hey gorgeous hoyt, it's fiesta!

we have a new addition to the castro clan and his name is hoyt.  this little fellow is drop dead adorable, just picture a pound puppy and you've got hoyt.  we had been wanting to get another dog for a while and decided that summertime would be best.  so, you can just imagine my surprise when tony decided to let me know he was ready for a new pup now.  as for myself, i'll take a dog any day, so of course i jumped on the chance before tony could change his mind and later that afternoon we we're standing there at the humane society looking for our new pup.  we had two in mind that we saw on the society's online web page. one was already adopted when we arrived and the other one, our hoyt, was in a room being looked at by potential doggy parents.  immediately, we tensed up and asked a worker if we could be next in line to see him if it turned out the couple didn't want him.  she agreed and let us in on some inside info: the couple had been in the room for quite a while and that wasn't a good sign.  so all we could do was hope and wait.  when the couple made their decision and began walking out of the room, we both held our breath and strained to hear their decision from a distance.  to our luck, and the couple's future one-day-doggy, they decided the time wasn't right for them.  as for us, it couldn't have been more perfect. and the rest is history...



hoyt, catahoula leopard



the tok is happy

 it's fiesta time in san antonio!  because dignowity hill is located so close to downtown, we were able to walk to the battle of flowers parade and mom castro joined in on the adventure.  everyone was decked out in their colorful fiesta gear and it reminded me of when i used to go to the parade with my whole family and really make a day of it.  the sounds were mixed with toy hoots and the laughter of the old and young. the smells, oh boy, the smells teased with hints of juicy turkey legs and greasy tripa tacos. yum. viva fiesta!

us with our head gear, ready to walk to the parade

street lined fiesta-ers on a perfect day

my bff, melissa, has started her own business with what she loves best, jewelry.  since summertime is just around the corner, it will soon be time to start flaunting my bad self in summer dresses and melissa has some of the prettiest jewels to compliment my floral, carefree, and colorful summer style.  her business is called hey gorgeous, which i love, and her website can be found here.  Visit her to see the wide range of styles and colors that she offers for gorgeous you!  my order just came in and i'm in love with the colors, but boy are my little owlets killer adorable!



owls, not only wise but stylish



my recent hey gorgeous stash

spring break 2011...

luminaria

spring break started off with a walk from our house to downtown to attend luminaria, an arts event held every year.  this year it was sectioned off to just hemisfair park, which was more than enough space.  the food we tried was omg tasty and ranged from cajun to asian with some good ol' bbq and mexican in between.  we enjoyed some great shows, exhibits, bands, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect...

crossing our green thumbs

our biggest chunk of spring break was focused on the front yard.  we were able to add a nice little garden up front with the help of tony's family who offered us help with some hardcore weed pulling, gross grub pinching, and some soil tilling. it was a lot of hard work but boy it sure is pretty and feels even nicer sitting on the front porch and enjoying the view...

our zen froggy

 

i heart the smell of jasmine





the first leaves on our apple tree



 

first rose bloom



vintage

it's no secret we love old stuff.  there's something about the craftsmanship of the past that symbolizes pride and beauty.  be it an old spoon, jar, or table; it was built with purpose, it was built to last, and it was crafted with style.  it's amazing to see that even many years later, the craftsmanship is still able to shine through the scrapes and scars and awe new generations.  so with this addiction, how could we not spend some time looking for old stuff during spring break?  we headed to comfort, tx and we weren't alone, my parents joined in on the fun.  one of the biggest highlights of the trip, besides the fun of course, was eating probably the tastiest sandwich EVER.  and i don't like using caps, so if i'm typing EVER, i mean it.  so the tastiest sandwich EVER can be found in camp verde, tx.  i recommend heading there through helotes, tx so that you can stop by jo jo's antiques and such in helotes and then country accents antiques near bandera, tx.  i love love these two stores and would buy more than i should if tony didn't always happen to be with me when i visit these stores. hey, i'm on to him......

