Behind Bars

After a long day of shopping and some delicious food on Saturday, I still wasn't ready to head home yet.  So we went to Camille's Hand dipped Ice Cream Bars.  I had seen it several times when shopping in Wolf Ranch, but this was the first time I had a chance to try it.  It was not crowded so I decided to tell the girl working it was my first time, so I would get the full introduction.  We basically got to select a bar-mostly made of frozen yogurt, but some nondairy, pick our dip (milk or dark chocolate), and then your topping.  I selected Red Velvet (surprise, I know), dark chocolate (of course!), and for a bit of salt- crushed pretzels.  Mike selected a mint bar with dark chocolate and went topping free.  They were really good.  I feel like you can't ever go wrong with ice cream and it was a little bit better than fro yo, in that it was more portion controlled.  I loved my flavor combinations and the options for all kinds of different treats.  Mike liked his too and again was glad we didn't overeat.  This was a great treat and definitely an interesting concept.

Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Casa Ole

This past weekend was a break from the unseasonably cold weather we've been experiencing in Texas lately.  So, I decided that we needed to leave the house for a bit.  We debated on where to go and what to do and settled on Wolf Ranch Shopping Center in Georgetown as it had stores we both could enjoy and plenty of places to eat.  Our shopping trip yielded a few things for us- pillows, Valentine's gift, socks, and booze.  We shopped and walked for several hours and decided it was time to eat.  We headed to Casa Ole, a Tex-Mex place where we've eaten once before.  We remembered they had good food and we could get a lot of food for a decent price.  Everyone was super friendly as we walked in and both the manager and waitress recommended that we try the margaritas made with Avion tequila.  We ordered strawberry Avion margaritas (frozen for me and on the rocks for Mike) and were very pleased.  The tequila was smooth and strong.  We opted for the 3 for $18.99 deal that they were having and got an appetizer and 2 entrees.  We selected the Enchilada (me) and Chimichanga (Mike).  Since both were covered in queso, we opted for spinach dip for our appetizer.  When it came out, we thought our order was incorrect.  It looked like a bowl of queso, but much to our surprise, there was queso on top of the spinach dip.  It also had a huge dollop of sour cream in between the queso and spinach dip.  I liked it okay, but Mike was not very impressed.  Our meals were delicious!  My enchiladas reminded me of my favorite Oakville spot Las Fuentes.  The only big difference was that this enchilada was huge and included beans.  Mike also enjoyed his chimichanga, which he found to be the perfect size.  Another fun part of our trip was running into my friend, Keri, while we were out to eat.  Its nice to finally know people here and even see them once in a while.  We had a great day out and a yummy dinner, which made for a fabulous day!

A Pin A Day-Crock Pot Pulled Pork

On Friday, I decided to have a shopping day and knew I wanted a meal that I could prepare ahead of time and then just easily pull dinner together.  I opted for the easy crock pot pulled pork recipe.  Pulled Pork Recipe The recipe made a lot more pork than I knew Mike and I could eat alone, so I used half the amount of pork, but followed the sauce recipe.  I also couldn't find pork riblets, so I just used a boneless pork rib pieces.  I cut up the pieces of pork, added my sauce ingredients, and turned the crock pot on low for 4 hours while I went shopping.  In addition, I made some pasta salad ahead of time by boiling a box of pasta, adding some cut up broccoli and carrots, covering with Italian dressing, and allowing it to chill in the fridge.  When I came home from shopping, I removed my pork pieces, shredded them, and put them back in the crock pot while I got the rest of dinner ready.  I cubed some colby jack cheese to put in the pasta salad and made a green salad.  It was finally time for dinner.  The pork was excellent.  It had great flavor and really was super easy to make.  I love any chance to use my crock pot and it did not disappoint.  It was also the perfect amount with plenty for dinner and some leftovers, but not too much.  I will definitely be adding this recipe to my favorites.

