LONG WEEKEND

We're going on a little road trip to Austin for the weekend, where we're bound to spend a lot of time on the water. Clay is itching to go windsurfing again, and I'm weary. I really should try it again, even though I've suffered the embarrassment of having to be rescued by two nice citizens on a boat when I couldn't figure out how to sail upwind.

I snapped these shots at a lake a little outside of San Antonio when we attempted to go fishing with the dog, who went absolutely berserk. I swore to myself I would never take her to the lake in the near future, but here we are taking her again. Hopefully she'll fare quite well, since fish won't be involved.

Hope you get to enjoy a good, long weekend!

A FEW FROM LONDON

That had to be one of my favorite breakfasts in London, even if it was at a French cafe in smack inside England. I adored everything about it. The way the sunlight hit the fresh flowers and spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto our skin.

The warm cappuccino paired with the light, flaky dessert filled with fruit and dusted with sugar.

And of course the tea, which was perfectly London, despite the fact that we were in the French cafe.

Happy Wednesday to you. :) 

FIVE

Well, our tiny squirt reached the mature age of 35 yesterday (five in puppy years), and she celebrated by sliding all over PetSmart's glossy floors on the hunt for two squeaky new toys. 

She picked out this starburst thing that resembles a yellowish-orange sun with soft spikes of pink felt sprouting all over the surface, along with a green furry dog with squeakers in all four legs, just about proportionate to her own size.

The sun thing is un-originally named Sunny (sorry husband...even though my initial suggestion, "Starburst," was equally unoriginal). The green dog is named Boy.

Xena is currently nestled with Boy, who I assume is her new favorite boyfriend.

Happy Birthday, sweet thing. :)

OUTSIDE & INSIDE THE LOUVRE

What a magnificent building..."Magnifique!", as I was taught to say. 

Happy Wednesday to you. :) 

BIRTHDAYS & THINGS

Hey! How was your weekend?

I've been quiet around here with a lot of things going on, including the likes of jalepeno eating contests, my parents coming into town, my dad celebrating a birthday (meaning banana tres leches birthday cake!), sewing wedding veils, painting wedding signs, etc. Very productive outside my corner of the internet, if I do say so myself!

Fortunately, I wasn't personally involved with the jalepeno contest as a mere spectator. But...ew. I would probably forfeit after eating 1/8 of a jalepeno. On the flip side, I was VERY involved with the cake-eating process.

My parents just left a couple of hours ago, and I'm thinking things will settle down again. It's always bitter sweet, if you know what I mean. Anyway...this is going to be a super quick post, seeing as the boy just got home and is currently sprawled out on the bed watching Suits. I keep hearing him mutter things out loud, which most likely indicates that I'm missing a pretty good episode. And with that, off I go again!

A FEW FROM PARIS

Thought I'd share a few pretty sights straight from the heart of Paris today.

I adored staring up at the architecture of the apartments, munching on macaroons at shops like Laduree, and cooling off with chocolate gelato in the heat.

I love how chic women are here. In this city, I couldn't help but feel easy and breezy with loose tops, messy buns, and leggings. You should have seen how ultimately flattered I was when a French woman mistook me for a Parisian. That only happened once though.

Paris...you are lovely.

And as for the rest of you lovlies, I hope you have a great rest of the day!

LITTLE LADY

Dawh, she's kinda cute, huh? 

I recently changed my morning routine by attempting to wake up significantly earlier than I used to and go running before the sun reaches boiling temperature. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to take Miss Xena on the runs since she decides to take the time to stop and smell the roses. Every. Single. Corner. Or mailbox. Whichever is closest.

So, after my morning runs (which I'm somehow learning to love, by the way), this little lady and I play ball in the shade.

She has way too many gross, deteriorating tennis balls that have to be enthusiastically flung into the grass so she can gallop off in glee towards them. I gotta give it to her, though. This is one tough girl that can actually hustle, as my husband says.

It's funny what your dog can show you about being a go-getter. :)

LILY OF THE VALLEY

Well, how was your weekend? :)

Ours felt like when Clay and I first started dating in high school, complete with a dinner and a movie afterward, except a bit more grown-up this time. Minus our hands covering most of our faces during World War Z. The boy claims he was worried for Brad Pitt.

On the total opposite spectrum from zombies, here's something that's finally wrapping up that I've been working on. Remember this post? Yes, it's been edited, re-edited, scrutinized, and touched up until we got to a pretty good stopping point.

Photo, layout, writing, and logo design by Danielle Selby

TWO LOVES

Hi guys!

Phew, it's been a while, hasn't it? I finally returned back home to my lonely husband (he probably wasn't lonely at all, ha!), and I brought a few things back, including Miss Puppy and cherished photos on my camera that are impatiently waiting to be edited so they can be in the hands of their rightful owners.

Meet Hanna and Gringo, who just got married less than two weeks ago!

Hanna is one of my childhood best friends. Since my mom is Filipino (and both of hers are from the Philippines), we had an instant connection. She beat me in tennis throughout high school, shared a hilarious trip to California with me for the first time as 17-year-olds, was my roommate in college for our first year at Texas Tech, baked me cupcakes when I had to stay up in interior design studios all night long to finish up projects, cried with me over heartbreaks, and laughed hysterically with me until our stomachs couldn't endure it anymore.

Hanna met Gringo five years ago (I think that's right...), and they're been in a long-distance relationship up until two weeks ago, when he finally arrived in the heat of Texas from the heat of the Philippines to marry his love. 

It's hard for me not to choke up while I edit photos of two people who mean so much to me. But then again, I'm an emotional wreck a lot of the time. You know how that is, ladies...especially when you see two people who love one another so much. 

Hanna, thank you for everything you've ever done for me! What a beautiful person you are, inside and out. And Gringo, it was SUCH a pleasure to finally meet you. You couldn't be more perfect for Hanna. All the best in your exciting journey together.

THREE FROM ROME

Hope you guys had a great weekend and are having a good start to the week. :) I went back home to Abilene to pick up our dog, whom I have yet to see. Meanwhile, I got to see my parents, my sister (who has the most relaxing shower, bathroom, and master bedroom ever), and some dear friends of mine.

I'm trying to gulp down all this relaxation time before waking up to reality and getting myself back to San Antonio. Until then, I'll stay perched next to this big, open window and work while listening to the lulling sounds spanish guitar and the my sister's dogs quietly sleeping.

Hope you have a great day!

TRAVEL BUDDIES

I was happily stuck with two loves during most of my time in Europe: my big sister and my man friend.

One I get to see again tomorrow, and the other I have to leave in order to retrieve this. Is it pathetic that my husband and I look at pictures of her on our phones to ease the pain of her absence? This is the longest we've been away from our hairy little monster!

Say bonjour to smily Michelle perched outside the Louvre in Paris.

And ciao to a hot (pun intended) and tired Clay inside the Colosseum in Rome.

Have a great weekend, guys!

TWO FROM SPERLONGA, UNEDITED

My sister hanging out on the beach, in addition to the waves. This place was so pretty, it didn't need to be edited.

Ahh, and that water!! Barely a grain of salt in it compared to the waters I've ever swum in.

Questo è il mio paradiso! (This is my paradise, according to Google Translate in Italian). :)