Dia de muertos

Yesterday was the day of the dead. That's the day when we remember and honor our loved ones that have passed. Every year I try to make an altar for this special day.

I am pretty happy with my attempt this year:

Caldo De Res

I recently went to the second weekend of the ACL music festival. It was fun and exciting and exhausting. I discovered a new favorite band (Twenty-One Pilots) and greatly enjoyed an old favorite (Foo Fighters, They are amazing!) I also somehow managed to come out of it with a terrible cold. 

My week was horrible - I was exhausted, grumpy, and probably more than a little bit contagious. I was greatly looking forward to the weekend so I could lay on my couch all day and catch up on my Netflix. 

What I really wanted though was to have my mom visit and spoil me (yes, I'm an adult... don't judge!) . Unfortunately, she lives about 5 hours away from me. Although she very graciously offered to ride her bike up to make me soup (ha ha, mom), I realized that I had to take matters into my own hands. 

I needed to eat something healthy so I decided to try my hand at making caldo de res -  a beef bone broth / vegetable soup. Delicious and nutritious!

Harry Potter and Mickey Mouse

I LOVE Harry Potter! I've read the books and watched the movies countless times, plus I was sorted into Gryffindor and know that my patronus is a horse. All terribly important information, don't you think?

So, earlier this year, when my guy invited me to a wedding in Disney, the only acceptable response was, "Only if we can go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter"!

I had been there before with my family, but back then Universal hadn't opened Diagon Alley.

Look at Hogwarts!!!

It's churro time!

It's finally Friday! I'm terribly excited! And while this was a short work week due to the Labor Day holiday, it felt soooo incredibly long and tedious. 

I think I need to celebrate. And what better way to do that than with churros! My all time favorite churros are in Mexico City, but these might be a close second.

Churro Co. is a food truck in Austin. (Austin loves its food trucks!) You might see it if you're around E. Riverside or hanging out on the boardwalk by the river.  If you see it, you should definitely stop by! If you don't, you should look for it. I promise you won't be disappointed!

The truck itself looks pretty welcoming.

Summers in New Braunfels

Labor Day means that summer is over, right? I can't wait for fall with its red and orange leaves and amazing sweater weather! But, seeing as how it's still a balmy 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Texas, it feels ages away. The calendar agrees with me that it's still summer. Two more weeks to go!

In honor of the last two weeks of summer, I thought I'd share one of the best spots in central Texas on a hot summer day - New Braunfels!

I guess I'll exercise, but what should I wear?

I haven't exercised in over a year. Shocking, I know! I wasn't sick or anything drastic like that. I was being a little lazy, but more than that I was doing this ridiculously strict diet that didn't allow any extra calories for a good workout. 

Not healthy, I know. Especially since I used to do Crossfit and could do this:

Donuts for days!

I have a serious sweet tooth. So much so that I'm convinced that if I took sugar out of my diet, I'd be super model skinny... or maybe not. Probably not. I enjoy food way too much! But it's a nice dream to have, no?

Earlier this year, I took a road trip to New Orleans with my guy and decided we needed goodies for the road. We were taking off from Houston which is were my cousin Jessie lives. She had recently discovered and become obsessed with a donut shop. She decided to share her obsession with me, and I ended up with this for the trip:

And ate most of it myself. Of course. R doesn't have a sweet tooth. I totally forgot. My mistake!

Top Golf - trying to improve my swing

I don't know how to play golf. There was one time about six years ago that a friend of mine showed up at my house with a pair of brand new golfing shoes for me and whisked me away to the golf course for a lesson. I tried to learn. I really did. But I was distracted by the golf cart and a couple of beers. He didn't try to teach me again. Needless to say, I still have the shoes. They're brand new, hiding away in their box in a closet at my mom's house. 

I bring this up because I always consider sending for my shoes when I go to Top Golf - to distract people from the fact that I am not the best at hitting a little ball with a stick.

Playa del Carmen

I love traveling in Mexico - it is such a beautiful country with amazing food and people. The country has gotten a bit of a bad rep recently due to a certain escaped drug lord and some violence in the border, but it should still be top of the list for any travel destination.

One of my favorite spots in Mexico is Playa del Carmen, near Cancun. Playa del Carmen used to be a sleepy little city, but it has grown tremendously thanks, in part, to tourists who want a beautiful beach without the craziness of Cancun.

Happy hour and a mercantile

My friends and I tend to go to the same places over and over for dinner and happy hour. We love these places. And, seriously, you can't beat Jack Allen's Kitchen for pretty much anything. We have spent many an afternoon happily munching on their amazing appetizer menu and enjoying an Austin margarita or three before deciding that we each need our own blondie for dessert.

Austin, however, has so many amazing restaurants that it really is a shame not to explore them all. Or at least try. In that spirit, I convinced everyone that we really need to expand our horizons and try someplace new - Jacoby's Restaurant and Mercantile.

Bird Bakery

Last week was my friend Monica's birthday. Monica loves cupcakes, and is notoriously hard to impress when it comes to those cupcakes. She has had the best of the best from around the world!

I decided to be brave and get her this for her birthday...

The UK - Market day in London

My last complete day in London was my market day.

The UK - The day I fell in love with London

This is the day I fell in love with London! There was nothing in particular that did it - just the energy of the city. Does that sound crazy?

The UK - Being a tourist in London

I had a beautiful place to stay in London - a friend's flat near Camden Market.

Check out the view.

Gorgeous, no?

The UK - It's pronounced 'Edinburrah' not Edinburg

My third morning in the UK, we woke up very early to go to Edinburgh. It was to be a three hour drive, and I was incredibly tempted to hit the snooze button on my alarm and stay in bed. Fortunately, my sense of adventure prevailed, so I reluctantly got dressed and on the road.

The drive in Scotland was beautiful - all hills and castles and hairy cows. Of course I didn't take any pictures. I'm blaming this on me being half asleep, of course! 

I spent  quite a bit of time on the drive practicing the correct pronunciation of the place - torn between getting it right or just saying screw it and talking with a Spanish accent. 

We were both a bit grumpy from the lack of sleep and a little worried about the drop in weather as we got further in Scotland. My friend A had conveniently forgotten his jacket in Norfolk.

And then we got to Edinburgh.

Wow!

The UK - Feeling very British in Norfolk

I've always wanted to go to England. "The Secret Garden" was one of my favorite books growing up, and I always imagined myself living in the English countryside in a cottage with a beautiful garden. This desire has never really gone away, and I would happily move there tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself.

Remember me?

Hi there! Remember me? I've been gone for a very long time! Can't believe it's been four year already! I got so busy with life and work that I totally forgot about my little piece of the internet. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I "discovered" a new favorite blog and started thinking about my own. I realized that I miss writing it, and that there is no reason why I can't start again. So here I am again - a little older and a little wiser (hopefully).