The Fourth, Food, & FUN

I know what you're thinking.... you're thinking "OMG!  She made it on Style Me Pretty, thought she was the bee's knees, and quit blogging!"

Sadly for you, no that is not the case.  But I did take a little extended vacation from blogging.  Now I have so much to blog about I will have to share it over the next week.  YAY!

So we spent a great Fourth of July at my Uncle Jim's lake house in Possum Kingdom.  Weird name, bee-u-tee-ful lake.  The Honey was up at 8:30 every morning and in the pool with a beer by the time I got up at 9am.  I swear he floated around for 12 hours each day, only emerging to eat massive hamburgers and sleep, before doing it all again.  Sick.  We also took a gorgeous ride on their house boat, and watched the fireworks over the lake.  I made FUNfetti Stars & Stripes cupcakes to take.  Tim snapped this pic of me having SO MUCH FUN making them.

 

I'm wearing my cupcake apron from Mama Bear (the mother-in-law).  First use and so appropriate.  We also took Mr. Dog with us to the lake, and he was true entertainment while we were there.  He swam in the pool and the lake, rode on the boat, and we even helped him learn how to "surf" in the pool.  Too bad I don't have any pictures of that!  BUT here he is as co-captain with the Honey on our way to the lake.

 

And here he is helping Uncle Jim cook delicious hamburgers.  He is always so helpful in the kitchen, that Mr. Dog.

Over the last week we've started leaving the house to do FUN THINGS.  It's really so hot, it's debilitating to be outside.  We are consistently seeing temperatures in the 100's.  We only walk Oscar early in the morning and late in the evening because the asphalt is so hot we're worried about his paws burning.  But we can't spend the whole summer indoors, so this last weekend, we again spent most of the weekend in the pool!  My friend Jesse has a condo on the south side of Lady Bird Lake and his complex has a nice pool.  We lived there for the weekend, floating, leaving to visit the food truck park and get some liquor, but mostly floating around staying cool.

 

Jesse, you're famous!  You made it on my blog in your Oakleys!

A lot of people asked about the food truck park.  Over the last few years, Austin has drawn quite a bit of attention with the food truck revolution.  Some of the trucks are unpredictable, as in they move around town, but most have a consistent location where they serve on a set schedule.  They are popping up all over as they are pretty affordable to run and manage, with very little start up cost compared to opening and running a restaurant.  You can find trucks with almost any type of cuisine:  American, German, Asian, Mexican, Sushi, BBQ, Pizza, Cupcakes, Snocones, etc. And many blends of different cuisines in one (like Asian BBQ).  Most of the food is made right in front of you, and I suppose that is part of the appeal: you order, you watch it being made, and you have instant gratification in eating it thereafter.

Saturday we were on the hunt for Asian and decided that, having been here over a month, it was high time we tried a food truck.  We picked up Jesse and headed to South Congress to scope out the two parks with trucks open.  We ended up at Coat & Thai, and the food was both decently priced and very tasty.  Here's the Honey ordering.  I swear I had the best crab ran goon of my life here.  I would go back simply for that!

 

 Jesse actually ordered from a food truck next door which served gourmet hotdogs.  His dog was a chicken and turkey blend with peppers and onions on top.  I didn't taste the dog, he said it was delish, but the fries that accompanied it were UH-mazing.

While we were waiting on our food one of these huge umbrellas blew right out of the stand and into traffic on the street.  Amazingly it did not hit any cars and came to rest in the right hand lane.  I wish I had a picture of Tim saving the day.  He ran out to get it and bring it back as everyone watched.  It was like something from Mary Poppins!

Sunday morning, we also had brunch with Jesse (clearly this was the weekend of "food with Jesse") at the renowned Magnolia Cafe on S. Congress.  I decided after that experience that no place serves food good enough to wait for 30 minutes in 100 degree heat.  The food was pretty good and decently priced, but I won't go back unless it's a weekday and not so busy.  Maybe, while I was eating, I was just a little bit influenced by this . . . 

That, my friends, is what you call ARM HAIR.  I could say sooooo many things in response to this picture but I WON'T.  He should have to wear a hairnet on his arms when he's around food.  Okay, okay, I'm done!

So I'm pretty sure that food trucks are a big positive point or two for Austin.  Super Arm Hair Man might be a negative, but here's at least 10+ more points to make up for it . . . 

It's a Bike Bar.  Not a "BikER Bar"... but a BIKE BAR.  You pedal, you drink, etc. etc.  At this point, as you can see we were driving uphill behind them and they were barely moving.  I just missed the guy in green waving and hollering at me as he saw I was taking his picture.  They were clearly having a ton of fun, and I know this to be true, because I rolled down my window and yelled "IS IT FUN?!"  And everyone shouted back "YES!"

Well, there you have it.