mark your map: el paso

"You can never go home again." That is a crock of shit if you ask me- at least if your home has tacos, incredible weather and breathtaking scenery, which mine absolutely does.

Finally after a long six months I was back in the sun city with my grandma Pegge, mom, sister and brother-in-law. We ate, drank and spent countless hours on our patio chatting. It was absolute paradise and just what the doctor ordered after a fairly hectic few months. If you find yourself in the city that touches 3 states and 2 countries then I recommend you check in over the next few days for some great El Paso sites and food recommendations. 

1. Wyler Aerial Tramway | This tramway, the only one in Texas, takes you over a mile up to the top of the Franklin Mountain Range. The view is absolutely breathtaking. You can literally see 3 states (Texas, New Mexico and Chihuahua) and 2 countries (USA and Mexico), talk about mind blowing. 

Franklin Mt Range- view from Ranger Peak

View of El Paso from Franklin Mt. Range

View of El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico from the Franklin Mt. Range

Heather catching a peek of the scenery

Sportin' my favorite Urban Outfitters silk shorts and Kate Spade bag on the mountains

My turn to take a look

Three generations of El Pasoans on top of the Franklin Mts.- myself, my sister Heather, my mom Lisa and grandma Pegge

The tram in action during its descent 

After living in another city for a year and a half now I have a true appreciation for my city, especially after this past visit. The colors, vast views, mountains and especially the weather was absolutely perfect. Waking up on a Dallas morning it is hard to imagine stepping outside and feeling a chill run through your body or on a summer afternoon to sit outside on a patio under the shade and enjoy the heat without sweating off several pounds or having a cocktail at night sitting on a patio and needing a jacket instead of needing to disrobe to survive. God as I type this I become so damn homesick for the beautiful dry heat. I am convinced the devil had his hand in the creation of humidity and the city of Dallas in the summer. Enough of this post already or I may end up buying myself a ticket back to El Paso. 

mothers day

I am counting down the days until I am able to spend a week, yes a whole week, with this lovely lady. I am insanely lucky to have a mother I can gossip, drink, shop and over-share with. Seriously, how gorgeous is she?

I will be eternally grateful for my mother's advice. From as long as I can remember she has stressed to me the importance of independence. All she wanted for my sister and I was the experience of living alone and on our own. She wanted us to know, even for just a year, that we are capable of taking care of ourselves and lived a wonderfully selfish life. 

Now that I am into my second year of living alone and on my own I can say with much pride that I have taken her advice to heart and am loving every minute of it. Thanks for always being right mom!

listen up: the royalty

Image c/o The Royalty

It feels like it was just yesterday that I was in a parked car in the parking lot of my favorite El Paso haunt, Hope & Anchor, with Miss Nicole listening to a rough recording of 'Bartender'. In reality that was almost 2 whole years ago,  and over that amount of time one of my favorite El Paso bands, The Royalty, has been signed to Victory Records, recorded an album, filmed several music videos, toured the country and still remained super fucking awesome.

Image c/o The Royalty

Yesterday, May 8th, The Royalty comprised of some of my favorite friends; Nicole, Joel, Will, Jesus and Daniel, released the album Lovers. Now, not to sound like a nepotist, but this album is absolutely killer! I have officially labeled Lovers the album of summer 2012 (not sure I have any power to name it that, but what the hell). It has everything you need for a successful summer in the sun- fun upbeat songs to belt out while driving with the windows down, all the way to a softer ballad to play while you drink some whiskey late night on a patio.


Even though I am an avid All Songs Considered and World Cafe fan, I really am no music aficionado when it comes to reviews, but I hope that I do them some justice. Now, if you enjoy a powerful female vocal and a sound reminiscent of '60's doo wop bands with a nice kick of rock  and roll that is smoothed over with some great lo-fi guitar then you will love The Royalty. Nicole has really grown as an artist vocally and lyrically with this album and really poured herself into these songs. It was such an incredible experience to watch her develop some of these songs over whiskey and girl talk. Of course the boys should not be ignored, they have always been such a strong back bone to the sound of the band and have really refined their sound with this album. You can really tell just how meticulously they thought through every piece of music, definitely making Lovers the mature addition to their discography.

The Royalty kicks off their U.S. tour on May 12 and will be in Dallas June 4th, so clear your schedules and  ask your lover out on a date to see them. You can also purchase Lovers (vinyl/cd/digital) on their site, iTunes, Amazon and most places music is sold. By the way, if you buy the cd there it does a really cool trick!

Did I mention they also have a great social presence? Connect with them on their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vevo.