Austin, Texas 2013

Boyfriend and I took a last minute trip to Austin, Texas two weeks ago to scope out the area for a possible Griffon expansion.  All I have to say is, Texan weather... is something else.  I arrived at 12:40am in a crewneck sweater, shorts, and flip flops, thinking that I might actually be cold getting off the plane (it was almost 1am!).  Oh how wrong I was.  I stepped off the plane into the tunnel that brings you to the airport and I was hit with a wave of HUMID heat (84 degrees).  Good thing I was prepared with a cropped tank underneath- I ripped off my sweater first thing once I freed my hands from my luggage.  All things said, Austin is a lovely city and much more developed than I had imagined.  It's a mini San Francisco with less traffic, and tons more heat.  Oh and extra-large food portions to boot.

Proof of my crewneck, shorts & flip flops ensemble.  That had proven not to be light enough upon arrival.

At the tiny Long Beach Airport.  This was my first time walking onto the main airport strip and taking portable stairs up to the plane.  Pretty cute!

Our first stop- highly rated bratwurst stand in the middle of downtown Austin.  It was 1am on a Wednesday and the area was absolutely packed.  Did I mention it was humid? 

My spicy pork italian sausage with sauerkraut, grilled onions, curry ketchup and mustard.

Oh, just a regular night in Austin.  I saw him again two days later.

I found a stowaway in my suit case!

Of course we had to try some authentic Texan BBQ.  First thing we did when we woke up (1pm Texas time; still stuck on that California time.) Day 2 lunch at Rudy's BBQ-- "extra juicy" brisket, baby back ribs, creamed corn, potato salad, white toast, cherry limeade and root beer.  

Our next stop at the beautiful Domain.  It's a shopping center very similar to that of the Americana or the Grove back in LA.  

We got a little overheated walking around so we found refuge at The Steeping Room.  Cute and cozy cafe that focuses mostly on their exotic teas.  Iced matcha mojteato and almond pear cake to share.

Hey, coming to Texas can't be ALL business can it? Pictured- some awesome Madewell finds in Austin, pretty much the best Madewell I've ever been to. 

Dinner at Lucy's.  Definitely an authentic Texan experience of giant portions and hearty food.  It's too bad the lighting didn't allow a better picture but you just have to trust me that it was delicious.  A giant bucket of fried chicken, deep fried deviled eggs, house potato salad, amazing freshly baked mac and cheese, and calf fries (baby cow balls, recommended by Mike) for four.  The calf fries were....interesting.... they had a very soft and strange texture.  Let's just say I probably wouldn't order it again 0:)

As if dinner were not rich enough already, we had to try their pies!  We got a slice of sweet tea pie and a slice of lime pie.  The lime was amazing! A little less sweet than key lime; best I ever had.  And the sweet tea was nice and refreshing, like nothing I've ever tasted before.  

Day 3 brunch at Magnolia's.  Brunch = 2pm Texan time for us (still haven't adjusted to the two hour time change apparently.)  I ordered super spicy breakfast tacos, fettucini alfredo for bf, and a blueberry double stack for Mike. 

Ducked into coffee bean halfway through our day to hide from the heat.  Yay for iced coffee and free wifi!

Day 3 dinner at a Thai restaurant after a day of exploring work spaces in Lakeway (the Newport Beach of Texas, they say.)  This was actually super legit Thai food!  The 4 stars on yelp were not unwarranted.  My pad thai & boyfriend's Panang curry with heart-shaped rice.

Day 4 lunch, back at The Domain.  So far, mine & Jeff's favorite place of Austin.  We can't ever go too long without sushi, so we found a sushi restaurant inside The Domain :) 

While Jeff was getting a haircut, I hopped into the nail salon next door to get my poor naked nails done.  Comped margaritas and wine- by far the fanciest nail salon I've ever seen! And much more decently priced, if I were to compare this to a place in the OC.

Took an after photo of my nails as we were walking through a mall in Austin that I can't remember the name of.  It's supposedly a pretty big and fancy mall over there; I think it's really similar to the Brea Mall over here.

Midnight wandering over to Epoch Coffee; a cafe open 24 hours! (with free wifi! What I love most about Austin... free wifi everywhere.)  I'd love to have this back home.  We cooled off with pomegranate lime iced tea and an ice blended vanilla latte. Yes, we had to cool off at midnight over there.  It's crazy.

A slice of their Olivia pizza.  Thin crust with pesto, eggplant, artichoke, garlic and feta cheese.  & while I'm halfway through de-oliving my slice. 

Last day in Austin!  Catching lunch before our 4pm flight, at Mighty Fine Burgers.  It looks so simple, but it was an amazing burger!  Even better than In-n-Out I might add.  I got mine with cheese, half regular and half grilled onions, lettuce, mayo, mustard and ketchup.  Mmmmm

On our flight back home.  This is how I spent the 2.5 hours- cranberry juice and reading on the iPad after my kindle died on me.  All the while being pretty excited to return home back to the land of perfect weather!