BBQ and Bocce

We entertainment my husband's parents on Friday by treating them to lunch at the Salt Lick. I love the vibe of this place especially now with all the renovations and the addition of the bocce courts, winery and the Kids Ranch. We feasted on turkey, ribs, brisket, sausage and all the fixings and then headed over to the Kids Ranch so that Ella could swing and play to her heart's delight (and to her grandparents too). Then, we headed over to the winery for a nice glass of Salt Lick's BBQ White Wine. It was surprisingly really good. I loved the area surrounding the tasting room. Beautiful flowers, a pergola, a gorgeous fountain, and of course, the Bocce court.

When in New Braunfels

Stop by Naegelin's, the oldest bakery in Texas.  The bakery sells all kinds of goodies like cakes, donuts, pastries, cookies, bread, and much more.  I purchased macaroons, german rye bread, and cherry strudel.  Luckily for my family, I resisted temptation on the drive home which was really difficult considering that it was the end of a long day and I was starving.  This morning we sliced into the cherry strudel and were blown away by the flaky, sweet crust and icing.  It may warrant another trip to New Braunfels.  New Braunfels is really a neat little town and is home to lots of recreation like the Comal River (float) and Schlitterbaun.  It also has lots of great restaurants, German style bakeries, and shops.  I would have stayed longer in town shopping if it hadn't been for the pouring rain.

Sweet Berry Farm

Alas, we now have another spring family tradition in addition to bluebonnets.... picking berries at Sweet Berry Farm just outside of Marble Falls.  We had such a delightful time at the farm today with Ella.  She ran up and down the rows of berries, picking them, eating them, and then petting the goats.  She was absolutely mesmerized by the goats.  We picked so many berries that our freezer is now full of them.  I see alot of smoothies in our future!  I loved seeing all the families there.  A sweet elderly lady was there (see pic) picking berries with the best of them.  Love that! We stayed a couple of hours until it began steadily raining. Perfect day.  If you go, you must try their strawberry lemonade and smoothies.  Wonderful!

New Hot Spots in Wimberley

I found two new places in Wimberley that I will have to visit when I go through Wimberley - the Sugar Shack and Wimberley Stitch Studio.

The Sugar Shack is on RR12 between Dripping Springs and Wimberley.  My husband and I stopped there on our way to San Marcos for breakfast to go.  We were blown away by the variety of delicious pastries and finally settled on croissants, cinnamon rolls, and coffee.  I had the raspberry filled croissant and my husband had the jalapeño, bacon and cheese croissant.  They were AMAZING.  Warm and light.  Delicious.  This will be a new must stop every time I go to Court which is quite a bit!

 The Wimberley Stitch Studio is a relatively new quilt shop that opened in 2013 and is across the street from the Market Days.  It is very small but adorable.  I love the fabrics they offer and it was a pleasure meeting Linda who was working away on a quilt on the Long Arm machine that resides there.  Truly a studio.  I of course couldn't leave without purchasing some fabric and a couple of patterns.  They also offer classes and a block of the month program is starting soon.

The Garden is on its way

It has been such a beautiful weekend.  On Saturday, we planted our transplants in the raised bed garden to include large red cherry tomatoes, crook neck squash, cilantro, red bell peppers, long suyo cucumbers, and black krim tomatoes.  We also planted rosemary, chives, strawberries and lavender transplants and several wildflower seeds around our property.  If all goes well, we should be seeing "fruit" in 60-80 days.  Ella of course was a big help in the yard.  She played in the dirt and followed her daddy around.  A few times she actually crawled into the raised bed to grab at the plants but eventually lost interest.  And I mean eventually.  Still loads of fun enjoying the sunshine.

Sunshine in January

It was a beautiful Saturday here in the Hill Country.  We grabbed our "pack" and hit the trails in our backyard.  Afterwards, we went to Stanley's Farmhouse Pizza for a late lunch - Caprese Salad, Beatrice Pizza and Lil Heifer with Pepperoni pizza.  Of course, we had to hit Jester King for the beers on tap - Wychtmaker, Mad Meg, and Atrial Rubicite. We spent close to the 3 hours there and Ella had a great time running around with a lot of kids there.  It's such a great thing to have such a wonderful family friendly place a stone's throw from our house.

Pieous and Argus Cidery in Dripping Springs

Today was a new adventure for us and Miss Ella. We love discovering new places especially if they're in our neighborhood! So, off we went to the one of the new pizza places, Pieous, which has been open for about a month and is a stone's throw from our home. My husband ordered the Pastrami plate and order the Rocket pizza which had prosciutto, arugula and fresh mozzarella. Both were amazing! I also loved the vibe. Chalkboard walls with cool art drawings. A wraparound bar around the pizza oven so you can watch the action. And it's family friendly. We'll be back for sure. After lunch, we headed down Fitzhugh dropped off some groceries and back out again. On our way to RR12 and downtown Dripping, we passed a sign that read "ARGUS CIDERY". We turned in of course and was excited to discover this sweet gem of a cidery that makes 'hard cider'. The owner gave us a tour and we tasted two of the featured ciders which were actually really good. I loved the decor - vintage sofa, farmhouse tables, big sliding doors, and a custom light fixture. The owners were there and behind the bar. It was great chatting about the experiences they had developing the ciders and opening the cider in Dripping. We're anxious to see more from them.

Sorbet au Citron

One of my favorite things about Paris was the sorbets. Each day we were there I tried a new flavor - citron (lemon), cassis (black current), pineapple, la pistache (pistachio), cerise (cherry) and les framboises (raspberry). I love tart sorbets so it's no surprise that the lemon I purchased in the gardens at the Louvre was my favorite. Bertillion's cassis was a close 2nd. I can't wait to try my hand at making my own sorbet using Bonjour Paris' recipe for sorbet au citron.

