amazing!

More to come on our delicious meals, the great 4X4 tour of the inside of the island we took today, tomorrow's sunset cruise, snorkeling, our couples' massage, the locals and their pride of this island, the shopping we did today, and Saturday's feeding of some kind of fish (can't remember the name). We have been here 4 days and I still can't believe my eyes. We are so blessed to be able to make this trip and I only hope that everyone gets to see a place like this at least once in your lives!

Love you all! I'm homesick for my Shelby :-( And I just finished a book where the characters have stayed with me. I keep thinking about them and feel like I have lost friends. :( You know you have found a good book when that happens. It's called The Help. Another thing I recommend to everyone. Ok, Mahana!! (no idea what that means).

xoxo

Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds!!

We did it! And it was perfect! I will blog much much more about the wedding, preparation and events leading up to the big day when I have more time and pictures. But here I will tell you that Beau and I kicked off our 24 hours of travel in style! He is so good to me and in addition to 1st class travels, he purchased 2 passes to the Admiral's club! Both for the 3 hour layover in Dallas and the 6 hour layover at LAX (where I am soaking up the free wifi at this very moment!). It feels good to be back on a computer - I haven't used one since the office this past Wednesday. However, I look forward to not using one again for another week!

You can't miss what you don't know and I fully expected to pass this 6 hours by sitting with the common folk in the main areas (I hope you get that's a joke) and scanning the crowd for celebrities. But now I know there is a-whole-nother world called the Admiral's Club where jetsetters pass their time being waited on and sitting in massage chairs. Drinking complimentary coffee and using oh-so-clean-you-can-eat-off-them restrooms. Beau has spoiled me!

I love you, Beau Reynolds and I never expect to sit in airport common areas again, wait....that's not what this blog is about. I love you and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!!! <3

New Home Owners!

Well, we did it! We are officially first time home owners and are also officially living in our lovely new home! We closed Thursday afternoon, after a couple of days of fear that we may not get funded until our wedding week - not good since we had to be out this weekend.

We moved in yesterday (ALL day) and we are LOVING the new home! I love all the space and all the natural light! Beau loves the surround sound throughout the house (ok, I'll admit, it's pretty cool) and he loves the garage! I can't blame him. Shelby is loving her new doggie door and the freedom that comes with it. I'm loving it too. She's a chronic in-and-outer. It's annoying.

We broke the cardinal rule for new home owners and that is that we headed to Lowe's first thing this morning. Ok, I just made up that rule but it should be written into the closing documents that the buyer(s) will not visit Lowe's or Home Depot the first several months of owning. You WILL spend money and think that you can remodel the entire thing all at once. I had to stand back and take a breath after we were considering a new front door, paint for several rooms, new door knobs and hardware, and a new front porch light (we did get this). We are loving the 'burbs so far - everyone is so nice and neat-looking - their 2+ kids too!! ;-)

Wedding Update: OMG we are getting married exactly 1 week from now! Where did the time go? We are so excited but lots to do at work still. Our bags are all packed, ceremony programs are going to press Monday, weddings songs have been edited and are about to be sent to the band, and all outfits have been finalized!

Happy Easter!