Our New "Villa"

Now, don't get your panties all in a bunch... it's just an apartment. We've decided to hold off on buying a house until we have some more time to figure out the who, what, where and when of it all. It's just not exactly one of those things you rush into. Fingers crossed, the tax credit will last another year...

In the meantime, our lease is up at Westcreek, and we've decided not to stay. We are moving north to "Jersey Village," a cute little suburb. The new place will be a little quieter, a lot more spacious and much closer to Brian's work. (We are hoping we can split the difference with the commute.)

The name of the complex is The Villas at West Road. Our unit is a two bedroom/two bath. About 1150 square feet, as opposed to the 750 we have now. It's much newer and nicer, from the kitchens to the bathrooms to the HUGE walk-in closet. Everything is on one level, and it sits above our GARAGE! I am excited about being able to keep the Sentra out of the elements.

Wish us luck with the big move! It will be much more guest friendly than where we live now, and after September 20th, I am sure it will be much cooler here, too. So if you needed an incentive to come, book that flight!

Love you all. Talk to you soon!

Home on the Range

I officially joined my first extracurricular group this month. BOOK CLUB! Now, I know it doesn't sound exciting, but it was actually really fun. We read Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. It was a good one. Whimsical and totally unrelated to real life, so it was a nice escape. Next month, I will be returning to discuss Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.

Weekend before last, Lindsay came to visit. We spent some time by the pool, but the highlight of the weekend was most definitely the Texas Heat Music Festival, a hip-hop-esque festival. Sure, attendance was pretty low and tickets were a little high, but it was the first year. I love the music scene here. It's so eclectic.

This week was my first HIP HOP dance class, which was a lot of fun. While I have not quite figured out how to accomplish the spin, the rest of the "routine" was way easy. And the people were really fun. It was also an effective way to expel some of that excess energy I am always harboring. I slept like a baby.

I also signed up to teach an after-school class for middle-school kids. I have a phone meeting tonight to get more details, so I will update on this as soon as I know more. I am just so excited to finally be getting involved in all the things I was looking forward to most. Houston is really starting to feel like home. :)

Speaking of home, we are looking forward to heading back to visit soon... probably Labor Day. We miss everyone and can't wait to see you!

Could the LeeBlanks be future homeowners?

Brian and I have been thinking a lot about buying a house, or maybe a condo. Something inexpensive... that we could work on while we lived there and perhaps even rent once we decided to move out or away. I mean, it's a "buyer's market," right? And Texas seems to have the most reasonable property prices of anywhere I've ever seen. We could actually buy for less than we are renting, in all actuality. And like daddy says, renting is not exactly ideal in the long run.

Now, all that said, we are also very fond of renting. I like having someone to call when something breaks and not have to fix it myself or out of my own pocket. And I like the idea of being able to up and move whenever our lease is up. So, needless to say, the responsibility of owning a home and the finality of a 30-year mortgage are both pretty intimidating.

But, we are in the early stages of deciding, and we aren't in any kind of rush. Number one, we'd have to get a loan. And that's not exactly easy as pie these days, especially without much of a down payment, if any. And, of course, I've got to talk to dad and nana, our realtor from afar.

Mainly, I just wanted some feedback. Good, bad, whatever... just honest. So, what do you think?

Feelin' the Love

Well, after a week with the family and a tearful goodbye, I wanted to post some highlights from our shenanigans. It was SO good to see mom and dad and nana and papaw billy. Nana and Billy got here Sunday morning. Mom and dad arrived late Monday evening. Despite some small hurdles with the guest suite and Brian having to work so much, the whole week was fabulous.

First things first, we tackled the apartment. Everything looks GREAT. Like people actually live here instead of squatters. Our bedroom is a beautiful white, fuschia and birch combo. Everything is hung as it should be throughout the apartment. And our new furniture is fantastic, especially since we kept the futon in the living room and covered it with our giraffe duvet (see below!) No one can quite bring a home together, even in the form of a crappy apartment, like mom and nana. :) HANG HANG HANG!

Other than that, we mainly just enjoyed our time together. Spent some time at the pool. Ate a lot of good food, like the Rainforest Cafe and Shipley Donuts. Did a little shopping at Cavender's for boots and cowboy accessories. Visited the Johnson Space Center and ate some fresh seafood.

