Tuesday Treat Day

After a somewhat stressful morning, my honey bee whisked me away for lunch. And to listen to me vent. What a great husband he is and a super friend, too. I am a lucky girl. So we went to Amy & Cathy's on the square and I had my usual portabella on ciabatta. Next time I want to try the Ultimate Turkey. My friend at work says it's super awesome so I need to give it a whirl.

Schlotzsky's Update

Coming along quite nicely. Just thought you'd like an update on Mark's favorite sandwich shop. We'll be there opening day. :)

Man Over the Melt Shop

Here's what my office mate and I saw out our window while we sat on a conference call...that crane was so high up in the sky! Wow. And we couldn't imagine being the person in that cage. Yikes. We watched it descend. Too fast for our taste. And then later during a break, we had a slightly brighter, more mellow view. Thanks, J, for the lovely, tasty distraction!

Clear Springs

Last week we went to Clear Springs, which doesn't seem like the healthiest of choices BUT if you get the chicken club salad and a soup or the grilled fish tacos on corn tortillas, it's not tooooo bad. Right? :) I liked this darker look - gives the place a totally different feel. As compared to the color shot below. I am really enjoying snapping shots with the iPhone and then using one of these apps to create new looks: Camera+, tadaa, and Instagram.

Chúc mừng năm mới!

Today is the first day of the Lunar calendar and it's the Year of the Dragon. I wish everyone a very happy and blessed new year ahead. Here are some of the things that I enjoy each year to ring in the new year with Mark. The green rice cake is a tradition for this holiday. My mom has made this every year as long as I can remember. She's not able to make them anymore but she can oversee my older silblings making the cakes. They did a great job and we sure are glad they took on the project. It's about the equivalent of making tamales here in this area. Labor and time intensive but well worth it. The ancesteral table holds offerings to those who have passed on already that they will watch over us and bless us this year.

Rusty Rooster

Last night we finally tried out Rusty Rooster, the newest little restaurant in Seguin. Love the name and the decor there! I was tickled pink by all the hens they had on display in one form or another. The fried chicken was awesome - moist and tasty, as were the biscuits and okra. It is always nice to have another new eating option in our little town. And I am such a HUGE fried chicken fan, I'm thrilled they opened.

Hope you are all doing well and that you're enjoying the Christmas week. I love this time of year despite this year flying by and dragging me along. :-)

Seguin Donuts Now Open

My upper wisdom teeth need to come out and all I can think about is food so appropriately enough, I have these shots to share about a new bakery that recently opened here in our little town. We stopped by Seguin Donuts one Saturday afternoon as we went from one bee yard to another. I am in love! I love kolaches!!! Much more than any sweets, that's for sure. Don't get me wrong, a sweet, glazed donut now and then is ok but give me a kolache any ole day and you'll see a super happy girl. Look at them. Aren't they lovely?



The service was super as well so be sure you check them out. They're in the shopping center on Highway 123, next to Radio Shack and Little Ceasar's Pizza (around the corner from Beall's). And finally, here's a shot of the usual sweets that most of you like. :) I found the "hand" looking pastry on the bottom right rather interesting!

Thanksgiving Means Family & Good Eats

Hope everyone's had a great day filled with love, happiness, laughter and good eats. We had a really nice visit with family and then made it back home safe and sound. And we didn't overeat which is good! Wanted to share with you some delicious treats we were sampling this past week.

If you like pecans or want to give some as gifts, then you should really check out Charlie Willmann's orchard offerings this year. The Cheyenne 2010 crop is incredible! Light and with a slightly sweet flavor. It made a great pecan pie but it is also a great snack we much on during the day. Can't wait to share this treat with others.

Below is a shot that includes two other treats we enjoyed this week - other friends' honeys! The amber color honey is wildflower from California and the light color honey is clover from Montana. Both are yummy and I'm glad I get to try them. If Mark wasn't in business, then I would have missed out on these new honeys. I LOVE the clover - smooth and light, just the way I like it. Nice addition to our growing personal collection of honey jars. :-) Should get me through the winter.

