Chopstix Wednesday
Tomorrow is Chopstix Wednesday. My friend “Natalia” invented this weekly holiday. The gist of Chopstix Wednesday is that you only eat with chopsticks on Wednesdays, (hmm, pretty self explanatory)! The exception to using chopsticks is that you can eat with your hands if that is the normal way of eating the food, i.e. tacos. You can also use a spoon. You are just not allowed to eat with a fork or any other utensil with tines.
I like the idea of Chopstix Wednesday, because it slows down the food consumption and you eat less. I am extra excited about this week’s experience, because my sister bought me new chopsticks for Christmas! YAY!
UPDATE:
“Natalia” created a new group to help keep Chopstick Wednesday alive! Feel free to join and leave your mark on the group site. If you are the first person to comment, email your address and she’ll ship you a brand new pair of chopsticks! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chopstix
Come and join the fun!
What now?
Once Christmas is over, I always ask myself, “What now?” Thank goodness for email. That has to be one of the best inventions ever! I get updates through email from my favorite stores letting me know when they are having sales. Today, DSW is giving TRIPLE bonus points. Added to that, I have a $10 gift certificate from the bonus points I already have, so you know where you will find me today! I will hit all the DSW’s in the DFW area, and if I get back to Austin in time, I will be hitting the ones there too!
After Christmas sales are a great way to spend the Christmas money that you get! I can’t wait to get shopping! 🙂
Dallas
Merry Christmas to all of my friends and family! I have been enjoying the holidays in Dallas. I spent the first night with my sister and spent two days shopping for gifts with my mom and her. I actually only bought a couple of gifts for others and found lots of treasures for myself!
The most unusual shopping trip was with my sister. We went to one of our favorite places to shop for different things, Emeralds to Coconuts on Henderson, and then we left to eat at Mai’s on Fitzhugh and Bryan. When we went to pay, we couldn’t find her credit card. We looked all over the car and decided to go back to Emeralds to Coconuts to see if we had left it with the saleslady.
We drive out onto the street and she goes to the far lane thinking it’s a one way street. She starts calling Emeralds to Coconuts and looks up and there is a policeman trying to turn into the lane we are sitting in. She pulls back, never taking the phone from her head and the policeman rolls down his window and gives her a tongue-lashing. “Get off the phone and pay attention to what your doing!” She replies back to him, “I lost my credit card and I’m trying to call the store.” Like the policeman cares. He yells back that he doesn’t care and she needs to pay attention and drives off! She dodged a ticket there.
We go back to Emeralds to Coconuts, which is closed by this time. She decides to look around the parking lot, just in case it fell out of her purse. She sees something on the ground so she gets out for closer inspection. It’s not the credit card. She looks around a bit more before she gets in the car and lo and behold, the card is right there on the ground! The day is saved!! Now she can continue shopping! YAY!! Boy was she lucky!
Trail of Lights
The Trail of Lights at Zilker park is by far the most fantastic display of Christmas spirit that I have ever seen. Different companies from Austin sponsor or design a Christmas scene throughout the mile long trail. I took pictures of some of my favorite scenes and have the best ones on display. Some of my pictures were too dark.
One of my favorite displays was a bunch of handmade trees, each one with a different color lights. They had the music from Charlie Brown and the trees were synchronized to dance along with the music! It was awesome. I wish I could do something like that at my house! LOL!
Suprisingly, this is a free event. You can park at Waterloo Park for $5.00 and then take a shuttle for $2.00. We found a parking space in some fields behind the Chuy’s and walked over there for free. At the end of the trail we found a mailbox where you can make a donation, so we supported the event that way!
I’m really sad that I waited so long to see it, because now it is over and I would have liked to have gone back several times!
Avalon’s
One of the most traumatic parts of moving to a new town is trying to figure out where to get your hair cut. I was very lucky that I found the right place to go the first time out! I had been driving by Avalon hair salon all the time when I first moved to Austin. I actually tried to go to another place as a walk-in and they couldn’t take me. I remembered Avalon and walked over there and they said that Anna had a spot later in the day! The first time around I decided to play it safe and just get my hair trimmed. She did a really good job, so when I went yesterday, I decided I could be a little more bold, since I now trusted her. She takes her time and is not upset if you ask her to trim a little more after she is done. She cut my hair just the way I wanted it! I would highly recommend Avalon and especially Anna!
Hut’s Hamburgers
An Austin Tradition since 1939. The building was opened as Sammie’s Drive In in August 1939. It became Eli’s lounge and then Picante’s Mexican Restaurant. In 1969, the building was bought by Homer “Hut” Hutson and reopened as Hut’s. Hut’s was originally on South Congress. In 1981 the new owners bought the restaurant and have had it ever since. I found out all this information from their menu. I find places with a history fascinating.
As you walk in to Hut’s you find all the awards proudly displayed on the walls. When you look around, you find that there is really very little room for anything else to be added to their walls, since all of the wall-space is being utilized. Upon close inspection, you will find animal heads, liscense plates, sports pennants, photos, and much much more.
