SPRING BEGINNINGS

It started with a sleep-over, when it was finally warm enough to go out on the balcony and blow bubbles with Papa.

Then the first of our spring visitors showed up for a super fun family weekend.

Then there was a meet-up of the Tiny Dinner Club, where we got to sit outside and partake of this amazing charcuterie platter that our hosts' teen-aged daughter prepared for us.

And THEN, I finally had enough free time to sit down at my art table and play!

 

A Spring Color Scheme

A Collage

A Few Butterfly Wing Sketches

My First Card Peek For The Month. (In case you didn't know, those reddish cork-shaped things appearing on the Prickly Pear Cacti right now are called Tunas)

Am I happy about this new virus scare? No, of course not! Do we introverts mind being forced to stay at home and read good books and play with our art supplies all day? Weeellll, not so much...

FRIENDSGIVING: PART II

Wednesday afternoon, after we finished our tour of the Georgetown square, the guys headed off to check out Zodi'x Cigar Lounge , which was right near our hotel. It has a members-only room hidden behind a bookcase, but they let these out-of-towners in with the purchase of 25-dollars-worth of cigars, and gave them a free beer. Talk about happy boys! Meanwhile, Paula and I opted to check out the hike & bike trail behind our hotel.

Feeling self-righteous about all the steps we had got in that day, we then treated ourselves to afternoon tea, and a little sumthin' sweet to share, back at the hotel. Yummy!

One reason this adventure morphed from a day trip into an overnighter was that, not only would all the fun shops be closed on Thursday,  the main restaurant we wanted to try there would be too. If you live anywhere near the Texas Hill Country, you are probably familiar with Monument Cafe in Georgetown (the peach fried pies!), but did you know they've also opened a Mexican restaurant called El Monumento? So that's where we headed for dinner.

I had an amazing Torta Cubana (not Mexican, I know) but after seeing, and hearing, Paula's reaction to the Chile Relleno she'd read rave reviews about, I wished I'd said...

"I'll have what she's having!"

Back at the hotel we enjoyed spending some time around the patio fire pit, reminiscing about the many fun adventures we've had together in the last 40-some-odd years, before heading off to bed.

On Thanksgiving day we had reservations at Gumbo's, in a gorgeous old building on the town square.

 

There were several different main course options, but we all went with the beef tenderloin. Good choice!

Goat Cheese Salad and Melt-In-Your-Mouth Rolls

The Cajun Cornbread Dressing Was To Die For

We ended our Friendsgiving adventure at the movie theater, also right next to our hotel, seeing a really fun movie (one of our favorite things to do together) called Knives Out. Does it get any better?

Why yes, it does! Ordinarily I'm pretty sad when we part, knowing it could be months before we see each other in person again, although the daily texting really helps. This time, however, I had something special to look forward to --  Little Goobs coming over for a sleepover and a Mimi-Papa-Christmas Adventure. Yes, he did head straight for his "Explorer" outfit as soon as he heard me say that word, but this time I managed to convince him that it wasn't really necessary...

FRIENDSGIVING: PART I

Our BFFs have one son, and he always spends Thanksgiving day with his wife's big family, then has a second celebration with Paula and Tim a day or two later. Last year, since both our kids were going to be with their in-laws as well, we decided to meet the Sanford's for lunch at the beautiful Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, which is just about midway between our home and theirs. We had so much fun that we decided to do the same thing again this year. 

 
But then, just a couple of days before Thanksgiving, my hubby casually commented "You know, Georgetown is also midway between us and the Sanfords." Next thing we knew, not only did we have reservations for Thanksgiving lunch in Georgetown, we also had rooms at the lovely Sheraton conference center, and plans to head up there a day ahead, when all the fun shops on the square would actually be open. Turns out, conference centers don't have any conferences going on during the holidays, so not only were we offered a great rate for our rooms, we practically had the place to ourselves!

We met them just in time for lunch at 600 Degrees Pizzaria, then the guys and gals split up to wander the square.  We'd only been in one or two shops when we came upon this place.

Craft Beer and Outfitters in one location? Weird, huh? No, brilliant! When I peered through the window, guess what I found?

Our hubbies! Happy as could be, and in no hurry for us to finish up our shopping.

Can you imagine a better place than this...

in which to watch your all-time favorite Christmas movie every year?

Apparently poppies are a big deal in Georgetown, since we saw them mentioned everywhere, and on everything.

It seems they host a poppy festival here every year, so that must mean there are poppy fields around here somewhere, right? I was so sad that we were never in France when the poppies were in bloom. Wouldn't it be a hoot to discover they've been blooming right here, in my own backyard, all this time?

to be continued...

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!

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!