One year has passed! I can't believe I have been married to Pat for over a year now! It is crazy how quickly time flies. July 17th brought back such wonderful memories from 2010 - all the family and friends that poured out unconditional love and support for us as we officially began our journey as husband and wife. We also reflected on the [hot] weather that day, the nonstop dancing, the sweaty people [none of which cared they were soaking through their clothes], and of course, the select few who decided to take their shirts off to beat the heat - too funny. Again, we felt so blessed and it was a day that we will never forget!
As for celebrating the one year mark, Pat surprised me with a weekend trip down to Austin. It is really a pretty awesome town - super artsy and earthy, and everyone LOVES being in the great outdoors, so we fit right in. Anywhere you go, there are people running, walking, bike riding, with their dogs, out on the water, etc. Now you have to understand, Dallas is flat, flat to a point that family and friends up in Ohio just couldn't understand. So when we made the trip down to Austin, it was refreshing to see a ton of tall trees and rolling hills. The majority of our trip was spent in the outdoors [which was actually a 'cool' 97 degrees, unlike the 100+ temperatures of Dallas]. We arrived Friday night and went out and about on 6th street, where we were quickly reminded we are not the 'club' type people. We grabbed a drink at a dueling piano bar and then headed back to our hotel. We woke up the next morning, hit the hotel gym for a little bit [which was quite impressive I must add], had some breakfast, then headed to Zilker Park on our bikes. Pat had packed our bikes in his Swagger Wagon company car to bring down to Austin, which I was super excited about because we don't often have a chance to ride them [thanks to Mom and Dad who graciously gifted them to us for our graduations from Miami in 2010!]. We toured around, went to an AWESOME spot called Barton Springs Pool, which is a natural water spring that people swim at. The water was an unbelievable blue/green - I couldn't believe that we were in Texas! We then hit the Zilker Botanical Gardens and followed up with a bike ride around around Lady Bird Lake (which is more like a river to me).
Barton Springs Pool
Pat channeling his inner Velociraptor at the Botanical Gardens
Biking around Lady Bird Lake
Okay so next, truly one of my favorite parts of the trip, we headed to the Whole Foods mother ship in Austin for lunch. So we all know I am quite enamored with Whole Foods, but this took it to a whole new level. The food they had there was amazing - so many different options and the place was completely packed. So naturally, Pat insisted that he take my picture outside because of how excited I was. This was followed by a little shopping at Anthropologie [don't mind if I do!], and then we made our way back to get ready for an AMAZING dinner at The Roaring Fork. Pat claims this was one of the best meals he has had is his LIFE. A bold statement. We then did some more walking around the city and headed back to the hotel.
Outside the Austin Whole Foods
Following Dinner at the Roaring Fork
Our last day in Austin was just as great as the day before! We woke up and braved the heat [and mass amounts of people], taking a long run along Lady Bird Lake. They have an awesome dirt path that winds right alongside the water. It is absolutely beautiful. Right after, we walked to the Texas Rowing Center to do some kayaking. This was another favorite of the trip! You can kayak into some water inlets that are so clear and SO blue - again, I couldn't believe I was in Texas! The cool part was that so many others were out, a lot of them with their dogs. Austin is an extremely dog friendly town, which we loved. In fact, while we paddled around, we ran into another couple kayaking who had two dogs trailing right beside them in the water in dog life jackets- one mutt and the other... a VIZSLA! :) The Vizsla was putting the other to shame in terms of athletic/swimming ability, it was awesome. Too bad I didn't have a camera. After kayaking we headed back to Whole Foods for lunch before packing up and heading out. Before making the drive back up to Dallas, we hit two more spots. First, an adorable coffee shop/bakery called Mozart's on Lake Austin, and then, for my husband the donut connoisseur, I had to surprise him with a trip to the World Famous Round Rock Donuts. When we pulled up, the line of cars wrapped around into the main street so we knew it would be amazing. It turns out that this donut shop is the family business of a friend that we met in Dallas - what a small world! Pat was quite the happy camper.
World Famous Round Rock Donuts! Yum!
We bought a half dozen of donuts then hit the road to head back home. We had such a wonderful trip and we are so thankful we had such a memorable weekend together. We can't wait to go back in the future- maybe next time bringing a four legged friend :) I promise in the future these blog posts won't be as long, but this one was for a special occasion. What a year! I am blessed to have a buddy to share such special [and adventurous] times with, love you PJ!
s, lotions, laundry detergent, etc. If it has a smell, it has got to go. There are not many choices of shampoos out there that are fragrance free. So naturally, I went to Whole Foods a couple months ago, as I was sure they would have something to fit the bill. And surprise, surprise, they did! I am just in LOVE with this shampoo, I really look forward to washing my hair [I know, weird]. But it gets a great lather and leaves my hair feeling "cleaner" compared to other shampoos. Even better- it is free of parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, phthalates, artificial fragrances and colors, silicones, EDTA, glycol and petroleum-based ingredients, phosphates, and animal testing. On top of that, it is wheat/gluten free, recyclable, biodegradable, cruelty free, vegetarian/vegan AND is made from renewable sources. What's not to love? Try it out and let me know what you think!
s, lotions, laundry detergent, etc. If it has a smell, it has got to go. There are not many choices of shampoos out there that are fragrance free. So naturally, I went to Whole Foods a couple months ago, as I was sure they would have something to fit the bill. And surprise, surprise, they did! I am just in LOVE with this shampoo, I really look forward to washing my hair [I know, weird]. But it gets a great lather and leaves my hair feeling "cleaner" compared to other shampoos. Even better- it is free of parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, phthalates, artificial fragrances and colors, silicones, EDTA, glycol and petroleum-based ingredients, phosphates, and animal testing. On top of that, it is wheat/gluten free, recyclable, biodegradable, cruelty free, vegetarian/vegan AND is made from renewable sources. What's not to love? Try it out and let me know what you think!