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A Pin A Day-Chicken Club Pizza

Starting this month, I have a lot more free time and its time to finally start tackling all the various things I have pinned on Pinterest. In addition to my spots around Austin, I will be chronicling my success or lack of success with various Pinterest recipes, tricks, and projects. Ideally, I'd love to do something new each day, but I know that is not realistic so my goal is to try 3-5 new things each week. This will keep our menu from getting stale with the same old items, but not totally break the grocery budget with constantly buying new ingredients. On Tuesday, I tried my first of several new things. We tried a Chicken Club Pizza. http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/chicken-club-pizza-123038.aspx I typically follow recipes closely the first time I make them, however, I am also notorious for reading the recipes and deciding to change it up a bit to make it better or easier or healthier. For this recipe, I used a thin crust pizza crust, as that is what we prefer, and I made my version circle instead of rectangular, which is a personal preference. I loved that this recipe was quick and easy. There was very little prep work, other that cutting up the chicken, bacon, and tomato. I also liked the fact that it was all ingredients we liked so I didn't have to make any substitutions. Overall, we were very pleased with this recipe. It tasted great, was easy to prepare, and provided enough leftovers for a lunch or two. We will definitely make this one again.

Happy Birthday Mr. Timberlake!

Well, hello there! Its been a bit, but I'm back. I have more free time to go out and blog and I'm excited to be back. The blog may take a bit of a new direction as well with not only restaurant and venue reviews, but also my experiments with the world of Pinterest. Seriously, I've got all kinds of free time and I am determined to use it well. We also can finally start to explore more in our new neighborhood. This past Friday was Justin Timberlake's birthday (thanks to my sister for letting me know) and it was time for us to hit up a new place to eat. We decided to go to JT's (probably not named after Mr. Timberlake, but who knows?) Bar and Grill, which is located next to one of our favorite Thai places. Normally, this place is hopping on a Friday night so we wanted to make sure we were able to get in. We sat down right away ordered a couple of Fireman's 4 beers and started to look at the menu. The atmosphere was that of a typical bar and grill and reminded me of a place I used to frequent with former coworkers in Fenton. It may have also been the scent of wings that was abundant in the air. We ended up going with that vibe and ordered fried mac and cheese, a buffalo wrap, and a buffalo burger. The mac and cheese were good, but not the best I've ever had. Our main courses were better, but we both made the same comment, "Its just not buffalo-y enough." Overall, the food was good, the beer was good, and the atmosphere was welcoming. We may return and try something else.

Burger Battle 3: Opal Divines vs. Flippin Burgers and the FINAL WINNER

[image: Inline image 1]Sometimes you just don't feel like cooking and when that happens, its great to have an old stand by place to go. For us, that is often Opal Divine's. It's close, it's reasonable, it's quick and it has great beer! I think Mike was over my burger challenge, so he didn't order a burger, but I did. I have tried many things at Opals, but this was my first burger. I ordered a basic burger, which was good sized, juicy and delicious. The other thing that made my burger so good was the fabulous side of macaroni and cheese. Opal Divine's has some of the best mac and cheese in Austin, so I was happy to eat here. Our last burger visit was to a new place. We were house hunting and wanted to try a burger in an area we liked. We tried Flippin Burgers in Cedar Park. It was a small place in a strip mall. They had very basic burgers along with fries and tots. We both ordered cheeseburgers and tots and were not disappointed. The portions were great and the food was amazing. We left very full and satisfied. While the burger at Opal Divines was good, I'm going to give the win to Flippin Burgers because it was obvious that they had perfected the burger. For the final winner, I am going to have to award it to Mighty Fine. Normally, I don't love chains, but their burgers were the juiciest available with quick and friendly service. Our burger month was a success, we got to try some old favorites and introduced some new choices as well. Tune in soon for March's Taco Throwdowns!

