Easter Brunch!

We had big plans to go for a lovely hike/swim on Easter Sunday but the weather was a bit too cold. Go figure; the weather changes here by the minute. No kidding. We went to this yummy Italian/french restaurant recommended by a friend. Delicious! We got brown butter hollandaise on our poached eggs; a sweet twist to an otherwise salty/heavy sauce and a panini sandwich with a truffled fried egg (cooked in truffle oil). My goodness! We were in heaven. I turned to Josh and said "This is like Napa food!" We've gone to some great restaurants while living here and have to constantly remind ourselves that ordering should not take up our visit/meal (true even when traveling) since we can always come back. Google Enoteca if you're interested in the menu. We caught the last of the UT basketball game as they advanced to the sweet 16. On to beat Stanford this Friday. I promise to post more often, I've just been settling into my schedule/routine with work and all. That too, is going great!

Anne and Baby Ava

The weekend before last we were able to go over to Houston for our friend Forrester's tree ceremony in Houston. The ten or so oak trees are in a beautiful park in the middle of Houston. Forrester's passing is a tragedy that neither of us will ever really be able to come to terms with. My heart goes out to his family, especially his new wife Anne and baby Ava. We had a chance to visit with them back at Forrester's parents house after the ceremony. Ava is 2 months in this picture and so very precious. Josh will be going out to New York in May and will get to visit with them then!

Yao-Za!

These pictures are in no way related but each are a surprise in their own way. The nasty caterpillar was on our back porch. One of our brilliant cats was about to have a snack but I came to the rescue (for both of them!). Apparently these little creatures are poisonous; their prickly 'fur' can shoot out at any moment and sting you. Yuck! The bugs here are plentiful and much bigger. Fireflies and 3 in. grasshoppers. Oh my!
And yes, I decided to go back to brown, my natural hair color. Who knew? The picture is pretty dorky (like all pictures of me) but at least you can see the new shade. There are no Paul mitchell schools here so, yes, I went to a real salon. I thought it was a good 'investment' but my hair is turning a slight green in some parts. This can happen when one goes from super blonde to brown. I go back for a redo on Tuesday for free. It was just lovely when I left but a bit on the dull ashy side now. But I'm sticking to the brown no matter what it takes! I could never keep up with my ever-so-classy roots! Besides, Marlo Anne is the only true blonde I know!

Thai food and B.Y.O.B!?

Last night we went to this great Thai restaurant called Madam Mam's for the first time. It was 8pm and the parking lot was packed but we got in immediately. The food was awesome. We order some fresh spring rolls (with mint and shrimp) and Tom Phla (i think) which is spicy soup with coconut milk, cilantro, keffir lime leaves (so different than reg. lime), lemongrass, galanga (similar to ginger but more on the citrus side), and some chicken. It was delicious! On the spicy side so we decided to try and order some beer to cut the spice. Our waitress said 'BYOB' and directed us to the liquor store next door. Josh left and returned with great beer in 2 minutes. CRAZY! We ordered the standard Pad Thai (excellent) and I got some stir-fried veggies (chinese broccoli, bok choy, and fried tofu-1st picture). Although beautiful (opened) paper umbrellas hang up side down from the ceiling, our luck was great! It's our new favorite place.

Good stuff

I discovered these tasty treasures quite a while ago. They're the best! In case you can't read the small, blurry print the flavors are- Smores, vanilla, Chocolate caramel, chocolate pudding and brownie batter. My personal favorite- smores. Go get some!

Gone Hikin'

Josh and I went on a nice long hike last weekend. The trails are pretty much in the center of Austin which is so weird to me. We just parked our car right off the highway and headed out to the trail. The first picture is further south (hence no water) and called Twin Falls (I guess there are 2 falls in the Spring when there's water). The other two pics are of Sculpture Falls where there was plenty o water. The water was nice and clear (you can't really tell from the pictures) and surprisingly not that cold. We had no idea there'd be so much water; we didn't bring suits to swim. No big fish and only a few turtles (swimming near turtles really freaks me out). Whoever comes to visit will have to take this little trip with us; it's a great adventure!