it's beginning to look a lot like christmas...

we bought our very first christmas tree! it is up and quite fab indeed!  tony's mom and sisters joined us as we picked up some lovely and sparkling silver, white, and aqua ornaments at target and decked out our tree. in the late afternoon, we walked over the newly restored hay's street bridge and into downtown to the alamo where we joined in the "lighting of downtown" festivities. with a cold, windy, star-filled night and of course our starbucks grande chai tea latte with soymilk, a pump of vanilla, a pump of cinnamon, a swirl of whip cream, and a good shake or two of nutmeg in our hands (yum! write it down and try it. seriously!), the spirit of the holidays was irresistible.

bend it like the castros...

tony and i shared our first yoga experience this past weekend at southtown yoga loft.  as our bodies shook with every new pose we managed to get ourselves into we realized how great of a workout yoga really is.  southtown yoga loft is a new yoga studio that just opened up in the southtown/king william area of san antonio.  the session went fanspankintastic and i think tony and i are hooked...

i'm loving scarf weather...

this fall weather has been perfect. last weekend we drove over to the farmer's market at the pearl brewery. we bought come cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, and bread pudding...yum.  the 2nd annual gingerbread design challenge also happened to be taking place at the pearl.  i really need to start keeping my camera in my purse.  the contestants had just started when we arrived but already you could see where they were heading in their design, super cool.

this past weekend and the weekend before, graduate and undergraduate architecture students participated in the first STAR event (students together achieving revitalization) in dignowity hill. tony and i joined other neighborhood association members to help with providing lunch for the students. it was amazing to see the students working hard and appreciating the historical architecture of our neighborhood.

tony and i also cheered on the runners and our dear friend elva who rocked the full marathon in the rock n' roll marathon this past sunday. go elva!

all in three weeks...

it's hard to believe we have been living in sweet pea for a mere three weeks. it feels longer and it's feeling great! there are moments when i am just overtaken with disbelief that this charming house is ours and we are within minutes of many of our favorite spots in town.  we are down to one box of unpacking and are only awaiting two big pieces of furniture, our island and tv stand.  our curtains for the dining room are in and so is our reupholstered sofa. we've also attended our first neighborhood association meeting, became official members, joined in a community picnic, found the tastiest brisket and yams in san antonio, and i've already managed to lock myself out of the house! lucky for me, our neighbor bill was home and i was able to call tony.  having my husband 5 minutes away definitely has its perks...



before





after!





our wool and twill drapes





tokyo the valiant



hApPy bIrThDay mArIsa!!