cedar park farms to market.

On Saturday morning this past weekend, Landree and I went to the Cedar Park Farmers' Market in the Lakeline Mall parking lot. After we made a nostalgic trek through the mall to find an ATM (we were pretty sad that Limited Too is gone), we were in business to explore the market. It was a pretty compact market, but there were some pretty good options. Landree got some eggplant, hummus and some kind of Indian treats (Naan and something else that looked like a quesadilla). I got tomatoes. I guess I had some trouble committing to the market. We both decided we need to have a better plan in mind of what we want/need beforehand. We did get some lavender lemonade that was really good. Overall, it was a fun time, but I still want to try some of the other markets around town. San Diego, you ruined me.

weekend so far.

Yay for long weekends! I know I love them. In fact, I have a 3 day weekend happening right now, then a 3 day week, followed by a 4 day weekend (in San Diego no less) and a 4 day week to follow that. I feel like I've had a pretty productive weekend already. Friday evening I treated myself to a pedicure and started a new book (trust me, this is my idea of a perfect Friday night). Saturday I finally was able to purchase the camera I wanted online and picked it up in the store (too impatient at this point to wait 4-5 business days). I'm loving it already. Of course, I'm probably doing it a great disservice right now by using it on auto mode, but I really am planning on learning as much as possible about it to be able to take it off of auto and use the manual mode like a big girl. Anyways, after I picked up the camera, we went to lunch at Manny's Uptown Kitchen, which is in the same parking lot as the Best Buy we went to. I had a reuben and H had the tuna melt. Look for another post on this. Saturday evening, we went to a Round Rock Express game at the Dell Diamond then downtown to Third Base so that the boys could watch the end of the UFC fight. Which, by the way, this MMA fighting stuff is just crazy. The things these guys subject their bodies to is ridiculous. Sunday morning, I got locked into watching the Casey Anthony trial, which is also ridiculous, then met H for brunch at Iron Cactus before he headed off to work. This place knows how to do brunch. Bottomless mimosas and an extensive buffet? Yes, please. More to come later. Now that I have a satisfied stomach, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my weekend (or maybe just a nap). Hope everyone has a safe 4th of July.

[The book that started the idea for this blog.] 

[My Friday night indulgence.] 

[Patiently letting me use him as a subject for camera practice.

Check out those baby blues.] 

[Round Rock Express game.] 

[My 1st plate at brunch - Iron Cactus.] 

[Invitation to H's sister's wedding in SD next weekend.]

walton's fancy and staple

On Saturday, we went downtown to Walton's Fancy & Staple on West 6th Street. Ever since I heard that Sandra Bullock had opened this deli/patisserie/florist/gift shop, I've wanted to check it out. She also owns Bess Bistro, which is just across the street and is the more upscale, sit-down version of the pair. Obviously, I was hoping I'd just happen to run into her and become fast friends, but I thought I'd probably still enjoy myself if it didn't happen. Let me just say, this place is adorable. From the chalkboard menus to the sidewalk cafe type tables, it had me at hello. I ordered the 'Gobble' and H decided on the good old fashioned Reuben. Mine sounded great in theory - turkey, provolone, sprouts, cucumber, and avocado. I was in heaven just reading the description. So we put in our orders, grabbed a coke and a cream soda and waited patiently for our food. I'm not going to bad-mouth any places on here, that's not what this endeavor is about, but I also want to be honest. I was not very impressed with my sandwich. The bread was pretty dry and I had a hard time even locating the avocado. I don't think there was anything else in the way of spreads on the entire sandwich, which I thought was odd. Still, it wasn't unbearable, it just won't be something I order again without making some specific requests when placing my order. H's reuben on the other hand was delightful. I scored two whole bites (note the sarcasm here). I can't really blame him though, because it was really tasty. I'm not a big fan of rye bread, which is why I usually don't order reubens at restaurants, but this seemed to be very mild. And you can't really go wrong with sauerkraut  and thousand island dressing. To top it off, H went back for more and ordered a piece of red velvet cake to go. That alone I would go back for. I'm not a big fan of icing, but certain recipes of cream cheese icing just capture me. I pretty much want it to be straight cream cheese with a dash of sugar. Nothing gritty, nothing too sweet. The only other icing that I crave is the cream cheese goodness on the 'Not So Red Velvet' cupcakes at Cupcakes Squared in San Diego.

[The Gobble.]

[Table for two.]

[Dirty chips.]

