Christmas in january?

January 21, 2013

Christmas was a bit hectic for my family this year and since we couldn’t all be together we decided to make it as special as we could. I busted my butt to have all my gifts in the mail to arrive by Christmas but my family was a little bit slower and the gifts weren’t scheduled to arrive until the second week of January. That is when I had planned my trip to Austin so the gifts sat around for yet another week.

Finally when I returned I fit them all in by the tree (that I kept up for this very purpose) and set up a skype date with my sister and then my mom and her husband. We tried to skype all together but figured out we couldn’t so we chatted all at the same time and I would bet Walker was glad he wasn’t home yet.

It was a lot of fun! We all took turns opening gifts and exclaiming about them (I may share a few later this week). We even got a group Christmas picture! I love my family and I’m glad we waited until we could all “be together”. It was quite special.

-All the presents by the tree (even some for Walker!)

-Skype date with my sister.

-My annual Elvis calendar. My sister buys it every year and my mom claims the gift. It’s quite funny. I can always spot it by the tree.

-Group photo! This was take 4 or 5-so funny!

If you’ve enjoyed this post be sure to sign up for my newsletter! I share all the best discount codes with my subscribers!

The salt lick-oh my

January 18, 2013

I didn’t have any particular place in mind but when I was in Austin I was going to eat barbeque-somewhere. The day before I left I called my friend Katie to remind her of my arrival and she said they already had a trip planned to the Salt Lick to say goodbye to one of the grad students in her department. Perfect! The Salt Lick isn’t the best barbeque in Austin but it’s got the best atmosphere by far and honestly most of the time the best bbq is the bbq I’m eating at the moment.

We were with a group of about 15 physics students and I invited a few friends of mine along also we were quite the crowd. My friend made me a birthday cake and I was super excited because I told him how Walker wouldn’t let me put 29 candles on my cupcake so he brought 29 and lit it up! It warms my heart when friends do such nice things for me. I’ll have to do something extra nice with he and his girlfriend come to visit us here. Hehe.

-the cake maker

-the cakemaker’s girlfriend

-my friend Katie

-my birthday sparkling juice! (I would drink this every year on New Year’s but I couldn’t get a bottle in Seattle but I happened to have an older one in Austin that I left when I moved-my mom had mailed me 3 bottles last year since you can only buy it in Michigan-hahaha-oy!)

-29 candles!

-can I blow them all out at once?

-deep breath!

-yes I can!!

I just love my birthday month and I was so blessed to get to continue the celebration with friends!

Me, my friends, and austin

January 17, 2013

My trip to Austin last week was pretty spontaneous. A few weeks back Walker had booked a trip to Dallas for a bachelor party so I decided I would visit friends in Austin. Plus I used air miles so it was basically free. Bonus!

My first few days in town were pretty quiet since most everyone works during the week, go figure. I used this time to take myself out on a few dates and treat myself. I got my hair trimmed, a facial, a massage, and enjoyed some of my favorite Texas beers. These few days were made even better by the amazing weather and sun. There were two days in a row that were around the high 60’s and low 70’s and nothing but sun. I sat in the sun for as long as I could and it was glorious. I enjoyed a nice local brew as I worked on my cowl for my return to colder weather.

My evenings were filled with catching up with ex-coworkers, visiting a local brewery for their monthly party, trying out new restaurants and just getting to be myself with friends. That was a nice change to the small talk I’ve been working through in Seattle trying to make new friends. I know it takes time but it was nice to take a break from all of that and just relax.

-working on a bit of knitting

-my good friend and ex-coworker took me out for a belated birthday dinner. It was so good! {crispy kale salad? Yes!}

-I got to see the new gym my old coworkers got up and running at the office

-A pretty awesome Austin brewery and lots of cans!

-a new pizza/brewery we tried out

Share