Brian had to work a lot, BUT... he is now responsible for all the new business at his work, including meeting with the customers, budgeting and the artistic aspects... picking out the flowers and trees, placement, etc. He even got his own work cell. He is working his tail off and getting promoted left and right, and we are so proud!



We miss everyone already, and can't wait for them to come back. And as for the rest of you reading this, get your butts down here, too!

LOVE LOVE and MORE LOVE from Texas,

Laci and Brian

Best Birthday EVER

Well, I am officially old. OK, maybe not. But I feel kind of old. Twenty-six years old may be young, but when you think about your 10-year high school reunion coming up in a couple years, it starts to sink in. Especially since my lower back is killing me for some reason!

Whining aside, this birthday was pretty wonderful. In addition to the Sentra and a hair cut, I got a package full of goodies from home. (I think I like Cory's card the best, though the one work got me was pretty good, too.)

Brian took me to a yummy Lobster dinner at Pappa's Seafood House Friday, we ordered our new furniture Saturday and I spent most of the day perusing TJMaxx, Marshall's, Ross and IKEA Sunday. Very relaxing. The only thing that could have made it better would have been, of course, family and friends.

But momma and daddy booked their flight for the end of June, and we are so excited! I can't wait to see them and for them to see our new home.

Now that we are finally getting settled, I have been trying to think of ways to meet cool people here. So far, I think I am going to sign up for a cooking class. (We all know I could use the instruction.) And maybe a book club. And then maybe an outdoorsy group to meet some fellow hippies. A new guy at work, Marshall, joined a yacht club, but I don't think that's quite our style. ;)

Anyway, this week will be spent running errands and preparing for our guests from Louisiana, Brian's friend Jordan and his girlfriend. They'll be here Thursday thru Sunday. And then Sunday we get to hopefully eat lunch with Quentin, our future, fellow Houstonian.

Thanks everyone, for all the birthday wishes. And a special thanks to my wonderful husband for making it such a wonderful weekend.

Oh, and HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, CORNBALL!! Your present should be there Thursday. :)

Love you all,

<3>

RIP Honda, Hello SENTRA!!

A moment of silence for the 1992 Honda Accord, as she has done Brian and I well for the past two years. Bless her heart.

Now, onto the good stuff. Drumroll please....

Brian and I are the proud new owners of a brand new 2009 Nissan Sentra! I love love LOVE her already. I wanted to share her (and all her cool perks) with you guys. :)

2009 Sentra 2.0S

Nissan Intelligent Key™ Keyless Entry and Ignition System

Bluetooth® Hands-Free Phone System

Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel

Integrated Overhead CD Holder

Divide-N-Hide™ Trunk System

Cargo Net and Hooks

Remote Trunk Release

Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)

16" Steel Wheels with Wheel Covers

Fog Lights

Vehicle Security System

Power Outside Mirrors

Upgraded Audio System with Six Speakers

Illuminated Steering-Wheel-Mounted Audio and Cruise Controls

Trip Computer with Outside Temperature Display

Our First Taste of Negativity

Oh my, did Brian ever get a taste of Houston last week!

Apparently he angered a motorist in a purple impala while driving his work truck and trailer Friday. After the guy was a total a$$hole, cursing and throwing up select fingers, he stopped at a caution light, hopped out and punched Brian right in the face!

Luckily Brian is ok. I'm a strong believer in Karma, so I'm pretty sure our friend in the purple impala got what was coming to him.

No worries. We still love it here. Though it is getting a little hot. ;)

SXSW in Austin

Well, we're headed to Austin this weekend to celebrate Brian's 24th birthday, so it only seemed appropriate that we post our pictures from the SXSW Music Festival in Austin last month. We stayed with Lindsay and met her friend, Moses. Lots of concerts. Beautiful weather. We saw Sandra Bullock and Jesse James hanging out at a little cafe right down the street from her restaurant. It was a blast.

