Never Quit

On Sunday Jim and I hopped on our bikes and peddled around the neighborhood. We ended up biking around 8 miles. My legs are a bit wobbly after the ride but it is a good wobbly :)   We ride through a park that is more of area of land that is private property that everybody uses to jog, bike and walk their dogs. It is city owned property off of 45th street.  It is filled with a ton of beautiful wildflowers right now.  The picture below is a little dark, but it gives you an idea of what the area looks like.

We biked under the 24th street bridge in Pease Park when I saw this message...Never Quit. It is a fitting place for the message... Right in the middle of a jogging and biking trail. I have been running and exercising more recently.  I gained some much annoying weight around my middle this winter and it is time to get rid of it.  So when I'm out jogging and am feeling winded or if I'm feeling lazy one morning and dont want to go exercist I'll think about this message..... Never Quit

Working Lunch

So the title is a wee bit misleading. Yes... I met up with a co-worker for lunch... No we weren't really working. We came up with a list of restaurants that we wanted to try and meet up for lunch once a week (some times freakin work gets in the way and we can't meet up). For this particular visit I knew it was going to be delicious... I have eaten at Peached Tortilla many times. But it was Jenny's first time and I knew she would love it.  I wanted to eat at this trailer because the food is alway solid and today did not disappoint. I ordered their special of Bacon Jam Brussels Sprouts and a Bahn Mi taco.  Jenny ordered a crispy fish taco, BBQ beef taco and the bacon jam fries. We hardly talked... To busy shoving food in our pie holes. :) The Bahn Mi taco was stuffed full of crispy veggies and pork belly. And those Brussels sprouts were so good... The bacon jam added on top was fantastic. Then again adding bacon jam to a piece of cardboard and it would taste delicious.
Chalk this up to a delicious working lunch!! :)

Loving Spring

It is that time of the year when everything is blooming, the weather is still enjoyable, and allergies are insane. :) This weekend the dogs and I spent a lot of time outside soaking up the sun and the sweet smells of spring.
Below is a picture of Abbey in a huge stretch and one of Chewie during our walk.

Lunch in the hood

Today while running errands I had some hunger pains. I was going to head to a trailer park but I was pissy after dealing with downtown traffic. I forgot that the reggae festival was going on when I headed to the City Wide festival.
Anywho, I remembered there was a little cafe in the hood that I haven't been to yet. I'm not sure how long Daisies Cafe has been open but after eating there today I am disappointed I haven't been here yet.  I ordered the special of Green Chili Bacon Cheddar Croquettes and a side salad. The croquets were tiny in size but loaded with flavor. They were crunchy on the outside and soft inside. The primary flavor was bacon (yum) with a hint of cheddar. I didn't get much of the green chili flavor but that didn't make the croquette any less tasty. The salad had a light vinaigrette with mint.
Their breakfasts look damn good as does the rest of lunch menu. Cany wait to come back!

Walking in the Greenbelt

A few Sundays ago I took the dogs out to the greenbelt to enjoy the sunny weather.  I love getting out there as much as I can and letting the dogs enjoy running around and sniffing ever single freaking blade of grass :)   This time we walked on the trail along 360 (I believe it is Bull Creek) and the creeks were full of water.  Thankfully the dogs only dipped their toes in and didn't fully get in the water. (I forgot a towel).

Found this huge leaf along the trail. The picture doesn't do the size justice.

Pretty sure Chewie is thinking..."Mom.... let's go. Quit making me stop to take pictures"

The orange/reddish leaves really gave the canopy a splash of color

Love that little tongue!

Have Bike... will Pub Crawl

About a month ago, Jim and I headed out on our bikes to explore downtown on our bikes. The weather was still pretty nice so it wasn't terrible to peddle around downtown.  We didn't have a solid plan, just some ideas on where we wanted to go.   We did try to hit places that we haven't been to before to see if we could find some cool places.  

Our first stop was a bar that bases the prices of the beer on supply and demand.  Meaning... the more people order a certain beer, it will go up in price.  It allows some of the lesser known beers the option to get ordered for cheaper.  They have around 72 beers on taps (always rotating).  They have booths inside that have their own TV, so you can pick and choose what you want to watch (good for sporting events).   We had one beer, enjoyed the patio then hopped back on the bikes to our next destination.