Burger Battle 2: Red Robin vs. Homefield Grill

It was a long Sunday at work and all I wanted to do was go meet up with Mike for a visit to a new burger joint. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. I ended up spending 2 hours on the highway trying to get home and we didn't get to visit a new place. I still wanted a burger so we hit up Red Robin for a quick meal. I needed a cocktail after my stressful drive and it tasted great! We also ordered the pretzel bites, which tasted delicious after not eating for quite some time. I ordered the Southwest Burger, a favorite of mine with guacamole and bacon. Mike had a BBQ style burger that was good too. After a long day, the chain definitely did not disappoint us. I know that I can always count on Red Robin to provide a juicy burger quickly. The following weekend we hit up Nolan Ryan's Homefield Grill. Mike had gone here for the Super Bowl and commented on how good the food was, so I decided to try it out. We found out that Sundays were burger days so there were several burger and beer combinations to try. I ordered the basic Bubba burger which ended up being quite tasty. Mike ordered the Homer Simpson burger, which was a traditional burger served on a donut as the bun. While it sounded strange, Mike's burger was quite yummy, too. I definitely want to head back to Homefield Grill and try more of their unique items and enjoy a beer or two. In the battle of Red Robin vs. Homefield Grill, I am going to award the win to HomefieldGrill. I feel that they stepped it up a notch with some creative burgers and a fun atmosphere.

Burger Battle 1: Moonies vs. Mighty Fine

In February, we kicked off a new restaurant eating adventure. We decided to choose one type of food to concentrate on and find the absolute best. We did one type for home (Asian) and one food for eating out (burgers). We compared some new and some old favorites, in order to choose the best burger possible. I had hoped to make it to some more exotic locations, but life happens and things don't work out as planned. I feel like I got to taste some good burgers and have a good feel for what I like. Our first location was Moonie's Burger House. There are several locations in Austin and we typically visit the one in Pflugerville. I ordered the Southwestern Burger with guacamole and pepper jack cheese and Mike had the Buffalo Burger. These are some of our favorites so we were really excited. It was fairly crowded that night at Moonie's and our food took a really long time to get to us. When we looked at our burgers, Mike's bun was pretty burnt. It definitely looked like it had been forgotten or sat around and waited until my burger had been completed. My burger was great, but it was definitely a disappointment that Mike's burger was not tasty. We expected more of Moonie's. Our next trip was to Mighty Fine Burgers in Round Rock, near the outlet mall. Mighty Fine is another chain in Austin that is quite similar to Five Guys. Mighty Fine has a small menu and offers mostly basic burgers, however, they do a great job. I was very pleased with my burger and fries, especially in comparison to our most recent burger experience. We were able to eat quickly and our burgers were perfect. So, in burger battle number one, the obvious winner was Mighty Fine Burgers.

Now its time for a Jack Attack!

At the end of January, we had an evening off together and decided to try out a new dinner spot.  My dentist, knowing I'm a foodie, told me about Jack Allen's Kitchen.  Originally, there was only one location in South Austin, but they have recently opened a newer location in Round Rock.  I knew it was a popular spot, so we were ready for a bit of a wait, but figured a weeknight was better than a weekend.  We ended up waiting for about 45 minutes and in the end, it was well worth the wait.  The atmosphere was cool with lots of local artwork on the walls.  Most of the food on the menu was from local farmers and merchants, so we were told that specials often changed based on availability.  We were given a sample of pimento cheese to try while we decided and it was so good.  We also had a few cocktails- wine for me and a gin fizz for Mike.  We dined on a grilled chicken mac and cheese for me and a Sloppy Jack for Mike.  All the food was delicious and the menu had so many great selections, that we had a hard time choosing.  I saved part of my food for the next day because I knew I needed to try the dessert as well.  Everything sounded amazing, but we ended up with a chocolate bomb that we shared.  We left with full stomachs and a definite desire to return.  Friends and family, next time you are here and we have a bit of time, we will be heading to Jack Allen's Kitchen!

Now its time for a Jack Attack!

Now its time for a Jack Attack!

Now its time for a Jack Attack!

Now its time for a Jack Attack!

Now its time for a Jack Attack!

Now its time for a Jack Attack!

