A weekend away: Austin edition

Drew and I have had this trip to Austin planned for a month. I've been soooo looking forward to it, and I'm actually pretty sad that it has come and gone. Something about planning a vacation, even just a long weekend trip, gives you something to hold on to when you have long days or hard days or even just neutral days.

I'm a planner, especially when it comes to trips. So trust me, you want to vacation with me! I do all the research, reading, booking, reserving and even mapping. So basically you just show up and expect to have a fun time. For our trip to Napa Valley a few months back, I even typed up a full on itinerary with addresses, reservation numbers and approximate drive times.

If we're paying the money to do something great, I'm going to make sure we hit all the right spots. That's for sure.

So on my tough/stressful/harder days for the past month, I've been coming home from work, cooking dinner, putting the baby down and then retreating to our bedroom and burying myself in Trip Advisor reviews for this weekend trip. Something about vacation research is relaxing to me. In fact, whenever we don't have a trip on the books, I actually get kind of antsy and just research places we might want to go someday.

Currently our (my?) wish list:
Nashville | Can't believe I've never been and neither has Drew.
Seattle | In the springtime when all those gorgeous wildflowers are in bloom PLEASE.
Charleston | YES.
Road trip to the mountains | Any mountains will do, but I've got my eye on New Mexico
Italy & Greece | Our "someday" trips. After we have our babies and save up our pennies. Maybe 30th birthdays.
Oregon Wine Country | I hear Oregon is gorgeous and I do love a good Pinot.

But this weekend was beautiful Austin, Texas.
From the moment we got there Friday around noon it was definitely HOT, but this is Texas in May and that's life.

We drank a LOT of champagne (for me) / whiskey (for Drew) and ate an insane amount of delicious food, so I feel like I should share.

Launderette for brunch 

SO good. Best pancakes ever. Great cappuccino. SO accommodating (We were a full hour and change early for our reservation on a busy Saturday and they sat us immediately.)

We were starving so we got a few pastries as "starters."

OMG SO GOOD. Drew got this peach popover and I got the zucchini bread.

Moonshine for dinner

So good, so friendly. Busy spot downtown and they don't accept reservations, but we got there early (5:30 or so) and were seated in 15 minutes. Dinner was SOOOOO GOOOOD. They start you off with this popcorn and I LOVE the changeup from a bread basket or chips and salsa. So different!

 This champagne was so good. 

 I got the special which was tomato pie. Drew got trout or some fish that looked decently good, but I don't love fish so I'm not an excellent judge. Drew LOVED it. 

Bazille (upstairs at Nordstrom) for mid-day drinks

Whenever we're baby-less at the Domain, we always stop into this bar upstairs at Nordstrom. It's so cute, always quiet, and has a great view for people watching.

This is Drew calling the hotel to make sure they put us in a street-facing room—per my request. He was not happy about making this call. 

Culinary Dropout for dinner

Great, but I took no pictures because they sat us outside at 5pm so it was HOT and I was too warm to take photos or even fully enjoy the meal, honestly.

Second Bar + Kitchen was the restaurant at our hotel. We stopped in for a drink on their patio Saturday night and then in the actual restaurant for breakfast Sunday. It was GREAT. We'd go back again!

 This picture is literally me whining about the fact that when I die in 50 years, Arden will have 75,000 pictures of Drew and zero of me because I'm always the one taking our photos. Irony.

We live our lives on a budget—which is why Drew semi-hates vacations or trips of any kind. They don't fit within his ideal spending guardrails, and are therefore "A waste." This creates an interesting dynamic when paired with me—the one who spends my free time reading the reviews of resorts in Hawaii or chateaus in the south of France that I never intend on actually visiting.

Because of this point of marital discord, we make a lot of compromises on vacations. Example: I wanted to stay at the Archer at the Domain, and Drew wanted to avoid spending $275 on a hotel room at all costs. So, what did we do? We met in the middle. Friday night, we stayed at some Holiday Inn Express at the Arboretum. Saturday night, we stayed at the Archer. WHICH WAS AMAZING, by the way.

Our room was clean and well-appointed. We didn't spring for a fancy suite or anything excessive. Just a street-facing room with a big, comfy bed and a great view of Starbucks—dream come true.

 I forced Drew to put on the hotel slippers for this photo, I'll admit it.

 Drew was not at all entertained by me slowing us down on our way out the door for dinner for a mirror selfie.

 Quite possibly the fakest Drew smile of all time. Fine, I'll take what I can get. 

Archer has great details at every turn. The fun slippers, cute complimentary desserts with nighttime turndown service, excellent hotel bar and restaurant, cutest "rooftop" pool, walk-in showers with rain shower heads, and a lot more I'll not bore you with. If you're looking to stay at the Domain, try Archer.

