Speaking of Manor

By Courtney on | 1 Comment

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 dramedy movie directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. It is based on a book of the same name by author Peter Hedges. It was filmed in Manor, Texas. (Comment stolen from Wikepedia)

“This Magic Moment”by Doc Pomus & Mort ShumanPerformed by The Manor High School Marching Band (Comment stolen from IMDB)

I loved that movie! I never would have guessed that it was filmed in the Austin area.

Posted in: Austin Trivia

Ramos

By Courtney on | 1 Comment

If you ever find yourself in Manor, there is a great little restaurant there called Ramos. It’s right in the center of their booming little town. It’s pretty much the only restaurant in Manor. There are a couple of others, but Ramos is by far the most popular. From what I understand, the owner used to be the head chef at Chuy’s and decided to open his own restaurant. You can definitely taste a Chuy’s influence even if this story isn’t true. They start you out with chips and salsa, plus they add a jalapeno ranch type dressing that is just heavenly! We went for breakfast and I have to say that they had some of the best breakfast tacos I’ve had in a long time!

Posted in: Austin Area Restaurants

Austin Traffic

By Courtney on | Leave a comment

The worst part of living in Austin is the traffic! I hate Austin Traffic. I’m quite sure I’m not the first to notice how terrible it is! Anyway, today was worse than ever. I had figured out a quick route home from work by going down a side road and cutting through a shopping complex. It’s been working for me for the last couple of months. Today, however, the Austin traffic gods put a curse on my route. They decided to do some construction on the road! Now my shortcut is taking just as long as the regular route. BOO!

Posted in: Austin traffic

37th Street of Lights

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Austin people never do anything half-way. They always have to find a way to weird it up a little bit. I guess that’s why they have the saying “Keep Austin Weird”. Well, Christmas lights are no different. Every year the people that live on 37th Street put out their Christmas lights and people drive from miles around to see how they are displayed. They don’t just light up their houses, they use the electrical lines, cars, and anything else they can think to put a light on.

The neighborhood has been doing this since the 80’s and rumor has it that the people that started the tradition have already moved out and they come back every year to decorate since the new people are more yuppified and aren’t as into it. I have no way of knowing if this is true, but it sure makes for a good story.

To get there, you go from Guadalupe and turn on 37th. The Groovy Lube sign will point the way! We drove through, but walking would be much better so you can see the intricacy of all the lights and other displays.

Posted in: Austin Events

South Congress Cafe

By Courtney on | Leave a comment

South Congress Cafe is my favorite restaurant in Austin so far. This is a great place to go on a date or for a special occasion. The food is outstanding! The service is really good, too especially when you compare it to the rest of Austin service.
Last night we went there with my in-laws. (I also went there with my parents for my birthday). I ordered the Cajun Shrimp Scampi. They serve this medley of seafood over pasta. I loved it. There was so much food, I couldn’t finish my meal. Of course I gave it my best shot though! Everyone ordered something different and everyone went home satisfied!
If you have not eaten here, I highly recommend it! http://southcongresscafe.com/
Posted in: Austin Restaurants

Armadillo Bazaar

By Courtney on | 1 Comment

I love going to art shows. Since I’ve been in Austin, I’ve found that there are art shows almost every week. Most of the stuff in them are kind of bazaar, hippy type things that does not really reflect my tastes. This weekend I went to the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar. There was an entry fee and there were higher end artists showing their crafts. Most of the items were out of my price range, but there were some really nice things.

My husband found a little clay sculpture called the “Enchihuahua” and bought it for me. It is very whimsical and reminded him of our beloved chi-chi! It’s really a fun accessory for our new house.

As a side note, I saw an acquaintance of mine that I met at a work conference a couple of weeks ago. He is evidentally an artist and has really nice work.