Serrano's Sunday

Back in January, I was still working a lot and I was really tired.  Many chances that Mike and I had to spend together, we did relaxing things like sleep in or go out to eat on weekends off.  On one such Sunday, we headed out to a Mexican restaurant named Serrano's at the nearby La Frontera shopping center.  We were able to be seated right away after only a little bit of accosting by some adventurous Girl Scouts.  It definitely had the feel of a small, family owned place.  It was not crowded and the old speakers played traditional music.  After perusing the menu, we opted for queso as an appetizer. It was a typical yellow cheese queso and was quite tasty.  For our main course, I thought I was ordering fajita tacos, but the waiter thought I wanted fajitas.  Mike selected the fish tacos.    My dish was huge and there was plenty left for leftovers for the next day.  The food was pretty good and I was quite full.  It was nice enough for a quick Sunday dinner, but not necessarily one of my favorite places I've tried so far.  However, they were really nice and saved Mike's debit card when he left it there that night.  Overall, our experience was good, but there are plenty of Mexican places that we have yet to try before repeating this one again.

Capitol City

My parents came to visit in January and it was a little bit of a challenge to come up with some new and exciting places to visit.  Finally, we opted for a place that was new to us as well- the state capitol building.  We drove downtown with only a bit of directional challenge and were able to walk around the beautiful capitol grounds, museum and building.  The building and grounds were really beautiful and had it been just a smidge warmer, I would have enjoyed just hanging out on the lawn.  We did a tour of the capitol building and learned some interesting history about the building and Texas legislation.  After the trip to the capitol, we decided to go to another nearby Austin monument- the Whole Foods Flagship store.  It was definitely uniquely Austin with its very own parking garage.  It was amazing to see the various food types, wine tasting on site, and all the mini restaurants inside.  We enjoyed some gelato and relaxed on the patio right outside the store.  It was ridiculously crowded though and there was no way I could do my regular grocery shopping at this location.  We really enjoyed my parents' visit and exploring some new territory with them.

Trailer Park Kids

I wanted to catch up on all my 2012 blogging so I could start 2013 with a clean slate.  I am squeaking this one in just in the nick of time.  Our last adventure in Austin took place a few weeks ago on a warm and sunny December day.  We had a weekday off and decided to spend that time on South Congress St in the heart of Austin.  I am not a fan of the parking on South Congress so we parked several blocks away in a lot and got our exercise in walking format that day.  We headed straight to the food truck court to enjoy some tasty treats there.  We started with Mighty Cone, where we both enjoyed chicken in a cone.  We had seen it on a Food Network special and were not disappointed.  It was really good with a nice kick to it.  Mike even went back for seconds.  Next we hit Fry Baby, where we split some waffle fries and a homemade lemonade.  Yum again!  There was a Hey Cupcake trailer there as well, but we skipped it in favor of a later dessert option.  After munching, we spent some time stopping by the various unique shops on SoCo.  We bought some pretty ornaments for my grandparents at a fair trade store and headed out to our last stop.  No trip to South Congress could be complete without a stop by Amy's Ice Cream.  I had a s'mores concoction that was amazing and Mike had a delicious chocolate ice cream dessert.  Finally, we headed back to the car.  It was a great way to spend a day off and we enjoyed our time together.

Deli-ightful

It was a November weekday and Mike and I had some time to kill.  So we headed out to an eatery not open for dinner time and often crowded on the weekends... Taco Deli.  They had a huge menu with lots of cool and interesting options.  I ordered a beef taco and Mike had a few tacos.  We split some queso and chips and enjoyed some specialty sodas.  The food was so tasty and it was packed for a weekday.  We will be sure to return to try all the different types of tacos, including the various daily specials.