The line for Hut’s is unbelievable. We chose to eat at the bar to avoid some of the wait time. The bartender/waitress was very nice and paid just enough attention to the people that she served. There was one other bartender and we noticed that he had a shirt on for the next door restaurant. We inquired about his shirt and we were told that the owner of Hut’s also owns the Italian restaurant next door. They are trying to cross advertise.
I’m not really a hamburger fan, but when you are in a hamburger place, you have to get a hamburger. I have to admit, that I really didn’t like their burgers. I think it’s because they were a bit large for my tastes. My husband absolutely raved about his, and said he would rank it up with the best burger he had ever had. As we were leaving, he was talking about when he could go back.
Whole Foods
Whole Foods on Lamar is by far my favorite grocery shop here in Austin. The photo above is a gingerbread house that they have on display there. Last year, my husband’s family decided that we would make gingerbread houses. I have to go on record and state that none of ours looked remotely like this one. I made one from a kit, so obviously, it was not this elaborate. The only one that even came close was my mother-in-laws and that is only because she hand-made the gingerbread.
I love to go and walk around Whole Foods. There is so much going on and it is like a feast for the eyes to look at all the good food on display! I have gone there for breakfast several times and even eaten there for dinner on occasion. The food is always good!
I have to admit that I rarely grocery shop there, however. I’m not really that picky about everything being organic. I really just like being in the store! They usually have great samples out. Last night, they were sampling brie with some kind of fig jelly. I’m glad we happen to be there!
Blue Genie Bazaar
The 6th annual Blue Genie Bazaar is going on right now. This is a free event, however once you get inside that all changes. This is located on Springdale street behind the Goodwill. You actually have to go in through the Goodwill entrance to find it in the back. If you drive past the Goodwill, you have gone too far. We found that out the hard way!
Inside you will find very unique items of art. There are several different artists displaying their artwork in a variety of ways. There were a few interesting things that I thought I might be interested in, but it in no way is there bargain basement prices. They are definitely proud of their work. I found a couple of $20 – $30 onsies for my cousin’s newborn, but had to pass because they are $20 – $30, and babies just don’t get that kind of wear out of onsies!
Pizza Gallery
Since the Yuppie Puppy had closed down, I decided that it was time to eat. Right next door to where the YP used to be, in Davenport Village, I found the Pizza Gallery. I noticed art for sale around the walls, which made the name of the place make a whole lot of sense.
For the first time since I have been in Austin, the service was almost too much! I had two waiters. (One of them must’ve been in training). Probably because of where I was seated, the guy came by to see how I was doing (probably) close to ten times. However, they took my order quickly, took my plate as soon as I was finished and I got my check promptly, and that is what I want when I go out to eat.
I was seated right behind the wine rack and there was some guy, probably the owner, that fiddled with the wine the whole time I was there. He rearranged the wine on the top of the rack and then rearranged all the wine in the rack. It was a little annoying, but that wine is organized now!
There were a couple of pieces of art that I thought I might like, but upon inspection, I found them to be a bit out of my price range! Some of the art was not really my taste, but it was still more than I had to spend!
The pizza was delicious. For some reason, I felt the need to eat my pizza with a fork. I really don’t know why, maybe it was the place? I also had a delicious caesar salad. It was a great lunch!
Collar search
My dog needs a new collar. The last one I bought was from the Pet Boutique on Garland Rd. in Dallas. It is black with small diamonds all around it. The collar has lost most of the diamonds and it is time to replace it.
Where do you go to find specialty items for dogs in Austin? I still haven’t figured it out. I went online and found Bark ‘n Purr on Burnet, so I drove over there to find the perfect collar for my little precious one. I looked at the store optimistically as I drove up since it had a Best of Austin sign in the window. I was sadly disappointed when I went inside and found your typical dog stuff inside. I asked the guy if he knew where I could find some specialty items for dogs. He was kind of rude and said that was it. I pushed a little and he directed me down the street.
I went up Burnet a little further to the Camp 4 Paws. I wasn’t really sure if it was open, but I got out of my car to check anyway! Luckily, the store was open!! This is the cutest little place. They have really cool clothes and some really nice collars. Unfortunately, they didn’t have exactly what I was looking for, but I will go back another time when I want to buy clothes. I talked to the nicest lady and she told me that she had seen a dog store in Davenport Village over on Capital of Texas Hwy. She wasn’t sure if it was open or not, but that was her best guess.
I went to Davenport Village next. I saw a great sign announcing the Yuppie Puppie! Yea! I’m sure at this point that they will have exactly what I’m looking for. Sadly, as I got closer, I found that the store was closed. 😦 I didn’t find my collar today.
I will be in Dallas this weekend, so I hope I will get the opportunity to go to the Pet Boutique and find a new collar. If anyone knows of any good pet boutiques in Austin, please let me know!!
Fabulous after FIFTY 