LEXIE'S NEW DIGS: PART DEUX

As I was beginning to write "Went to see Lexie's new apartment yesterday...", it occurred to me that I may have omitted some important details here on the blog. Like, you know that great little flat in the funky old house that I helped her move into just a few weeks ago? She doesn't live there anymore.

If you recall, the apartment was being rented by three different individuals, and she sublet from one who was moving off to Minnesota to take care of his parents, supposedly. The other two roomies were never there. When she finally did meet up with one of them, she discovered that they were both planning to move out at the end of July. Hmmm...., she wonders, who's responsible for finding replacement roomies, me or the landlord? If I don't find some in time, will I get stuck paying their share of the rent? So, she starts playing phone tag with the landlord, and when she finally pins him down, he says "Oh, didn't Doofus tell you? The entire place has been pre-leased beginning Aug. 1st. You all have to be out before then!" If there is such a thing as bad Karma, I hope it gives Doofus a serious kick in the ass, for failing to mention that minor detail before he let Lex pay to have all all the carpets professionally cleaned, and we hauled all those boxes and that furniture up those rickety stairs.

Ah well. Fortunately, she found a nice little efficiency in the area of Hyde Park, which she had fallen in love with, fairly quickly. Best of all, two new friends offered to help her move, so she and I didn't have to haul that now-assembled Ikea armoire down those then up this new set of rickety stairs. It may not have as much character as the other place, but she seems quite happy. No loud-music-in-the-middle-of-the-night-neighbors downstairs, and, it's hers and hers alone.

After my brief tour, we decided to have lunch at Hyde Park Grill, a venerable Austin institution. The food was okay, but what tickled me to death was discovering that it was right next to the new cheese shop, Antonelli's, that I'd read about in Edible Austin and had been dying to check out. Oh my! Not just cheese, but anything that goes well with cheese, like all kinds of charcuterie, Vosges chocolate, honeycomb, wild strawberry or fig preserves, and wine. What a jewel. But wait, there's more!

In the same little cluster of shops and eateries, we found a gelateria, an Italian trattoria, a Mexican joint with outdoor seating, where several people were enjoying a leisurely brunch (bet they have Migas!), a washeteria, and a yummy looking bakery/cafe with wifi - the perfect place to hang on those work-from-home days, while her laundry spins nearby. All this within biking distance of her new place? What more could a girl ask for? Like the man says, when one door closes, a window opens.

P.S. I was just going to throw out my usual thank you to Apron Adventures for the image above, which I grabbed off of google images, but something about her blog's name called to me, and I had to check it out. I think you should too. Now I have this young foodie Austinite's blog bookmarked with my favorites. I have a feeling it's going to lead me on many bloggable adventures!