Second Sunday Brunch Bunch: Fernando's

 For this month's installment of the Second Sunday Brunch Bunch, we hit up Fernando's (the Travis Walk location). I had heard great things about their food as well as their patios...yes, they have two patios...and we were definitely not disappointed. 

We were seated on the back patio in the section that is on a cute little breezeway, which was wonderful because the weather could not have been better. 

This was our view on one side...

The side where Jill and Erin were sitting. Hello, ladies. 

Laura, Sarah, and I were on the other side. 

Which overlooked a nice courtyard. 

The set-up was pretty sweet. Even more sweet was their list of options for the $7 bottomless beverages. 

Frozen blueberry mojito...yes, please. 

It was really delicious. But also really filling. Those of us who got one switched to mimosas after that. 

Sarah stuck to the margaritas. And yes, that is a (very large) dog at the table next to us. His name was Romulus :). 

With the drinks, our waiter also brought out a trio of salsas for the table. I'm not exactly sure what each one was, but they were all good...especially the light green one, which I think was a tomatillo salsa. 

I ordered the Huevos Mexicanos, which were "scrambled eggs with sautéed onions, tomatoes, jalepenos, and bacon, topped with cheddar cheese and served with refried beans and Mexican potatoes." It was all super yummy, and I appreciated the fact that there was a good egg to everything else ratio. 

Laura ordered the breakfast tacos with bacon. It was basically what I got, but wrapped up in tortillas. She concurred that it was really good. 

Erin went the healthy route (damn her) and ordered the Ceviche. She was definitely a fan. 

Sarah opted to pick something off the lunch menu, the combo fajitas, because the lack of toddlers at the table meant she had plenty of room to spread everything out without worrying that little hands would reach for her hot plate. The things moms have to deprive ourselves of when dining out with our kids ;). 

She said the fajitas were good, and the charro beans were especially delicious. 

Romulus liked his fajitas as well. Ha! Seriously...his owners ordered him a plate of chicken fajitas with rice. Stella and Louie would be so jealous if they knew.

Jill ordered the Mexican Tortilla Sandwich, which was described as "corn tortillas layered with shredded chicken, jack cheese, refried beans, tomatillo sauce, and sour cream, served with avocado, sautéed onions, peppers and Mexican peppers."

When asked what she thought of her meal, Jill replied that it was "really effing delicious." Love it. 

Overall, Fernando's offered solid Tex-Mex food, great (and cheap) drinks, and fabulous patios. I will definitely be back. 

Lymphomathon

One of our friends gets a group together every year to walk in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Lymphomathon. "Team Riordan" walks to support the wonderful organization as well as to specifically honor our friend's mother, a proud survivor.

This was our first year to participate, and we are so glad that we did! It's not often that you can hang out with friends, get in some exercise, and support a great cause all at once.

[We couldn't get Ava to look at the camera, because she was too distracted by her "nana."]

The 5K walk was around the Fair Park grounds, and it was interesting to see everything in its non-State Fair state. 

Ava had a lot of fun!

After all that walking, we all rested up a bit while watching the Masters and snacking on some Cheddar Bunnies.

And since we had clearly burned a ton of calories that morning, a trip to Matt's was in order. Ava couldn't get enough of the Bob Armstrong dip, and kept asking for "mo"...she is definitely a Bratton girl :).

The Little Things

 It's the little things that truly make me happy...

The fact that my wedding ring finally fits again (and OPI's "I'm Not Really a Waitress").

Shoe shopping on a rainy Saturday.

Gorgeous spring colors.

Discovering that Ava loves Chuy's just as much as we do. 

Completing the transition from bottles to sippy cups (although this makes me a little sad as well).

Finding a new use for the apothecary jars from Ava's birthday party. 

A fun new pen holder for my office.

Seeing my baby girl snuggle up with her "Aunt" LaLa when she came to visit us this week.

Breaking my no-wine-on-work-nights diet during a fun dinner with old friends.

Hearing Ava say "bubble bath" :).

Life is good.



Office Visit + Weekend Fun

My Mom came in town this weekend, and she was able to get up to Dallas early enough on Friday to bring Ava up to my office for a visit. 

It has been a while since Ava has been up to visit me, and she had such a fun time exploring the office. She especially loved running down the halls. 

My Mom babysat on Friday so Josh and I could enjoy a nice date night at the new Mi Cocina in Lakewood. After sticking to my diet all week, the Mambo Taxis and queso were oh so delicious. 

Worth. Every. Calorie. 

Ava had such a wonderful time hanging out with her Bunny all weekend. 

[Please note that I had nothing to do with the crazy ponytail she was rocking to the park this morning.] 

Can't you tell how happy she was to be at the park with her Bunny?!

My Mom's visit also allowed us to get some good spring cleaning done at the house as well as meet up with friends to watch the Final Four games on Saturday night. We had such a great weekend. Thanks, Mom!

Easter Weekend

Ava's school was closed on Good Friday, so we started off our Easter weekend with a fun mommy-daughter day together. The weather was perfect, and we spent the morning exploring a new park with the Lockwoods. She had so much fun hanging out with her cousins and Aunt Tori. 

Our happy little toddler had a fun Saturday as well. I didn't take many pictures, but the one below pretty much captures our day.

Even though she has fun hanging out with me, no one can make her smile quite like her Dad :).

We started off Easter Sunday with some Apple-Vanilla Pancakes courtesy of the new Weelicious cookbook. They were a definite crowd-pleaser, and I think Ava ate just as many as we did. That girl loves her some pancakes.

Then it was time for the Easter Bunny to do some magic during nap time.

Although, more gifts were probably unneccesary due to the fact that Ava had already received so many fun things leading up to Easter, including an adorable lamb from her Grammie and Papa. She wouldn't put it down all night....the poor lamb almost joined bathtime.

Ava also received a cute little bunny from Josh's grandmother as well as a variety of bunny-themed items from her Bunny and Aunt Bee when they came up a couple weekends ago. I think my Mom is determined to get her to say Bunny...but all we have so far is "Bu" :).

Her favorite thing was the bunny purse, which was filled with a bunch of plastic bracelets. As you can see below, our little fashionista loves to wear them around the house.

BB and Gayle also sent Ava a very special package in the mail. 

This bunny basket was the one I used at their house when I was little. I'm so happy that they saved it all this time, because Ava loved it!

Ava was super serious about the egg hunting. I can't wait to see her in action once they are actually filled with something!

And then she took them all out of the basket to start over again :). 

And don't worry...even though Ava didn't get any candy this year, the Easter Bunny brought her a nice basket full of goodies.

I think her favorite part was the crinkly paper filling.

Although the egg-shaped chalk, lamb, and honey bunnies were also big hits.

Ava was sweet enough to share her honey bunnies. 

She had such a fun afternoon.

And we capped off the wonderful weekend with a nice stroll around the neighborhood. 

Ava kept looking up at me and smiling. Love.