Vacation-All I Ever Wanted

In October, Mike and I took a weekend vacation to Lakeway Spa and Resort in Lake Travis.  I knew I couldn't take any more weekends off from my job until after the holidays and we wanted to do something relaxing and fun.  So we packed up our stuff, dropped Cecil off at Camp Bow Wow and were on our way.  We stopped at Torchys for some tacos on our way and about 45 minutes later we were there.  Lake Travis is very much like an upscale Lake of the Ozarks, except with far less water in the lake.  Our suite was nice and we spent the first evening enjoying cocktails, trivia, and dinner in the bar on site.  The next morning we left the resort for brunch at a nearby French bistro.  We enjoyed cappuccino, croque monsieur, and sparkling lemonade in a cute atmosphere.  That afternoon, Mike scheduled us for our first ever massage!  I was in heaven-my body felt so relaxed afterwards.  After massages, we headed out to dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant, where the food was quite delicious.  We came back to the resort for more pumpkin beer and trivia.  We beat the pants off several "regulars" both nights.  The next morning we woke up and enjoyed brunch on site before heading out.  Our weekend was perfect-relaxing, full of great food and drink, and time spent together.  I could definitely see us heading back for another relaxing weekend.  

Birthdays, Beaches, and Baseball-Birthday Weekend in Houston

For my 30 something birthday, we decided to visit our dear friends, Ashley, Jason, and Mildred in Sugar Land (Houston) for the weekend.  It was nice to have a weekend off and have a chance to get out of town.  Our weekend started off with a misunderstanding between me and Camp Bow Wow so Cecil was able to come with us and have a visit with his lady friend Mildred.  We had a great drive full of silliness to start of the trip and were very hungry by the time we go to Jason and Ashley's apartment.  We let the dogs get reacquainted and headed to Sugar Land's Town Square for dinner.  We tried Guru Burgers and Crepes for dinner and it was delicious.  I can't turn down a fabulous burger and this was no exception.  We had amazing burgers and fries for dinner and topped it off with yummy dessert crepes.  We walked around a little bit at Town Square and headed back to get to bed early because we had a busy day ahead of us.  Sunday morning, we headed to Galveston to enjoy shopping, eating and beach time!  I was quite excited as the last time I got to go near a beach on my birthday was when I was 8!  It was a nice drive from Sugar Land to Galveston and there was plenty to see along the way.  There were tons of shoppes to look at and a festival going on in Galveston giving us plenty of options to shop and chill out during the day.  We had lunch and headed to the beach.  We had fun splashing around and just enjoying our time in the sun.  We realized we needed to get back to Sugar Land for our next part of the adventure, so we grabbed some tasty milkshakes and headed back.  Our next adventure was going to the Sugar Land Skeeters final game of the season.  The Skeeters are a minor league baseball team located near Jason and Ashley.  Jason's practice has a box so we got to enjoy our baseball in style.  There was fun, food, fireworks and friends-we were able to meet some of Jason and Ashley's friends when we got there. After the game, Ashley surprised me with a red velvet birthday cake from HEB.  It was beautiful and tasted great too!  On Monday, Jason had to head to work, but Ashley showed us around town some more and introduced to a macaroni and cheese restaurant that was awesome!  We had great food and fun!  Finally, Monday evening we headed off to the pinnacle of my birthday experience.  A Cardinals baseball game!  The Astros Stadium was weird because it was enclosed and air conditioned, but it was cool to see a large variety of Texas foods served in combination with traditional baseball foods.  The game wasn't crowded at all and we definitely saw more Cards fans than Astros fans, so we were able to sit really close to the field.  The Cards delivered a winner for my birthday ending what was already a great day!  We were sad to leave on Tuesday because we had such a great time and look forward to another visit to Houston soon!

That's a Wrap!

Another weekend off in September resulted in a shopping day at the outlet mall and a nearby trip to Sandella's Flatbread Cafe.  There are many places to eat near the outlet mall and this happened to be one that we hadn't tried yet.  We were impressed by the variety of foods included on the menu, such as wraps, paninis, quesadillas, flatbreads, salads, and rice bowls.  The staff was also super friendly and patient as we made our selections.  We went a little different than most people would expect and Mike got the wrap with me getting a flatbread pizza.  Mike chose the Buffalo Chicken Wrap.  I picked the Margherita Grilled Flatbread.  My flatbread pizza was delicious and tasted much better than many of the pizzas I have tried in Austin, thus far.  It was a nice change from my usual choice of sandwiches and wraps.  Mike really liked his wrap and loved the great flavor.  We were happy with our choices and would love to go back and explore more of the interesting menu at Sandellas.

