" I know what it's like to talk and have nobody understand. I have seen the Eiffel Tower lit up on a Paris night. I have kissed a West Coast girl underneath the Northern Lights."

Currently listening to: Southern Comfort Zone by Brad Paisley

I am bound and determined to live a story worth telling. So here is just a small chapter of my life thus far in 2014.
So this last week I got to see my sister Jane and her husband Joe who moved to Texas. It was fun hanging out, and it was great moving somewhere sunny!

Notice that it is 57 degrees at 8PM! 

I thought this was fairly hilarious. There was serious fog in Spokane, and our plane was delayed 15 min. I was so sure it was going to be delayed and I was going to miss my connection, because that is just how I used to roll with flying (my whole family likes to poke fun at me because they can). Looks like my bad karma might be gone though, no problems this flight!

So I got into Houston at like 11 pm, tired after a full day of traveling. But I was starving, so Joe and Jane kindly stopped at Whataburger, which I guess are a big thing in Texas. It was delicious, and hit the spot.

Saturday morning I woke up and was exhausted for some reason. But I knew I needed to get up, so I did. Jane and I drove around and I was astonished at how terrifying the drivers are down there. Just lots of people cutting off others- and while I completely trust Jane's driving abilities- I was sure we were going to die in a tragic accident. 

Downtown Houston!

The picture does not do it justice, but this is the largest church I have ever seen. 

 So....The Galleria....I had to go see what all the fuss was about!  I understand that its "The Holy Grail of Shopping" and I may possibly be the only person who feels this way, but I was just not feeling it. There was too much going on!A million stores, and I would have been very lost had it not been for my not directionally-challenged sister.  I do not like crowds, its part of the reason I went to college in a podunk town in Southern Idaho. It was a bit overwhelming, so we didnt stay too long. But now I can say I've been there! Jane was horrified to see my lack of knowledge towards designers, so I will need to do some research in the future ;)

 Found the Disney store! Then I had Frozen stuck in my head the rest of the day. And yes, I am going to publicly make fun of Jane, because she would have done the exact same to me. Jane thinks (I corrected her) the lyrics said "Let it snow! Let it Snow! Cant hold it back anymore..." instead of "Let it Go". hahahahaa

 Everyone needs an elephant to go on adventures with!

 Inside Sephora! Jane is about to put on pretties, and pretended not to know me when I just had to touch every single brush in the whole store. They were just so soft.

Found this randomly on the the sidewalk as we walked around the boutiques in Rice Village.

 Usually I am not a fan of these wooden thingy's, but I loved this one! 

So I am a fan of Star Wars... I am kinda tapped out on buying anything else Star Wars related. But this was just fantastic, so I had to take a picture of it.

 The Chocolate Bar had this old school candy section which was awesome! 

Jane pretty much always lets me pick what I want to eat when I visit. I realize that it is a clique, but I decided that I wanted some genuine Texas Barbecue! And I was not disappointed. Absolutely delicious. 

 We got out of the car, and it smelled so good. I love the smell of smoke (weird I know...) and it had a fun atmosphere. It was perfect weather, and there were many out sitting on benches as they ate.

 Another tradition when I see Jane is that we go out to brunch. This time we went to Brick & Spoon, and it was adorable. I decided when I get my own house I want mason jars! Our waitress had the cutest accent, I loved when she came up to us and talked!

 Fried Donuts! Apparently donuts are a thing in Texas, which is great because I am a sucker for a good original glaze.

I spent a little time kicking a ball with Sammy! The neighbor dog almost made me wet my shorts though... Scarrrrrry.

 I know this sounds ridiculous to be excited about a grocery store, but it was so cool. They had food from all over, and I hadn't heard of half the cross pollination fruits. It had a nice feel to it.

I just could not get over the beautiful weather in Texas. There were times that I was hot. In January. It was glorious. And I may have been heartless and snapchatted a pic of myself in shorts, just to show off.

 Jane and Joe were real gems and took me out to Galveston, because I wanted to see the ocean! I've been to the California coast maybe twice, but I wanted to see it again.

I went into this store soley because of these awesome wax-y things. 

 ******Guys. GUYS. I found this awesome old school candy counter that had RED APPLE JELLY BEANS. A whole bag, just for me with only RED APPLE JELLY BEANS. This is my mostest favoritest flavor in the whole world, and the first flavor to go in that container you buy at Costco. I was so excited, and was going to try and ration them out... They didn't last 24 hours. I finished them off at the movie theater where we watched Jack Ryan.

 Proof I am in Texas! And proof I am an idiot tourist that people judge as they walk past. But I didnt care, I was having fun!

 This whole town made me want to watch Pirates of the Caribbean. And this restaurant looked legit.

 Flooding higher then me... A little freaky to think about!

 We found lots of cool shops, I was entertaining myself in this store full of sweet random stuff. This store also had a bunch comic books and other random stuff, you can be entertained for a long time. (this made me want to go to a masquerade ball)

 I had to take a picture of this because it is a running commentary between Chris and me as to whether Coke or Diet Coke is better. (DIET COKE lovers unite!)

  At this point I decided I needed pictures of people instead of just things...

Aaaaaand the whole reason we drove to Galveston. the ocean:)

 I was a little bit excited... So I started running so I could get there faster. 

 I even brought just a few shells home with me :)

 If you know me, you know I like me a good selfie, proof I was someplace cool. 

 So the whole building-your-house-on-stilts thing was fascinating to me. It makes sense,with the whole flooding hurricane thing, but it was still weird to see.

I love me some palm trees!

 Random things about my trip:
- So the Texas sky really is as great as everyone says. It feels so huge and the stars were beautiful, even from the backyard in one of the largest cities.
-This may sound like a weird description, but it just smelled like summer the whole which made me so so so happy. I maybe could get used to the whole living somewhere sunny all the time thing :)
- Most people get all dressed up for church, which is adorable! I always felt kind of weird and different in high school, because most of my friends wore jeans and a t-shirt to church. But down there everyone does it!
- Southern Manners! Probably my favorite aspect of being down there besides seeing family and the weather. I loved it when my cashier or server was a local, because they say Ya'll and Ma'am and have a cute accent. It was adorable.
-Flying from Houston to Phoenix was my favorite leg of the trip. As we landed, the pilot got on the intercom and started making galloping noises as we landed, as though he were riding a horse. It made most of us passengers laugh. Almost made up for the jerk who sat next to me during the next leg.