30 Before 30: Prep Time

One of the last items on my 30 before 30 list involved prepping for a family.  I know you can never truly be prepared to become first time parents, but there were 3 major accomplishments that Chris and I wanted to achieve prior to trying for kids.

1. Pay off credit card debt

It's embarrassing to admit, but my credit card debt had crept up into the 5 figure range.  I always paid more than the minimum amount, but interest was eating me alive!  When we moved in with my parents I was able to really focus on the debt and knock out balance after balance until I was down to $0.  During this time period I also read up on credit scores (the blog at credit.com and the forums at myfico.com) and did regular checks of my credit reports.  Now I use my cards responsibly, making small purchases here and there (to keep the cards active) that I quickly pay off.  That hard work resulted in an 60-80 point (depending on the credit bureau) increase in my credit scores and lead us to a better rate on our mortgage.  As an added bonus, once my credit cards were paid off I was able to pay off my student loan early!

2. Graduate from UNT

Chris has worked so hard to achieve this goal of his!  After meeting him, I truly realized how fortunate I was to be able to go to a four year college straight out of high school.  Chris went to school and worked full time while earning his associates degree and now his bachelors in information technology, even making the Dean's List one semester.

Thanks UNT and USPS for bending this

We had a set back when he found out the advisors made a mistake with his transferred electives, but Chris pushed forward and accomplished what he set out to do.  I was such a proud wife, watching him cross that stage and receive that degree in August!


3. Buy a house

I know you don't need a house to have a baby, but it was a major goal for both of us.  Chris' family moved frequently growing up, and he has always wanted a house that was truly a home for him.  We are so excited to do what we want to this house and make it our family home!

And with those three goals achieved, we're excited to announce...

We have hit for a 1UP (nerdy video game reference) and can't wait to welcome our first child April 2014!

And for anyone counting back - we found out right before our trip to San Fran/Napa so I did not get to partake in all of the wine tasting.  Instead I sipped on water and a couple of these:

Travelin' Tuesday: Napa & Sonoma

I don't know if I can speak for everyone on our trip, but I have to say that our time in Napa and Sonoma was the best part of our Cali visit!

After our short, packed 2 days in San Francisco it was really nice to relax in wine country.  We drove in Sunday afternoon and checked into our B&B - Old World Inn.

Old World was a great find of Corinne's!  Chris and I have stayed at B&Bs before, and this one was very similar to the others in that we had a great room and delicious breakfasts.  Old World was walking distance from Downtown Napa which had some fabulous eateries for dinner.  After checking in, we checked out our surroundings and then actually ordered pizza and grabbed a couple of bottles of wine from the Safeway across the street for dinner. 

Monday morning we were up bright and early for breakfast before being picked up for our Sonoma Platypus tour.  Our tour guide, Sam, was so informative as we headed from Napa to Sonoma to pick up the rest of the tour guests.  Sam let us know that our 4 stops would be some of the smaller more charming wineries with owners that Sam knew personally.  Our first stop was at Ravenswood which you may have seen in your local grocery store.  

 Our tour was led by the owner, who took us through the various fields of grapes, telling us about the history of winemaking, letting us taste the grapes from the vines and explaining the upcoming harvest.

 I think there were 8-11 different tastings along the way including one right out of the barrel.

After wrapping up here (and buying a Moscato for my brother), we boarded the bus and headed to our next stop Nicholson Ranch.  This place was gorgeous with spectacular views!!

   

After a tasting inside, we headed out to walk around the property learning more about wine before heading down into the caves.

not really getting anything from the barrel

I'm amazed by the amount of barrels down in the caves!  Once our tour concluded, we headed back upstairs to enjoy our tour included lunch.

It was a little downhill from here, not because our stops at Homewood and Anaba were bad (they were just fine), I just think it was the amount of wine already consumed along with the tasty lunch and being out in the sun for so long that just made the group a little bit more tired.

Once the tour was over, and we were dropped back off at the Old World Inn, I gladly took the option to nap before we walked into downtown for dinner.

