Well, you get a little help from a friend!

Karen served as our tour guide and met my sister Janie and me after we dropped off our rental car near the airport. We used it to drive back and forth to Pennsylvania. We went to family weekend to see my daughter at her college about two hours away. It was perfect timing to experience peak fall foliage along the back roads into the big city. We decided to end our trip with a couple of days in New York City and visit with my long time friend.

Can I get some applause for driving and surviving NYC without any dents or dings in the rental car?

I am woman hear me roar or rather, VROOM, VROOM!

After successfully checking in our Midtown hotel room, we were off for our two day adventure of eating, walking and exploring NYC with no particular thing in mind other than catching up with one another.

We took a subway ride to ABC KItchen for a late lunch. My sister Janie soon realized that she had been there over 10 years ago and knew we were in for a treat. And she was not mistaken. The restaurant is beautiful and perfect for our afternoon of catching up and talking for hours. We ordered the skillet sweet potato bread right away because we had a hard time deciding on what to have for our entree. It had caramelized leeks and was topped with the perfect amount of parmesan cheese.

I can’t even describe to you how good it tasted.

Why order anything else?

But we somehow managed between our 2 hours of chatting!

This is the chicories and chrysanthemum salad,

Honestly, I ordered it because it sounded so pretty!

And it was delicious and so different. The calamansi dressing is made with a fruit that tastes like a lemon and a lime combined.

It was refreshing.

My sister Janie and Karen opted for the lentil soup which made them go on and on about its flavor. My favorite thing besides the bread was the roasted figs and beets. It had a mustard dressing that blended the unique flavors to perfection.  Our sweet waiter Jack keep stopping by to check in with us. He was absolutely delightful. He’s an actor as well as a server who provides excellent service!

For dinner, we decided to watch the World Series at an Irish pub down the street from our hotel.

P McDaid‘s  was just what we needed! Nachos, sliders, beer, people watching and maybe some more beer! This isn’t the greatest picture ever taken of an Irish pub in NYC, but I was too busy yelling at the Yankees. The staff was so friendly as well.  Two big thumbs up for P. McDaid’s.

We all know what would eventually happen to the Yankees in the World Series.

Sigh.

How can you go to NYC and not have a bagel? Broad Nosh Bagel is the quintessential deli for the perfect bagel. (We went to the Columbus Circle location)

A few tips: Don’t let the long line scare you-it moves fast!

                 Be ready to order when you approach the staff.

                 You might need to double up your seating when it is crowded because there is limited space.

                 (We shared a table with a couple of New York’s finest! They were so nice and made us feel safe!)    

We walked around so much that at mile 5 of the day, we decided to stop for cocktails. Karen urged us to stop by the bar at the Whitby Hotel. All I could say when I walked in was, “Oh my word, how beautiful,fun and elegant:” The bartender helped us with our drink selections. We did spot a celebrity but we played it so cool. We were giggling like high schooler’s when he walked away!

You really must see this boutique hotel in person, words can’t really do it justice!

After all the shopping, walking and looking around and clocking in 7 miles on our Apple watches, it was time for dinner!

When Karen told us about some of her favorite spots for Italian food, I was determined to eat at Parm even if it meant walking way out of the way and through Central Park! The popularity of their red sauce was the draw for me! And boy, it was so worth the extra miles to get there! I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful the eggplant parmesan with basil tasted. It is served with a ridiculously large amount of pasta with THE best vodka sauce I have ever put in my mouth! The garlic bread is served with sesame seeds, which was such a nice surprise. It was worth every bit of all those miles we walked to end our trip with such a fabulous meal!

I was sad to leave New York City after only two days and it was especially hard to hug Karen goodbye after she showed us around the Big Apple. It was a great getaway with my sister and friend.

Now, I need to walk off all those carbs!

Stay Sassy Y’all.

Aren’t you just so happy when your kids have such fond memories of family vacations?!

The only stipulation that they had was that our Airbnb would have an air conditioner! Our South Texas kids know how the heat can ruin a good time. My request was to see a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre while we were there. It had been on my bucket list for years! The hubby just wanted a view of the mountains and be able to take the dog!

