THE KATZ BROTHERS DO IT AGAIN

There is a young duo in the town of San Marcos, the Katz brothers, that seems to be taking the town by storm. First they opened a little kolache shop called Dos Gatos. Then they opened a second one. Next they turned a vintage filling station into Zelicks Ice House. After that came Pie Society, a pizza place with a speakeasy hidden in back! And now, there is North Street -- a beer bar/curry house/coffee shop. So, of course, The Tiny Dinner Club had to give it a try, right?

Pretty much everything we tried was moan-worthy.

Chicken Tikka Masala Tacos

Chicken Curry Plates

Curry Queso

The only complaints came from our Irish/British friends, who said their chicken curry wasn't spicy enough. Of course, they grew up in the U.K., where curry is their national dish. But this is Texas, and I expect they're keeping it on the mild side since San Marcos is primarily a college town, and half it's population has probably never even tasted a curry dish. So, on the whole, we gave it 16 thumbs up.

Try it. You'll like it!

LUCKY/GYPSY MASH-UP: THE VENUE

When we heard that the Junk Gypsies had built a couple of lodges out in the field behind their store, we were expecting something fairly rustic, and that impression continued as we drove up to them and parked our car in the grass nearby.

 But, once we stepped inside our room, that notion was blown to bits.

Turns out, every luxury had been provided for, from the best mattress and pillows to the deep, oversized soaking tub in the bathroom and the fluffy white towells.

And, if that wasn't enough, there was a big gathering room in each lodge, complete with coffee stations, record players and albums, books, etc. Perfect place to hang out if you're an early riser or a night owl, and don't want to disturb your roomies.

Is this an awesome coffee table, or what?

 Needless to say, we enjoyed every minute of our stay there, from dusk...

until dawn!

MOTHER-DAUGHTER ADVENTURES

All Who Wander Are Not Lost

My daughter Lex and I have always enjoyed exploring and adventuring together. Right before she got married, we took a wonderful little trip to Charleston together, and she's been able to share my Lucky Star Art Camp obsession with me the last couple of years as well. Unfortunately, neither one of us will be attending this fall, since there will be a brand new baby girl in the house, and a spunky 3-year-old who will probably have his nose out of joint over all the attention she is getting. So, Lex decided that she and I really needed to do one last little get-away before she gets too far along to travel. I agreed whole-heartedly. The problem was, where to go? It needed to be fairly close by, but we already do most of the Hill Country hangouts on a regular basis. Lex mentioned Round Top, but I told her that, other than during their market weeks twice a year, there wasn't much to do or see. When last I was there, about 10 or 15 years ago, there was only one restaurant, Royer's, and there was Festival Hill, and that was about it! But then my old pal synchronicity stepped in, just to prove me wrong.

 
For one thing, Lisa at Lucky Star has taken to the road this year, doing one-day "pop-ups" at different homes around the country, to give people a taste of what Lucky Star is all about, and to spread the word. For another, Lucky Star's yoga guru, Tiffany, has been best friends with Amie -- one of the infamous Junk Gypsies -- for about 30 years, and has long believed that Lisa should collaborate  with them somehow. So when Lisa mentioned doing one last pop-up this  summer, if she could find the right location, Tiffany immediately said "Ooh, Ooh, I know the perfect place. The Junk Gypsies have just opened up Wander Inn on the same property in Round Top as their Junk Gypsy store, and it's fabulous. We have to do it there!" So they did, and the minute that Lisa posted the notice about it online, Lex texted me, saying "I know where we're going for our getaway!"

Today I will just share a few photos from the Junk Gypsy store. Having been a merchandiser in my previous life, well, they had me drooling before I'd even stepped through the door.

I dare you to walk out of there without buying a single thing! I'm usually pretty immune to shopping temptations, but they snagged me with this little color-mad beauty.

All my favorite colors, and the perfect thing to have draped across the end of my bed come fall. How could I resist?

Stay tuned - lots more Lucky-Gypsy collaborative goodness to come!