We tried to go to Peche but they weren't open yet, so we headed over to Cantina Laredo for a couple of margaritas.  This wasn't a new place to us, but it was on the way to our next destination so we stopped in for a couple of drinks.  I got the raspberry margarita... love those! :)

Our next stop was for some grub, and I couldn't wait to get back to this place. We went to Second Bar and Grill to get some burgers. I have heard excellent things about their burgers and knew this would be a perfect time to get one. We started off with their buffalo fried pickles.... YUM. I am a HUGE fan of fried pickles and these did not disappoint. The buffalo sauce was good but it seemed like it was brushed on to the pickles because it was uneven on the pickles. But that didn't stop us from eating all of them :)

                                  

This burger was GREAT and the fries were so crispy.   It was hard to get back on the bike to continue our journey with a belly full of delish food (and more beer). 

After eating, we headed over to Rainey Street to check out the new bars over there.  Our first stop was Blackheart Bar.  It has an awesome feel... laid back and comfortable.  They have seating in the front of the building as well as in the back with one bar in the house.  We were one of the few patrons in there, but I'm sure they got busy when night came.

After Blackheart Bar we headed over to Javelina.  Javelina was smaller than Blackheart Bar but had just as much character.  The bartender was pretty cool so we chatted with him for a bit while watching UT baseball on their TV. 

Javelina Bar

After we were done on Rainey Street we decided to ride up to the pedestrian bridge over Town Lake to watch the Sunset.

It was a beautiful way to end a very fun day!!

Austin Kite Festival

The kite festival was last month and I trekked down there to check it out. First off... the parking was INSANE! I parked at least 1.5 miles away and just walked over. Next time I'll remember to bring my bike with me so it will be a quick 1.5 ride :) I didn't go last year (can't remember why) but I have gone a few times in the past when it was on the other side of Barton Springs (the other park). I've never actually flown a kite during one of these events, I'm more interesting in taking pictures :)

I love going to the kite festival to see all of the kites flying in the air. So many different sizes and shapes, which makes it fun to watch.



Downed kite!

Saturday Fun Roaming Night

We didn't have any plans on Saturday night so we originally thought we would split our time between 2 places. We were going to have appetizers and drinks at each place. Our plans changed slightly when we decided we didn't want to drive once we found a parking place.

We started our night at Trio which is inside of the Four Seasons. They have an excellent happy that runs 5pm-7pm Monday through Saturday. Yes people.... they have a happy hour on Saturday :) I have been to their happy hour in the past, but this was Jim's first time. All of their appetizers and glasses of wine are half off. Can I get a hell yeah!?!!?

I looked up and noticed their incredibly modern and cool light fixture. I like the fixture way better looking up than seeing it from across the restaurant.

While I wanted to order one of everything I had to remind myself that we were making other food stops that night. We decided on the pulled pork sliders and the truffle mac and cheese. All was EXCELLENT! The only slight bitch I have about the meal is I wish the buns were different on the pulled pork sliders. They looked like something we would find in HEB. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's Trio and I wanted better than what appeared to be HEB buns! The mac and cheese was just heavenly. So cheesy and so delish that it put a big smile on both of our faces.

After Trio we stopped in at Shoreline Grill and reminisced about our wedding there.. almost 7 years ago! :) Such happy and fun times!! We were going to try to get a self portrait under the gazebo, but just as we were going to try, a wedding party walked out, so we didn't want to get in the way! (no guests, but they were about to rehearse!)

We walked down to Town Lake (still can't call it Lady Bird Lake) to see if the bats were getting ready to take off but we were to early and didn't feel like waiting in the blistering sun. However, the light was great, so we took a photo with the help of another person waiting to see the bats.

Our next stop was at Hanks Garage. I have heard some buzz about this Belgium Pub so we thought we would give it a try.

Duck Fat Fries!! Duck Fat Fries!! I think duck fat fries are the new thing because I keep hearing about them all over the place. So when I saw them on the menu we ordered a small with 2 dipping sauces... garlic aioli and a grain mustard/mayo mix. While these fries were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, they tasted just like fries. I don't know what I was supposed to expect but they tasted like good french fries. I was a little let down by the sauces.... the garlic aioli was mostly just mayo. I hardly tasted the garlic.. so much so that I dipped my finger in the sauce to see if the sauce was weak or if the fry was just overpowering in taste. The garlic taste was almost non-existent. BUT the fries were delish so I'll overlook the dipping sauces!

