weekend at the ranch

drew and i got to head to Blackwell, TX to visit Nana and Papa-- and get some much needed R&R at the ranch, it was absolutely wonderful.

we heard stories about how things were when Nana and Papa were dating and early married, see amazing old pictures of family, check out the baby calves that were born the day before, and of course... eat some awesome Nana food :) love it!!!

here is a precious baby calf that was born on friday (we saw it sat morning)

L-R--> baby calf, mama cow,

middle sized cow, other mama cow, and other baby calf

and our precious baby Coach got to meet himself a horse!!!

lets just say Coach was more interested in Smoke

than Smoke was in Coach

sorry, buddy!

and this little darling was born on Saturday morning

and i got to see it on Saturday afternoon!!!

does it get much cuter than that?!?

i think not.

coach didn't get to meet this little one,

since mama cow was nearby

we also left with some super awesome antique treasures,

which i'll post about soon!

it was an amazing weekend, we sure do love Nana Banana

and Papa-- what a blessing they are!!!

happy Sunday all :)

you're such a sassy pants

my nephews (and a few other people) have told me this before,
therefore
i decided to take it a bit literally.

i had this pair of jeans that i pretty much never wear, so i thought it would be super fun to sass-ify them for football season (which i understand is a long way away, but it never hurts to be prepared)

so, ta-da

yes, i threw them over the cable box to take the picture,

i realize that the wires in the background

are less than desirable,

but i was hoping maybe you'd be so caught up

 "oooh-ing, and aaah-ing"

over my fancy pocket to notice.

did it work?

--not so much, huh?--

i think i've covered most of the major necessities

1. texas tech

2. bandannas

3. rhinestones

4. buttons

5. comfy jeans

they aren't perfect for every occasion,

 but they are fabulous for a Tech game,

dont you think!?!

**RAIDER POWER**

coach is crafty

okay, no he really isnt.

he doesnt have imposable thumbs, therefore crafting is a bit complicated for him.

but... he sent valentines out nonetheless, because... he's a big lover!

he sat with me while i glued ribbon onto cards,

and then embellished with stickers!

hope everyone felt loved when they opened these little darlings!

happy tuesday,

love COACH

V is for VACATION

happy valentine's day to you all, i hope everyone is feeling loved and spoiled!!!

my sweet hubby came home with this for me on friday (an early valentine/anniversary gift)
 one of these

and then a card that said this

and open the card to find out where i'm going...

woooohoooo!

he is taking me to NYC!

i'm sooo excited :)

we are staying HERE

and going to see this play on OPENING NIGHT!!!

starring this guy

how cool is that?!?

opening night.... what on earth will i wear?????

i'm super excited to finally eat here

mmm, and taste one of these

holy moly, that looks delicious!!!

and i'm a little bit secretly (not a secret anymore)

hoping to see one of these ladies

preferably Bethenny

(cause she's my fav)

but... really,

wouldnt the icing on the cake

totally be seeing

them

ugh! i'm just beside myself with excitement.

hot dogs, time square, central park,

ground zero, emprire state building,

chinese take-out, moma, soho---

 i mean really,

 the whole thing is going to be outstanding!

THANK YOU LOVE FOR TAKING ME TO NYC!!!

i love you, happy v-day and anniversary!

muah!

i hope this Valentine's Day is

 exceptionally pink for each and every one of you!

 ** happy monday **

weekend visitors

i love weekend company,
i really do!

this weekend, my precious bridesmaid Lauren and her bf Reed came to visit!!!
how cute are they?

its such a blast seeing your friends in the

relationship with a very special person!

i heat La ( and coach does too! )

he picked out some gorgeous tulips

 for her for valentines day,

which was just too cute of him.

i try and convince him of a gift

that would be easier for her to travel with,

 but he insists on tulips.

 i guess he knows that

 they are Lauren's fav flower?!?

check out her bouquet from our wedding,

coincidence... tulips?!?

i think not.

(each of my bridesmaids had a bouquet

of different flowers,

 all PINK, of course,

but each different totally representing their personality)

almost 2 years ago...

-april 4, 2009-

(i never actually asked Lauren to be a bridesmaid, I told her that i absolutely had to have her there, haha it's such a huge joke now... that she never got "asked" but was told-- she is a doll and was even there the night andrew proposed... it wouldnt have been right w/o her!)