After finally coming up with the only week that would work with the college schedule and work schedule of our grown children, I proceeded to book everything in April for our August adventure! You have to book early for Colorado because half of Texas goes there to beat the heat!

And we had an awesome time! We hiked and walked everywhere.We went to Golden and Boulder not once, but twice! We ate at some fabulous restaurants with the best outdoor seating because of the dog! Every single wait staff brought our dog some water without us even asking. Now, that is great service!

My favorite thing of all was getting to attend a live concert at Red Rocks, to say it is beautiful is an understatement. It is just one of those places that you must experience for yourself.

When we arrived the forecast called for rain.

It poured down for 30 minutes.

And then this happened.

It was like magic.

The blue skies came just as it was time to enter the amphitheatre.

And then light show started with the clouds and the view of downtown Denver.

Was this even real? Oh my word it was breathtaking.

The view when the opening band started to play.

How in the world did we get so lucky with the display of such a beautiful sky and setting?

The cool breeze lasted all night.

As the sun set on our very first Red Rocks experience and the band played on for the whole night, I couldn’t help to be so grateful for such a wonderful family vacation.

And a bucket list item for the ages! 

Stay Sassy Y’all.

She was in town for work having traveled all over Central Texas at her bank’s various branch locations. She was more than ready to venture out for something fun! We’ve been friends since we were in our 20’s. She was also the person most responsible for fixing me up on a blind date with the Big Stud! As if we needed a reminder of how long we’ve known each other, my kids got to hear stories this weekend during her stay at our house. Some of them included bachelorette party shenanigans. I’m not telling if it was mine or her party! Let’s just say we successfully stayed out of jail!

Oh, to be young again.

I am always up for a morning of exploring a small town in the Hill Country. I’ve been to Johnson City many times when the kids were younger. I would take them to the fabulous Science Mill hands-on STEM museum on a pretty regular basis,but it had been awhile. I was up for seeing what they had to offer at their monthly Market Days event in downtown Johnson City.

Downtown is quaint and very walkable. Flowers were in bloom all over the place with butterflies in full force as well. It was just the laid back kind of place we were looking for to get out of the big city for a day.

I noticed so many new places had been opened since my last visit. We found some wonderful new and used items at Huckleberry’s Closet. We kept finding things to buy our daughters in there! Hello, Christmas presents in July!

And how could you not want to try a place called, “The Jittery Biscuit! We just poked our heads in there to see what it looked like inside because we were already highly caffeinated! It was so cute inside. We will definitely have to come back for breakfast sometime.

We decided to get on the wait list to have lunch at Pecan Street Brewing. while we kept shopping around town. I was in the hunt for a unique accent table. I didn’t find what I was looking for but I really liked the antique stores around the square.

Do you even call them antiques these days? Should I call it vintage?  I like trying to find some different and good quality items that were made before mass production took over the furniture world! 

And it’s fun!

OK, back to our lunch! Cheryl was texted while we were shopping that said our table was ready! It wasn’t near the full hour that they said the wait would be. We felt good about this new development!

The state of my diet these days is somewhere between a salad and chicken and waffles!

Both were glorious.

OK, the chicken and waffles were the best of the two!

I’m not going to lie.

We had so many leftovers!

Pecan Street Brewery has long lines for a reason!

We walked back to the car with full bellies and happy hearts.

Johnson City is a great place to visit!

And even better to enjoy while catching up with an old friend.

Stay Sassy Y’all.

A few more pictures around town!

In my best Julie Andrew’s voice, I would like to let you know about some of my favorite things I’ve been using lately or stumbled upon at some reasonable prices! You can be sassy and love a bargain at the same time. When you had parents that grew up during the depression, it tends to automatically make you a tight wad! But in a good way. I do like to spend money but it’s on travel and experiences these days! Great prices just lead to my excitement to share them with my readers!

First up are the earbuds I received as a Mother’s Day present this year. My husband wanted me to be very specific for a gift this year and not just say, “I don’t need anything!” I’ve been wanting some earbuds that actually fit and weren’t ridiculously expensive in case I lost them. My family came through with the Sony noise canceling ones. The sage green color even matches my fanny pack. The charge on them seems pretty long so far and they fit so well I don’t even know they are in my ears most of the time. When I did I google search, it looks like different stores such as Target and Best Buy have different colors but are priced about the same.

