May 31, 2008
Mayfield
We gathered Gypsy and some water and headed out. Upon arrival we discovered that dogs are not allowed - understandable in the garden area because of the peacocks. We trudged through the preserve trails for a little bit where my flipflop-feet got covered in dust and stabbed by a stick. After taking some pictures in a tree we headed home. Mayfield is still on our list of places to see, as the garden area looked really nice!
May 28, 2008
DIY Fun
My other project today involved painting and upholstering two barstools that have seen better days. They were originally in Joe's mom's kitchen and were handed down when he moved to College Station. After a sitting in the rain and mud at one his parties they were never the same.
Here's the before and after, respectively.
I haven't finished covering one of the stool seats since the glue gun sticks that I bought today are too large for my glue gun. :( Oh well, I'll finish tomorrow.
Joe's only comment about these was that they look military. Thanks babe!
May 27, 2008
Updates
She did lose Joe and Andrew's second requests until the very end, but at least they both got to sing for a second time before the end of the night.
Here's a clip of Joe singing "99 Problems" by JayZ. (It's very dark and some of the lyrics are explicit)
We were excited to visit with a bunch of friends. Andrew just got back from Spain, Heather has been in Houston, and we haven't hung out with her since moving to Austin.
I also saw my bestest from high school, Michaela. I finally got to meet her boyfriend, as well as checking out her new apartment, which was fully of Kayla-crafty style, inspiring me to finally get going on some apartment updates. Tomorrow's project = upholstering and painting our bar stools. Crossing my fingers.
May 21, 2008
Mount Bonnell - hot, hot, hot!
We then grabbed some Einstein Bros. and headed to Mount Bonnell. According to AustinCityGuide.com, "Austin's Mount Bonnell is one of Austin's oldest tourist attractions being documented as far back as 1850. It is the highest point within Austin City Limits at 785 feet." Like everything else we try, Mount Bonnell has been recommended by several people for beautiful, scenic views, which sparked our interest. It did not disappoint.
We went at a pretty toasty time of day, around 2:30 p.m. The puppins came along with us, of course. Mount Bonnell is located off of 35th Street, west of Mopac. The winding road takes you through West Lake Hills and some lovely houses. Once you turn on Mount Bonnell Road, you know you're climbing a mountain - Joe's Honda got a workout driving uphill.
After parking, we walked up a steady flight of rocky stairs in the shade. We came out on a round sitting area with several sets of natural rock benches and a lookout spot with the most gorgeous view of the Colorado River and the wealthy bits of Austin. By this time, Gypsy is panting like she just ran a marathon.
We continued down a rock path with lookouts on our left of boat docks, mansions and hillcountry scenery. After walking for about 10 minutes, while sweat dripped in our eyes, down our backs and through our hair, we realized the poppins pads were burning up and it was definately time to go. I wish it hadn't been so hot or we would have kept going.
Luckily we had a cup of ice water for Gypsy to drink out of, because I have never seen her pant this hard or this much. I carried her little scalding body back up the hill and down the stairs to the car, where we blasted the AC and headed home.
But before we made it back to Mopac, we passed the Mayfield Nature Preserve (now added to our list of to-do's) and saw a colorful and stoic peacock.
Joe and I concluded the evening with our first Capital City A&M Club Happy Hour. We did our best to meet and greet and make friends. Joe even found out about National Karaoke League from the president of the club. We'll see what happens with that! :)
May 18, 2008
Balcony Garden
"Heartleaf Ice Plant"
"Sedum Gold Mound" - hey mom, look I found out what it is!
My long-living "Geranium" - very good bloomer this season!
"Adenium" - not quite as lovely as my mom's, but it will get there :)
This is an unidentified succulent that I picked a piece off of a plant near Auditorium Shores. It already has a bloom popping out!
And, although this doesn't have any blooms, I'm so excited that it is finally growing back some leaves after the move. This is a "Triangle Ficus" or Joe's nickname "Super Mario Plant"