Me and Lindsay with the lead singer of some band. Can you see our (sarcastic) excitement. We were at this place called "The Tiniest Bar in Texas." I accidentally lost Brian's brand new check card here the next night. :(

This is Chris. We started a Conga line. :)

Coolest DJ ever: Japanese Hornet. The only hornet Lindsay won't run in terror from. It was funny because they were "of Japanese descent."

Lindsay and I watching Carolina TROUNCE on those LSU Tigers. We were telling all the Tiger fans that it was ok, we were gonna be national champions, so at least they lost to the best team in the country. It's like a 6th sense!

French Horn Rebellion. One of my new favorites.

The LeeBlanks!

My favorite picture of the weekend. That's our new friend, Moses, on the end.

That's all for now. We finally went and got furniture, so I will post some pictures of our apartment next time. I promise, once we get settled, I will get into a routine of updating. Just haven't gotten there yet.

Love,

Lace

Apartment #122H

Work (and life) have been crazy busy, so this is later than I thought it would be. But anyway... I promised I would post photos of the one, the only Westcreek Apartment #122H!

We're so happy with where we ended up. We can walk to the Galleria, the big mall, and watch people ice skate while sipping on a yummy smoothie. I am only 3 miles from work, and we are traveling the opposite direction of everyone in rush hour, as we live inside the city, so it only takes me 5 or 10 minutes to get home.

Brian started his job this week, and he loves it! He is working for Professional Ground Management Services as a crew leader. Yep, that's right. He's a supervisor. And he's already wowed them with customers calling the boss to say how happy they are with his work. :)

Here is the living room. SHHHHH.... Brian is taking a nap. :)





And here is what will be the office nook... once we get up the courage to go back to IKEA and get our desk!


Here is the kitchen. AND, YES, THAT IS A DISHWASHER!! We haven't gotten around to hanging our bulletin board quite yet. Sorry momma!!




And here is the bathroom. It's so nice to be able to get in the shower without feeling a draft through the window!



Here is the laundry room... errr... closet.


And finally the bedroom. A little spare right now. We need to find some furniture for in here, too. But check out our 50% bamboo bedspread. It's SO soft.


Perhaps my most favorite part of all. A CLOSET. I truly missed this.


Love you all! Check back soon for photos of last weekend in Austin for the SXSW Music Festival with Lindsay. (We saw Sandra Bullock and Jesse James!)

Everything IS Bigger in Texas - Part 1

We're here! Safe and sound. And so far... we are LOVING being "Texans."

The goodbyes were hard. My last day at Kewaunee was basically just one long sobfest. (Somehow, I don't think Brian's last day was so difficult!) And saying goodbye to the family... I still can't think about it. Brian and I both miss everyone already. We can't wait for mom and dad's visit next month! Hopefully by then we will have found some cool things to show them...

We drove all day long the Friday we left and made it to Brian's hometown of Luling, LA around 11:30 that night (after gaining an hour... so really 12:30 a.m., I guess.) Moe's brother and sister in law, Brennen and Melissa, were nice enough to put us up for the week end, so we had a nice soft bed to sleep in. And we got to meet Donovan, the craziest, sweetest 4 year old ever.

Brian and Donovan at the Parade in Metairie

Saturday morning we went to eat yummy cajun food at Monsanto park. Delicious. Then we went to the Luling parade, where Brian got to see some "long lost" friends, and I finally got to meet all the people I've heard so much about. After that, we headed to Metairie for a parade and out and about in Luling... which is a lot like heading out and about in Statesville it turns out. ;)

Layla, Kenny and Brian at the Luling Parade

Melissa, Easter Bama and Me at the Parade in Metairie.
Easter Bama was stimulating the economy by
giving away doubloons, mardi gras coins.

Moe and Brennen at Cajun Ice, One of Two "Bars" in Luling

Sunday morning we drug ourselves out of bed, said our goodbyes, pulled Donovan off Brian's leg and drove the hour to Baton Rouge. We had a nice, long nap, ate some takeout and prepared ourselves for the last leg of the race, i.e. the 4 hour drive to our new home!

So, drive we did, and we finally made it to Houston. But this post is getting a little long... so you'll have to stay tuned for the next post to hear about the move-in, our cute apartment, our week of exploring and my first days at work. :)

Love you. Mean it. We'll do lunch. (That one's for you, daddy!)