photos

thursday thoughts: friendship in pictures

One of my best friends will be in town this weekend! So beyond excited!  Everyday we should celebrate the special friendships we have. 🙂  Take time to appreciate those special people you have in your life…

friends forever

sleepy cat and dog friends

best friends

cs lewis friendship quote   girlfriends

polar bear and wolf friendsdog best friends

Red Bud Isle: where dogs (and people) roam free

Over the weekend, Nate & I spent the day in Austin.  After getting some lunch and meeting up for a short shopping stint with my Aunt & cousin, we wanted to kill a couple of hours… but didn’t have any clue of what we wanted to do.  So we drove.  I pulled out my phone and was like “let’s go here” and pointed to some random island near Lake Austin.  So it was completely by chance that we stumbled upon Red Bud Isle.

panoramic2

As soon as we parked (which FYI, parking is limited), we soon figured out this place was devoted to man’s best friend.  Basically it’s an island where dogs can roam free, off leash.  (Unfortunately, we didn’t have our little furball with us, but we plan on bringing her sometime soon.)

path

There’s lots of random paths and trails. Totally not uncommon to just see dogs chasing each other through the woods.

water

So serene.

rocks

IMG_1480 _ lightened

This was my favorite spot.  At the very tip of the island, there is a tree and all of it’s roots are exposed.

tree at red bud trail

My favorite picture.  Sigh.

tree roots

Of course I had to add some pictures of our furry friends we met.

water doggie

This dog below is Sidney. She’s 14. What a doll.  I can only wish I look that good at 98.

sidney

So if you and your pup are looking for a fun time in Austin, I suggest you go check it out.  Because of the terrain, don’t be surprised if your pooch gets wet and/or muddy.

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(All of the pictures belong to me.  If you would like to use, just ask – and share my blog with your friends too of course!)

happenings

So here’s some life updates:

Back in September, I posted about taking the first 2 sections of the NCIDQ Interior Design Licensing Exam…and guess what?  I PASSED!! So excited – and to be completely honest – sooooo relieved.  Now I can take my time to relearn hand drafting and prepare for the last day of testing.  Not sure if I’ll take it this Spring… we’ll see.

i passed

Today marks 9 years since my hubby & I first started dating.  We were 19 then –  but feels like just yesterday!  Literally, we’ve spent almost a 1/3 of our lives together! Haha so weird to think of it like that.  It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been worth it.  I love him more each day.

photo 2

I’m still waiting for fall to come.  I think we had one cool week so far…but then it warmed back up into the low 80’s last weekend.  Even for Texas that is unseasonably warm in December!    But we have been blessed with such a beautiful, warm fall this year.

This past weekend we attempted our first Christmas family photo shoot.   We found this cool walking bridge near our house recently and decided it would be a great spot.  It’s called the Faust Street Bridge and its original structure dates back to 1887!   I love it.  Most of the shots were pretty silly, but we did get a few keepers. Camera tripod = best $30 I’ve spent.   Here’s a sneak peek …

faust bridge smaller sizeIMG_1293 copy

guadalupe river smaller size

.family smaller size

us smaller size

PS. I’m not anywhere near ready for Christmas.  I think I have a grand total of one present off my list, and no tree up yet.   How about ya’ll?