Well readers, I'm going to stop making promises to the 5 of you, because I never seem to keep them. Every time I tell you I’ll be better about writing, I actually get worse. Which is just wrong. I shouldn’t tease you like that. So from now on, I'll just post when I get a chance and do my best to keep you updated.
That said, my apologies for taking so long to write another post. But to tell you the truth, I haven't had much updating to do lately. My life's been pretty boring the past few weeks...the roommates and I have been a little lame in our Austin excurstions. The job search has continued to be soul sucking, and we've all had a few moments where we just haven't felt like doing much of anything. So, I'm sorry for not keeping you up to speed on my every moment, but trust me, that would have been an insanely boring post.
I had a question from a lovely reader (shout out to Margot in France!) about the mouse situation, so here’s the update: so far, we've had no more mouse sightings! The sheet metal behind the refrigerator seems to be doing its job of keeping the mouse out of the apartment. Do I miss our fourth roommate? Not. At. All. I mean, would you miss something that left you chewed up carpet, half eaten bagels, and holes in your cabinets? I didn't think so.
Now, I'm still hesitant to say that the mouse is gone for good - I seriously don't trust him - but so far, the coast is clear.
As I've already said, the job search has been slow and uneventful, so we'll just breeze past that and move on. It depresses me to talk about it, so I'd rather not, if that's ok with you. And let me just say, if you have a job and haven't been through the job search thing in a while, I envy you. A lot.
You may be wondering what the title of this post is referencing. So far, I haven't mentioned anything about a weekend. Well, like I was saying, we've been pretty boring lately. Since we still have no cable, we've watched more movies than I've probably seen in the past year. Including classics like Hocus Pocus and Casper (No, we're not eight years old. Just reliving our childhood). We also got a little crafty one evening and stenciled some bags (see below). But after a somewhat rough week last week, we decided that this past weekend, we needed a little fun. And some time outside of our apartment.
Sadly, this is about as crafty as I get, and that's a stencil
This past weekend also just happened to be my birthday (and yes, I am upset with those of you who didn't wish me happy birthday on my Facebook wall. We'll exchange words later.), so it was a perfect opportunity for us to check out a little bit of the city. Being the person that I am, I of course wanted to celebrate by exploring a new area we hadn’t seen before. I know…typical Lucy, right?
So on Saturday night, after watching Texas lose horribly to Oklahoma (let’s not even go there), we decided to brave the east side of Austin. If you've never been to Austin, let me explain: the east side (which means east of I-35) has a reputation for being the rougher part of Austin. It's turning over, but it definitely has some patchy areas.
But like all good grungy areas, there are some gems hidden in the mix. And that’s what we wanted to discover – those places that not everyone knows about but that are filled with an eclectic mix of people, and where you can be sure you’re going to have some interesting conversations.
Now family members fear not: we did not traverse the area alone. Grey, who works in our leasing office, lives on the east side and graciously agreed to show us around the area. We met up with him, where we proceeded to see an ample amount of plaid, cutoffs, and awesome mustaches (I’m talking about you, bouncer at Gypsy’s). We went to bars with food trucks in the back, and we actually met people who don’t live in our apartment! Don’t get me wrong – I love my roommates. They are awesome, and they have made this Austin experience incredible. At the same time, I think we’re all ready to meet some other people. After a month of only each other’s company, we could use a little bit of change. So it was awesome to hang out with Grey and meet his friends and experience a new side of Austin.
Sunday was officially my birthday, and I spent it in about the most American way possible: eating. Seriously. All day long, I basically did nothing but eat. It was amazing. And kind of like Thanksgiving.
The roommates and I went to brunch at a place downtown called Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill. They do a brunch buffet on Sundays, and it is incredible! They have just about everything you can think of: sweet potato casserole, French toast, broccoli casserole, eggs in like 6 different forms, bread pudding, salad, chicken fried steak…I could keep listing for days. We actually got so full that we had to wait a good 20 minutes between plates 2 and 3 of our meal. Yes, we had 3 plates of food. Come on, it’s a buffet…go big or go home, right? Plus, it was my birthday. Oh, stop judging.
After a meal like that, there was only one thing to do: go home and nap. So that’s exactly what we did. The weather was perfect for that, too: it was a little chilly and rainy, which Austin hasn’t seen in a long, long time. I actually wore boots to brunch (which my sister proceeded to pick on me for because it was still like 75 to 80 degrees. But I wasn’t the only one, Sarah…I saw several girls who couldn’t resist the urge to pull out the boots and tights).
After our lazy afternoon, we trekked across the street to the Target that officially became a Super Target on my birthday (so glad they took my suggestion on that). I love Target, so I was pretty stoked to go and explore the store and all of its amazing additions. I even bought a movie, that 1990s classic Hook (hey Graybill grandchildren, did that just take you back to your childhood or what?). Which we proceeded to watch when we got home. Rufio! Rufio! (For those familiar with the movie, feel free to chant now.)
Oh, and the eating wasn’t finished. Not by a long shot. We had my favorite, pot roast, along with Caitlin’s famous macaroni and cheese and some fried okra. And for dessert, we had tiramisu. Which I am proud to say, I made for the first time in my life! See the photo below.
My tiramisu!
And that pretty much sums up my amazing weekend. For some of you, that probably sounds totally lame. And I get that. It wasn’t crazy. I didn’t go to a swanky party or some big concert. But listen, I’m 24 now. I’m getting old. And I enjoy small bars, big meals, cool weather, and homemade dessert. For me, it was pretty perfect.
If I disappointed this time, I’m sorry. There were no scientifically engineered rodents. No banana stands. No festivals. But if by some miracle you’re still interested in my adventures, keep checking back. I’ll try to make it worth your while.