I'll definitely be going back to try some of the other tasty treats I saw on the menu and in the cases. 'Lone Star Whoopie Pie', anyone?

weekend in pictures

I had an enjoyable weekend. Started off by going to my parents' house to dog-sit for the night, got my hair cut, had lunch downtown at Walton's Fancy & Staple (partially just for the possibility of seeing Sandra Bullock), and then a movie, dinner and drinks with my best friend Kelsie. Today, I hung a mirror, potted a plant, cleaned my apartment, and ran some errands. Nice little Sunday. Thought I'd share some pictures from the past few days (via Instagram, of course).

 [Minute five of dog-sitting - Remington post-swim.]

[Cream soda.]

 [Walton's Fancy & Staple. No Sandra to be seen.]

 [Love starting the week off with a clean apartment.]

[And a freshly made bed.]

[Mirror that I'm pretty sure was at a carnival in it's previous life.]

[Pretty plant.]

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend as well. More on Walton's coming soon.

happy weekend!

Nothing says weekend like pizza and beer. So excited for the many more drafts, pizza and pizookies in my future. BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse recently opened it's doors practically across the street and I'm oh so excited. I know, it's a chain and doesn't exactly help my whole explore Austin idea, but sometimes, you just need some comforting carbs (like I've ever turned them down...) We decided to keep it simple with a wedge salad, tomato and cheese pizza and a chocolate chunk pizookie. Oh, and beer, of course. I had the Nit Wit (seasonal traditional Belgian-style witbier), which was delish. H had the Harvest Hefeweizen, another one of my favorites. Definitely an enjoyable evening - both the company and the fare. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Oh, P.S. I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy a camera today. Hopefully my posts in the near future will contain MUCH better photos. Wish me luck!

nice lil saturday

This past weekend marked the beginning of my attempt to try some new things in Austin. Well, one new thing and two favorites. Baby steps. Saturday consisted of the Austin Farmers' Market, and then Enoteca for lunch and a stroll through Uncommon Objects. The Farmers' Market we went to was downtown on Guadalupe, between 4th and 5th St. It was fun and I got some good stuff, but I have to say it doesn't really compare to some of the farmers' markets I went to in California. Namely, I had visions of multiple tents full of fresh flowers, like at the OB Farmers' Market in San Diego. Not so much. The only flowers I saw were at a tent with other vegetables - $12 for nice little packaged bunch of wildflowers. Pass. Overall though, it was a fun little market. I just really like the feel of farmers' markets. And the tasty things I can make with the things I buy.

[Bread, Havarti Cheese, Tomatoes and Basil all from the Market.]

Next, we ventured on to a little place called Enoteca on South Congress for lunch. It's become a fast favorite for the guy and I. This time, we feasted on the Gnocchi Arrabbiata and the Chopped Salad. Can you guess who ordered what? Wrong. I enjoyed the gnocchi while H had the salad.

 [Best gnocchi of your life.]

 [Chopped salad.]

 [H loving his salad.]

After lunch we walked down South Congress about a block to Uncommon Objects. Definitely one of my favorite places. I think I've only ever actually purchased two items, but I could spend hours weaving around the jam-packed space. Not only is the merchandise interesting on its own, the way everything is displayed is incredible. Sadly, I learned the semi-hard way that pictures aren't allowed, so I can't post any. But if you're in Austin or plan to visit any time soon - check it out.

preview

Well, since this is my first blog post I figured I should just do a broad overview of my life. Enter: Instagram on my iPhone. Enjoy.

[Sunflowers to start summer out right.]

[Stripes. I have an addiction (more later).]

[County Line BBQ.]

[Cleaning make-up brushes.]

[Waffles & Ice Cream.]

[McCoy. One of my 3 boys.]

[Finally finished.]

[My beautiful (sleepy) baby niece, Trynn Olivia.]

And so begins the journey of my little blog. A little of this, a little of that. My initial thought was that it's pretty unforgivable that I was born and raised in Austin and should be a native that knows all of the local places - restaurants, shops, attractions. Fact is, I don't. I have a pretty legit excuse - I haven't lived here full-time since my Sophomore year of high school (I'll explain this later). Therefore, my "adult" life has been spent away from my hometown. I feel way more at home in San Diego, honestly, after spending four years there in school. But that needs to change. So since I graduated a year ago from Point Loma Nazarene University and moved back to Austin to pursue my career, I think it's about time I start exploring this weird city I call home. And also share some insights to my slightly OCD life - recipes, DIY projects, apartment decorating, style (I try, ok?), and more along the way. As I said before, enjoy.