SASSY TIP: The directions tell you to download the Sony app to make them work. You do NOT have to do this. It will work just fine with the Bluetooth setting on your phone. I hate all these apps that are getting information off of your phone to sell to other companies! I have gotten to where I refuse to buy things that make you load an app to use their products. I’m so over it and the storage on my phone is over it too!

Another one of my favorite things lately is something that I have been listening to on the treadmill with my new earbuds! The John Delony Show podcast! He’s like a nice Dr. Laura. He produces a new show on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. There seems to be a lot of men that call in the show which I love because men don’t usually want to talk about their feelings. You get some great insight from the callers. When I listen to it in the car driving back and forth around Texas for hours, it makes the journey so much more enjoyable. I have teared up so many times because he is so kind to his callers. He grew up in Houston and now lives in Nashville as part of the Dave Ramsey network. Give it a listen, you won’t be sorry, I promise!

I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping on Old Navy but they have been hitting all those fashion trends with great quality and even better pricing!  I just wish that they would quit with those “dollars” they give you with a specific date to return. I feel like they are wanting me to commit and I think we are just dating again at this point! They have some incredible sales right now! I think the athletic wear and every day shorts have been my favorite this season.

My favorite clothing store for a little more dressy occasion is Versona. I bought a purse back in February that I have received a million compliments on and it is shocking to me the amount of  people that have never heard of Versona. I tell them that it is the fancy Cato. (they are owned by them) The one in San Antonio is right next door to Ulta and has one of my favorite coffee shops, Early Bird in the same shopping center. You can make it a whole “girl’s morning out” adventure!

Let’s talk about sunscreen since it is still a million degrees in Texas. My favorite face and body sunscreen can be found at Trader Joe’s. The face one comes in a SPF40 and it goes on clear. It is a moisturizer too so you can put it on under your make up. The spray ones are in a SPF 50 and a SPF 30 and are the only ones that work on my family’s pale and sensitive skin. And they smell pretty decent too. The price is around $9 a container for the face and body versions. I don’t need any excuse to go to Trader Joe’s because I make frequent trips just to buy some fresh flowers. Put the sunscreen on your TJ list, it is worth the trip!

How did I almost forget to mention SHOES! My friend Heather was wearing the cutest pair of sandals awhile back at lunch and I had to know what kind they were because they looked so comfy AND stylish. Baretraps are just the cutest shoes with the best support! I finally found them at DSW so I could try them on in person. I have found myself not wanting to do “amazon hauls” or whatever, ugh, such a waste of time and precious resources! I have bought enough now to know my size sweet spot with the brand. There is a sale on their website on pool slides for $14.99 that I am planning on getting next, the only question is what color? (photo credit their website)

And lastly on this long summer list of favorites is Home Sense. You don’t have one? You mean San Antonio got a store before Dallas or Houston? It is a store created by the people that bring us Home Goods, Marshall’s and T J Maxx. Imagine the best of all those stores under one roof! It’s like a bargain shopper home design store nirvana! I swear,I about cried when I was strolling around looking for a comforter! They get me, they really get me! Now, if they would only put a little coffee kiosk like Target, then I would never leave!

This about wraps up my list of my favorite sassy things of late! Let’s call it the summer edition since it’s hot in Texas all the dang time! I hope you get a little time to find something that makes you look and feel sassy! Lord knows we have all earned it and then some.

Stay Sassy Y’all.

(This post IS NOT sponsored by anyone,any person or company! The links posted are for reference only and I won’t make a single penny if you click on them. I’m just sassy like that! I speak my mind and offer my opinion even if no one is reading or listening!)

Jacksonville, Texas was home to Jacksonville Savings and Loan where my daddy got his very first and only home mortgage loan. It was also one of my top clients as an account representative in Big D back in the 90’s. I used to love visiting their corporate office because it felt so much like Kilgore. I also twirled a flag during the half time shows at football games on the field of the Tomato Bowl. Where are my band nerds?

