Turns out, Austin IS awesome

It's been one helluva busy week, recovering/catching up from last weekend's trip to Austin for H's sister's wedding. But what a weekend it was!

First off, the wedding was wonderful. Everything went off without a hitch, everyone behaved nicely (for the most part), and most of all - M and P were radiantly happy. See?

H and I had a fine time misbehaving during the rehearsal at the incredibly Catholic church. This may have been what prompted the priest to give a very stern warning that no one would be allowed in to the ceremony if they were drunk. Mind you, we were not drunk, just disorderly. (H was making the baby Jesus cry.) And the priest was just so uptight - it didn't help matters. Anyway, we did make it through the rehearsal, and then on to a celebratory barbecue with lots of friends and family.
This is H and his sis, M - the lovely bride.

This is me with my FiL. He looks cute, I look like I need to visit the gym.


The day of the wedding found me frantically knitting to finish the gifty I was making for M for the honeymoon. I'll have to get a picture from M, as I forgot to take one in the frantic rush. Anyway, 45 minutes before we had to be at the church, I hopped into the shower and somehow came out looking like this. I guess I cleaned up ok. That, by the way, is the famous dress that H found for me. He done good - I do love it.

And then we were on to the church. The wedding was lovely. It was simple and heartfelt and absolutely full of love. I sobbed (happy tears!) when Dad walked M down the aisle. It was right about here that the huge tears started rolling down my face. M looked so lovely, P was just beaming at her, and the whole church was filled with an incredible amount of love from the masses of people that were there. That sounds a bit hokey, but it was truly one of the most amazing things about the weekend. M & P both have these itty bitty out-of-town families, but they have an incredibly rich family of friends in Austin and elsewhere. It was amazing to be around this group of people and see what a wonderful life M has cultivated for herself. I'm getting a little choked up just thinking about it now.

Lest it sound like one big mushy love-fest, I should hasten to add that we went out with M&P and their friends for a bit of Mardi Gras on 6th Street after the wedding - what a blast! Not only are all of these folks sweet and kind, they're also a riot to hang out with. So much fun was had!

In non-wedding events, H and I had a lovely time in Austin. On Friday, before the rehearsal, I had an appointment to get my nails done, which gave us the opportunity to wander through downtown on our way. We ate breakfast at Las Manitas and I got the migas fix I was after. It was so good, we broke our travel-rule of not visiting the same place twice in one trip and went back on Sunday! Further on down the road, we discovered the joy that is a Texas liquor store. It gave me great joy to find that you can buy everything from liquor to mixers to glasses all in one stop, here in this great city. (After many stops in other cities, it's nice to see someone making life easy on the traveling lushes of the world!)

By far, the non-wedding highlight of the day was at Bella where I got my nails done. While waiting for my manicure, I had the distinct pleasure of being visited by a small pooch named Didi, who sat on my lap and gave me wee sweet doggie kisses! Puppy lovin' and a fantastic manicure to boot - I'm ready to take up residence in Austin!

On Sunday we had a bit of time to wander before heading out, so we crossed the water (lake? river?) and headed south to S. Congress street, which may be my new mecca. There I found my new favoritest store in the world, Parts & Labour. A collective of local artists, this shop sells the raddest stuff I've ever seen collected in one place. I went into shopping frenzy, and grabbed up a necklace, little pocket wallet, Craft Mafia t-shirt, and a monster glass for H. It's a small miracle I made it out of there without maxing out my card (though all of the arts and crafts are incredibly reasonably priced). I'm eager to shop there again!

Our last meal in Austin was at Guero's Tacos. And a fine meal it was. After stuffing ourselves with tacoey goodness, H and I were barely able to roll ourselves to the airport for our flight home. (A flight of which we shall not speak.) Between the eating and the shopping, not to mention our adorable and expanding family in the region, I have to give Austin two thumbs up. I do believe we'll be visiting M & P quite a bit!