Texan First, Then American

or how I learned to drink like the locals...

We've been in Portland now for over 4 years, and this was the first time we traveled back to Texas for the holidays. We left sunny Portland on Christmas Eve to touch down in a drizzly, cold Dallas. Wait... What? Are we sure we're in the right place? Seeing Mish's mom and sister at the baggage claim reassured us that we were exactly where we needed to be. We're soon cruising across 10 lane highways with the smell of Chick-Fil-A wafting through the air. Our driver informs us that the party hasn't quite started yet but we are expecting a full house. 30+ family members will be migrating to the Parenteau's Irving home to enjoy what Michael passionately refers to as the three "F's". Food, Fellowship, and Fun. And depending on the day, Football. He will be making his famous meatballs and caesar salad. There will be a gift exchange and eggnog.

The party dwindles down and the next few days with the Parenteau's are spent shopping for baby, eating left overs, pub crawling and shooting guns, walks around the pond, darts and HGTV. I also got to catch up with Richard and Jay down in Fort Worth. Jay showed us around his neighborhood. Or rather, showed us two bars in his neighborhood.

Midweek Mish and I head over to my parent's house for the second half of our trip. The whole family is there including the new boyfriend. The next few days are spent paying dominos, eating fancy dinners, laughing about shoo shoo, going on walks with the dogs, movies, raiding the mini fridge, and just lounging around the house. Oh, and there is eggnog, too.

We had a wonderful time and we are blessed to have such a generous and loving family. Seriously, the best. Hopefully we'll have many more holidays like this in the future.


Portland has spoiled me when it comes to food and drink so I kind of wanted to see what Texas was up to. The list below is my attempt to drink local. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety I found.

Weedwacker Bavarian Hefeweizen - St. Arnold's Brewery, Houston
Ugly Pug Black Lager - Rahr & Son's Brewery, Fort Worth
Franconia Dunkel - Franconia Brewery, Mckinney
Primus Winter Weizenbock - Live Oak Brewery, Austin
Full Moon Pale Rye Ale - Real Ale Brewery, Blanco
Brewhouse Brown Ale - Real Ale Brewery, Blanco
Shiner Blonde - Shiner Brewery, Shiner
Shiner Bock - Shiner Brewery, Shiner
Rahr Winter Warmer - Rahr & Son's Brewery, Fort Worth
The Lawnmower Kolsch - St. Arnold's Brewery, Houston
Ziegen Bock Amber - Anheuser Busch, Missouri (Ok, this one doesn't count)