We also went to see the Bobby Bones Red Hoodie Comedy Tour Friday night at the Paramount. This was a bit of a bust because the crowd was so rowdy that they wouldn't stop heckling him. It was all positive heckling like, "We love you Bobby!" and chanting his name and cheering at EVERYTHING. But even he admitted right there on stage that if the audience didn't quiet down, he wouldn't be able to get into a groove. And he didn't. It was the craziest crowd I've ever seen. He was great about it, but we did have to leave about 20 minutes early. It was already 2.5 hours in and it was just too much. I'm so glad we went! But next time I think I'd try to see him like in Dallas or somewhere where he's a bit "less" well-known. Yikes.

Saturday morning I got up early and went for a little belated Mother's Day treat...a massage! It was at Viva Day Spa at the Domain. Beautiful little spa! I had Heather, and other than shortchanging me about 8 minutes (I know, picky, but massages are expensive—so I'm allowed to say that one tiny thing) she was GREAT. I did a 60 minute deep tissue treatment because working at a desk combined with half marathon training really had me messed up. She worked out a lot of my problem areas (shoulders/neck/middle back) and I was so grateful for that quiet hour to myself. Sometimes that's all ya need to feel recharged!

Saturday we went to all the great places we can't go to in Waco. Madewell, Levis, Peter Millar, Nordstrom Rack, J.Crew, etcetera. We were both desperately in need of new clothes for spring. I hadn't really "shopped" (aside from a few trips for specific items or just being in the right venue at the right time) since before I was pregnant, and none of my clothes currently fit right. Drew had also been wearing the same 5 shirts for over a year. Sweet Drew would've worn them for another year if I hadn't made him branch out a little. :)

Saturday night I did something kind of extra, as the kids would say, and booked tickets to see Deadpool 2 at the fancy iPic theater at the Domain. You know, the one with those reclining chairs?! It was a dumb splurge for $24 a pop, but HELLO—it was a fun time and that's all that matters. Plus—free popcorn?!

Sunday we went to breakfast at the hotel, checked out, ran a few little errands and then headed to Georgetown to pick up Arden from Drew's parents' house. We had to run home for Lolli's 47th birthday party tonight!

My mom's birthday (May 21st) also marks two years since we found out we were pregnant! Read more about that adventure linked here. 

Drew starts his new job tomorrow. He's a little anxious, I can tell, but he's gonna kill it. I can't believe he's literally going to work 10 feet from my office door. It's going to be a new adventure, that's for sure. If you have any tips for working with your spouse, let me know. :)

I should probably head to bed. It's midnight, which is roughly two hours past my bedtime. Have a great week and a safe Memorial Day weekend next weekend. We don't have many plans yet, and that's how I like it. 

Chat soon. 

May oh May

We've been BUSY, which you already knew if you read my last little update. The good news is that Mom and I FINISHED our half marathon (praise) and we married Kamryn off last night (double praise). That's right, two huge life events back to back.

Here is the highlight reel: 

(Oh yeah, I threw Kam a little lingerie shower at our house the weekend before the half!) 

Who doesn't love a good bath bomb?

 My mom made all of these cookies herself. Which I LOVED. 

 Only Kam would cry reading a card at her own lingerie shower. 

And, of course, Kamryn is a total ham so she "tried it all on for us." 

Our First Half:

For those who don't know, my mom and I have been training for a half marathon since January. We kept it pretty under wraps because we aren't really loud people in general. We are not "runners" and really just wanted to see if we could knock this off our bucket list without making too much of a ruckus about it. We used to run a lot when I was in high school, and we always said we'd do a half someday! When we decided to put one on at work, I called my mom and literally said, "We're not getting any younger. It's time."

This is where we did all of our short runs in the beginning: the local high school track. I got to know this track prettttty well while training for 4 mile runs and under. This pic was taken after my first run with my new running shoes - which are now not quite this clean and pretty. 

We took a bunch of selfie pictures after some of our hardest runs early on. Most of our hardest runs were less than 4 miles in distance. Turns out, the hardest part of training is working your way up through the lowest numbers. Once you get those down, numbers like 6, 7, 8 are surprisingly easy.

 I love peace signs. 

 I felt like a freaking champion after running 4 miles. L O L.

 More peace signs. 

This was taken after our very last run before the race—which was around 6 miles or so. It was hot and HUMID, but nothing compared to our last long run before the race (which was 10 or 11 miles) which we failed MISERABLY. During that last long run we had to start walking at the end—which was the first time in our entire training period that that happened. It was 90 degrees outside and we had no water or energy beans with us—so the cards were stacked against us. But even with all of those factors at play, we truly thought 13.1 was going to be impossible—even if we remembered all the important gear and race things. 

Our last month or so of runs happened out by the river because it's easy to rack up miles down there. We loved these views. Something about the very last run was really peaceful. Almost like we'd done it...even thought we hadn't yet. But the hard work—all the front end training—was behind us. 

