When weekends are like vacations. . .

A beach. Yes, that is what you see here below. That exact beach is the place where visited for the first time this weekend with one of my beloved, Nashvillian friends, Ashley. It's in Galveston which is an hour south of where I live. It is also the place where a little light reading, borrowed camping chairs and a blanket, and a new sundress proved to be the perfect way to spend a weekend with a dear friend. But let me back up. . .

Ashley arrived on Thursday night because the flights were easier to work with from that night through Sunday. We ate in that night, making a VAT of brown rice macaroni and cheese with broccoli and chicken. It was like eating mush, but it was tasty and has served Matthew and I well with leftovers.

Friday, I took a half day at work and we went to lunch at La Madeline; a delightful French bakery. We shopped for half price books, jewelry, and some clothes. Though we both remained very mindful of our budgets. :) One book I was so excited to get was "Skinny Bitch" (I don't know how to find the underline button or else I would use it). My sister and roomate from college, as well as Ashley, had all highly recommended this book to me. It is a very direct and straightforward approach to healthy eating. The book takes the food groups and bashes how we eat and tells us the best ways to treat our body with food and fitness. It is SO good and inspires me to take my health to a new level. Can I go vegetarian or vegan? We shall see. .. . but I definitely didn't Friday night for dinner.

Matthew, Erin (Matthew's great friend and one of my favorite people), Ashley, and I went to Pappasitos for dinner! This is a fabulous Mexican restaurant we take all of the incoming friends to to let them know what good Mexican food tastes like. Did I mention we eat well here in Texas?

Saturday's choices of food was no different though the location was. This is the day Ashley and I headed to Galveston for a day on the beach. We ate at this restaurant in The Strand called Yaga's cafe. This of course made me think of my aunt, who my cousin's fondly call her, Yaga.
The Strand has a lot of historic buildings that have become a tourist hub. We were not going to participate in anything touristy if we could help it, other than a scoop of Blue Bell ice cream! We took our ice cream and headed to the beach.

After an afternoon spent napping and reading on the beach we headed back to Sugar Land were we met Matthew halfway for Joes' BBQ in Alvin, TX. It was my 2nd time having it and it is GOOOOD barbecue. To add to the delicious meat we had just eaten, we decided Ashley couldn't leave Texas without having Matthew's famous biscuits and sausage gravy (Yes, when there are guest around, it's all about the food)! Ashley and I made the (disappointing) gluten free biscuits the night before after dinner so they could be ready to eat for Sunday morning breakfast. No, we do not top of beed barbecue with sausage gravy, though by my writing it looked like I was going there!

These delightful sugar cookie- like biscuits were only disappointing because they were more like tea biscuits and less like good ole country biscuits. We ate them up nonetheless the sausage gravy was delicious! (Also made gluten free with Rice Flour) Look at that meal! Yum! I do have to brag on Matthew, he is the best cook! He also can set up a mean automatic sprinkler.

After a long and wonderful weekend with my friend, Matthew and I dropped her off at the airport and headed to the garden center. We picked out a few spring and summer annuals and planted them Sunday afternoon. We are both excited and hopeful they last throughout the summer. They should add some nice color to the front of Matthew's house too. Here is the first shot of the newly planted flowers. Happy Spring!