Sending a shout out to everyone celebrating a birthday today on 11-11-11! This year, I spent my birthday in Bruges (or Brugge), Belgium. Adam and I bought a small package of candles at HEMA, one of those stores where you end up buying things you never knew you needed.
We ate our way through Bruges, and almost everywhere we stopped, Adam stuck a candle in whatever we were sampling and lit it. I got to make lots of wishes that day! Here we are at da Vinci Gelateria.
Next stop was for …

So I’m challenging myself, along with thousands of other bloggers nationwide, to blog every day this month. And I’m asking myself, why didn’t I pick one of the months with 28 days?! Here we are on day 3, and I’m going to attempt a short post.
Last night, Kerri Holden, the PR rep for the Four Seasons Austin, invited me to join her at TRIO for happy hour (note: they picked up the tab). It was a lovely evening complete with drinks on the patio, steak fries, and pulled pork sliders. …

I don’t know about you, but all I want during this 100 degree summer is ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream so last week’s ice cream social came at a perfect time for me. As readers of the blog know, I wanted to throw an ice cream party to thank folks for voting for me to win Whole Foods Foodie Fantasy trip to Europe, and because of a generous donation from Graeter’s of 15 gallons of ice cream — enough to feed 500 people (!), I was able …

I’m so grateful to my Austin community for voting to help me win a foodie fantasy trip to Europe from Whole Foods. Adam and I are booked for the adventure of a lifetime in September!
As a small way to say thank you, since unfortunately I can’t fit everyone who voted in my suitcase, I’m hosting an ice cream social, and everyone is invited, while supplies last!
I figured what better way to celebrate and beat the heat than to get together for a cool, tasty treat at the Open Room — a magical …

With summer officially a couple days away, those of us in Austin have been battling triple digit heat for weeks already. And while it gets hot in other places during the summer, in Austin, we’ll see over 100 degree days well into September. Add to that our current drought conditions, and we’re a bunch of hibernating grumps down here.
Having recently battled strep throat, thereby spending even more time huddled inside, I’m feeling in need of a pick-me-up, and I know you do too. Also, I want to thank you for …