That was the extent of my history in Jacksonville, until I decided to stop for lunch on the way back to San Antonio.

I vaguely remembered stopping by Ritual in our many travels back and forth to East Texas over the years. It involved take out, eating in the minivan and trying to keep the dogs out of our food!

Well let me tell you, Ritual needs to be witnessed inside the luncheonette for the ultimate experience. First of all, it is beautiful inside where you are surrounded by items like copper salt and pepper shakers, sterling silver flatware and the most delicate lighting. My daughter Savannah said,”I love these forks!” You know you have accomplished something in a restaurant when a 19 year-old notices such things! 

It is a small menu that features every single thing that “ladies who lunch” love, like grilled chicken Caesar salad, egg salad, pimento cheese, chicken salad and the ultimate potluck church item: deviled eggs!

But Ritual puts their dish on the pedestal it deserves AND serves them with truffle oil! 

Sweet Jesus! Be still my heart. I think every single church lady I have ever known would appreciate this presentation.

My main dish was the avocado quinoa salad. It was a thing of beauty. At first, I thought it was too pretty to eat but I somehow managed.

Our service was impeccable with just the right amount of attention on this busy day before the July 4th celebrations. The server suggested the strawberry cake for dessert and we said yes to the dress, oh I mean cake!  She quickly asked how many forks we would need.  And that would be three please!

Let me tell you that this cake was DIVINE. We savored every single bite.

This is when I sit and wonder as I am waiting for the check, why haven’t I taken the time to stop and enjoy this place? 

They even have an old fashioned soda fountain across the street!

So my friends, as you travel the many back roads of Texas and avoid Interstate 35 take a little time and enjoy this piece of small town East Texas.

It might just be our new ritual.

Stay Sassy Y’all.

[See image gallery at livinsassy.com] (Enjoy some extra pictures of the soda fountain spot directly across the street!)

Dear Gentle Readers, oh wait.

Do y’all still have season 3 of Bridgerton on the brain too?

Let’s pause for reflection.

Oh, my.

Well, that whole topic is for another blog post!

This post will be all about my little getaway to Fredericksburg for two nights with my husband aka the Big Stud.

Honestly, we have been avoiding going there because it’s so busy, especially on the weekends. How many bachelorette parties do you need to see in the course of a weekend at every winery, brewery or restaurant?  The sidewalk is only so wide to accommodate the throng of shoppers gathered on Main St. over the course of a Saturday or Sunday!

And in this stage in our lives, we don’t like the heat, crowds or waiting in line. We shouldn’t have to because after all these years, we have earned some flexibility with our time!

So with very little research, we stumbled upon the place we would stay for two romantic nights on a Sunday and Monday evening. We wanted to make sure it wasn’t busy. If you know anything about Fredericksburg, there are a lot places that are closed the first of the week! And a lower nightly rate at our cottage was a bonus!

We couldn’t believe the beautiful grounds of the Hill Country Herb Garden. Did someone just drop us in the middle of an Instagram post?

We strolled around in awe of the beautiful plants, especially the ones that were surrounded by butterflies. And like any midlife couple, we took pictures to help us remember which ones to try and plant in our own flower beds at home!

Our cottage was equipped with the most luxurious bedding and comfortable, matching robes. The body wash, shampoo, conditioner and lotion in the bathroom were all made with the herbs grown on the property. There were bottles of various wines in the room that you could purchase at a very reasonable price.

The sassiest thing that I couldn’t stop obsessing about was the breakfast basket delivered to our door. It was a little different each morning but contained fresh fruit, yogurt, orange juice, croissants, prosciutto, cheese and jams. We ate it on the front porch in the rocking chairs while feeling the cool breeze and smelling the wonderful fresh herbs still growing in the gardens.

It made me feel like a character in a romance novel. The hunky man on the cover would be my economist husband. He might not have long, flowing hair but he makes up for it in brains!

It was heavenly. 

I didn’t want to leave our cottage.

But we did.

