Happy Quarter-of-a-Century-Birthday to ME!!

I turned 25 on Tuesday, November 16th... but I celebrate my birthday for pretty much the whole month of November, haha!

On the day before my birthday, Eric suggested that we have dinner at Mi Cocina (my favorite Mexican restaurant) for an early birthday dinner... little did I know, he organized a group of my friends that were all there to surprise me for a birthday celebration!! I had absolutely no idea-- it was SO much fun!!

On my actual birthday, I went to work and received some nice cards and sweet gifts from co-workers and employees. Then my little brother came and met me for lunch-- armed with a GIANT birthday balloon and cupcakes!! It was a fantastic birthday and I am so thankful for all of my family and friends who helped in making it so memorable :)

Not to mention... it was my first birthday as MRS. ERIC CANNON! I look forward to MANY more birthdays in the company of my amazing husband!

The Colors of Fall...

I absolutely love fall...

The trees are stunning. This fall is even more beautiful than usual in Texas because it has rained so much that all of the trees still have plenty of leaves!

This is a picture I took on my way to work... I had to pull over and snap a shot because it was just too beautiful to bypass!

Hey Good Lookin'...

Whatchya got cookin'?

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I'm blessed with a wonderful husband who is also a phenomenal COOK!! We love cooking together... I like the fact that we get to spend time together, and I LOVE eating his wonderful creations. I'm sure he likes spending time together, too, but mainly, he likes saving money by cooking at home. Either way, it's always a YUMMY treat!

This is one of our latest meals cooked together...

Apple wood smoked Pork Tenderloin
with mashed potatoes & a {little} whiskey diet :)

Wine and Dine!

Eric and I are good friends with a couple that lives in Dallas-- Jim and Rebecca. I wrote about Rebecca in my previous post (she was the one who attended the Holiday Hostess Soiree with me) and she is super fab! Her boyfriend is Jim, and he was Eric's partner in crime at TCU. They were in the same fraternity and they have stayed very close friends since their graduation.

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Because of the distance between us (Dallas is about an hour from Fort Worth) we can't see each other as frequently as we would all like, so we try to plan dinners together every other month or so. During our last dinner date, we went to a restaurant in Fort Worth off Bryant Irvin called Bonnell's (Fine Texas Cuisine) and it was

SUCH a great time!

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This time we went to a new restaurant in the West 7th district of Fort Worth called Tillman's Roadhouse. This place was INCREDIBLE. I loved everything about it, well... almost everything. It was a bit pricey, but other than the bill, I loved the decor, the food, the overall ambiance... everything else!

I'd say it was worth the price of the meal.

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For an appetizer, we all split the Trio Fries: a super tasty combination of Parmesan black pepper fries, chili dusted purple Peruvian fries, and salted sweet potato fries with various dipping sauces.

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For an entree, I ordered Venison Chile Frito Pie and Eric ordered the Wood Grilled Pork Tenderloin. Both were equally amazing.

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For dessert, we all split the Table Side S'mores... AKA: THE COOLEST THING EVER. They bring giant home-made marshmallows to the table with pieces of chocolate, gram crackers, roasting sticks, and a little fire pit! You literally roast your marshmallows at the table. It was SO much fun.

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I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone...

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and it's especially wonderful

when you're in the company of

{fabulous friends}.

Absolutely stunning decor...
I LOVE the combination of elegant and rustic.
{very fort worth}

Appetizer... Trio Fries!

Dessert... Table Side S'mores!
INCREDIBLE!!!!!

Roasting our mallows.

VERY yummy S'more!

Eric approves of the S'mores!

Awesome decor on the patio!

Eat, Drink & be Merry*

Well, it's that time again...

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The Holidays are upon us!

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One of my many favorite things about this time of year is the holiday parties! Whether I'm hosting or attending, holiday parties are the best way to reunite with friends, exchange gifts, share stories, spread cheer... and so much more! There's no better way to get into the holiday spirit!

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Lucky for me, The Texas Wedding Guide invited me and a guest to the 2nd annual Holiday Hostess Soirée, hosted by Design Guide Publications! The party was held in the Dallas Design District at a really amazing place called The Kitchen Source. (It's basically a super upscale retailer and design group for high-end kitchens, bathrooms, closets, etc. If you can dream it, they can do it. They have model kitchens, closets and bathrooms throughout the venue, and they are absolutely jaw dropping. I'm talking incredible-- like, $6,000 stove-top-ranges and $1,800 heated-drawers-in-your-closet-that-warm-your-towels kind of incredible.) Maybe one day I can call up The Kitchen Source and have a custom kitchen designed for me... but definitely not in the next couple years, haha!

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The Holiday Hostess Soirée has a couple different purposes:

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The most obvious purpose is to give ideas and inspiration to attendees to prepare them for their fabulous holiday parties and help them become the ultimate hostess.

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The less obvious purpose is to collect proceeds to benefit the

Dale Clark Scholarship Fund.

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I invited my beautiful friend, Rebecca Mason, to attend with me...

and we had a BLAST.

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There were free beverages, snacks, desserts... and so much more. We attended three "classes" during the course of the evening; the first was a "mixology" class to teach us how to make the ultimate beverages for our guests, the second was a cooking class hosted by the chef of the Magnolia in Dallas, and the third was a party planning class hosted by Ed Barrett of Signature Productions.

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We had such a wonderful time :)

Desserts were provided by

Donna at Opulent Cakes

(she did our wedding cakes!)

Happy Holidays :)