Wednesday, November 15, 2017

MY NEW FAVORITE SHOPS

It was bad enough when I just had the one consignment store, right next to my favorite taco joint, where I eat lunch at least once or twice a week. But now that I've found that new one over in Dripping Springs, I'm afraid things may get out of hand. Why, just this week alone I've found this...


and this...


The bread and veggie sections are held together with small pieces of velcro, and when they slide the "knife" between them, they can slice them apart, just like Mom and Dad!
and this...


in gender-neutral colors, no less!

And then, of course, there were the two, barely-worn pairs of shoes that I got for 1/4 the cost of that one pair that came from the nice children's shoe store -- the ones he'd only worn a handful of times before he'd outgrown them!

I'm thinkin' maybe I need to set some limits on how often I'm allowed to visit these shops, huh?
  

Monday, November 13, 2017

SPLORIN': DRIPPING SPRINGS

When I first moved up here my very favorite thing to do was to go exploring in all the little towns hereabouts. Over time, however, I fell out of the habit. I had loved how each one was so unique, with a character all its own. The only one I didn't spend much time in was Dripping Springs, for it had persisted in remaining a bedroom town full of people who commuted to Austin, with almost no businesses other than fast food restaurants and big box stores. Lately, however, I've been hearing rumors of change. So, while our hubbies were off tail-gating with the engineering department over at UT, my BFF and I decided to go check it out. First stop, Mercer Street, where we found a great little children's consignment store called Itsy Bitsy Spider. I will be checking back there on a regular basis for grandkid stuff! Further on we turned down a little side alley to get to a shop called Vintage Soul...


where Paula found a fantastic necklace...


and I found some color-mad earrings so beautiful they made me swoon!


There were several other new-to-me shops such as Starr's Boutique, a way-above-average-for-a-small-town coffee shop called Mazama Coffee Co., and a couple of bars (including one disguised as a barber shop). Then there was the ever popular Mercer Street Dance Hall. Come to think of it, the two-step is something else we haven't done in ages!



About the only thing missing on Mercer Street was a good spot for a couple of gals to have lunch. Luckily, however, we didn't have far to go to reach Epicure, at 1025 Cannon Drive, in an itty bitty  strip mall.


Bacon and Corn Beignets Drizzled With Cilantro Honey

Not only did they have delicious, albeit a tad pricey, food, they also had a couple of muse Edgy Art Woman's magnificent poured paintings on their walls!


Our final stop of the day was at Solstice, the wonderful indoor/outdoor art shop where we got our beloved orange whirligig many moons ago.



 
It was a wonderful day that got me to thinkin', maybe I need to get out and about more?