-Sept 12, 2008-

and then, now

apparently i need to loose 5lbs,

get a spray tan

and  poof my hair!

phew! -- married life catches up with you!

nevertheless, she's a blast!

i adore her,

and i even more adore that she is so happy!

perhaps wedding bells soon?!?

who knows ;)

loved having sweet friends here,

what a blessing people in our lives are!

happy sunday!

bLuE mason jars

it took me a while to decide if i wanted to collect these or not, because well... how many things can you collect?!? i've got quite a few collections going, but after much mental debate with, {cough cough} myself-- i decided...

whats one more antique love?

and to seal the deal, my wonderful husband got really into finding them at antique stores, he made the whole process so much fun...
so, after some hunting and a few great deals, i present to you...
ta da

i think they're so glam

{if a mason jar can be glamorous}

hubby was so sweet to bring

pretty flowers home for me,

and i think they make the perfect centerpiece!!!

i'm still hunting for a few more,

but i'm off to a great start!

i think they have character

and i totally intend to drink out of them

 once i'm over having them as a centerpiece!!!

just think: dinner party,

drinking sweet tea out of mason jars, love it!

happy thursday

heads-up 7-up

i was so thrilled to share with you all my sweet Nana's recipe for 7-up pound cake, mmm its so delicious!!! i made one of andrew's favorite meals, and then surprised him with yummy dessert, we each had a small piece, watched a movie, and then headed off to bed.

BUT-- during the night, there was a huge mishap.

a certain member of our family helped himself to the entire rest of the cake. therefore i have no pictures of my lovely cake. grrrrr... Coach, really?!?

here is a substitute picture

and here is Nana's 7-Up Cake Recipe:

1 1/2 C. butter

3 C. sugar

5 eggs

3 C. flour

2 T. lemon extract

3/4 C. 7-Up

preheat over to 325. grease and flour fluted/bundt pan. cream sugar and butter until fluffy; add eggs and beat well; add extract and 7-Up. Mix well and add flour. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours.

its always a pleaser, and very easy.

give it a try-- just remember to put yours out of great dane reach.

happy wednesday!

mawwiage is wat bwings us togever todaaay

despite mother nature and her evil attempts to cover everything in ice and snow, we made it to Austin to celebrate Emily & Dan's wedding!

the wedding weekend started off with a beautiful bridal brunch at the Driskill Hotel

here is the bride handing out party favors!!!

{random trivia: this room was originally

 part of the horse stables when the hotel was built,

 and over the years transitioned into an event room}

and here is what we ate:

every single thing was AH-mazing

Texas Pecan & Bourbon Tart.

mmmm!

then we got to spend the afternoon/evening

with our (andrew's) friend James!

they were such good sports to take a pic

and one of my sweetheart

one of the best parts of working a wedding (doing the hair) is that i get a backstage pass to everywhere, woohoo! Em wore her hair down for the ceremony, and then wanted to put it up for the reception so i got to do my thing and then watch the photographers get a few shots of the newly-married cuties!

now they are Mr & Mrs!!!!!!

and, i managed to really be a loser

and take zero pics of any of the hair i did.

fail.

speaking of photos:

Shari (the photographer) was a blast,

and i cant wait for Em's wedding to be up on her blog,

 but if you're in the dfw area, she is too-- so go check her out HERE!

she does fabulous baby pics!!!

happy tuesday!

wedding weekend

my super duper lovely friend

who is a whole basket full of fun

is getting married this weekend!!!

 wooohooo!

so, cheers to Dan & Emily

happy wedding!

and, those two lovebirds

are going to share an anniversary

with these two lovebirds...

happy early anniversary to my very

sweet mother&father-in-law!!!

happy weekend friends,

stay warm!!!

a snow day project

is a house ever finished?

no. not so much.

when we first moved into our lovely home, i wanted to blog some of the progress/changes we had made to show our friends/family who we dont get to see often, as well as hopefully entertain others a bit, who knows if the entertaining part is happening, but the changes to the house part... those are never ending. hence the blog name: swoff-house

that said, when we bought this house, this was our kitchen

hubby didnt know i was taking a picture,

otherwise i'm sure he would have posed :)

so, very soon thereafter

i did this

love love love

seriously, one of the best decisions

we have made as far as upgrades go,

 and well... just making our house look

less like someone else's house.

plus,

i did it myself, so it was super affordable.

but it still wasn't quite right,

i wanted just a bit more pizazz

so yesterday i did this:

ta-da!

i wanted to open my cabinets, and boom:

see something fun and fabulous!

mission accomplished?!?

i love it.

i'm kind of on a houndstooth kick,

i found this super cute pillow for the guest room too...

guess who's picture is going in there?

yes, prob this handsome guy!

anyway, another happy change for me,

and i'd be even happier if

this stupid ice would melt,

and it wouldn't be 2 degrees outside. ugh!

happy wednesday to all :)