I’ve got another puzzle for you

You might remember that I’ve been trying to get my skin clearer for some time now.  So I tried getting a facial.  My first visit (as you know) was a yellowish mask which I slept in and couldn’t wash off until the next morning. 

I’ve been twice since then and I think I am seeing results.  My second and third visits included thorough cleaning and steaming.  Unfortunately, I don’t have photos of my second visit, but after my third visit I looked a hot mess.

  I had also gotten a massage that day, and both the facialist and the massage therapist both spent plenty of time rubbing the massage lotion into my hair making it super greasy.
 

About a week after that facial, my skin looks a lot clearer.  The facialist zapped my chin pimples with some high frequency thing that made them pretty much go away within 2 days.  I REALLY
want one of those machines.  

I’ll probably go back a few more times to make sure my skin looks it’s best for the wedding day.

Austin – Foodie Post Part 2

I promised back in the previous Austin Foodie Post that there was one more place to tell you about.  It is truly one that deserves it’s own post. 

Taco Xpress. It’s great.  Go to the website (then come back!)

Ok, so you’re back.  How fun is that?!?  Seriously, the place is as great as the website.  I went (with my colleague) on a Sunday for the Gospel Bruch/Hippie Church (12-2PM).  Check out the pictures.  Some aren’t that great, but you’ll get the true feel for the place. 

This was the sign at the entrance.  The line was out the door and we could barely find a parking space when we arrived close to Noon. 

We luckily found a table.  The walls and ceilings were decorated with plenty of cool/eclectic finds.  Much cooler than your typical neighborhood bar & grill type joint. 

After enjoying my migas, we found a place outside for the gospel bruch/hippie church.  You can see the singer in the background here…

And this guy was passing out flowers to all the ladies in the audience. 

And plenty of people found themselves free to move their bodies and just dance to the music.

It was really fun. If we weren’t getting married at 1:00 on Sunday, I’d definitely bring everyone down to the Taco Xpress to experience the fun. 

Maybe I’ll find time to go during the wedding weekend.  You know I can’t turn down good mexican food.

Yes, you are in the right place

I know you might have thought I quit blogging or something, but that is not the case.  Things I have been doing…

Seeing Bruce Springsteen sing songs I’ve never heard…

Trying on heinous veils…

Practicing flower arrangements for the wedding reception lunch…

Grilling on my birthday present/panini press…

Eating panini press grilled chicken.  FYI – This night I did not set off the smoke alarm at the apartment.  AND P.S.  This is WAY better than the George Foreman, because the plates come off to clean them.

What have you been doing?

Live from the back patio

Well, I realize I’ve been MIA for almost two weeks.  Things are busy.  My secretary is out on maternity leave and things are starting to ramp up with wedding planning.  Fortunately, I’ve taken off a few days, and am blogging live from my parents’ back patio.  My 28th birthday was Tuesday, and my sister took me to see Bruce Springsteen on Wednesday as a gift.  The concert was pretty good, but he only played 4 songs I knew out of a whole 3 hour (ish) long set.  (Dear Bruce, Please consider adding Born in the USA and Glory Days to your set list.  Also, please play Dancing in the Dark sooner.  Thanks!)  There were some guys behind us who have seen The Boss in concert 12 times…one of them saw him in Barcelona.  They were school teachers from Georgia and came to Houston for their spring break.  There were also way more middle aged men singing and dancing along (some in groups of 4 or 5) than there were women.    Also, it was SO loud.  I feel so old for saying that, but some of the time it was hard to enjoy the show because it was so loud.   Anyway, it was enjoyable overall, and it was a very nice birthday present. 

My time off at the ‘rents has been very nice.  I’ve gotten a handful of wedding related things done.  Today dad and I took the invitations to get printed since they wouldn’t print in the home printer.  Like mom said, everything we’re doing for the wedding is so reasonably priced, spending the $10 to have them printed didn’t break the bank.  Tomorrow we’re going to explore the feasibility of DIYing the flowers.  I really hope that works out, so I don’t have to add finding a florist to my list of things to do. 

I also bought some makeup to try out, and luckily Sephora will take stuff back if you don’t like it.  I’ll let you know how that works out.

Austin – Foodie Post Part 1

When I last left you, I was down on South Congress at Uncommon Objects.  Not to far from there, were the greatest places to eat.  I just have to share, and hope you can go there and/or that I will be able to go back during my wedding weekend. 

First a gratuitous photo of the Austin Motel sign.

The night before my conference began, my colleague/friend and I had a chance to wander.  So we walked around 20+ blocks from downtown to the area. 

We knew we had to get a cupcake from the silver Airstream trailer.  Hey Cupcake! had a variety of cupcakes.  I really wanted a Michael Jackson (chocolate with sour cream icing) but they were out, so I got a vegan strawberry cupcake.  It was tiny compared to the other regular cupcakes.  I was sad, but the cupcake was tasty. 

After a while, the line got longer.  While enjoying our cupcakes, we enjoyed the sounds of a guitar player/singer.

After the cupcakes (I know, dessert first!) we decided to eat dinner.  Doc’s Motorworks isn’t terribly far from Hey Cupcake!  or Uncommon Objects.   

I chose the delicious Chicken Fried Avocado.  It’s got a chicken and cheese mixture inside a 1/2 avocado, battered and fried, then covered with a tomatillo cream sauce.  It was SOOO GOOD!  The picture definitely doesn’t do it justice.

That was it for that night.  But during our trip we also enjoyed Home Slice Pizza (the margarita slice was huge and had tons of toppings.) You can dine in or get it to go.

We also REALLY enjoyed the Magnolia Cafe.  The spinach artichoke dip was the best ever! The food was very reasonably priced and had a huge selection.  It’s also open 24 hours a day. 

I’ve got one more restaurant to tell you about.  The experience was so great it gets it’s own post.  Hopefully work and life will calm down a little so I can get to posting a little more regularly.