After our fries and beer, we headed over to Second Bar and Kitchen. I have been wanting to eat there ever since they opened. This may not have been the best time to go eat there since I was already getting full. I had a talk with my stomach and told it to get ready because i was about to eat just a little more. Jim said he was done eating, but I knew that he would still have a few bites of what ever I ordered. They have so many great sounding items like the Blue Crab and Corn fritters, Buffalo Fried Pickles, Baked Ricotta and Goat Cheese.... but ultimately I kept looking at the Bacon and Eggs. Per the menu at Second.... Bacon and Eggs- Crisp Pork Belly, poached egg, frisee, orange, maple gastrique and croutons. As soon as this was put down in front of me, I broke out in a huge smile.

The pork belly was delightful, the frisee gave a nice cool crunch, the egg was perfect with the pork belly... and who could deny the maple gastrique? I loved every single bite and cannot wait to try it again. My minor complaint was the egg did not have a runny yolk.

We had such a fun time!! I think we are going to have to do this again soon. Pick a few places, have one drink and one appetizer/small plate at each place to be able to try multiple places.

F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Over the past few weeks we have been busy with friends birthdays and catching up with a friend that has been living in Hawaii. We are very blessed to have such great friends and we always have a wonderful time with them.

We met up with friends for dinner at Malaga for Magens's birthday. It has been years since we have been there (it was at their old location) so we were looking forward to getting our grub on with friends. We ordered 3 tapa's to share.....

Croquetas de Pollo y Jamon -- Four crispy and creamy chicken and Jamon Serrano croquettes served with our house made saffronaioli and a side of gazpacho sauce

Viuras Serrano -- Grilled Sea Scallops wrapped in fresh basil leaves and Spanish Serrano ham and drizzled with basilolive oil

Lomo a la Plancha -- Olive oil marinated beef tenderloin seared medium rare and served with side of roasted garlic aioli. Served with fresh baked pita bread

Hands down the beef tenderloin was our favorite. The meat was so tender and simply seasoned so the beef flavor was spot on. The scallops were also very tasty but I wasn't a fan of the basil leaves. They brought a nice flavor to the scallop but it was slightly overpowering. The croquettes were good but they didn't have a wow factor. The saffron aioli was delicious and it was a nice dipping sauce for the scallop. I didn't take any pictures of the food due to a fairly dark restaurant and I was seated next to a few ladies that I had just met. I'm still a little embarrassed to take food photos around people that I just met. Silly I know, but one day I'll get over it.

After dinner we walked over to The Royal... at least that is what I think it is called, it is where the Apple Bar was. They have a great patio but half of it is roped off for the special VIP peeps in Austin. From the other side of velvet rope, it appeared that they had some comfy looking cushioned bench seats around large tables. I'm not bitter about being on the wrong side of the velvet ropes... (maybe a little)

Nick and Magen, the birthday girl

Magen the Rockstar



Chris and Lindsay with downtown Austin in the background. The views from the rooftop were beautiful


Hubs and I

Magen, me, Jim, Chris and Lindsay

John, Nick, Chris, Joe and Jim

Lindsay and I....I'm in small heels and Lindsay is in flats and she still has at least 6 inches on me :)

A couple weeks later we met up at Nicole and Stevens for dinner. Rachel was in town from Hawaii and this gave us the perfect opportunity to catch up. Nicole grilled up some sliders with caramelized onions and garlic aioli, Rachel brought a salad with lots of toppings, I brought stuffed mushrooms and mini-cup cakes with a caramel butter cream frosting. All of the food was wonderful!

Michelle and Rachel

Me, Nicole and Steven

Jennifer, Rachel, me and Nicole

HAM ALERT!!

Last weekend we met up with friends at Icenhouse for Erin's birthday. I'm a big fan of the Rainey street bars. 4 cool bars on the same block, food trailers around each bar, and a laid back feeling. Parking can suck balls, but overall a great place to hang out.

Lindsay, Vannessa and I

Jim, Chris, Matt and Charlie

Erin (birthday gal), Vannessa, Lindsay, Katie, Jennifer, and me

Lots of fun has been had over the past few weeks!!!