anyway, back to camp verde, so drive past bandera and head to the camp verde general store and please order arthur's delight. it is so so delish!  you won't regret it. you could probably spend hours in that store because there is so much to see as well. 

comfort, tx turned out to be quite a charming little town.  one store that took my breath away was blackbird antiques.  talk about some eye candy!  in the middle of the store was a miniature dog house and what i mean by this is there were a bunch of dog-sized (pug-sized) furniture like a sofa, coffee table, tv stand with a tv, antique beds, and pretty much anything you'd find in a human home.  it was the cutest thing i ever saw.  i walked out of the store feeling like a pouting little tot because i pretty much wanted to buy everything i saw but knew i shouldn't.  well truth be told, it was more like tony wouldn't let me. still, it was such a fun day trip and i'm so happy to have spent it with my parents.

our kitchen window decorated with some old stuff

some old buttons in a jar from jo jo's

cute jar from jo jo's and a vintage inspired label i made

tony's fave: our new (but old) recycle bin



our vintage inspired doorbell

- - - - - - - -

happy birthday to you...

happy birthday to you.

happy birthday dear danny and dad.

happy birthday to you!

one year down in a flash...

tony and i celebrated our big one year today!  it's funny how a year ago the weather the week prior to our wedding day was making us pretty nervous. to our luck, the weekend cleared up and we couldn't have asked for better winter weather.  this year was no exception and we enjoyed some great weekend weather to celebrate our first year of marriage.  we cut the top tier of our wedding cake that we had saved on friday with my parents, grandmother, and tony's family at the house. 

lemon, raspberrry, and buttercreme goodness...

tony planned this year's celebration and boy am i one lucky lady.  saturday started with a couple's massage at bodique with some chocolate covered strawberries & champagne waiting in the room.  it was the first time we had been there and the ladies were so nice and did amazing work.  later in the day we packed our bags and went back to the special hotel where myself and my lovely ladies got ready for the big day, the fairmont hotel.  tony surprised me by booking one of the rooms that i absolutely loved but was too small for getting ready in last year, the gold room.  the room is so gorgeous.  in the restroom there's a chandelier on top of the jacuzzi tub, icing!

for dinner, tony and i ate at the chart house located in the tower of the americas.  we had never eaten there before and it was so lovely.  the view definitely couldn't have been beat!  we sat facing the northeast side of town and had quite the time trying to find sweet pea and other nearby landmarks. the food was delicious and the conversation enjoyable and silly as always. the night ended with some latin music at nearby azucar.

sunday morning, we left the beautiful fairmont for some brunch at candlelight coffeehouse where we enjoyed some great food.  i quite enjoyed my plate which was called "green eggs and ham."  then off we went back home to lovely sweet pea and her valiant guardian, the tok. 

tony and i wanted this year's celebration to be extra special.  tony did what he does best and planned one unforgettable night.  i can't believe it's been one year already and we look forward to what the future holds for us.  we know it will be hard, but we know we make one heck of a team.  and for right now, we are enjoying every minute of bliss and learning that comes from sharing your life. 

 



our first snow day with sweet pea...

the timing couldn't have been more perfect for a snow day.  cold man winter picked tony's day off to give myself and my fellow hard working educators and students a well deserved friday off.  it was only an inch of snow, but here in san antonio it was more than enough. we took it and enjoyed every minute.

cheers...

the new year began with several firsts: hosting the new year's eve family party in sweet pea, making menudo with my mother and grandmother (yum!), and enjoying the fireworks at dignowity and lockwood parks which overlook the city. we walked to the park to see the city's annual downtown fireworks.  however, when we got there we were stunned to find out that we could also see fireworks being popped across san antonio. in neighborhoods stretched across the city, a rainbow of fireworks popped in and out of the distant horizon. and for once, the celebration of the new year was not one of just close friends and family but of community as well. cheers...