BUT NOW IT'S BACK: HAYS CITY CAFE

We live just off the highway you would take if you were going from Wimberley to Kyle, then on up/down I-35 to Austin/San Antonio. And, for as long as I can remember, about halfway down this highway, right at the turnoff to Driftwood, there has been a little filling station/convenience store/cafe called Hays City Cafe. Then one day, about a year ago, there wasn't!

It was the place where all the commuters filled up their tanks and their bellies before heading off to jobs in Austin or San Antonio, where you could grab a soda or snacks before heading off on an adventure, and where people who lived out in the middle of nowhere could grab milk and bread without driving all the way into Wimberley. Needless to say, it left quite a gap in the community when it suddenly closed its doors with no warning. But now it's back!

Normally, we would never try out a new place on opening day, or even opening week. We like to give them a little time to work out the kinks. However, when we were coming home from Austin the other day, and spotted cars in their parking lot, we just couldn't resist stopping in.

The Better-Than-Ever Counter/Grill Area From the Old Cafe

The New Bar Area in Front of the Original Refrigerator Cases

We started off just having a glass of wine and a margarita, as it was happy hour, but then caved in and decided to order some dinner.  It was early and we weren't all that hungry, so we decided to order lite. John went with a little bowl of tortilla soup...

which wasn't so little after all. Next time he'll probably order the "cup" instead. The only snafu came when I tried to order the "appetizer" order of carne guisada, and ended up getting this instead.

Which turned out to be rather fortuitous, since we ended up with enough leftovers for John to make dinner out of the following night! We will be going back before long to try one of their burgers for lunch, and then in a few weeks, they plan to begin breakfast service as well, including breakfast tacos!

In other news, I just spotted the first little buds on our peach yesterday, fixin' to burst open. It reminded me that I still had a couple of bags of peach slices in the freezer from last year's crop. So, late last night I threw together a quick little peach crisp, and we'll try it tonight after dinner. Now, if only there was someplace I could stop on the way home from Austin this evening, to grab a pint of Blue Bell Vanilla Bean ice cream to go with that peach crisp...oh wait! There is! Hays City Cafe!

WORKSHOP YUMMINESS

Thanks to my friend LaNell, who not only gave me the heads up, but also got me signed up,  I was able to attend a yummy art workshop this week at the crafty shop that opened here in Wimberley just before Christmas. Why was it so yummy? Because we were playing with these -- Faber-Castell's Gelatos!

Not only do they have a rich, creamy texture, just like their namesake, they also come in yummy colors, like Mango, Red Cherry and Metallic Melon. I've had that box of gelatos for ages, but never used them much because I wasn't sure what to do with them. Thanks to this class, now I know!

That's our instructor Melissa there in the Spurs outfit -- quite the multifaceted woman, from what I hear. Not only does she own Sassy Scrapper, she has also traveled with her family's carnival for years, as their bookkeeper, and is a talented barrel-racer to boot! As it turns out, these gelatos are amazing multi-taskers as well.

If you use them on a non-porous surface, like gesso or gel medium, you can just scribble them onto the page or canvas, then blend the colors together with your fingers -- like butter -- as we did for the background layer above. You can also shave off a little slice and mix it with some water to make your own sprays, which worked great with the zigzag stencils. Or you can rub them full-strength through a stencil, as we did for the words. You can even scribble them on your page, spritz them with water until it begins to puddle, then let the color dribble down the page, for another interesting background.

You can also blend them with different texture mediums, such as the pearly stuff above.

Miss LaNell, a blog friend who later became a real life friend.

We used another texture medium -- a glass bead glitter gel rubbed through a stencil -- as the final layer on this orange piece.

I thought twenty bucks was quite a bargain for this little workshop -- especially when you consider that all the materials were supplied, and several of them then went home with us!

So, of course, I felt compelled to purchase a couple more Gelato Double-Scoops whilst there, as my way of thanking Miss Melissa for all the time and effort she put into this class.

THE MOONLIGHT DOLLS

All I know about burlesque is what I learned from watching the movie Gypsy, starring Natalie Woods. I thought it was obsolete, gone the way of rotary dial phones and transistor radios. I was wrong.

Apparently it is making a comeback. So, I couldn't help but be curious when Paula told us what she had read about the Prohibition Supper Club. I was also a bit leery, for there seems to be extreme variations in the quality of these acts. Our kids went to one show in Austin where they said a couple of the ladies seemed like talented professionals, but the rest were such amateurs it was painful to watch. However, the little clip I saw on this group's website was encouraging, so we decided to give it a go. I'm ever so glad we did.

This group is called the Moonlight Dolls, and they do a variety of acts, each with different themes and costumes. We chose the night with the Roaring Twenties theme.

The blonde in the middle is the lead dancer/singer, and has one heck of a voice. I loved it that they performed to several tunes from the musical Chicago, which is one of my favorites. But, there was much more to enjoy besides singing and dancing. Think Cirque du Soleil!

Can you imagine being able to hang from ribbons and strip off clothing at the same time? Without a net!

Of course, there were other acts that required no singing or aerial skills, and were just a matter of seductive teasing. They were not my favorites...

but Hubby didn't seem to mind one bit!

All in all, I have to say that if you ever get a chance to see the Moonlight Dolls perform, you really ought to give it a go.

Oh, and did I mention that, whilst all this was going on, we were being served a delicious three course meal, including steak and lobster?

EDGY SENIORS

Tulips at Sunrise

Do you happen to recall my mentioning a little getaway we took with our BFFs? The one in late November, where we caught a special at Hotel Sorella in Houston's City Centre? Well, this weekend we went back with those same friends, so we could utilize the "free night" certificate we were awarded! It's such a fun place to stay because once you park your car in the garage, you really don't need it again the rest of the weekend, as there are so many shops, restaurants and even a movie theater, all within walking distance. We went to some of our favorite spots from the last trip, but still had quite a few new ones to try as well, including this one.

A Cowboy in Paris

Their crepes are good, but their Nutella Hot Chocolate is even better!

I usually ignore all the books and magazines that hotels leave in our rooms, but not my friend Paula. She reads them all! And thanks to her, we had learned about a new place called Prohibition Supper Club in time to make reservations. According to the article, it was a perfect place for an anniversary celebration, your second e-harmony date, or for edgy seniors. Believe me, it was well worth getting our car out of the garage for! And, since we all just happened to own some snazzy "speakeasy" attire, thanks to Miss Lexi's wedding, we thought "Why not bring it along?"

We got there early so we could enjoy a drink in their elegant bar.

The two bartenders were pretty cool looking, but know who was even swankier? These two!

We know that because people kept coming over to tell them that all. evening. long. Including the owner of the club, who grabbed us after the show and asked us to pose for pictures! But I'm getting ahead of myself. After drinks we headed into the "theater", which is actually the oldest theater in Houston, from back in vaudeville days!

So why, you are probably wondering, do they even have a theater attached to this lovely bar and restaurant?

The Piano Player

Why, for the burlesque shows, of course!

(to be continued...)