If you're going shopping tomorrow (as we are for display stands for our shows next week), then GOOD LUCK! Stay patient and try and have some fun. That's what I'm telling myself already. :-)

Ready Your Turkey

As we all prepare for the big feast this week and the general feasting between now and January 2, I thought I'd post something I saw at our local grocery store recently. I don't often go down the spice aisle these days except when we need some sugar for bee feed. :-) Anyway, on this trip down that aisle, I spotted these interesting looking packets. Wow, did you know these existed?? I didn't. lol - I understand the appeal for people who don't cook, I guess. It's not hard to mix spices. I thought. Maybe it's a convenience thing. I don't know. But it's sort of a pricey way to go because you really only get enough for one dish it looks like. So, are YOU ready for the big meal? What are you making? Who's going to Black Friday festivities? I'm seriously on a mission this year for some display stands for our candles. Wish me luck as I fight the crowds!

Bailey's on Court Street

I am determined to get this posted! I have been wanting to tell you all about Bailey's since we went last week for the first time. In our town of about 26,000 people, we have a decent selection of food options, compared to other comparable towns. Average, I'd say. It's always nice when a local eatery opens rather than your typical chain places. And while I LOVE all our Mexican food restaurants, it is nice to have other options as well. We met a marketing items sales person at Bailey's for lunch - we want to get some snazzy bags for our honey sales. Anyway, the converted building looked great inside and the food was very good - we'll need to go back so I can try the chicken salad. Mark had it and said it was GOOD. My lemonade was very good (hard to find) and my Veggie Delight on shortbread was very light yet filling. You get a lot. I wish it had just a little more flavor but I'd still recommend it. I love veggie sandwiches sometimes.



The seating is limited and a bit on the tight side, but they do have two tables outside on the back porch, which is under some huge oaks - so go early and grab one of those great tables so you can enjoy your food outside since our weather's been so awesome lately. There's also a little gift shop inside so check it out. I saw several things that were reasonably priced that'd make nice little Christmas gifts. You know what that means - another trip back to Bailey's for sure.

Happy Tuesday!

Another fresh fruit shot for you. This year we have been blessed with abundance in all things in our life. I am not sure I deserve so much goodness! Hope you are all having a great week. We've been super busy between honey harvest and work travels for me. Be sure to check out our blog for the latest on the honey flow!

Good Eats - Grain Bin on Hwy 123

On my way home from work, a friend called to say that there may be a swarm out in her area so we got our boots and gear together and headed out there to check out the area. While we did not see the swarm (too bad), we did enjoy the lovely evening out in the countryside. We also decided to stop at a restaurant called The Grain Bin on Highway 123, just past Geronimo. This is about 15 minutes from Seguin, headed north.

We had a burger and shared onion rings. And dessert. It's a treat since we've both been working out pretty regularly and dropping some pounds. The food was delicious, the staff wonderfully friendly and the environment clean. Can't ask for more. Oh wait! You can...there's a shop in the front area of the restaurant sort of like The Cracker Barrel. Nice! Check them out if you are traveling between Seguin and San Marcos.

Hoppy Easter!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend with family and/or friends. I miss having little ones around so that I can make baskets for a hunt. The last time I did that was when nieces, nephews and sisters came to visit us several years ago. Those are very fond memories of a fun, fun time.

I am currently in love with Lily's Cookies. They are so yummy and so cute! Check them out if you are in SA. I'm glad some of the treats ended up in our baskets. :-)

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL week!

Valentine Preparedness

Are you ready for tomorrow? If not, you should get in your car and head over HEB on Court Street. Along the way, you will see vendors selling flowers, perfume, gift baskets, balloons and who knows what else. I saw all of that as I drove to HEB to pick up some groceries and flowers for Tet tomorrow. These are shots at the store - there were a lot of folks looking and buying Valentine's Day goodies. I liked the orchids they had (right side of the top shot). Cupid was good to me and brought my flowers early :-). Thanks hon!

