Oscar Opinions and a Hidden Menu

So I know I'm behind on discussing the Oscars but I just now got to watch them so they are fresh on the brain!

1. I thought Seth McFarland did an okay job. It wasn't sooo funny all the time but it wasn't too dirty (which I was worried about) and I loved all the music.

2. I loved all the music.

3. I loved these dresses.

Jennifer Garner's purple Gucci gown. Loved this jewel tone on her!

Salma Hayek's Alexander McQueen gown. I love this neck line.

Jessica Chastain and this Armani Prive dress are a match made in heaven!

Kerry Washington's Miu Miu dress was probably my favorite.
I am a sucker for coral! And that bow on her waist....LOVE.

Other honorable mentions for me were: Sally Fields, Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron and Jennifer Lawrence

4. My favorite move of the year was Argo so I'm really glad it won. I also loved Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty so I'm glad they were in the running and got some big awards. I haven't seen Les Meserables (I know, I have to!) but I thoroughly enjoyed the cast's performance!

So that's a wrap on my Oscar opinions. Now I want to bestow some healthy wisdom upon you. Did you know Panera has a "hidden menu" ? They have a few items that are really healthy and great for you but you have to know about them before going to the restaurant!

So far I've had these two salad bowls and they were delicious! I loved that the dressing was just lemon and a little olive oil. Yummy!

Power Mediterranean Chicken Bowl

Power Hummus Chicken Bowl

Click HERE if you want to see the hidden menu. 

Daryn's Bachelorette in Santa Barbara

I was pretty excited when Daryn said she wanted to go to Santa Barbara for her bachelorette party. Excuse to have a girls weekend in sunny California with beautiful beach and hill views. Yes please!

You see Daryn is the most friendly fun person I know so she had a lot of great people who wanted to go on this trip to celebrate her. We had 11 girls...yes 11! We went wine tasting, had lunch on the beach, hung out in the house we rented and had the best time!

Love you sweet friend. So happy excited for you and Matt to get married in Paris!! 

love.

Source: google.com via Amy on Pinterest

This was the scripture we had read at our wedding. Seems perfect for today. Happy Valentine's Day!

Girls Weekend to Celebrate Mom!

Well it's been an interesting year already and it's um..February 13th! oh my! Let's start out with finding out my dad had a suspicious "mass" in his throat. We had to wait until his biopsy on January 25th before we could exhale but the Lord is gracious and it seems this mass is benign!

My mom had a big birthday on January 24th but since she had to take care of Dad we decided to post-pone the birthday celebration until February.

Since Christmas break, my parents have really felt an overwhelming sense that they should return to Dallas from living in Denver the past 5 years. They have so many wonderful friends here and my brother and I both live here now. They decided to start sending their resumes out and just SEE what would happen.

Within a few weeks of applying for jobs online, my mom got a job and starts later THIS month. Ya you heard me..as in February.

And now Dad has an interview scheduled with a job that would be perfect for him in a couple of weeks. Okay Lord, we hear you. This is where you want them to be.

So, back to my mom's birthday celebration. We had planned a girls weekend in Ft.Worth with my mom and sister before her job offer but when the weekend rolled around it was perfect timing. Sort of a calm before the storm for my mom as she plans a big move.

We started the weekend off with a dinner at our house. My brother joined us for some BBQ and cake and it was such a fun night! 

Friday we headed to Ft.Worth for some shopping and Joe T's for lunch. 

Saturday night we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Reata. YUM!

Saturday we went to brunch at Taverna and the rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing at the Omni Spa. It was so nice of mom to have a birthday so we could pamper OURSELVES! :) ha!

We decided we needed more Mexican food so Mi Cocina did the job for our last night out.

It had been at least 3 years since we did something as just us three girls. It was refreshing. It was fun. It was perfect.

I am so blessed to be apart of this family. 

PS- Shout out to my brother-in-law who watched all three of their kiddos so my sister could come and enjoy this weekend away. You are a wonderful father and husband! It was such a gift! 

The "Big Game" Party

Since we didn't have a horse in the race for the "Big Game" last night, we decided it would be more enjoyable to watch the game with friends. So we had ourselves a PARTAY!

It was so fun to have a house full of people and a table full of yummy food. 

Our menu included: 

Queso with Taco meat

Puppy Chow

Football Peanut Butter Cookies via Betty Crocker

Cheese-ball and crackers

Jalapeno Ranch Dip

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with blue cheese dipping sauce via LKTC

Baked Jalapeno Poppers via Tammy's Recipes

Sliders with Caramelized Onions and Fry Sauce via Pioneer Woman

I loved Beyonce's half time show although it was a little too steamy at times. She is a Power. House. I was SO hoping for "Say My Name" or "Survivor" but I thought is was a great show. One of the best one's I've seen in a while. 

I was talking too much to hear the commercials but I'm told the Taco Bell one is the best. :)

How did you watch the "BIG GAME"? 

Fancy Enchiladas

We made these Saturday night and they were really good! I did not miss having meat because I love the red enchilada sauce so much! I also love red onions, goat cheese, black beans and cilantro! :)

Roasted Zucchini, Black Bean and Goat Cheese Enchiladas via Sprouted Kitchen.

click picture for recipe

Pictures from Sprouted Kitchen.

Enjoy!

Holiday Wrap Up

Okay okay I know it's January 12th and I'm posting about the past holidays but we got to see a lot of folks!

We hosted Christmas at our house with David's dad, brother, sister and nephew.

Each airport pick up had to have a little brother humor of course! David's dad didn't even recognize his sons- ha!

David and his brother TJ 

Cade and Auntie Steph making sugar cookies for Santa :)

The tree fully stocked :)

Cade having fun unloading the stockings 

I kept my family's tradition with egg casserole and cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. I used Pioneer Woman's recipe for the rolls and they were DELICIOUS! 

Christmas is also my father-in-law's birthday so we had to transform the house for a quick surprise Luau! 

We took a quick trip to Austin to see more of David's family.

L to R: my brother-in-law, TJ , me, David,  my father-in-law,  Dave, David's cousin, Kathryn, nephew, Cade and David's sister, Taylor.

We came back to Dallas and had Tj's girlfriend Pleasant and my parents over for a fun dinner. 

R to L: TJ, Pleasant, me, my dad, my mom, David, Cade and Taylor

It was a wonderful Thompson family Christmas! 

R to L: Cade, TJ, Pleasant, Dave, Taylor, David and Me ;)

After Christmas we had a couple days with just David's dad so we took him to Ft. Worth to the Kimball Museum, Joe T's and Rahr & Sons brewery. 

We also took him to the newly opened Perot Museum. I highly recommend this museum! It's amazing!

For New Years we had our friends Melissa and Jdub stay with us from Houston and we went to a fun dinner at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse with Bill and Hillary. After dinner we rang in the new year playing Cranium. It was perfect! :)