Happy Monday, Ya’ll! I just got back from a fun-filled weekend in Austin, TX.
17 of us flew in from all around the country for a joint Bachelor- Bachelorette weekend celebrating my good friend from college, Carlyn, and her soon-to-be husband, Joe.
Carlyn and I were randomly assigned as roommates freshman year of college in the dorms at U of A. She is actually part of the “mutual friend” link that led me to meet Travis, so I am forever indebted to her!
Friday
Special bonus for spending the weekend in Austin!? My sister and her family live there, and I was lucky enough to get to have lunch with them as soon as I arrived on Friday! They had plans to go out of town that weekend, so I was worried I wouldn’t get to see them, but alas, the stars aligned and Laurie offered to pick me up from the airport.
They mentioned wanting to try a new restaurant called “Vinaigrette” and I was immediately sold.
I opted for “The Nutty Pear-fessor,” with grilled pear, bacon, toasted pecan, goat cheese, and their ruby port vinaigrette. After an early flight and breakfast, it REALLY hit the spot…in fact, I think I had already taken a bite before I remembered to snap a picture 😛 Definitely something I plan to re-make at home!
After lunch, it was time to say our farewells so they could get on with their day, and so I could meet up with the rest of the gang to get the party started!
Here’s how I was greeted at the house we rented for the weekend:
Psshh…I guess my reputation preceded me! I can’t say I disagree, and I did my best to live up to the expectations.
Soon after arriving at the house, we started to get ready for dinner…we had reservations at “Parkside” in Downtown Austin.
For dinner, our end of the table decided to just order all.the.appetizers (literally) so we could try a little bit of everything. This was as far as I got in the photo taking department before everything started getting snatched up!
After dinner, we headed out to explore 6th Ave, and managed to get this classy picture of the whole group:
We all called it quits relatively early after a long day of traveling. Plus we had a big day ahead of us on Saturday!
Saturday
Saturday morning started with a breakfast made by yours truly of bacon, eggs, fruit, and cinnamon rolls. I always have a hard time cooking in someone else’s kitchen, but no one complained and we were all fueled up by 10:00.
Next up: a van came right to the house and picked us up and we headed down to San Marcos, TX (about a 30 min drive from downtown Austin) for a river float down the Guadalupe River.
We used a company called ATXcursions and felt like we got a killer deal for such great service and entertainment for the day.
The float took us about 3 hours, and we were ready for a meal by the end! We headed to my personal favorite Austin restaurant, Hula Hut, for some chips, queso, guacamole, and Hawaiian Fajitas. My weekend wouldn’t have been complete without a meal at Hula Hut!
Saturday Night
For our last night in Austin, we got all gussied up and headed back to 6th Ave for another fun night!
We made it to Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar just as the show was starting and had SO much fun! We ended up staying for 3 hours because it was just so entertaining. If you’ve never been to a dueling piano bar before, I HIGHLY recommend it for any kind of celebratory occasion! I was so impressed by the talent and the guys had me belly laughing most of the night. They even got Carlyn up on stage to serenade her and she was such a trouper.
We had a late dinner at a place called Chinatown (so Texan, I know) but it was the karaoke that caught Carlyn’s attention. We had a blast listening to the amazing less-than-stellar renditions of well known songs, and we were ready to head home after the check came. Chinese food will do that to ya.
I crashed hard as soon as we got home, although rumor has it, some of the gang stayed up late playing video games and squeezing as much time together out of the weekend as possible!
Sunday
I woke up feeling surprisingly rested and pretty much just had time to shower, pack my bags, and say my goodbyes before it was time to head to the airport.
My travels were uneventful, and I was greeted at the airport my my momma. We had made plans to get some shopping for the week done on our way home.
Finally, we made it back to Fallbrook where I was eagerly greeted by my pups and an equally excited husband!
We went for a nice long walk with the “kids” and then settled in for a quiet evening.
It was a great weekend and I couldn’t be more excited for September when the REAL party (aka wedding) kicks off.
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