Pumpkin Carving!

On Wednesday Andrew, Michelle and I tackled the task of carving pumpkins. Well, we had a pumpkin for Michelle that turns out was as hard as wood, and since Michelle gets grossed out by the goop, she turned picture documenter of our carving.

Andrew went the free-hand route, well sharpied on pumpkin route, and designed it all in his head. I cheated for a bit, but it was harder than expected, then did a free-handed mouth...didn't turn out as cute as Andrew's. The dogs loved the smell and were really curious about the new jack's in the house. I really appreciate my fantastic husband that goes with my weird whims, such as carving pumpkins on a Wednesday night!

The beginning, yes dogs are on table, but newspaper is below them

Gus interested in the smellsAndrew Free-handing
My cheat sheetHappy CarvingThe jacks in the light
Jacks in the dark

Whew, auction over!

As you know, I am an event planner for BRIT. I have many small fund raising events throughout the year, but I have two HUGE events each year that just about wipe me out. This past Friday was our Fete du Vin Wine Auction and Dinner, and if I do say so myself, it went off splendidly!!

My parents are the most awesome parents a girl could ask for, I think I've mentioned that before in this blog, and they came in on Thursday to help Andrew and I out with our dogs (he was flying a lot Thursday and Friday) and help me set up my auction. I mean really, my parents drove 5 hours to work for me for free. See, awesome. It was great seeing them, and of course Huck and Gus loved having their friend Tucker to run around with.

The day of the auction is spent putting up displays, deciding we don't like the way it looks, taking them down, then re-doing them. Whew...by the time the guests arrive we are ready for a nap. Haha, but this year was just awesome, and I even had a seat to sit and chat with some of my dearest friends. Not to mention try a spot of their wine! ;) I am posting some pictures of the event that my friend Tiana took below for those of you who haven't seen it because you don't travel 5 hours to Fort Worth to work for me for free...which really you should reconsider, I'll give you a bottle of wine. Come on, you know you want to come next year....

The Hallway - when guests arrive it was supposed to feel as though they were entering a vineyard!Oh the yummy cheese display
Tiana, myself and Becca after they modeled designer gowns for us
Terri and Alan, some of our dearest!

P.S. I think Andrew and I will be carving a pumpkin in the coming days...so expect to be blown away by awesome pumpkin pictures. Well, actually, I told Andrew we could download all of these cool designs to carve, to which he responded "no, we'll just do a regular jack-o-lantern." We may be carving two as a competition now! :) Also, it is getting colder, so it is totally acceptable to jam out to Christmas music in my car now...leave me alone.

Oktoberfest

It has officially been over a month since I last posted. Man, I'm not very good at this blog thing!

So, Andrew and I had the fantastic opportunity to go to Munich for the real Oktoberfest at the end of September...what an unbelievable time!! Our dear friend Dick joined us with his friend Mary, and we met up with the Werners and Pinkstons who had been in Italy for the past two weeks. What a crew! If you want to see all of our pictures click here. I guess I'll break it down into days...

Day 1
Andrew and I arrived on a Friday morning, and had about 8 hours to explore the city ourselves. Well, as they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and I planned out our 8 hours just as my mother has always done to a "t" for our family vacations! Andrew was a little nervous about the amount of activities I had planned. Turns out, I was pretty over-zealous, and come noon-time, we were both OUT! However, we did enjoy a nice tour around Marienplatz, were able to see the Glockenspeil and really loved walking around the outdoor market! There were so many neat foods, tons of sausage, and wine and beer. It was really fun seeing the culture like that. Munich is just a gorgeous city! Andrew and I did grab a bite to eat around Marienplatz...he picked best and ordered a weinerschnitzel. Oh man, how yummy!!! However, after the tour of Marienplatz and lunch, and with a side a jet lag, we were pooped. We went back to the hotel and rested until the rest of the crazy Americans got into the city. That night Dick, who speaks German and has been to Munich many times, organized a dinner for all of us at his favorite Bavarian restaurant, Spatenhaus. OH. MY. WORD. That food is unbelievable!! I had the goulash, and Andrew had pork knuckle, and there just wasn't much left on our plate. We then took a walking tour around the old city, and Marienplatz, then ended with beers at Augustiner.

Andrew in MarienplatzMe at lunch and with first German beer

Andrew and I at SpatenhausSome of us at Augustiner

Day 2
We woke up ready and raring to go to the tents at Oktoberfest. Andrew and I had run into a couple on the airplane, then in our hotel, who happened to have reserved tables at the fest. Actually at the most popular tent, where they tap the first keg, the Schottenhamel tent. He let us use his name in order to get into the tent...apparently an impossibility on a Saturday. However, every table in the tent was reserved, and you can't get a beer unless you are seated. Well, our friend let us use one of the tables until his other friends got there. We got some big ole' beers, stood on the tables, sang to the oompah band and relished the fun. We hung around a while after being kicked out of our table and danced with some fun friends from Zurich. Andrew loved making friends with everyone. Oktoberfest outside of the tents is a lot like a HUGE fair...Dick and I even rode a ride. Which was probably a mistake as it seemed to last 10 minutes! The ones in the States, if you get on, you ride for 20 seconds, then are ushered off.
After the fest, we went to a little nook the Werners had found and munched and salad and relaxed, so pretty. Then Dick, Mary, Andrew and I went walking and shopping around the city. After freshening up at the hotel, we scooted off to the Hofbrau haus so some beer and laughing at Italians, we happened to be there during Italian week, where all Italians come to Munich for the fest. We then enjoyed a nice dinner at another Bavarian restaurant Dick liked, and then crashed hard!

Andrew and I with our beers in the tent

Our beer maid in the tent

At our resting place...and switching to wine

Mary, Dick, me and Andrew at Dinner

Day 3
On our third and final day, Mary, Dick, Andrew and I went to Schloss Nymphenburg...what a gorgeous castle. King Ludwig built it as one of his four castles, and it had gorgeous rooms, beautiful carraiges and lush grounds that were HUGE. We spent most of the day touring the home and the gardens, it was just perfect. The really neat part is that you don't have to pay to use the grounds, so there were a lot of Germans walking their babies through the grounds, or running or just hanging out. Really cool. After Schloss we went and got an Italian pizza, in honor of Italian week, and rested and looked through our photos. We met up with the Werners and Pinkstons for dinner, as well as two of Dick's German friends. It was a perfect end cap to a phenomenal weekend.

The next morning (yes, I'm throwing day 4 in here b/c it doesn't really count) we woke up at 3 am and headed to the airport. Dick managed to save Andrew and I each a row, so I was able to lay down and sleep on the way back. Andrew and I also caught up on movies, and turns out he like the Proposal just as much as I did! Yay, a fun movie for us to watch on cold nights!!

Andrew and I in front of SchlossAndrew and Dick in forest at Schloss (notice those jackets)Andrew and I on the grounds at Schloss