Tuesday, we were on our own and made plans as we went starting off with morning sparkling wine at Domaine Carneros Winery.  

Gotta make use of the beautiful backdrop

Chris learned a lot about Champagne and Taittinger through his elective class, so this was a place of interest for him.  From there we headed to my favorite Castello di Amorosa.

We opted for the full tour which included a walk and tasting down in the caves!

After picking up a couple of bottles of their famous La Fantasia we headed back toward Napa with a picnic lunch stop at V Sattui Winery.

Dinner Tuesday night was back in downtown Napa, before packing up and heading back to San Fran Wednesday morning.  We hit up one last winery stop on the way out of town (Viansa), and couldn't complete our California trip without lunch at In-N-Out - more so for Corinne and Dave who have never eaten there (we now have them in Texas).

We spent Wednesday night in San Francisco before flying out Thursday afternoon.  Overall, I think this was one of my favorite trips and I really think it was because we got to spend the time with such great friends! 

30 Before 30: Photobooth Smiles

As part of our wedding back in 2011, our guests enjoyed a photo booth that was set up near the bar.

The guests took home one copy of the photo strip and left the other in a box for us.

My original plan was to take the copies along with the postcards that guests signed in lieu of a guestbook and make a scrapbook, but there was always another idea in the back of my head.  Inspired by a Martha Stewart Weddings image, I decided to frame some of my favorite photo booth strips.

It was so hard to narrow it down to the final 28 that made it into the frames, but once the selections were made I split them into a frame of friends and one of relatives.

They are now hanging in the main guest room which I think is the perfect location so our visiting friends and family will be able to remember the fun times from that night!

One more item crossed off the list!

Travelin' Tuesday: San Francisco

What a way to bring in our 30s!
 

We flew out to San Francisco for a wonderful 7 day trip with my longest friend Corinne and her husband Dave.  Corinne and I started to plan this trip back in January and I think the guys were very happy to just go and enjoy!   

Our time in San Fran was pretty short, we flew in midday on Friday, drove to Napa Sunday - Wednesday, spent Wednesday night back in San Fran and then flew home on Thursday.  

Due to a changed flight plan, Chris and I got in 3 hours earlier than Corinne and Dave.  We walked from our hotel near the Embarcadero Center to find Pizza Orgasmica which turned out to be a pretty popular place.  Once Corinne and Dave made it, we decided to take a walk to the piers and check out the area set up for America's Cup.

We spent the night bar hopping before grabbing a bite to eat across the street from AT&T Park where the Giants were playing the Pirates.

Saturday was a fun filled day with a combo tour of the city and Alcatraz.  We booked with Tower Tours and had an amazing time, getting to see so much in a pretty short period of time.  Some of our stops included City Hall, Twin Peaks, Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Bridge and we also had the chance to drive by and see other areas like Chinatown, Ghirardelli Square and the crooked Lombard street.  

In front of City Hall

The famous painted ladies

On top of Twin Peaks

Getting our fill of Golden Gate Bridge pictures

Once the city portion of our trip was completed, we were dropped off near pier 33 to grab some lunch and then board the ferry for our tour of Alcatraz.

We did the audio tour, which was included with our ticket price, and I think we all found it very informative.  There was so much that I never knew about the history of the prison, I would highly suggest this tour!

The bar spreader that one inmate used in an escape attempt

The holes left from 3 inmates that dug their way out with spoons from the kitchen and were never heard from again.

After the tour wrapped up, we decided to walk around Ghirardelli Square, pick up some souvenirs and grab a drink at a pub with a view. 

Thanks to some great recommendations, our dinner that night was at Epic Roasthouse.  Our table had a fabulous view of the light up Bay Bridge and the meal was by far the best of our trip!!  Both couples ordered a side of mac and cheese and I think we all would have licked the plate if we could, it was that good!

Sunday morning we picked up our rental car, checked out of Club Quarters and decided to make a quick pit stop on the way to Napa.

The ride up was a bumpy one, but the majesty of these trees was breathtaking to view. 

A stop for lunch in Sausalito and then we were on our way to Napa and Sonoma!