Beer me

Sampler cups with tickets --- ready to drink!

 We went to the Texas Craft Brewer Festival yesterday which was a lot of fun! For just $20, you are able to sample 6, 4oz craft beers from 40 different Texas brewers, in a sample glass that you get to keep. Several breweries had special beers made just for the event and there were hourly tappings at multiple tents throughout the day.

Exploring the map of 40 breweries, and special beer tappings every hour!

At Revolver brewery tent

 I found a new favorite beer called Blood and Honey from Revolver Brewery. To be honest, I was first intrigued by the name (much to what we're all thinking, it does not have real blood in it) but then as I read the description [An unfiltered deep golden ale made with malted two row barley and wheat. The brew is finished with Blood Orange zest, local Fall Creek Farms Honey and other spices that bring special flavors to this unique beer], it sounded wonderful! On top of that, the people behind me in line were there for their second serving, so I knew I would LOVE this beer.

Rain, sch-main. Gimme more beer!

To add to all the excitement of the good beer, delicious food from the local Austin food trucks, we had a thunderstorm. It didn't really take us by surprise, because it was expected to be rainy all day. However, we had a good amount of time without any rain, but crazy humidity. And then, the water works broke free, along with wind. It helped make the place cooler but mostly everyone took shelter under the covered stage area. There were some die-hard beer fans who stayed in line for the next special beer tapping. I personally enjoyed getting wet in the rain. It was too darn hot before and you only live once so there's no point being prissy, worrying about your clothes or your hair.  Al and I had a great time and will probably go again next year :)

A bunch of oddballs

 
When we were in the NYC area, we'd often go to comedy clubs and watch stand-up comics, but since we moved here, we haven't done too many of those. So when I heard about a touring comedy festival coming into town, both Al and I jumped up at the opportunity to go see it yesterday. The Oddball Comedy & Curiosity festival had so many great talents at it, and we also got a chance to see the new Austin 360 Ampitheatre which is part of the Circuit of Americas F-1 venue.

I really, really liked the venue (see left) and even though we purchased lawn seats, we had a pretty good view. We saw Al Madrigal and Kristen Schaal from the Jon Stewart Daily Show. Also opening were Jeff Ross, Demetri Martin and Hannibal Buress who was absolutely hilarious. But everyone was obviously there to see the headliners, Brett and Jermaine from the Flight of the Concords and of course, Dave Chappelle. All in all, the show was a laughing good time and I can't wait for the next one!

Happy 4th!

Today I get to experience my first independence day as an American! Woohoo! We're going to stay at a cabin at Lake Buchanan this weekend with a few friends, and celebrate American style with BBQ, alcoholic beverages, fireworks and swimming in the lake. I hope that wherever you are, you're having a great July 4th, American or not. And in honour of everyone grilling out there, here's an awesome guide to grilling everything from veggies, to meat, to fish and fruit!


Sunset view from the Lake Buchanan cabin.

I get around

When I first moved to Austin, I didn't know anyone except my hubby. Really. I was working at home and that didn't help either, so I looked to Meetup.com. It's a great website where you can find people with similar interests as you and schedule a time/day to 'meet up'. Not only does it help to make new friends, but encouraged me to explore places and events that I would have never been to otherwise.

 

The very first meetup that Al and I went to was with the Austin beer lover's meetup group. We met at this gem of a biergarten called Easy Tiger. I was excited but Al was a bit hesistant, afterall it did seem a lot like a blind date. However, after we both got warmed up, we met several interesting people and had a delicious time sampling the food and craft beers. And the best part, we made a really good friend, Corina who we're still meeting up with today!

That was one that we went to together, but there are some that Al and I follow separately because of our individual interests such as soccer and pottery respectively. I would highly recommend it to people of all ages, in all places with any type of interest. And keep in mind, it's what you make of it so don't expect too much of everyone else; only yourself.

Team Ameri-cah!

A friend recently become an American citizen and hosted a very fun American themed party over the weekend. (I love themed parties!!!) Everyone was asked to dress up in red, white and blue. We had a playlist with songs that mentioned America, or US states or US cities, and even the food and liquor was supposed to be made in America. We actually had some Russian vodka and London gin but we made it American by placing American flag stickers on top of Russia and London on the bottles. Silly but we were drinking so it seemed legit at the time.

We also had fun accessories to wear like Uncle Sam hats, flag hairbands and blinking tiaras, everything in red, white and blue. The themed colours also extended to the jell-o shots made by the hostess and cupcakes made by yours truly. I'm already thinking of what the next themed party will be...

Doggie play dates

Watson had an impromptu play date this past week and boy, was it drooly fun! My friend from work, Sharon brought her adorable English bulldog, Pancho over and we took the boys for a walk around the complex and they seemed to get along really well. The cutest was when both of them turned their heads at exactly the same time to look at the mechanical gates, opening and closing for cars. Pancho is the cutest, wriggliest bulldog I've met and was even more active than Watson. He's got a bit of boxer in him, so that's why he looks like a mini-Watson, jumps around so much and uses his paws to box!


Over the weekend, we also took Watson to the Doghouse Drinkery Dog park with our friend Antonio and his pug, Baxter. That was his first dog park outing and he had a blast! We were a little worried about leaving him off his leash, but he was really good and enjoyed sniffing around and playing with the other dogs. Some of his favorite friends were pugs and puppies, which makes me belive Watson thinks he's still a puppy! The best part, was that while he was running, we were drinking! And then when we came home, Watson was soooooo tired and passed out, the hubby and I were able to relax and have a lovely evening together.

One year in Texas

The beginning of January marked one year since we moved to Austin, Texas, from Norwalk, Connecticut. Since we've moved here, we have had such a wonderful experience that the only negatives I could think about Austin was the lack of public rail transport, seasonal allergies and the summer heat; one you can actually do without and the other two, you can't help, so in reality, there is nothing bad to say about Austin.

Austin caters to so many different types of people, but I'll speak to what the hubby and I love. Our number one favorite is probably eating and Austin is one helluva place for that. You can find almost every type of cuisine and then some. To be honest, food was one of the reasons we decided to move to Austin. Al loves BBQ and I love burgers, so it was an easy decision along with the fact that both of us love to watch (and play) music and Austin is known as the 'Live Music Capital of the World'! Just this past weekend, we were out downtown on the well-known 6th street and caught an up-and-coming singer, Ben Cina and his band (left photo). When we walked down the remainder of the traffic-closed street, we came across a brass band (right photo) and people dancing in the street to their music. How fun is that!

The fact that you have a great work-life balance here, and warm weather to do all those outdoor activies is simply a bonus. I don't miss the snow and know my north-east friends are freezing at this very moment in 33F and below temperatures, while I bask in my 75F January heat.

And no place can be mentioned without talking about the people. Austin is a melting pot of people that have relocated from all over the US. I've met fewer people that were actually born in Austin than I can count on one hand, but I have met some. Regardless of where these 'Austinites' are from, they are all a very friendly, and fun-loving bunch. We've made some great friends over here and I'm looking forward to the next year, filled with food, friends and fun!