We walked over 10,000 steps while shopping in downtown Fredericksburg. There were a lot of candles in need of smelling, so someone had to do it! And we did it with a vengeance. We drank coffee and tasted wine. Heck, we even held hands in HEB! 

Operation romantic getaway was working!

We ate at so many fabulous restaurants. Our two favorites were Hill Top Cafe and Hill & Vine.

Hill Top Cafe is located in an old gas station. It is the quintessential, off the grid Hill Country experience. They have live music and the most surprising menu options we have ever come across in all our foodie travels. We were too late for the Sunday Gospel brunch but we were the first people to be seated at dinnertime at 5pm. I guess we are that old!

Hill & Vine is a lot newer to the food scene in Fredericksburg than Hill Top Cafe. And it shows. They recently went through a huge remodel and expansion of their building, outdoor space and parking area. It was very well done. The mood inside was calming and relaxing; the staff was very kind and the music they played had me searching to see if they had their own Spotify mix!

The favorite thing I tried on their menu? Black Eyed Pea Hummus! Yes, that’s right, I was surprised too. It was delicious!

The best thing about getting older is knowing exactly who you are and what you want.

And I want a little Fredericksburg getaway every now and then but only on Sundays, Mondays or Tuesdays!

Stay Sassy Y’all.

(Keep scrolling for more pictures in the Gallery)

She has thrived. And we finally adjusted having the house a lot more quiet without her. Sniff. sniff.

And now my husband and I take turns on traveling up to meet her at the end of the semester. He went to NYC on business and they got to see Christmas in the Big Apple.

They said it was a magical trip. And the big Stud can take it off his bucket list. They created such great memories.

It was my turn to travel up the east coast to bring her back to Texas for the summer. I traveled up to Pennsylvania thinking that she would need help moving out of her dorm room after her freshman year. When I got there, she had already had everything done.

We raised some independent and self reliant children! Thank the Lord!

My only goal of the entire trip was to be able to spend some extra time in the cooler weather and having some down  town with my sweet Savannah. I was leaving behind a heat wave in early May in South Texas, so that was top of mind too!

I researched, “places to go within a few hours drive from Easton, PA” and came up with Cape May, NJ as my choice to explore after picking up my daughter. I wanted to celebrate her for the excellent grades and successful first year of college. She said I could pick since we would be there for Mother’s Day too.

  Let me just say that it was marvelous.

  And beautiful.

Relaxing.

Inspiring.

  Little did we know that we would be strolling around Cape May the same time they were filming the Bob Dylan movie. It is supposed to be called, “A Complete Unknown.” The movie stars Timothee Chalamet.

Squeal.

  Well, that added a new plot twist to the quick trip to the New Jersey shore! 

  We strolled around the mall area in hopes to spot the actors. Can you really call it a mall? It was more like a gathering place for the whole little town.

It was so relaxing. And the high temperature was 71 degrees.

Awwww. Heaven.

As a parent, you hope and pray and pray some more that your child will pick the right college experience for them to thrive.

When I left her on parent weekend in the fall, she was a little nervous.

And this time when I drove up in my Nissan Sentra rental car outside of her dorm, she was beaming.

She made marvelous grades and had the best professors her entire freshman year.  But the most important thing of all, she had already made some life long friends.

Happy Summer Savannah.

We sure are glad to have you home, at least for a little while.

Love,

Mom

Stay Sassy Y’all.

Everyone loves teachers.

I still think about some of the best teachers I had growing up in small town East Texas: Mrs. Terrell, Mrs. Phipps and Mr. McComic. They were really the ones who challenged me to see the world through a creative lens in writing and being my own person. I guess they might be to blame for all the sassiness!

Teachers are hard working, inspirational, dedicated and woefully underpaid for being such an important component in developing our future leaders.

Coming up this Monday, May 6th, is teacher appreciation week. It gives us all an opportunity to spread the love to the educators in our lives. My immediate family has 12 current or retired teachers,coaches and professors. I can bear witness to many long evenings spent grading papers, making lesson plans and attending school functions. But they wouldn’t want to do anything else. The teaching profession is definitely a calling.

Well, our friends at Whataburger want to thank and show their appreciation to teachers by treating them to breakfast!

