Austin Anniversary Trip Day 4 Recap

Austin: Day 4 - Monday, February 27

We woke up, finished packing up, and went to eat breakfast at Austin Java.  

After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and headed to the airport to turn in our rental car.  We had some downtime in the airport because we had to get there way earlier than our flight due to when our rental car had to be back.  It gave us time to eat lunch, catch up on social media, emails, and an episode of Parenthood.  :) All the important stuff.  Oh! And there was an Amy's Ice Cream in the terminal by our gate, so of course I had to get one more Mexican vanilla ice cream cone. ;)  Can you tell this trip pretty much revolved around food?

We had a good time in Austin celebrating our 6th Anniversary, our last trip together, just us, before our kiddos arrive. My oh my, I imagine our next anniversary is going to look MUCH different! :)

Austin Anniversary Trip Day 3 Recap

Austin: Day 3 - Sunday, February 26

On Sunday morning we had an early brunch at Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill. Having Sunday brunch at Moonshine was a 'must do' per my friend Amanda. So, of course we had to follow her suggestion. It was so good and I was incredibly full ALL day from it.

After brunch, we visited Jen & Brandon Hatmaker's church, Austin New Church (ANC). Jen Hatmaker is an amazingly challenging and witty author/speaker.  I've heard her speak several times, I've read her books, and I read her blog. [She's also friends with some of my friends.] If her name is not familiar to you, click on her name above to see her blog and check her out!

Side Note to the Day 3 Recap:

ANC was participating in Freedom Sunday, promoting awareness and action against human trafficking/sex slavery. ANC is combating human trafficking in Haiti by partnering with H.E.L.P. to build safe homes for female orphans who have aged out of orphanages. These homes built by donations will change the lives of these victimized/enslaved young women by giving them a safe dwelling away from the danger of those who use/abuse them as sex slaves. 

God got a hold of our hearts in a big way through the stories of those who had been to Haiti, pictures, and the original song sung by worship leader, Lamar Stockton. Sex trafficking IS NOT okay and we could not merely watch and learn of these efforts and just walk out of that church without committing with them to combat this terrible, real, and huge issue. If this is something you feel you should give towards, please check out this site out to help: garagesale4orphans, an initiative of H.E.L.P.  The previous link will take you to H.E.L.P.'s active projects and you will see Jen Hatmaker's Anti-Trafficking Home #1, in which the readers of her book, "7" are donating to. It only takes $6,000 to build a house! That is crazy cheap compared with what our houses in America cost. With enough donations, several houses could be built and lives forever changed!

Back to the recap:

Still full from brunch, we skipped lunch went to enjoy the beautiful weather at Zilker Park on Town Lake.  After relaxing at and strolling around the park, we went to a local Austin ice creamery, Amy's Ice Cream. I got a yummy Mexican vanilla cone and Tom got the coffee lobster mix (coffee ice cream with heath bar mixed in and topped with hot fudge). No idea why 'lobster' is in the name, probably just because Austin is weird. :) After Amy's, Tom wanted to drive over to the campus of University of Texas at Austin and check it out. Don't worry we documented a horns down in front of the humongous stadium.

Tom wanted Mexican food for dinner, so we dined at Guero's Taco Bar on South Congress.  It was alright, but nothing compared to our Mexican food back home. 

Austin Anniversary Trip Day 2 Recap

Austin: Day 2 - Saturday, February 25 [Anniversary Day]

On Saturday we got up and around super early because we couldn't sleep [different bed than we're used to] and exchanged our Anniversary cards.

I saw a bakery named Sweetish Hill while driving on Friday that looked like it was worth a try, so we ate breakfast there.

After breakfast we drove down to San Marcos to check out the outlets. Because I'm not in regular clothes right now and my feet are swollen and might even grow due to pregnancy, shopping for clothes and shoes was out. I'm afraid to buy baby clothes because I don't know how big they'll be in any given season. The babies might be on the small side since they're twins and will be early. And I couldn't buy home stuff because I don't need anything nor would I be able to fit much in our small suitcases. So we mainly looked.  But there was a maternity outlet and I found a dress for my baby showers.

