Austin, Texas

I always look forward to summer because it's provides plenty of time for traveling. My first trip of the summer was after my sister, Annie, graduated from college (Go Annie!). We decided to drive from Memphis to visit our fabulous Great-Aunt in Austin, Texas. 

Driving through Austin!

Allen's Boots

The Mighty Cone

Drinks at Clive wearing great-grandmothers jewelry.

We spent much of our time there enjoying all types of food. Some of the highlights were the Mighty Cone Food Truck, amazing spicy coconut and peanut ice cream from Lick, and the wonderful homemade meals cooked by our Aunt. My favorite dish she made was a turkey meatball soup with brown rice. You can make it using this recipe (but swap teriyaki meatballs for turkey and noodles for brown rice).

One afternoon we wandered down South Congress to do a little shopping. We stopped into Allen's  and drooled over their cowboy boots. They are so beautifully made that it was hard to resist buying a pair-the college funds won't allow it! After we left Allen's we went next-door and browsed through the thousands of vintage finds at Uncommon Objects. They have a very inspiring americana section which I encourage everyone to go see. Yet knowing my style my Aunt saved the best shop for last. The boutique is called Feathers and they have both vintage and new clothes. I picked up a funky cheetah print romper from the 90's for my golden birthday! It's pretty ridiculous-in a wonderful kinda way!

At night we would grab a few drinks (my favorite was a New York Sour from Clive), eat cayenne pepper brownies with fresh whipped cream (yes...every night), and watch Nancy Meyer's movies. Annie and I were lucky enough to sift through our great-grandmothers jewelry and snag some beautiful pieces. Then, as a souvenir, the three of us took a charm from my great-grandmothers charm bracelet and put them on necklaces. It was magical to turn a bracelet that my great-grandmother loved so much into a memento we all could cherish and enjoy.

It was delightful to spend time with my Great-Aunt and catch up. It had been years since we last saw each other. I also fell in LOVE with Austin! It is such a fun city and it is somewhere I would love to visit again.