During the week of Monday, May 6th through Friday, May 10th, any school employee who shows their ID badge inside or in the drive-thru lane can enjoy a free Taquito, Breakfast on a Bun, or Honey Butter Biscuit. The hours are 5am to 9am for all those early to rise teachers! 

But Whataburger doesn’t stop there because they are sassy like that! They are taking the opportunity to award 63 teachers a grant in the amount of $1000 for their school to continue supporting the educators and their students beyond the teacher appreciation week.

Wow, Whataburger!

Thank you for showing all the love, food and funds to our teachers.

Now, I want a Whataburger Jr with everything plus mayo and a diet Dr. Pepper.

And an extra special thank you to my niece, Lindsey Monaghan. She is the kindergarten teacher at Leverett’s Chapel ISD. It is a tiny school district that is doing great big things!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week.

Stay Sassy Y’all.

To This:

in a blink of an eye!

Savannah is an international affairs major at a college 1500 miles away on the east coast. She managed to pull out a 4.0 in the her first semester! (yes, I still can obnoxiously brag about her!) and Catherine is at a wonderful day school learning life skills and socializing. And our son is still working in Austin living his best single life after college!

I’ve been trying to figure out what is next up in this empty nest phase of life.

I started doing yoga! Yes, yoga at least 2 or 3 times a week! It’s called Holy Yoga. It’s yoga mixed with prayer.  I pray that I don’t injure myself! Seriously, it’s the best part of my week. I love it! I met some awesome yoga moms too!

I finally convinced my doctor that I needed hormones. And let me tell you that you don’t need to let your doctor put you off for long if you even THINK you might be low on hormones! It has made a HUGE difference in all phases of my life! I can sleep again! Thank you Jesus!

I renewed my loan officer license for another year. Who knows, the real estate market might come back and I’ll be ready!

I have been taking senior pictures for photography clients every now and then. It’s usually boy moms that finally convinced their sons that they need a picture for their graduation announcements.  Sassy to the rescue!

I visit my sister in East Texas a lot. She has had early onset Alzheimer’s for over 10 years.Her husband, kids and grandchildren fill her up with so much love. It is such a blessing to witness so much care and devotion for my sister Kathryn.

I have had lunch with friends seeking out advice on what to do with this blog. It still gets a lot of traffic! I guess people need stories about special needs families, big hair and pictures of Bucees underwear!

I started blogging way before Instagram and TikTok and all the other social media platforms that lean into videos! I’ve tried it a little bit but it doesn’t seem natural! I guess I’m too old school!  I’ll just keep posting on here like I’m sending snail mail or something!

If you are still on my email list from 2011 when I launched this blog, thank you old friend. 

You might be seeing more posts from me every now and then as I navigate this new phase of midlife!

I’m still finding the humor, beauty and love in life and hoping to share it with you.

Love,

Laura aka Sassy and the big Stud

Stay Sassy Y’all.

It had been awhile so I was starting to twitch a little for Jack Ryan’s  calamari and a mini #2 hamburger from Charburger and their beans with hush puppies. Trust me, their beans should be on your bucket list! But I will warn you that their sweet tea is SWEET, like SWEEEEEET.

After so many days filled with hanging out with family and friends, driving the back roads and  letting life slow down a little, I felt all refreshed a ready to go back to the big city!

I managed to stop by the newish Farmer’s Market in downtown Kilgore on my way out of town. They have the booths set up by the train depot. It was so nice to see all the artisans display their crafts: fresh vegetables, pottery, woodwork, jams and jellies and so much more. .

I had fun taking pictures and meeting so many old and new friends.

I love a farmers market!

They make your day begin on such a positive note. I found the prettiest green tomatoes to make fried green tomatoes later in the week!

And when my friend Melissa and I thought we were done chatting everyone up and buying some things, we went to look at all the tractors that had been set up for a tractor show with live music, snow cones and food trucks!

We couldn’t believe how many different type of tractors were lined up along the street. I even spotted the type of tractor that my grandpa Brennan used on his cotton farm in Talty,Texas.

Such sweet memories.

There’s no place like home.

Stay Sassy Y’all.