Taco Tuesdays

So, in trying to wrap up another year of great eats in Austin, I realize I have not been doing a great job keeping track of all of our adventures.  The next few days I hope to recap all the remaining tastes of 2012.  Back in September, we grabbed a bite to eat after a long day at work.  We headed to Torchy's Tacos.  Mike had heard good things about it and I seldom turn down the chance to try a new place.  We each ordered a few specialty tacos and split some chips and queso.  The queso was super yummy and hit the spot.  We each tried a few different tacos.  Mike ordered the Trailer Park (fried chicken, chilies, pico and queso) and the Democrat (beef barbacoa, avocado, queso, onions, and cilantro).  I ordered the chicken fajita taco and the beef fajita taco.  All the tacos were delicious and we were glad to have tried a variety.  We have since been back to Torchy's and found it just as enjoyable as the first time.  The only downfall is that the interior is small and there is not much seating so you have to be prepared to snatch a table quick or take it to go.  Torchy's definitely lived up to the hype and will be added to our list of places to take visitors and enjoy again ourselves.

The Sandwich That Tasted Back

I must apologize for the lack of blogs lately.  I have been so busy between working 2 jobs and trying to nap on occasion that we haven't been hitting as many new spots in Austin.  However, in September, it seems like I've had a few Saturdays or at least Saturday nights off to go try new places.  A few weeks ago, was one of those days.  I love sandwiches and when I saw that Adam Richman (of Travel Channels Man vs. Food) was having a show about sandwiches this summer, you can bet I tuned in.  He broke it down into different regions and we cheered on our favorite sandwiches from the various regions, especially when it came to the BLT from Crown Candy in St. Louis and a few from Austin.  One of the sandwiches that made it to the finals was the Seared Beef Tongue Sandwich from the Noble Pig in Austin.  Of course, I was thinking, "Ew, tongue,"  but Mike was feeling more open minded.  So we trekked out to Noble Pig to try some yummy and interesting foods.  Mike was brave and ordered the tongue sandwich and I played it on the safe side ordering the Noble Pig.  The Noble Pig consisted of ham, pulled pork, bacon and provolone.  It was delicious and very filling.  I ate maybe 3/4 of the sandwich before I had to call it quits.  Mike thoroughly enjoyed the beef tongue sandwich.  I actually gave it a chance and tried a bite as well.  It wasn't bad.  If I hadn't known it was tongue, I probably would have added a bit of BBQ sauce, called it brisket, and enjoyed.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get the idea of tongue out of my head so I could only eat the one bite.  It was a tiny, hole in the wall place, that definitely packed a big flavor.  We ate a late lunch at 2:00 and the place was packed, with the majority of its customers taking food to go or enjoying the outdoor patio seating.  There were many appetizing sounding sandwiches on the menu, so we can't wait for a visit back.  Maybe next time we have visitors, we will take them for a sandwich that can taste them back!

Tortilla!

A few weeks ago, I had a Saturday off both jobs, so we celebrated with a lazy Saturday.  I was needing some new comfy shoes for work so we decided to hit up DSW for some shoes.  We opted to try Lupe Tortilla while we were out.  From the outside, it looked a little bit like Chili's, which is actually what we thought it was at first glance.  We went in at 2:30-3:00 pm and it was pretty crowded.  We were seated within about 20 minutes and then had to choose what to eat!  Our waitress was super nice and told us that they were famous for their fajitas, but to feel free to order anything.  We started off with queso and a margarita for Mike.  The queso was yellow cheese and very much reminded us of rotel dip.  Mike's margarita was delicious too and we liked that it was made with fresh lime juice and no sweet and sour mix.  They brought us mini taco bites to help us make up our minds on what to eat.  We split the fajitas with chicken and steak and it was amazing.  We could definitely taste the lime juice that the meat had been marinated in.  It was so moist and tender.  The tortillas were handmade and so good as well.  Mike ordered a strawberry margarita and it was just as good if not better than the first margarita.  We left full and satisfied, after trying a new yummy place.  The only downside to the afternoon was the actual shoe shopping, which turned out to be less than successful.