Around 12:30pm, we headed back into Austin to hit up the food trucks on South Congress for a progressive late lunch. We started with a crepe truck and shared a small savory rotisserie chicken, spinach, and feta crepe. Then we shared pad thai at the Thai food truck named "Coat and Thai." Tom also got a small sandwich at a sub truck, of which I had a bite or two.

After trying the food trucks, we went back to the hotel so I could put my swollen feet up and relax for a little bit before our anniversary dinner date. Per my friend Amanda's recommendation, we ate our anniversary dinner at Chez Zee. The atmosphere was quirky but pretty with lots of twinkle lights, ornaments, etc hanging everywhere. And the food was rather tasty.

Tom's dinner:  The fish special - Amberjack with Israeli couscous, cherry tomatoes, and sauteed spinach.

My dinner: A pecan crusted goat cheese salad of mixed greens with pecan chicken, and dried cherries, tossed in a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Chez Zee's signature dipping oil and sourdough wheat bread.  The oil was smokey and flavored.  I found it interesting.  Tom liked it more than I did.

Dessert #1: Fresh fruit Bavarian, a sweet shortbread pastry crust filled with a creamy vanilla cheesecake,  topped with seasonal fruit [mine had blueberries] and cinnamon walnut streusel.

Dessert #2: Butterscotch Pudding served in a martini glass topped with a layer of caramel, sprinkled with sea salt, and topped with a dollop of whipped cream.  It was amazing!

It's Chez Zee's custom to give a slice of their lemon rosemary cake to those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries.  So we got a third dessert! We took the lemon rosemary cake to go because we were so full.  I didn't even touch it until the next day, and I didn't really care for it. After dinner we drove around for a bit and and then turned in for the evening.

Austin Anniversary Trip Day 1 Recap

Austin: Day 1 - Friday, February 24

We left for a 6th Anniversary Trip/Babymoon to Austin, TX early Friday morning after attending the late Thunder home victory against the Lakers the night before. Go Thunder! [Thanks Steve!]

We flew because the thought of driving all day and stopping every 2 seconds for a preggy potty break just didn't seem like a great idea to me.  Our flight left at 6:50am. Surprisingly, I scheduled a super early flight intentionally so we would get to Austin with plenty of time to have a full first day.  We barely got through security in time to catch the end of the boarding passenger line.  [So...we maybe didn't make it out of the house when we were supposed to.]

By 10:30am, we had arrived in Austin, claimed our baggage, picked up our rental car, and headed out to find a place to eat breakfast. After several failed attempts to stop and feed our tummies, we ended up at the Magnolia Cafe on South Congress Ave.  This was one of the only places we ate at without a personal recommendation and it was mighty tasty!  Tom ordered flaco tacos and a blueberry pancake and I ordered a garlic bagel with cream cheese and [per the recommendation on the chalkboard in the ladies restroom] one gingerbread pancake with bananas.  It was definitely deserving of all the rave reviews I read on Google, a must try.

  

After breakfast we checked into our hotel and crashed for a couple of hours due to only getting 3 hours sleep on Thursday night.

After we were rested and feeling relaxed, we went to get some coffee at a local coffee shop, Thunderbird Coffee.  

It was a pretty day, despite the wind, so after the coffee shop we found a nearby park named Festival Beach at Lady Bird Lake. We walked around the trails, talked, and relaxed. It was fun to use the beautiful surroundings to practice working with our new camera. [Thanks Mom & Dad!]  Tom and I had a mini maternity photo session and I think he got some pretty good shots.

For dinner we went to the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a unique movie theater that serves yummy food and drinks.  While watching The Vow, Tom enjoyed a few brewskies from a local brewery and a burger and I had a thin crust pizza and salad. [No pics, it was dark when we were served and there is a STRICT no cell phone policy.] Both of us were definitely pleased with our meals, and the movie was sweet.  A good choice for our trip.  Tom even liked it and said it was sweet. ;) After the movie we stopped at nearby Yummilicious for frozen yogurt and headed back to the hotel to wind down for the night. 

