FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Cowboys & Chow

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Ever since Easter, I’ve had the urge to attend church on Sunday mornings.  I’ve never been a church-goer, so this is out of character for me, but I’m digging it.  Not only is it time filled with positive energy and new friends, but it’s time spent recognizing and appreciating that life is about  something bigger than you.  And I think regardless of what you do or do not believe, spending time thinking about something other than yourself is time well spent.

Me and the Wichita Falls boys headed to Cowboy Church bright and early this morning.  Cowboy Church is practical, simple, and gets straight to the point.  And you get to drink piping hot black coffee during the service.  I liked it.

Afterward, we headed down the road to Mi Ranchito for some Mexican goodness.  I ordered the shrimp tostadas which were way larger than I anticipated.  Everybody’s dish came with huge slices of avocado, which won me over right away.  When our bellies were beyond full, we parted ways.

From there, I met up with Matt to help him with his new website.  I didn’t realize that installing WordPress on Go Daddy involved wait time, so I helped him with some other errands and wound up at Mexican Feast #2.  This time there were avocado margaritas (which were so darn good).

The thought of eating Mexican food twice in one day grossed me out, like a lot.  I was still so full, but figured having an order of ceviche in front of me was much safer than chips and salsa.  It was a good plan, but chips and salsa most definitely happened anyway.

And even though I’m stuffed beyond belief right now, I’m happily placing another check under the fun-filled weekend column!

Lake Goodness

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Jenny and I spent all day at the lake yesterday and had an absolute blast!  We hitched a ride back to downtown with a friend and fell asleep right away.  When we woke we were both craving some brunch action, so we texted Elisa and were on our way to Blue Dahlia in no time.

Right as we put our name on the list, the heavens opened up and it started pouring.  Unfortunately, this doubled our wait time since the patio was no longer an option.  Fortunately, we could slurp on coffee while we waited.

The soup of the day was cauliflower leek, which exceeded my super high expectations.  It had the perfect amount of flavor and creaminess and I’m a little sad knowing that this soup won’t be available all the time.

I also ordered the hummus and taboule plate.  The taboule was different than I expected (barely any parsley), but still pretty tasty.  The rest of the platter was s0-so.  Hummus needs pita, or veggies, or almost anything but thick, dense slices of bread.  I wasn’t a fan.

After brunch, Jenny and I headed back to the lake to meet up with the boys.  We hopped on paddle boards and continued the fun that we left late last night.  We both agreed that this group is the best around and can’t wait for the work-weeks to pass so the weekends can be filled with more lake goodness!

Newness

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Today was a busy bee day.  I spent half of my lunch break talking to the hiring manager at Anthropologie about a possible part-time sales position.  Meeting some new people and soaking up fashion inspiration…  Dream, right?  And I spent the other half of lunch braving the downtown Whole Foods crowd.  Less of a dream, but oh so good.

After work, I headed to the apartment gym to get a quick workout in before meeting my neighbor, Alexis, for a happy hour organized by our complex. I never thought I’d say this, but I think I’m addicted to squats.  If only I felt the same way about lunges…  If.  Only.

I met up with Alexis and we headed to Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar where we were greeted with apps and drink tickets.  We were the opposite of social and ate our snacks at a table for two.  But in our defense, this was our first time hanging out and we were more excited about getting to know each other than approaching the masses.  Next time we’ll venture out, next time!

A Movie Fun Easter

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You know those days where you’re having so much fun that you feel like time stops, laughing continues, and you have no thoughts other than what’s going on in the moment?  I have always described that feelings as movie fun.  And I did not expect movie fun this Easter.

In fact, I woke up with my first serious pangs of homesickness on Sunday morning.  It started creeping up on Friday and by Sunday morning, I was a sad kid.  And it wasn’t so much that I want to be anywhere but Austin, I just wanted everyone I love to be here with me.

This was Jenny’s first Easter without family so she knew the feeling.  We went to Easter service, unsure of what the day had in store for us.  But we left Easter service on a mission to meet Matt for coffee.  For Matt is a life-lover and there’s no such thing as a dull day in his world.

Next thing we knew, we were four-deep in Matt’s explorer and headed West.  Destination?  Wherever the largest patches of wildflowers led us.

We parked next to a saloon in Willow City, Texas (yeah that’s right, population 75), and whipped out the football.

 

It wasn’t long before I frolicked over to a field and made a wildflower tiara.  In my world, crafting ability > athletic ability.

From there, we found a secluded spot where the boys taught Jenny and me how to shoot.  Neither of us had ever fired a gun before, so it was an… interesting experience.  Jenny was a natural and made a shot!  I, umm, had a difficult time holding the weight of the gun.

It wasn’t long before we realized we were on private property and told to scat.  Where to next?  Jumping into the Pedernales River!  By this time, my phone was dead (because my phone is always dead), so no photo proof of river adventure.  But due to shallow, mucky, weed bottomed water, it was a short-lived trip anyway.

We headed back to Matt’s place to grill up some Easter dinner.  Jenny was in charge of the lamb and I prepped veggies for grilling and tzatziki for dipping.  By the time dinner was over, we realized we’d been non-stop fun-having for 12 hours, 12 movie fun hours.

I rolled into bed feeling the exact opposite as I had felt when I rolled out this morning and that is something to be thankful for!