Mo-Cation

I got to Kansas City on a Saturday, by Sunday, I'd had something to chew.  Mike, Cecil and I voyaged to Missouri for our summer vacation during the first week in July.  While we were there, we had a great time visiting with friends and family, despite the major heat.  You know Missouri is too hot when its hotter than Texas!  In addition to good times with friends and family, we had some great new food places.  On Saturday, we got up early and drove 12 hours to see Maribel, Jerod, and Genevieve in Kansas City.  We were so excited to see them and so thankful for a place to stay as Cecil hates hotels!  On Sunday, we decided to have a big lunch and met up with Sara, Julian, Aurora, Brent and Shelly at Brio's on the Plaza.  I had been to Brio's in St. Louis and after eating here, I am anxiously awaiting the completion of the new one in the Arboretum in Austin.  I had the caesar salad and chicken risotto, which was delicious, but a little on the salty side.  After lunch, Shelly suggested we check out a nearby cupcake place.  We had a walk through the Plaza and arrived at Cupcake A La Mode.  It was so cute inside with great pink and black decor.  I ordered a tasty strawberry and dark chocolate cupcake, which I devoured right before we left Kansas City.  From Kansas City, we headed to St. Charles to stay with Mike's family for a bit.  After a 3 hour car ride, Cecil was so excited to see his grandparents.  During this part of our trip, we got to hang out with our siblings, see Mike's parents, and have a gathering with Mike's family.  It was great to be able to see so many relatives!  On Wednesday, we headed to Florissant for the last leg of our trip.  Cecil was again excited to see his other grandparents and his "aunts" Maddie and Lucy!  Wednesday was July 4, so we headed over to Sandy and Tom's for BBQ and fireworks.  It was great to catch up with so many friends, but it was so hot that we didn't even go outside until fireworks started!  On Thursday, Mike and I had individual plans with friends, but stopped at Penn Station for lunch.  We have so many great sandwich places here, but we still miss Penn Station!  From there, Mike went to sweat himself silly at Warped Tour and I went to visit Carrie and Maria and their babies.  On Friday, we tried a new Florissant hot spot.  We ate lunch with my parents at Delish, which is located across from Fritz's by the water tower.  It was a tiny place, but the food offered a huge taste.  My mom and I ordered the Zang and the Louie, respectively, which were both variations of beef sandwiches.  Mike and my dad ordered the BLB (bacon lettuce bacon) sandwiches.  Everything was amazing!  In addition, we got some of their pretzels, which were even better than Gus's and some truly "delish" chocolate chip cookies.  I hope this place is able to make it-the food was phenomenal and the owners were super nice.  After lunch, Mike, Cecil, and I went on a tour de North County while my parents vacuumed.  We didn't end up quite where we expected, but I was able to see Mike's house from growing up and his high school.  Friday night, we had a gathering with my family and a bunch of our friends. Again, we were so excited we got to see so many people.  Cecil was in small dog heaven!  We knew we had to leave Saturday to head back to Texas, but not before one more meal out.  Mike, my parents, and I met up with Andy at DeLeo's in Florissant.  It was a cool sandwich spot located in the old St. Louis Bread Co location.  I love sandwiches and DeLeo's met my expectations.  I had a chicken sandwich with melted cheese and crusty bread-it was perfect!  I was also so glad to get to see Andy!  After lunch, we loaded up the car to head back to Austin.  We were sad to go, but ready for home-we needed to relax after our busy vacation.  On Saturday, we made it to Oklahoma City and spent the night in a hotel there, much to Cecil's dismay.  We got up early on Sunday to head back to Austin.  We lucked out and brought the rain with us and got to travel most of the way through Texas in pouring rain.  :(  When we finally made it inside, we all crashed.  Thanks to all our friends and family for a fabulous Mo-Cation!  We were sorry we missed some of you, but hope to see as many people as we can next time we are in town.