I set out my gear the night before and just PRAYED that we would make it across that finish line (and that I wouldn't forget anything). Turns out you need a lot of junk to run a half marathon. 

 We got to the Silos before the sun. We were so nervous.

Arden Gray met us at the starting line at 7:30 a.m.!

For your enjoyment.... THE FACIAL EXPRESSION OF A LIFE-WINNER. 

Because the training schedule was so intense, the whole time we trained my mom said, "I can't wait to get this 13 miles OVER WITH." But just 5 minutes after we crossed the finish line, before I'd even finished my banana, Mom looked at me and said, "We should do this again!" 

UM, WHO ARE YOU? And what've you done with my mother?

The whole race we felt unbelievably energized. We didn't stop, except to pour ourselves water at water stations and that was it. No walking for us. I honestly think we could've kept going, which is insane given that the weekend prior we fell flat on our faces running under 11.

 Drew and I went to Lululemon the day before to buy Mom and I new running leggings for an early Mother's Day treat. So please take notice of our matching pants.

When we got finished, we all went for breakfast tacos and Diet Cokes. Then I went home, put a bath bomb and epsom salt in the bathtub, and hopped in. Drew asked if he could pour me a glass of wine to which I replied, "Gatorade would be nice." 

 My Mother is my hero. I can't believe she didn't tell me to get a life when I asked her to do this race with me. Will we keep running? Maybe. But not 1-2 hours, 4 times a week. No thanks. I'm getting back to spin classes. 45 minutes in and out is more like it.

Now for Kam's wedding!
Weddings are exhausting. I truly haven't felt this tired in a HOT minute.

Aunt Kam just THINKS she was the star of the show—Flower Girl Arden was the true star...

 She's really into kisses right now.

 The other Flower Girl was Colten's niece and she was ADORABLE. 

 Bristol just grabbed Arden's hand and took her right down the aisle with no problems whatsoever. I was shocked that there was no meltdown or freak out on Arden's part. She nailed it.

More Arden kisses.

This was a really pretty venue on a pretty dang hot Texas day. What you can't see is the giant crowd of guests out of the frame who opted to stand back in the shade. It was quite sweltering, but no one passed out and that's a win! 

Kam was so nervous before the ceremony. She hid in this little closet to avoid being seen. She also had to pee and BAD, so all these things combined equaled a jittery bride.

 Nervous smile. 

 Getting all buttoned up!

 My favorite guys!

 After the ceremony this little bride was walking on sunshine. All smiles.

 I love weddings. Everyone together in one place—even childhood friends you haven't seen in ten years!

 My personal favorite highlight...

 I'm honestly not sure who shook the prosecco, but I'm sure glad they did. I loved every second of this reaction and didn't mind cleaning it up one bit. 

 These sisters and this mother of mine are all so beautiful! Can't believe our little Kam is married.

 Wedding date and daddy extraordinaire.

Awkward hand placement, but cutest bridey. 

 Aren't you 7?? When did you grow up?!

 Adding this random screenshot because I loved my hair, and if you live in Waco, you should hire this girl. Everyone's hair looked so great! It was $50 for an updo, which I thought was so reasonable. 

 The happy couple left around 8:45 to head to Dallas. Their flight out to Punta Cana left at 6:00 a.m. the next morning. Poor things, but by now they're sitting on the beach with a drink in hand! It was both of their first flights ever! But they let us know that they made it to the resort today with no issues at all.

NEXT WEEKEND Drew and I are going to Austin for some relaxing hang time. We're dropping the baby off at Drew's parents' house Friday and then we are headed straight for our room at the Domain. We're seeing a comedy show Friday night, and then Saturday morning I scheduled a massage (Drew isn't into massages, so he won't be joining me—but I tried). Then we're going to do some shopping and have some solid meals downtown. Our last adults-only trip was to Napa back in February, and for whatever reason, we are both feeling really drained in this season and knew we needed a few days of rest. I'm so grateful and we're not even there yet.

SPEAKING OF ADULTS ONLY, today we booked a real vacation, too. For weeks we've been talking about taking a celebratory trip this summer, and we finally pulled the trigger. What are we celebrating, you might ask? Drew got a new job working for the same company that I work for, and I also took a sorta-kinda new job (in the same company). SO with all this newness, we're really just looking for a reason to celebrate life while we still have only one baby and can get away with easily snagging sitters.

WHERE OH WHERE are we headed?
Punta Cana! We've never been and we're READY for sun and waves and drinks and rest. So for a week this summer you'll be able to find us at the Excellence Punta Cana. We spent a good chunk of our day researching it, booking it, and then booking some excursion things and some spa things. We may never come back—send Arden.

(FYI, Any potential burglars reading our vacay plans should be aware that we have a pretty scary alarm system and gun-wielding house sitters, so get outta here.) ;)

Kidding. Kind of.

Happy Mother's Day all! It's 12:30 a.m. and I have work tomorrow, so I should probably head to sleep. XO.