I would highly recommend this bazaar for viewing or for buying! The Bazaar is open from Dec. 9 – 24, from 11 – 11! http://www.armadillobazaar.com/

Posted in: Austin Events

Hula Hut

By Courtney on | 2 Comments

If you are ever in Austin or you live in Austin, you have to go to the Hula Hut. Located on Lake Austin, this place is always a fun destination. In the summer, people dock their boats and come in and hang out at the bar. Every time I’ve been there it has been packed with people!
My in-laws are in town, so obviously we had to take them here. It’s one of those Keep Austin Weird kind of places that makes Austin such a great place. Even though it had to be 20 degrees outside, patio seating was still available. For the winter, they enclose the patio and have heaters over the seats. It was very comfortable and I’m ALWAYS cold.
I split the shrimp and spinach tubular taco with my mother in-law. If you’ve never had it, you should! It is absolutely huge and it’s enough for two people. The waiter was very thoughtful and since he knew we were splitting, he brought it out already split for us on our own plates with our own rice and beans! We also tried the Mexican Martinis. My father in-law is hooked! I think everyone at our party enjoyed the experience!

Posted in: Austin Restaurants

LBJ Wildflower Center

By Courtney on | 1 Comment

Last night we went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to see the luminaries. It was absolutely beautiful. My in-laws have been to the Center before, however I had not. It was interesting to hear their perspective of the changes that have occurred since the last time they were here over 22 years ago. They were telling me that most or all of the buildings were built since they last visited. Back then, when you went in it was just almost untamed wildflowers and it was amazing.
Now they have several buildings and the wildflowers are manicured into garden areas. They had it layed out almost maze like. In the front section they had different examples of how you could set up a garden. It is still amazing. Maybe I can attempt some of this type of gardening once my new house is built.
In the second section there was another building that you could go into. They had several different Christmas trees that were decorated by various organizations. Everyone had the opportunity to vote on their favorite. Surprisingly, my husband took his vote very seriously and tried to talk me into voting with him. However, having my own mind I picked the one I wanted to pick!
Since we were there to see the luminaries, it was obviously night time. The center probably had the untamed beauty that my in-laws talked about, however it was too dark to wander too far back into the center. I will definitely have to return!
Posted in: Austin sites

Spider House Coffee

By Courtney on | 3 Comments

I think that the Spider House is the weirdest coffee place we have been to yet. The Spider House is located very close to the UT campus off of Guadalupe. It is probably an old house with an AWESOME patio. Unfortunately, we were there in the morning and it was too cold for the patio. We decided to sit inside. This place is kind of grungy. I’d have to say it was my least place I’ve been so far. I was there with good company though, so overall it was a very enjoyable exerience!

I was kind of hungry so I asked if they had a breakfast menu. They said all they had was bagels. I’m not really a bagel fan, so I asked to get something on the lunch menu. No, it was too early for that. So anyway, I opted for the bagel. It really wasn’t bad, just not what I wanted.

Their coffee cups are a little smaller than the rest of the places I’ve been. I may go back here for a beer, but probably won’t waste my time there again for coffee.

Posted in: Austin Coffee

More Austin Coffee

By Courtney on | 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago we tried another new coffee house. We went to a place on Manor Rd. called Clementines. It is a quirky little place with random furniture and artwork. I think it must have been a house that they converted into a business. The coffee was ok, but the people watching made it all worthwhile.

When we got there we saw a guy with a blue shirt, blue jeans and baseball cap. I swear it was Lance Armstrong. Do you think he would come to a seedy neighborhood like this? It turns out that he was running the marathon that day, so it definitely wasn’t him!

Then we saw a strange guy on a weird bike. I don’t even know how to explain him so I won’t even try.

Last and best of all, we watched an older gentleman pull himself onto a U.S. Mailbox. He didn’t make it up on the first try. He makes it on the second try after making some interesting straining faces. I reached for my camera, but just as I get it out, he jumped down as his wife/friend walks up and they went into the coffee shop.

I think I will probably return to this amusing little place.

Posted in: Austin Coffee