Cotes du Couer - American Heart Benefit

Simon's out on the town...watch out!

Jessica and Jules all dolled up!

April 9th we volunteered at the American Heart Benefit - Cotes du Couer! Our friend Ann works for AHA and this was her big event so we were excited to help her out. Plus, the perks were awesome -- there were 12 food stations from local celebrity chefs, TONS of fab wine and an open bar.
Jessica and I worked the LIVE auction and recorded all the bids - Paul was a spotter. It got pretty exciting at times...for example, a few people were going head to head for an Australia trip and at another point the fly fishing with Chef Chamberlain was a hot one! The big winner of the night went to the bidder who paid $26,000 for in-home cooking party with Chef Fearing -- crazy!
We had a lot of laughs and a fun time doing our "job" -- then we went off to the bar and checked out the crazy expensive wines and silent auction items. It was fun getting all dolled up, helping our friend -- and a great cause! AHA earned over $2 million that night to help fight heart disease!

Full write up here

Spring Break with Omo's

You're never too old for Spring Break, right? Well, this April I joined my sister's family in Sarasota (Siesta Key) for a few days during their SB. They had a condo right on the beach and we did nothing but chill in beach chairs sipping margaritas all day! Just what I needed, ahhh! Of course I got too much sun and returned to Dallas looking like a lobster - as I tend to do on vacay, but it was worth the burn. I had a wonderful time with the fam. The kiddo's enjoyed skim boards, boogie boards, and paddle ball -- and Jenn, Chad and I had a few great jogs up and down the beach and caught up on our reading. I was 3 weeks behind on my PEOPLE! Luckily, I'm now up-to-date on all my gossip mags, ha! ;-) We also enjoyed some fine seafood for dinner -- it's sooooo fresh and yummy down there! We were definitely spoiled!
Most of all it was so nice to have some "sister time" and see my nephews... the boys are hilarious and made me laugh the entire time. Teaching Connor Euchre was the best, lol! I know Chad was missing Paul but he was stuck in Dallas with board meetings, client meetings and a heavy workload...maybe next year!

PR at Rock n Roll Dallas Half

On March 27th I had a pretty amazing day. I finished the Dallas Rock n Roll half marathon in 1:41:20... It was my best half yet! I PR'd as the runners like to say. It was a little cold for me (most athletes loved the cooler running weather!) But I still rocked it despite the chill in the air. Since it was colder we didn't stay for the after party ... Brett Michaels was headlining, bummer! But I left with my head held high that morning. What a feeling - A runners high for sure.
I haven't ran a 13.1 in a year (focused on the two fulls and a few shorter distances) so I didn't know where I would net out. But my goal was to run a 1:50:00 -- so that's where I lined up and that's who I paced with for the first half. But after about 5 miles my breathing regulated, my body warmed up and my legs carried me faster and faster. The second half of the race"guy with green shirt" and I paced each other with 7:30 miles to both finish in 1:41. We high five'd each other, hugged, and celebrated at the finish...I'm pretty sure I'll never see him again but "guy with green shirt" and I accomplished something great that morning and I'm thankful I found him on the course! I'm thankful for him, the flat course, the cool weather and the last 3 miles downhill to the finish! Oh, and for a wonderful hubby that stood at 4 different mile markers to cheer me on! What a guy!?
The best news is that this FAST time earned me entrance into a corral at the Chicago marathon. Which means I won't have to be in the "open" category with all the newbies. (they accept both half and full times within the last year) I'm excited!

I love Spring in Dallas. It's like 75 and sunny and the rest of the U.S. still has crummy weather. We can bask in the fact that we can wear flip flops and day dresses and have cocktails on the patio while our northern friends still may be shoveling out their cars!
However, we know the dreaded HEAT and humidity is on it's way... we ignore that for now and take advantage on this lovely spring! So, that's exactly what we are doin!
Over Texas Spring Break Paul and and I took a day trip to Grapevine to go wine tasting! We did a tour and checked our two wineries. We found ourselves at a Spanish inspired vineyard sharing a bottle listening to jazz late afternoon when it hit me. This. is. awesome!! Why don't we come here more often? It's only an hour away and its absolutely gorgeous and delicious! Definitely moved up on the things to do, definitely! I think Grapefest is in September - we'll be there! Wine stomp, hello!
With the weather warming we found ourselves hanging by the pool more -- not that it's warm enough to be IN the pool yet (ours isn't heated) but we have been catching rays outside and enjoyed swimming in Mitch's pool and our friend's Kevin & Julie's! Right about now I want to invest in a pool heater, but in about 1 month that again will seem like a stupid idea.... it will be HOT soon, I know!
But it's been nice to get a taste of pool volleyball, basking in the sun, bbq and patio dinners!!! I love the taste of summer!

Not any grapes growing right now...

Are these for sale?

Pool time!

Ready to swim Milo?

Hot tubbin!

Sunday Funday!

Check Presentation | Dallas Zoo

So... as some of you may recall, Paul organized an event at the Dallas Zoo this fall with the Young Lawyers Association. He is really involved and active in the DAYL and this benefit "Zoo-a-palooza" was a huge undertaking. He was proud to succesfully raise over $10,000 for their education outreach program. Yay!
So, on March 25th the lawyers awarded the zoo the funds during a check presentation ceremony. Media and newspapers were there to promote the small gig. But overall, it was nice to see executives doing such great work in the community! The staff was really excited and were already talking about wanting to do the event again. We'll see, huh Paul? ;-)