This Sunday we stopped in at Counter Cafe for brunch. It wasn't as busy as normal and surprisingly we got a seat right away. It's in the location of the old GM Steakhouse on Lamar near 6th. It's a small little diner that serves mostly local food. Brent and I have been there a handful of times and the food is consistently good, especially the coffee! It's a little pricey as this time we ordered 1 pancake, 1 order of migas and 2 coffees and it was right at $20 bucks, but I get that that's the going rate for local food. My ginger pancake was fantastic and I literally squealed with delight on my first bite surprising both Brent and I... I had a little food-gasm. It was fluffy an delicious and hit the spot.
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I've been anxious to make it to East Side and visit some of the bars over there that I have heard so much about. Brent and I have been to several restaurants over there such as, Primizie, Blue Dahlia, Ms. B's, and East Side Pies to name a few. There is some great food to be had East of I-35 and I love all the places I have just listed and now it was time to check out some of the night life.
I never realized how close it all is! It's right there and it was busy. I was able to make it to both East Side Show Room and Shangri-La. I went to ESSR first but due to my bad experience it will be at the end of the blog and I'm going to go straight in to raving about Shangri-La! Dinner at Whole Foods, yeah yeah, I'll get to that. Let's talk Vita-Mix! This is definitely my latest love! We'll see how my fascination and affection continues in the next few weeks but I don't think I'm going to lose any excitement for this new appliance in our house. Let me tell you how we first met.... I bumped in to Vita-Mix, strangely enough, at the State Fair last week. Before that I had never heard of one. I became enthralled, like a bug flying toward the light, and was mesmerized by the demonstration. Brent finally pulled me away so we could go see some of the other sights at the fair. There were a few claims that I was a bit leery of but Vita-Mix remained on my mind.
First of all, Dallas was fun, but it's good to be back in Austin! I always forget how under made-up I always feel particularly when out to breakfast and a 4-year-old girl walks by wearing much more fashionable clothes than I own... but she was super cute and had some really cool leggings that I now want. Its' also nice to be back home in my comfort zone of food, knowing I can find nice veggie options for my meals or a nice local hunk-o-meat.
Tonight we happened to be in the Hyde Park area. I really dig that part of town with the eclectic houses and interesting neighborhoods. Since we were there we decided to eat at Hyde Park Bar and Grill, which is an icon in Austin. This blog is going to be in reverse chronological order because it was a busy day but the best stuff happened at the end of the day and its what I want to talk about most... U2. I had never been to a U2 concert before and it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g, amazing. In a world that can disappoint so often they exceeded my already elevated expectations. Once again, a concert has converted me into being a true fan and now I am a big fan of U2. Dollar for dollar this was the best money Brent has ever spent on me, besides our honeymoon, and it was nearly as emotional as my wedding. Crazy. I knew that Bono and his crew were big on helping causes, particularly the AIDS epidemic in Africa and I was so impressed with the way in which they got their message across during the show. It was powerful music married with a powerful message that wasn't construed in a way that made you feel bad about yourself for not doing enough and more like hey, thanks for supporting us and in turn supporting our cause. You felt as though you had already made a difference. I know it's impossible for you to experience what we did at the show through my blog but if you want to see more pictures and comments about the show click here.
So we headed to Dallas on Sunday to go to the Muse/U2 concert there on Monday night. We bought the tickets last February or so and I've been anxious to go to my first U2 concert! Anyway, it was a long drive to Dallas with very crappy, rainy weather and traffic kept stalling due to the 4 accidents we saw along the way. It was pretty crazy. So we decided to take a break from the deluge coming down upon us and grab a bite to eat. I like to trick myself and believe my eating habits aren't that difficult, but as I searched the GPS for eatery destinations I realized this wasn't going to be easy.... we aren't in Austin anymore, Toto.
First of all I want to say how truly sad I am that I missed my very good friend's baby shower today. My heart longed to be there but due to our bout with flu I didn't want to risk infecting a pregnant woman since they are in the "high risk" category. For up to date information on the flu go to: TexasFlu.org. Buffalo ExchangeSo, after a restful day on the couch Brent and I decided to venture to Buffalo Exchange for some quick costume shopping. We knew exactly what we were looking for and thankfully we found it! I highly recommend this great store as they have lots of options for Halloween costumes, particularly since they have expanded the store. Also, it's oh-so-green to buy a used costume or used clothes so it pads your pocket book and either intentionally or unintentionally helps your green cause. Please vote before you read the article so you can for an unbiased opinion. Thank you for resolving a very serious dispute in my home. Slowly Brent and I are getting back in the swing of things after H1N1 flu has hit our home. No, it wasn't laboratory confirmed (I know because I work for the State lab) but I can say with confidence that if you get the flu this year, most likely it's H1N1. Don't freak out just wash your hands, get your flu shot, and hope you don't get it. If you do get it, stock up on gatorade and be prepared to rest and consume copious amounts of ibuprofen for aches, pains, and fever. I'm not an expert this is just from our experience.
Anyways, tonight we were able to go out to dinner for the first time since last Saturday at ACL and we went to Kerby Lane. I think Brent has forgotten a few of his social graces, in being confined at home, and in my opinion he was a little more ornery than usual, but I'll get to that at the end of my post. So, Brent and I have been a little under the weather. Brent more so than me, and I decided that last night I wanted to make something healthy and homemade and hopefully kick start us back on the road to health. I've made this recipe before so I knew it wouldn't take too much time or too much energy. Brent hasn't been eating super good so I wanted to get us a good whole meal with protein, grains, and greens. Plus, this recipe is enough to give us something to munch on for several meals. It always taste so healthy and yet so delicious; I highly recommend it for a nice warm winter meal. You can check out the recipe here.
I hope to get back to my normal fun blogs soon. Be well- Laura This has taken me a little longer to post about than I had anticipated, but here's the rundown of my ACL experience. First of all, its no secret, it was rainy. I will take rainy any time over the hot dust bowl year where I almost passed out. That was the worst. Of course, like all other Austinites, I am anxious to see how the beautiful Zilker grass recovers from the onslaught of rain, feet stomping, and mud wrestling (ew). We missed out on Sunday because poor Brent got a fever Saturday night. It wasn't Dave Mathews that got him all hot and bothered, its the flu. Wash your hands people, its a nasty one this year! I'm beginning to feel ill and fear I am falling victim to the illness and malaise I have seen him endure over the last few days. Needless to say, this blog is short but I wanted to get it up. Anyways, if you want to see the rundown of the bands I saw and my photos of the event, click here. |