another busy day in Austin...
Friday, we got up and went for a walk again, only this time we brought a few bucks and went to Starbucks for our morning caffeine hit. :) That made the walk so much nicer!
I thought M should see the craziness that is the South Congress
neighborhood. We found a parking space (lucky!) and wandered in and out of a dozen shops. I had to take her to see Allen's Boots, of course. (I bought my FRYE's there in September '04...) M didn't buy anything, but she was absolutely amazed at the selection of boots, western shirts, etc. I thought these little pink boots would look good on either Samantha or Hannah... maybe for Chanuka? They had all kinds of other good Texas gifties, too. (hmm... I should have taken a pic of them next to a full-size pair so you could actually tell that they're kid-sized.)
We also went into the most amazing costume shop... they had racks of clothes for any theme you could imagine -- 70's pimp outfits, medieval costumes, disco outfits, full-sized french fry costumes... and a room full of hats and masks! Apparently you're not supposed to take pictures, but we didn't know that, and by the time the guy told me, it was too late. Doesn't she look cute as a Viking?
We found Hill Country Weavers, my new LYS (that's "local yarn store"). While it does not have the comfy sitting area that makes Knit Happens such a great home-away-from-home, it does have an amazing selection of yarns. I will definitely have to go back and start some new projects!!
They are also being visited by the Yarn Harlot in two weeks, so I put my name on the sign up sheet as long as I was there! Here's a pic of one of the rooms, full of fabulous fibers!
Then, as long as we were down in the neighborhood, I took M to Las Manitas for lunch. She tried the quesadillas with chicken. I had a chalupa-like thing with chicken also. It was very good. The quesadillas were a little different (not flattened and grilled), but tasty. and Las Manitas is so cheap! Pretty much everyone who comes to visit me will be taken there, particularly around breakfast time, cuz their migas (egg omelet with crushed tortilla chips) are excellent.
I had also been looking up a few different gyms in Austin. I really need to get going and get my butt (and the rest of me) back in shape. On Citysearch (which I think is my new best friend for a while), I found Body Business. It's halfway between my office and the house -- and even if I move to a new place, I want to live in this area -- so it's a good location. It's sort of hidden in the back of a shopping center. The woman who showed me around was a grandma. She was so cute! (She moved to Austin from Minneapolis... joined the gym and lost 40 lbs!) They have a pool (small, probably 3 lanes) and cycling and lots of aerobics classes and 40+ personal trainers! (and new members get a huge discount off personal training sessions... mom, are you listening?) Of course, in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday, the place was mostly full of senior citizens... but apparently I'll feel right at home with the age group that comes after work, in the 6:30 range. So I will go back and sign up on Monday evening after work! I'm very excited, and it's a VERY nice gym. :) (btw, it's also half the monthly fee of my gym in Arlington, with more amenities!)
We had been planning on making dinner at home, but when my (new) boss called and said there was going to be a free movie screening, we couldn't say no! Turns out it's a yet-to-be-released film from "Burnt Orange productions" -- a UT-sponsored movie studio. It's called Elvis and Annabelle. It was really well acted, and has an engaging story line. After it was over, they gave us a questionnaire and asked questions about the plot, the pace, the music, etc. It was so interesting to be a part of that! I can't wait to see the finished product! We decided that we love Max Minghella. He's very James Dean-like, with his brooding demeanor and his dark eyes, and has an excellent voice. [it's the kind of part that would be played by Joaquin Phoenix if it were a bigger movie.]
As it turned out, we had dinner at home anyway, because nobody else was hungry when the movie ended. Good thing we had been to the supermarket!
I thought M should see the craziness that is the South Congress
neighborhood. We found a parking space (lucky!) and wandered in and out of a dozen shops. I had to take her to see Allen's Boots, of course. (I bought my FRYE's there in September '04...) M didn't buy anything, but she was absolutely amazed at the selection of boots, western shirts, etc. I thought these little pink boots would look good on either Samantha or Hannah... maybe for Chanuka? They had all kinds of other good Texas gifties, too. (hmm... I should have taken a pic of them next to a full-size pair so you could actually tell that they're kid-sized.)
We also went into the most amazing costume shop... they had racks of clothes for any theme you could imagine -- 70's pimp outfits, medieval costumes, disco outfits, full-sized french fry costumes... and a room full of hats and masks! Apparently you're not supposed to take pictures, but we didn't know that, and by the time the guy told me, it was too late. Doesn't she look cute as a Viking?We found Hill Country Weavers, my new LYS (that's "local yarn store"). While it does not have the comfy sitting area that makes Knit Happens such a great home-away-from-home, it does have an amazing selection of yarns. I will definitely have to go back and start some new projects!!
They are also being visited by the Yarn Harlot in two weeks, so I put my name on the sign up sheet as long as I was there! Here's a pic of one of the rooms, full of fabulous fibers!Then, as long as we were down in the neighborhood, I took M to Las Manitas for lunch. She tried the quesadillas with chicken. I had a chalupa-like thing with chicken also. It was very good. The quesadillas were a little different (not flattened and grilled), but tasty. and Las Manitas is so cheap! Pretty much everyone who comes to visit me will be taken there, particularly around breakfast time, cuz their migas (egg omelet with crushed tortilla chips) are excellent.
I had also been looking up a few different gyms in Austin. I really need to get going and get my butt (and the rest of me) back in shape. On Citysearch (which I think is my new best friend for a while), I found Body Business. It's halfway between my office and the house -- and even if I move to a new place, I want to live in this area -- so it's a good location. It's sort of hidden in the back of a shopping center. The woman who showed me around was a grandma. She was so cute! (She moved to Austin from Minneapolis... joined the gym and lost 40 lbs!) They have a pool (small, probably 3 lanes) and cycling and lots of aerobics classes and 40+ personal trainers! (and new members get a huge discount off personal training sessions... mom, are you listening?) Of course, in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday, the place was mostly full of senior citizens... but apparently I'll feel right at home with the age group that comes after work, in the 6:30 range. So I will go back and sign up on Monday evening after work! I'm very excited, and it's a VERY nice gym. :) (btw, it's also half the monthly fee of my gym in Arlington, with more amenities!)
We had been planning on making dinner at home, but when my (new) boss called and said there was going to be a free movie screening, we couldn't say no! Turns out it's a yet-to-be-released film from "Burnt Orange productions" -- a UT-sponsored movie studio. It's called Elvis and Annabelle. It was really well acted, and has an engaging story line. After it was over, they gave us a questionnaire and asked questions about the plot, the pace, the music, etc. It was so interesting to be a part of that! I can't wait to see the finished product! We decided that we love Max Minghella. He's very James Dean-like, with his brooding demeanor and his dark eyes, and has an excellent voice. [it's the kind of part that would be played by Joaquin Phoenix if it were a bigger movie.]
As it turned out, we had dinner at home anyway, because nobody else was hungry when the movie ended. Good thing we had been to the supermarket!
Comments
You do make a great viking! Too bad Melyssa couldn't enlarge her 7th grade viking ship for you to sail around in....