Durango's Mexican Restaurant

If you haven't been to our new Durango's, then I would recommend it. Very yummy breakfast, great service with a great smile and a very inviting environment in which to enjoy your food. Mark took me to breakfast this morning before we both went our separate ways to our separate work.

This is located near HEB, behind the Baytown restaurant, which we haven't been to yet but a friend of mine said he and his wife enjoyed the food there and recommended it also. I'm beginning to think I am turning this into a tour of food/restaurants. :-) But that's part of the fun of exploring our little town. Now, if I could just see a great Thai or Vietnamese place...

The Shrimp Barn

I've been meaning to post about this restaurant for about a month now! My friend Hope had told me about it and raved about the delicious food so I went with some girlfriends for a Christmas lunch and gift exchange. We loved it!



This is the plate I got. I can't recall the number or name but I believe it's the seafood combination, which includes shrimp and crabcake. It was yummy though I still feel no one has matched my mom's crab cakes. Still, this was a great lunch. The salad bar includes gumbo, which is awesome. Just the right amount of okra - it's always disappointing when you get gumbo and there's only two pieces in there.



And these rolls are baked fresh everyday we were told! The restaurant is SMALL so when you go, go early, late or plan to wait. It's worth it, however. The facility was very clean and the staff was super nice! It's the kind of restaurant that makes our small town awesome and welcoming. Go try it out!

Bill Miller Pies

Yesterday a big group of us from work met at Bill Miller in order to celebrate a friend's birthday (yay Terry!). It's located along Interstate 10 and should be seeing a lot of business from all the workers building the Caterpillar site.

I noticed all the activity in the back room and watched several workers getting pies into pie boxes and found it fascinating. They were moving pretty fast - I would have worried about dropping pies. I am getting clumsier by the year it seems. lol. Anyway, there were all sorts of pies ready to go for ordering in, taking out for now and taking out for Thanksgiving! I opted for vegetable beef soup (very yummy) and a baked potato. For Mark, I took soup and a peach cobbler to go.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving break with family and friends. May it be filled with love and happiness as we are blessed with so much to be grateful for in our lives.

Artful Food

It's been a bit hectic with work and all so I haven't had time to find intriguing shots for you guys. I did, however, think that you deserved something new to check out so here's a work of art that I never tire of really. I don't like cheesecake all that much but I can appreciate the beautiness of artfully presented foods. Just look at this gorgeous dessert! The day of this specific meal, I actually had the flan and loved it. ALMOST as good as my mom's. The picture was not as dramatic as this so I chose this one for looks. ;-) Goodnight everyone. Got an early morning tomorrow -- 7am call with our Croatia location! Better go set the coffeemaker.

The Ticket

We have a new bar down on the town square now and it's called The Ticket. The top picture is the front part of the bar, the bottom shot a look at the rear of the bar. It is nice to see something new on the square but I wish it was still The Grill. Remember that? It was a great restaurant! Great atmosphere, great food, awesome wait staff -- my stepson used to work there. :) Anyway, that's more my speed than The Ticket but if you want to try something new, be sure to let me know what you think of the place.

Mark and I went when they first opened so they didn't have a full menu yet. We had the nachos and a couple of beer. I'm no critic so I won't offer a review here since you should be allowed to form your own opinion. It does offer a sitting area/balcony on the second floor, which is a great spot to be in if there's a music event on the square.

Happy Easter

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter today. We started off with our baskets...yum! I got these cute M&Ms and my favorite -- marshmallow bunnies. :) Mark got a good looking basket also and then we enjoyed a great breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon. After that, off to see the 9am youth presentation at church -- the kids did a GREAT job reciting their lines they learned about the meaning of Easter. It was soooooo sweet. After service we had a great lunch at Chili's with our friends and then home to a nice, long nap. The evening was also very nice as we enjoyed baked rosemary chicken for dinner. This has been a wonderful, wonderful weekend! I hope you all have a great week!