3 Days in Austin: Fun Things to See and Do

Cheers to old friends!

Last weekend I spent some long-overdue kid-free time in Austin with my BFF (thanks, Chrissy, for letting me jet off!) and, oh, but it was nice…. Can I get a repeat? In addition to long, uninterrupted chats with someone who’s known me for 20+ years, here’s the short version of what was on the agenda — I hope it inspires you to plan a little “me” time, too:

* Mexican martinis at Dos Salsas in Georgetown (mmm, see above. And here’s a recipe — I’d tweak the Sprite to a splash.)

* Patricia Clarkson on 7 Minutes in Heaven with Mike O’Brien. Do yourself a favor and watch this. It is highly enjoyable not only because Clarkson is super-appealing and slightly tipsy during the in-the-closet interview, but also because it introduced me to new lipstick shade Cherries in the Snow (which now resides in my handbag.)

* Revlon’s Cherries in the Snow — an excellent pick-me-up in the face of crappy fall weather.

Kiss me! I'm wearing lipstick.

* !It Jeans from Adelante — they hug, they’re snug, and they won’t set you back $200. (You’re welcome.) I snagged the My New Boy style, pictured below.

If fall has to come, at least I can be wearing these.

* New METALSGirl jewelry from Parts + Labour.

Giant 4 color necklace. Yes, please.

* Weird La Lucha Libre wrestling guys for the kids from Tesoros.

Viva, Mexico!

* Chipotle and toasted almond guacamole at La Condesa. Heck, yeah.

Darn good guac. Drinks, tacos, and chile rellenos, too.

* Retro-cool at The HighBall.

Vintage bowling lanes, transported to Austin from New Orleans.

* Big-time cheesy fun at Austin Karaoke. Thanks to my friend Debra, I no longer have to wonder what my karaoke songs would be — let’s just say Sheryl Crow, Journey, and the fine ladies of Heart were all paid tribute to. Surprisingly cathartic. They had to pry the mike out of my hands.

Hello, fun.

* Breakfast nirvana at Monument Cafe and Kerbey Lane.

Serving breakfast 24-7.

* A book called Love Life — and lots of pretty fresh flowers, too — at La Fleur Vintage.

Colette: "You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm."

Thanks, Debra! xo

Related:

Currently Obsessed with…. Moving to Austin

 

Currently Obsessed with… Moving to Austin

Welcome home....

More hurtful winter weather here in New York City, as you know…. Maybe we should move to Austin!

It’s a sometimes-fantasy of mine, and the list of pros is long and appealing:

1. No more harsh winters — we could be outside so much of the year!

2. My #1 fantasy neighborhood is Clarksville, right downtown, near Whole Foods, Z’Tejas, Amy’s Ice Cream, and great shopping. That’s where the adorable house above is — we would have so much space, and a beautiful backyard! And a porch. I really want a porch. All for $650,000 — !!! — which may be high for Austin, but is reasonable compared to New York. It needs some work, but we might actually be able to AFFORD to do it. Also, like a lot of houses I’m seeing in Austin, it looks vacant — maybe we could get a deal?

3. We’d finally be living near our friends Debra and Karen, and could see them all the time.

4. I could bring the kids up right, eating Tex-Mex at least twice a week. Breakfast tacos from Guero’s, mmm….

photo: Infinite Tadpole

5. And we could have dinner at El Chile Cafe — outside, where it would be warm, cold drink in hand — anytime we wanted to.

flickr photo: El Chile

6. We could go swimming at Barton Springs….

7. And Deep Eddy.

8. We’d be closer to Marfa and Big Bend State Park, both of which I’ve been wanting to visit.

9. We wouldn’t have to fly the family home for a visit every year!

10. We could listen to music and sip margaritas under the pecan trees at The Shady Grove.

photo: RoadFood

11. We could go shopping on South Congress.

12. We could see the stars at night.

All that sounds mighty good right about now.

(Mom: Don’t get too excited. We are probably not moving.)

Other places I like to fantasize about moving to:

Paris — I lived there years ago, but I’m not done with it yet.

London

San Francisco — What I said for Paris, only I’m not 100 percent certain I’m not done with it.

Sonoma

Maybe Seattle

Places definitely *not* on my list:

New Jersey — sorry, Garden State. I’m just not that into you.

Chicago — If the winters here make me nuts, I’d go MENTAL in Chicago.

Florida — We’re a 2-mom family. Not in a million years. (Austin may not be Brooklyn in terms of tolerance, but it’s big. There’s lots of everybody.)

I could use a diversion today, so what about you? What tops your list of dream “let’s move there!” cities?

Other obsessions:

Cute Kindle Covers

Viva Zapata! Bags

Baked Fontina

Related:

Austin without Kids