It was a successful first day of our 6th Anniversary Trip/Babymoon!

Unforgettable Anniversary Weekend

On Thursday, February 25th, Tom and I celebrated 4 years of marriage. To celebrate, we took a little weekend trip down to Texas. After work on Thursday we drove down to Grapevine where we stayed at the Gaylord Texan (GT). I first learned of the GT when we stayed across the street from it at the Great Wolf Lodge with Tom's family during OU/TX weekend last fall. When we started planning our anniversary trip we researched the GT and Tom found a deal called the Unforgettable Anniversary Weekend (stay 1 night get the 2nd night free in the month of your anniversary). So we decided to take advantage of this offer. I've never been to Las Vegas before but from what I've seen and heard, the GT reminded me of a Vegas hotel. It has a lot of vegetation and landscaping inside with a mini riverwalk mimicked after the one in San Antonio.

We really enjoyed our stay at this lovely resort and our quality time together in the car and running around DFW together. I count myself as blessed that I was able to marry my best friend and most favorite person on this earth.

Foyer of the GT

Another view of the foyer

Ceiling of atrium and me peeking over the railing

View from the elevator

Another view from the elevator

Cute cowboy-boot-looking chair and cute husband :)

"Riverwalk"

A Sooner Schooner in the land of the Lone Star

On Saturday, we met up with Joel, one Tom's BYX friends from college. We drove out to Fort Worth to see the house he bought last year and then we went to a little burger dive known as Fred's in the downtown Fort Worth area called SO 7th (that stands for South of 7th Street, I think). Then we walked to a gelato place called Paciugo in that same area. It was yummy!

Joel greeting Tom at the door

I thought I'd show you two of my finds while we were in Texas, because of course we shopped while we were there. And believe it or not, we mainly shopped for Tom. Due to Tom's encouragement, I bought this black hat in a store at the shops at Watters Creek (an outdoor mall and entertainment center). It was cold and rainy that Friday while we were shopping outside at Watters Creek. While I was browsing in a store that caught my eye, Tom brought me this hat and told me to try it on. I liked it and he really liked it, so it was a keeper. I ended up wearing it out of the store and the rest of the evening since the rain ruined my hair. It also helped keep my head warm, so it's practical right?

Side view

Front view

I had been wanting a cute headband so I had my eyes peeled all weekend for one and I found one! You may have noticed it in some of the pics before.

Hopefully I can pull off my trendy new accessories... :) 

Celebrate Good Times!

Last night Tom and I went to dinner with Linda and Steve (Tom's parents) and Tiffany and Bryan (Tom's sister and her husband). The month of February is stacked with many things for our family to celebrate: our anniversary (2/25/06), Tiffany and Bryan's anniversary (2/14/00), and Tiffany's birthday (2/2). It's become a generous tradition that Linda and Steve take us all out to a REALLY nice restaurant every February. It's something we look forward to every year! This year we went to The Ranch Steakhouse. It was really yummy! Thank you Linda and Steve!

Everyone had steaks but Bryan and I. Bryan had the Ahi Tuna and I had the Australian lobster tail. I failed to take pix of everyone's main course but I did take pix of all the desserts! We got 3 complimentary desserts and ordered a 4th and shared them family style. But each of us gals were pretty possessive.

Steve with the Banana's Foster

Linda with the Creme Brulee

Tif with the Molten Chocolate Cake

Me with the Dulche de Leche Ice Cream Cake

Tom shoveling in another bite of Banana's Foster as I was trying to steal it

Posing on the cold patio by the warm fire

On our way home I decided to try the ever popular arm-length car pic, which didn't go so well. Every pic that was good of me was not good of Tom, or Tom was making a face. After several tries, I figured - If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!