Nursery Decor

What better way to pass the day at home not-so-patiently waiting for the arrival of our now past-due little boy, than to share pictures of his nursery?  This may be the last time it looks this clean and organized, so take a good look.

We are so lucky to have this sitting room right off of our bedroom.  It has doors if we need them, but I can see the crib from our bed.  Doesn't get better than that!

Chris made this beautiful ruler using all of his favorite power tools, and thanks to our friends, we have a whole shelf of books waiting for story time.

We decided to decorate with an animal theme and picked out three prints to compliment a little turtle we found on our vacation in Bonaire.  A big thanks to our friend Diane for the quilt you see hanging on the crib.  It's a perfect fit for the room, and so SOFT!

Chris also made a shelf from some leftover redwood we had in the garage.  Decor items from our shower dress it up nicely.  Did you know, one queen size sheet set can be used to make a crib skirt, a chair slip cover, and two changing pad covers?  Well, now you do.

The dresser drawers are packed with cute little cloth diapers, tons of adorable outfits (not all grey, Mom), and lots of other baby goodies.  A local baby store rents the newborn size diapers in a variety pack so you can try them out with no commitment.  Don't worry... we have a few packs of disposables on hand just in case!

William is one lucky little guy!

Merry Christmas 2014

It's been another wonderful year in the Bahrij household.  As we sit on our back porch and enjoy a beer in the sun, we'd like to take a minute to wish each and everyone one of you a very Merry Christmas!

Summer 2014

As summer comes to an end in most of the country (although not in Texas!), it's time to look back on a great summer!  All the pictures from the summer are in the Summer 2014 album.

We started things off with a going away night out in downtown San Antonio.  The Luxury is always a good time, and you can't go wrong with giant Jenga.

Lindsey came to town and we all enjoyed a haunted tour of downtown.  We got a special treat when we walked by San Fernando Cathedral. 

Next up was a trip to the top of the Tower of the Americas for one last night with deployer Eric.  We sure do miss having you around!

One of Eric's favorite places was the Beethoven Maennerchor.  They showed all the USA and Germany World Cup games on the big screen.  We joined in the fun for the USA-Portugal game.

While all of this was going on, Amy and I were drowning in our weekly veggie shipment.  We shared, but how do you put a dent in a haul like this?  I think some of those banana peppers are still in my freezer...

Next up was the 4th of July.  I spent the day with friends at the Missions baseball game, then enjoyed the fireworks after the game.  Another shot from this night featured as the P52 picture for Week 27.

Two days later, I was on a plane headed for Atlanta.  I spent most of the summer there.  You can read about my adventures in my post here.  While in Atlanta, I snuck away for a long weekend with Lindsey in Vancouver.  You can read about our fun here.  

I came back to San Antonio for a few weeks in August.  I spent one weekend at our office summer picnic at the river with my silly, water-hating dogs.  See that angry face Roxie has on?  That's because she got a teeny, tiny bit of river water on her ears.

  

I spent the next weekend with a group of ladies at what I hope will become an annual tradition.  You can read all about our Ladies Weekend in Austin here.

The very next weekend, I was on another plane headed for South Dakota.  I spent 10 wonderful days with my family before heading back to Atlanta.  I wrote about my trip to South Dakota here.

On my first day back in Atlanta, I was greeted by flowers from my husband.  How sweet is he?

My travels didn't end there.  I had the opportunity to travel to upstate New York for a project meeting.  It was beautiful!  I'm trying to figure out a way that I can go back while the leaves are changing.

At the end of September, I made my way back to San Antonio.  It was great to see my puppies and sleep in my bed for a change, but I still miss all my new Atlanta friends.

To close out the summer, our group of Air Force friends spent a day in Fredericksburg as a going away for one of the couples in the group.  They are successfully relocated to South Carolina.  Lucky duckies!

With such a crazy summer behind me, I'm really looking forward to a calmer fall.  Maybe...

Atlanta

Kimley-Horn does this really cool thing called "shifting".  Shifting just means that when one office needs help, someone from another office moves in for a week, a month, or more to get the job done.  Shifting is awesome because you get to see a new city, work on new and different projects, and meet great people from around the firm.

I was asked to shift to the Atlanta Midtown office for most of the summer, and it was pretty awesome. Not only were my coworkers a blast to work with, but I had free weekends to explore the city.  I also got to walk to work every day.  That might have been the best part.

So... here's a run-down of my adventures in Atlanta.

Piedmont Park - located a half-mile from my hotel.  A perfect place for a jog or a trip to the farmer's market.  The Midtown office even recruited me to play kickball in the park once a week.

  

The Biltmore Hotel - Home to the Kimley-Horn Midtown office.  Such a cool old building.

Sweet Water Brewery - One of my many adventures with the always fabulous Kate.
 

Anlsey Park - A rediculously wealthy neighborhood between my hotel and Piedmont Park.  I became a runner for a few months because this neighborhood and the Park were such a treat to spend time in.

Atlanta Botanical Gardens - Located in Piedmont Park and home to Thursday night parties in the Garden.

The High Museum of Art - Thanks to the Blue Star Museums program, I spent A LOT of time here - for free.  You may have also seen the exterior in Week 36 - Shapes.  Atlanta attractions also featured in Weeks 26, 28, and 29.

