Around Gruene....

Anniversary Trip - Gruene

Today marks my 2nd wedding anniversary to Colby!  Two years ago at this time we were eating at an awesome steak house (thanks mom and dad!) with everyone that came for our wedding in Vegas.  We had a memorable trip and wedding and we don't regret it at all!

For our honeymoon we went to Gruene, Tx because we had already traveled for our wedding.  Gruene was a place we would often visit to eat dinner and walk around because we lived in San Marcos for 3 years which is very close to Gruene.

This is our 6th visit to Gruene since August 2009.  We've stayed at the Mansion 4 times, 3 times for our honeymoon/anniversary and once for my 30th birthday.  Can you tell that we love it there?  It's like an instant stress reliever.  The Mansion is so nice, we stay in a room on the river with a porch.  Everything is rustic and romantic.  You can walk around from store to store.  You can drink wine at the Grapevine or the Winery on the Gruene.  The food at every restaurant is awesome, but we don't do the Gristmill.  I got sick there one Valentine's day and it has never been the same, plus the wait is insane.  We usually hit up Gruene River Grill, Mozies and Adobe Verde.  This time we drove into New Braunfels for a concert.

I spent a lot of time taking pictures.  I took so many that there will be several posts featuring them!   This posts features the Mansion property.

 Our super cute privacy sign.

 The mansion with the water tower in the background.

 Our room sign.  This is our favorite room. It's super private and comfy.

 Architecture of one of the covered patios on the property.

 The wrought iron gate surrounding the property.

 One of the gristmills.

 An awesome roof.

 A star design on the patio.

 The front entrance to the Gruene River Grill.  This is the old barn for the mansion property.  Not only is the food good, but the building is really cool too.

 The water tower by the Mansion.

 The dome of the Mansion.

 This is something we had never seen before.

 The loft which is the bedroom.  Downstairs is the bathroom and siting area.

 Our loft window.  It opens!

 The mansions' windmill.

pump the brakes

seriously, i am so overwhelmed right now that i don't even care if my to-do list gets done or not.  i just keep rewriting it in a vain attempt to procrastinate! 

but never fear...our anniversary trip to gruene, tx is super close and after that i will have a lot of blog posts to publish.  we have lots of plans from the real ale brewery, to floating the river, a concert, drinking beer on our deck facing the river, drinking wine and eating. 

see yall soon!

Dream Subject - Lady Gaga

Yes, she's kooky and not beautiful in the conventional way.  But girl has a rocking body, an original look and she stays committed to her unusual style.

My Mom and I saw her Monster Ball tour in April and it was amazing.  We danced the whole time and were astounded by her talent and ability to play multiple instruments, sing and dance at the same time all while wearing crazy outfits and shoes.   Also, I always knew I have cool parents that have very open minds (and they raised my sisters and I to have them too) but it really hit home when Lady Gaga was talking about equality for all no matter what your gender or sexual preference is and my Mom and I were in complete agreement with her.

Love her or hate her we all have to agree that Lady Gaga has done wonders for the LGBT community.  And WE should all be thankful for that. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Lady Gaga.

The Parents Backyard

My parents have an awesome backyard.  A pool, a vegetable garden, fire pit, covered patio, quirky sculptures, various lounge chairs and lots of flowering plants.  It is a great place to spend an afternoon or evening.  When we visit it is pretty much the only place we hang out. 

 A Cardinal hanging out on a lounge chair.

 Petunias

 This toucan plant holder is made out of a tire!

 Mandevilla

 suculents

 Sunflowers

Morning Glory