I have a dog. His name is Pete. Pete is about 5 or 6 years old and comes from the streets of Fort Worth. He’s a rescue, and he’s been a Burnett since September 2015. Since September 2015, we’ve taken him to the vet 4 times. Pete has Ferris Bueller’ed us two of those times. […]
My State Fair of Texas experience this year and every year
It’s been many years since I was a student at St. Thomas Aquinas, but I can remember anxiously awaiting my Charlie in the Chocolate Factory moment. For me, my Golden Ticket was a Student Pass and my Chocolate Factory was the State Fair of Texas. Yes, it happened every year, and every year I was […]
Hubs went to Florida without me, so this is what I did
Last week, Chad went to Florida without me. It was a work trip, in Orlando, so I was OK with sitting this one out. Not to mention, with Hurricane Matthew on the horizon, the weather was less than favorable. He hardly ever goes on out of town for work, so I’m not usually left to […]
I thought I knew my style, but I had no idea
I was recently approached for a freelance writing project that sounded a little too good to be true. The client asked: “Would you be open/willing to get a free personal styling session, have pictures taken of you and write about it?” Me: “Uh, duh!” The task was to try on a bunch of cute clothes […]
Pizza at Pietro’s with a side of happiness
Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, right? That’s what they say on “Cheers,” at least. And, actually, I do like going to places where they know my name, know what I like to eat, know how I like my drink. In Holbox, Mexico, there’s a lady who goes to Raices everyday […]
Isla Holbox, Mexico, on a Saturday
I don’t know when I first started thinking about retirement, but I know it’s a thought that comes up every time I leave the country. Isla Holbox, Mexico, has been my dream retirement spot for a few years now. It’s a far, out-of-the-way fisherman’s island north of the Yucatan Peninsula, where the Gulf of Mexico […]
Find a workout that takes you away
Fitness is part of my daily routine. And for me, it’s mostly cardio. Here’s the deal—I love food of all kinds, I have what you call a “healthy appetite,” and my metabolism leans towards snail’s pace. So daily fitness is a must. In an effort to keep it interesting and fun, I’ve sought out exercises […]
Try this Cauliflower Salad before summer ends
Go to San Diego for the farmer’s markets alone. They’re amazing—every kind of orange you can imagine, strawberries, greens, tomatoes, flowers, berries. Four blocks of downtown streets are sectioned off to display each farmer’s home-grown fruits and vegetables. We toured and tasted our way through San Diego’s Little Italy farmer’s market back in April. My […]
Take New Orleans by day and night
I love staying at different hotels and bed and breakfasts in the French Quarter because you never know what kind of tiny, quirky room you’ll end up with. You have to allow yourself to be OK with almost anything when you agree to stay in an old, 19th-century building. On this trip, we stayed at […]
Experiencing Willamette Valley in one afternoon
Willamette Valley (Will-am-it) is known as Oregon’s wine country. Its lush vineyards harvest some of the country’s best pinot noirs. It’s different here. It’s not like Sonoma or Napa. It just feels different. It feels less dewy. It feels more open, more casual. Bike trails are everywhere. Vineyards share space with farms. People hang out. […]