Georgia Aquarium - Probably my favorite attraction after Piedmont Park.  I could have watched the Wale Sharks All. Day. Long.  And... I kind of did.

Centennial Olympic Park - Not all that interesting, but I was in the neighborhood.

Music Midtown - A two day music festival featuring John Mayer, Third Eye Blind, Lorde, Batsille, Eminem, Zac Brown Band, and many, many other artists.  My farewell to Atlanta, Piedmont Park, and Kate!

Ladies Weekend in Austin

Back in mid-August a group of ladies from our company's Texas offices got together for the weekend in this crazy blue house on the lake in Austin.

You might remember this beauty from Week 33 - Random.  The rest of the house was equally random.

And most certainly NOT on the lake due to a severe drought in this part of the world.

 
We didn't let not being on the lake stop us from having a great weekend.  A few of us took a morning to enjoy Hamilton Pool, a spring-fed natural pool.  We were the second-to-last car they let in the for the day... 10 minuets after the park opened.

That afternoon, we met up with the rest of the group for wine tasting and dinner.

All-in-all it was a fun, relaxing weekend with some really amazing women.  I can't wait until next year!

P52 - 33/52 - Random

A group of ladies from all the Texas offices in our company gathered for a girls's weekend in this crazy blue cabin on the river.  Random does not even begin to describe all the treasures it contained.

This little corner of the house was a particular favorite of mine.

Vancouver

Last weekend, I joined one of my favorite travel buddies, Lindsey, for a long-weekend trip to Vancouver, BC.  The plan hatched when I told her I wanted to come see her in San Francisco.  Not one to want to stay home if she doesn't have to, she suggested we meet somewhere neither of us had been.  A few months later, we were both on planes headed for Canada!

We both landed about noon on Thursday, trudged through the very long line at customs, and then made our way into the heart of the city to meet the guys who's apartment we would be renting for the next four nights.  Once we had dumped our bags, we had lunch at a favorite-but-hard-to-find restaurant called Nando's (locations we've visited South Africa, Qatar, London, and Vancouver).

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the waterfront and exploring the city.

That evening, we were signed up for a special treat - a food tour of Main Street Vancouver.  We started with sandwiches and petit-fours before moving down the street to an authentic tiki bar for a drink, to a Japanese restaurant for appetizers, and to a honey shop for a few samples.

Need a giant tub of honey?  I know where you can get one.

After the tour, we wrapped up the night with a quick walk through Gastown on our way to a bar recommended by our tour guide - in the basement of the Public Library.

Friday morning started with a quiet breakfast at a local place near our apartment.

We took our time eating, wondering through the public library,

and walking to the meeting point our our walking tour of downtown Vancouver.  If you're ever looking for a great tour, check out Tour Guys.  They are awesome!  We started at the Art Museum.  Then, we wound our way through the financial district to the waterfront, stopping at Christ Church Cathedral (the oldest church in Vancouver),

the Marine Building, the Fairmont Hotel, several public art installations, and, of course, the Olympic Flame.

After our tour, we caught a free shuttle to Capilano Suspension Bridge.  The bridge itself was terrifying, but cool.

However, I personally enjoyed the tree walk much more!

We decided to mix it up a little, and returned to downtown Vancouver via ferry.

Saturday morning, we again enjoyed breakfast at a local restaurant.  Then, we walked a few more blocks to English Bay to rent bicycles for ride around Stanley Park.

While on the loop around the park, we stopped at the Marina

and Lionsgate Bridge.

Then, we made the VERY long walk to Granville Island.  A word to the wiser-than-we-are, take the Aquabus.  Even though the view from the bridge way lovely, the walk was way too long.

Once on Granville Island, we joined another Tour Guys tour.  Again, our guide was knowledgeable and funny, and great at showing us fun and unexpected places throughout the island.

We were scheduled to rent kayaks following our tour, but due to a fireworks contest that was to take place in the bay that night, our reservations had been cancelled.  We were not thrilled, so we decided to take a self-guided brewery tour of the island instead.  Always a good decision.

And, since the fireworks had thrown a wrench in our afternoon plans, we thought it was only fitting to end our night with thousands of other spectators on the beach.

Sunday morning, we boarded a bus bright and early and headed for Whistler, home of the sliding and ski events during the 2010 winter games.  We stopped along the way at Shannon Falls, where we learned that South Americans and Southern Europeans have a very different sense of "on time" than the rest of us.

Once we arrived in Whistler, we spent an hour at the First Nations Cultural Center before heading to the mountain for the main attraction - the Peak to Peak Gondola.

It took us an hour to get from Whistler Village to the top of 7th Heaven and another hour to get all the way back down.  We stopped in a few places along the way to switch lifts, stretch our legs, and snap a few pictures.

Monday morning, we packed our bags, cleaned out the apartment, and headed for the airport.  Lindsey got to enjoy the city for a little longer than me.  I, however, had the pleasure of a 4-hour layover in Salt Lake City.  Thankfully, the Mormon Church has a free shuttle to Temple Square from the airport and offers guided tours of the buildings.  Super cool!  I got to see the inside of the Tabernacle (yes of Mormon Tabernacle Choir fame) and the assembly hall, and caught a great view of the Temple from the Joseph Smith Memorial building.

It was so much fun traveling with someone else who loves planning, food, and new places as much as I do.  Let's to it again soon Linds!