Pierre Marcolini is Divine

Belgium is of course known for its chocolates. And Pierre Marcolini is the best. The window displays were breathtaking. We stepped inside the shop and were taken with the assortment of truffles and chocolate creations. It's not what you would imagine a chocolate shop to look like. Everything was neat. Minimalist. Delicious. We splurged and purchased a tablet of assorted chocolates and the champagne truffles (which are rare). We fell in love with the truffles and are delighted that you can order them online.

Brussels, Belgium

After a few days in England, we headed to Brussels by train and arrived at another airbnb.com accommodation, Charlie's B&B located in the Saint Gilles area. Our rooms were beautiful and the apartment was within walking distance of several great restaurants and cafes. On our first night, we walked to Brasserie de la Renaissance and had mussels, fries, and Duvel, a Belgian beer that is divine. The mussels and fries were amazing. Afterwards, we head to Le Bar du Matin for Drinks. We fell in love with Leffe beers. My goodness, there is nothing like a Belgian beer. It's funny though. Most of the bars (cafes) served Budweiser and charged a higher price because it's an "import". Can you imagine?

An afternoon at The Barber Shop

My husband and I stopped at The Barber Shop yesterday afternoon for lunch and a couple of pints. The Barber Shop used to be a barber shop for decades. Now it's a brewpub which serves primarily local beers and wines. There's live music on the weekends, a food trailer out on the patio, and lots of good chatter at the bar. But the best part of course is the beer on tap. I had a Thirsty Goat by Thirsty Planet (a brewery right down the road) and the Bucking Bock by Rahr & Sons (pictured above). My husband enjoyed an Amber by Real Ale and Black Metal Stout by Jester King. How lucky are we to live in area with excellent brews!

Corn Dogs, Fried Snickers, and yes, Joan Jett

It's rodeo time in Austin! A couple of my friends and I headed to the Rodeo last night specifically to see Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Joan brings back such sweet and angry memories of me listening to her records from elementary school on. And, I was not disappointed. She can still rock it out and her vocals still sound like her records. She doesn't scream as much but wow, what a performer!

Of course, it was a rodeo so we had a good time watching the bull riding, roping and barrel racing and cruising around eating all the fried food we could find. I highly recommend the fried snickers. Warm and gooey chocolate. They also had fried twinkies, fried oreos and fried milky ways.

The Best Chicken Fried Steak

I love chicken fried steak smothered in cream gravy and I just about order it from any menu that features it. It's one of the things that keep me from going vegetarian. I don't know if I can give it up. I mean, I don't eat it all the time but I sure enjoy it when I do, especially if it's served with mashed potatoes. We headed over to Cafe 131 on Friday night and ordered its version called the "country fried ribeye". Laura at Way Out West Austin took the above photo and reviewed it here. I don't know how she had the patience to even take the photo. The steak is handcut, tenderized and cooked while you wait. You can hear the chef pounding the steak way out in the dining room. And the gravy. Oh the gravy is heaven. Creamy, peppery, and full of flavor. My husband had the grilled ribeye which was also amazing.

A visit to the Pumpkin Patch

I love this time of year. Pumpkins, sangria, seasonal ales.

Olives in the Hill Country

Today we headed out to Bella Vista Ranch in Wimberley to tour the grove of Olive trees and taste the oils and also wines from the proprietor's vineyard. The proprietor, Jack Dougherty, is actually the first in Texas to successfully grow olives! He was there today to present his creations and was a real pleasure to chat with, even if he hates the Red Sox. I really do enjoy talking with artisans about their creations and the inspiration behind them. So we spent the next half hour talking about his olives, the olive oils, wines, jams, and vinegarsThe olive oils were very light and flavorful. The blood orange infused oil was amazing. We also tasted a Fig & Vanilla balsamic vinegar which was inspired by a dessert at a restaurant in Austin. Delicious. The wines were also quite good. We came home with a bag of goodies - the Fig & Vanilla Balsamic, wine-filled chocolates, Sweet Almond olive oil soap, a Blackberry Wine, and the Lyte White wine. The wines are refreshing and perfect for sipping on the porch on these hot days.

Window Farms

What a brilliant innovation! The Window Farms Project allows cityfolk to grow their own food by using a window in their apartment or home.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

May your weekend be full of sunshine and snow cones!

On my Doorstep - Blackberries

Greenling delivered two cartons of fresh blackberries just picked from the vine... Hmmm.. Cobbler! I love you Greenling.

Photo compliments of dsbabble.com.

On my Doorstep - Greenling Local Box

Green beans – J&B Farms
Sweet corn – J&B Farms
Collard greens – Tecolote
Summer squash – Acadian
Curly parsley – Ringger
Kohlrabi – Ringger
Carrots – Tecolote or Montecino
Beets – Montecino
Grilling onions – Acadian
Garlic – Tecolote

I'm so excited to finally get some new spring veggies especially summer squash and green beans. Although I have have a strong appreciation for greens, a girl can only eat so many greens before they start wilting and browning in the fridge. And I just heard that next week, we'll be getting BLACKBERRIES!!!

Rolling in Thyme and Dough

Rolling in Thyme and Dough is a real treat for locals in Dripping Springs and those who venture out to this beautiful little town (and home of Lance Armstrong) on their bicycles. It's also the perfect place to lounge on a nice sunny day (like this past Sunday) and to browse around for that perfect flower or plant to add to your garden. It's a nursery, antique shop, and bakery all in one. The chicken salad on rye is amazing. We can't wait to haunt this bakery every weekend!