Resolving to GET OUT.

I'm pretty sure I've been having good karma lately. It seems like everyone I meet in Austin is super friendly and always inviting me and Robbie to do things. It's just not normal. People are not this friendly ever.

I'm riding this good karma out. Thanks to everyone I've met that's welcomed me to Texas. Y'all are awesome. (People really say y'all here. All the time. I love it.)

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. This is a planning weekend with a couple of shopping trips thrown in. I don't want to be a bump on a log every weekend I'm in Austin, so I've been checking out some fun things to do in the coming weeks (thanks, Blanca, for all of the cool sites you've been giving me!):

The Color Run.
A group of new friends and I are planning on doing this 5k in February.


The night after The Color Run, we're heading to Carnival, a crazy Brazillian-style Mardi Gras party. We're going to Lucy in Disguise to get some sweet costumes.


Lety, a graduate art/museum student that I've met and LOVE, really wants to show me G'raj Mahal, an Indian outdoor restaurant near Rainey Street. Rainey Street is awesome- a post on Rainey Street another day.


I'm registering to attend a blogger conference in Austin held by the Texas Style Council. I found this conference on Adored Austin's blog and am stoked about it. It's also the weekend of my birthday!!


One last thing to add to the "To-Do" list: SEE THE BATS!! In Austin a gazillion bats fly out from under some bridge at dusk and apparently it's a really cool sight to see. There's also The Bat Bar that I want to visit on 6th Street.

Isn't this postcard gorgeous? Also, more on my postcard project later.


What are some fun things in your city that you want to do?! Find some cool events and share them with me. Resolve this year to NOT stay in on the weekends.

This weekend, however, will be a low-key one. Enjoy your weekend. I'm going to go grab a bagel, curl up with my Mindy book and gear up to go shopping later today while Robbie does the ESPN thing this afternoon.

Weekend recap

I have a feeling this is going to be a year of many firsts.

My first weekend of January was pretty awesome. Working from home has done me some good. I'm usually a stay-at-home kind of person, but after working 35-40 hours at home last week, I was ready to get out and get some sunshine.

On Saturday morning, Robbie, Phil and I grabbed some Torchy's Tacos and headed to Independence Brewing Company for their First Saturday Brewing Tour. Every first Saturday of the month, Independence does a tour of their brewing house and has free tasting.

Little did we know how big of an event this was! Tons of people showed up with chairs, their kids in strollers, dogs... it felt like the fourth of July.


After getting our Austin Amber samples, we took the first tour of the day.


This guy, our tour guide, knew a LOT about brewing beer.



The boys.

Since I've have a bad case of puppy-fever, I was obsessed with all of the cute dogs running around. I especially liked this one.


Doesn't he look like the snow monster in "The Empire Strikes Back?!"
(I love Star Wars.)


After beer tasting and an afternoon nap, Phil, Robbie and I met up with a new friend, Leticia, and we went to Antones to watch some bands for Free Week.

Free Week happens the first week in January. Bars and clubs all over the city feature free shows to promote the local talent.

At Antones, we saw two bands, one of which was The Happen-Ins. When Robbie and I were in Austin earlier this summer, we saw The Happen-Ins at The Continental Club. They're pretty awesome. When I saw their name on the Free Week lineup, I had to see them again. They were awesome, once again.



After Antones, Leti, the boys and I hung out on 6th Street, checking out one more band before calling it quits for the night.

Sunday was catch-up day for laundry, more unpacking and lounging. At night, Robbie and I had a tasty, home-cooked meal at Randy and Dawn's.

Funny story about Randy and Dawn: Robbie met them while working in Austin for a few weeks this summer. The day after he met them, they kidnapped him and took him to Houston for the weekend. I had no clue what kind of crazy people invite strangers to a baseball game or what kind of crazy person (ahem, ROBBIE) would hop in a car with strangers to go away for a weekend.

Turns out, Randy and Dawn aren't crazy people. When I came to visit Robbie in the summer, Randy and Dawn took us out for margaritas and they haven't been able to get rid of us since. They're a couple of fun Austinites who have taken Robbie and me under their wing. They're teaching us the ins and outs of Austin; what locals love and hate, the best places to get food (a BYOB sushi restaurant? Yes, please!) and the best way to experience the big music festivals of Austin.

Looking forward to many more "firsts" in Austin. Weekend number two, what do you have in store for me?

Austin-lingo I learned this weekend:
Tres Leches- AMAZING cake from Chuy's, a TexMex restaurant. Recipe coming soon!
Grackles- nasty, creepy black birds that poop on your car downtown.
Dirty 6- The east-side of 6th Street where the craziness of 6th Street happens.