Gift with a Purpose
/Giving gifts is about making someone else feel happy, appreciated, and loved. How would you feel if the gift you gave not only benefited the recipient, but also the person who made the item?
Read MoreAn (Un)Professional Guide to Life as a Newlywed
Musings of wife living, working, playing in the Alamo City.
Giving gifts is about making someone else feel happy, appreciated, and loved. How would you feel if the gift you gave not only benefited the recipient, but also the person who made the item?
Read MoreI, unfortunately, do not have a strong DIY gene. I can make simple things, and enjoy the occasional home project or two, but the majority of the "visual creativity" belongs to my sisters and mom.
Read MoreI don't know what it is, but for some reason I have the hardest time finding gifts for friends and family. I feel like once the holidays roll around, I can't seem to find anything they'd like for within the budget we allotted for each other. That's why I rely heavily on "gift guides". It helps kick-start my brainstorm.
Read MoreI can officially get into the Christmas spirit now that Thanksgiving has come and gone. I'm a firm believer of waiting until after Thanksgiving to begin decorating for Christmas and listening to holiday music. Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday in it's own right that I think it needs a solid period of celebration, too.
Read MoreI begin most of my Christmas shopping in early November purely because I am an anxious person and the thought of me scrambling to get gifts for all my friends and family with just a few weeks left before Christmas makes my heart start to race.
Read MoreI'm blessed to have mostly all my extended family in the same city. It makes seeing everyone during the holidays pretty easy.
My family has always celebrated Thanksgiving at my parents house. When I was younger, I'd always look forward to waking up to the smell of Thanksgiving turkeys roasting in the oven that Thursday morning.
Read MoreThe fact that I was even up and writing this the next day deserves some praise. I invited some gal pals over for a wine tasting party this weekend and before we knew it, it was 1:45 a.m. and we had about 7 empty bottles on the table. I got my happy butt into bad at 2 a.m. and WAS UP BY 6:30 a.m.! What the heck?? I basically napped...
Read MoreIf you've been reading for a while, you know that my twin sis and I are a real estate team with JB Goodwin, REALTORS®. We joined forces to take on the South Texas real estate market and haven't looked back.
Read MoreI can have Tex-Mex food all day every day. I ADORE it. Really, I prefer the chip baskets the best, but tacos, enchiladas, queso: you name it, I love it. The problem: it so high in calories, saturated fat, and grease! Ugh.. sad.
Read MoreWe're on a gnocchi kick lately thanks to Food Network & Cooking Light Magazine. Obviously, they are coming out with cozy fall and winter recipes and gnocchi seems to be the center of their attention.
Read MoreIt's been a year and two months since I started on my Blogilates fitness journey. (Read my original post here). I discovered Cassey Ho and her Blogilates/ POP Pilates workouts on Facebook one day, and I'm so glad I did because I've been actually excited to work out ever since.
Read MoreI'm a huge fan of cooking magazines. I love flipping through the pages of Food Network Magazine & CookingLight and ear-marking all the delicious recipes I want to try out. I love sites and blogs to find new and interesting meals to make, but there's something about paper. Cookbooks and magazines are still my go-to's.
Read MoreLas Vegas holds a special place in my heart. My twin and I celebrated our 21st birthday in Vegas. J and I got engaged at the top of the Stratosphere Hotel. In fact, the very first trip we took to Vegas we stayed at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
Read MoreWhen you think of Italy what do you think of? Off the top of my head, it's food, history, and... food.
Read MoreI spend a lot of my Sundays prepping for the week ahead. Some weeks I'm working, while other weeks I'm meal prepping, cleaning and doing laundry. You can tell, it's hardly ever a "day of rest" for me, but when I do get an hour or two to finally relax, I love browsing Pinterest for amazing locations to one day visit.
Read MoreMy mom used to make us gumbo all the time growing up once the weather turned cooler. It's such a well-rounded dish that's full of flavor.
Read MoreAlthough I do have a deep love for fashion, I appreciate that I live in a city where it's appropriate (at almost any place) to wear t-shirts, shorts and flip flops.
Read MoreYour skin is one of the most important organs on your body! It protects your inner organs, helps give regulate your body temperature, and contributes to your first impression.
I'm lucky to come from a family of women with amazing skin. My Nana, who will be turning the big 9-0 later this year (sorry Nana!), often gets mistaken for being 30 years younger.
Read MoreNot too long ago J and I spent a weekend at the family lake house with my parents and their friends. The husband of the couple hails from London, England so every time we see him we always ask him about life on the British isle. Food, history, accents, soccer- there isn't a topic untouched.
Read MoreJ and I are headed out to the Sunshine State for the last "hoorah" of the summer. I'm luck enough to have grown up traveling. My parents have always been huge advocates for exploring new (but warm) places and would take my sisters and I along whenever they could.
Read MoreA lifestyle and fashion blog about a newlywed living in Texas. Recipes, fashion ideas, more!
I'm Samantha, a 30-something mom who enjoys traveling, drinking red wine, ALL things Corgis, attempting to DIY my way through interior design, and my deliciously fabulous husband. Thanks for stopping by!