Tea for Two

Last week was Jonathan's birthday and I wanted to do something special since I had an amazing birthday in Florence, Italy. I started brainstorming about it a few months ago and remembered that there is a Florence, Texas! I figured it would be the next best thing. We had lunch at the Chunky Cow Cafe & Creamery  and it was delicious! We each got dessert and they were both divine! Jonathan got the German chocolate cake and I got the blackberry cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream. Needless to say, we plan on taking trips to both Florence, Texas as well as Florence, Italy! As we were leaving, we saw a saddled horse in the back of a trailer. One of the main streets that goes through Florence is Patterson Avenue. Naturally, I needed to take a picture by the sign and pose like my dad. My mom said that I nailed it down to his turtle smile. Before lunch, I did a bit of decorating around our place. A new bakery opened just around the cor...

Back before Jonathan got his new calling at church, I kept thinking about advise my great-grandpa Machen gave to his daughter. I decided to hang it up on our letterboard. He said: During the past month that it's been hanging there, I can see multiple ways it has applied to our life. From Jonathan learning how to do his new calling, to making and following through with short and long term goals, to simply taking care of boring everyday tasks. I am so grateful that my great-aunt included this in the family history she wrote about her parents. There are many quotes that talk about responsibility, but I love this one because it gets straight to the point about the need to follow through with the various jobs we have in life. I've noticed lately that the Holy Ghost is teaching me through my own memories. Sometimes it's as simple as remembering this timeless advice of my great-grandpa, other times it's to have me adapt something that worked in a past situation to...

It's been quite some time since the last time I really posted here and now that October is almost over I might as well do one big catch up post! During a rather stormy afternoon, I made a beetle friend. We headed to South Congress in Austin and on the way there drove past the Capitol building. While hanging out in South Congress, we found  Allens Boots  so we know where to buy real cowboy boots when we are ready. We actually went to a movie. Super weird for us even though there is a movie theater in our neighborhood. We saw  Operation Finale  and we both enjoyed it. Jonathan got a bike to commute to work which was stolen less than a month later. BOO! I dug out this old gem to welcome Tyler into the broken arm club. One thing we both love about Austin is the amazing clouds that roll through. After months of being home from Europe , I finally took Jonathan to Whole Foods to recreate our typical breakfast on the t...

General Conference was amazing once again. I got a lot out of it and already am following through with invitations and promptings. President Nelson spoke to the women of the church during the Women's Session. His talk is titled Sisters' Participation in the Gathering of Israel . During his talk, he invited the women of the church to do four things to assist us with assisting in gathering scattered Israel. It is similar to the invitations that he gave to the youth back in June . What's really interesting with this list however is that I was already thinking about each one of these things. 1. I noticed during the past few weeks I'd gone back to my usual ways of using social media even though I committed to be more intentional . 2. I've been studying Jesus the Christ for my personal scripture study and Jonathan and I have been reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish for family scripture study. I've been wanting to really study Spanish and it'...

Today is the beginning of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In other words my favorite time of year! Last month, I finished reviewing all the talks that were given last April and I can't wait to receive more direction in my everyday life. It's wonderful experience to meet in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, but it's amazing how easy it is to watch General Conference all over the world! This time last year, we were able to watch even though we were still far from unpacked. All you really need is an internet connection and you too can participate in General Conference. This year the missionaries that are serving in our ward will be joining us for the Saturday Morning Session.  I love watching General Conference. Each year there are a few talks that are clearly written to help me in whatever my current situation is. It bolsters me up and gives me guidance on what I need to improve on so I can live a better and ...