Celebrating our anniversary last Sunday was only one highlight of a very fun weekend that James and I spent down in the great State of Texas. Everyone knows that I will use any excuse to return to my beloved homeland, but this time we had some very good ones: friends and family.
Friday morning I headed down to South Congress for Christy’s bridal brunch, and we got to feast on some lovely brunch food with an Austin flair (chipotle hollandaise, anyone?) I can’t believe that 10 years ago Christy and I were starting out our college careers at UT, living together at Scottish Rite Dormitory and trying not to pack on the freshman-fifteen from all the yummy food and CCBs. That seems like so long ago, but then also just yesterday. I instantly liked Christy when I met her, and had no qualms about spending the next two years as her roomie. She’s one of the most genuine, enjoyable people that I know.
 |
| A couple of freshman, Christmas 2000 |
 |
| A couple of married gals, September 2010 |
Friday night we headed out to the growing city of Kyle to visit our dear, dear friends Krystal and Aaron. The last time I was at their house I had never even heard of Kyle and there was nothing between William Cannon and the Kyle exit. They were one of about 4 houses on their (now busy) street. Today, you pass the mega Cabelas (more on that later), shopping centers, and (most importantly) the world’s largest HEB! (I tried to make James stop and taking pictures of the HEB, but we didn’t get a good one because he said the store manager might think we were terrorists. Thus, no pictures to post).
After spending a good deal of time catching up, we headed to the county line liquor store and loaded up for a quick hop/skip/jump to the Salt Lick. I think the Salt Lick is one of my favorite places – not only for the delicious BBQ and sides, but also for the experience. They don’t accept reservations, they don’t have a liquor license, they only a pretty limited menu (basically BBQ, cole slaw and potato salad), but they always a HUGE crowd. People kill time during the 2 hour wait by sitting on their coolers and sipping on the beers they brought.
We were prepared for this, and patiently put our name on the list. Fortunately for us, Krystal knows 98% of the entire 40,000 population of Kyle and of course knew the hostess! We were quickly ushered to a table, and we sat stunned that we had sat down before we even had time to ice down the Dos Equis. (Oh, and to prove that my husband has more random skills and knowledge than anyone I know – he taught everyone how to quickly and easily slice a lime with only a butter knife and fork. What a character.) Below are a few pictures of our BBQ to make your mouth water. To Krystal and Aaron – we had such a wonderful time with y’all! Hope to do it again SOON.
On Saturday we drove back to Austin, and could not pass through Buda, Tx without stopping at Cabela’s. The store probably has its own zip code, houses more dead, stuffed animals than most city history museums, and has every single piece of clothing or accessory you would ever wear in camo print. We managed to leave without actually buying anything, only because James wouldn’t be able to fit any type of weapon, deer stand, or camo-colored 4-wheeler in his carry on.
And that evening – the real impetus for the Austin trip – we dressed up all fancy and went to the beautiful wedding of Chris and Christy. She was absolutely stunning in her dress, and he didn’t look so bad himself! What I loved most were all of the details throughout the night that just exuded their personalities and creativity: salsa dancing their first dance (with Christy switching into a short, sassy dress); gourmet ice cream sandwiches for dessert; gorgeous, unique flowers; a coffee truck; a slide show of their life; and Chris challenging guests to a dance off on the dance floor. We had a blast.
After two days with great friends, Sunday was devoted to family (both the Kerr family and our two-some Sasser family). We got up early and headed to Waco, stopping first to see my grandmother and spend some time with her. She, as always, remembered such detailed things about her early years in the 40s and 50s, and then gave us her opinions on some current political/culture things that surely show her conservative upbringing during that era!
We left her and headed out to my parents' house, where we were surprised to find my brothers at home, too. I don’t think I can remember when at least 2 of the 4 were not at home, and although my mom talks about how “crazy” the Kerr house can get I secretly know they love it. They also have a new little poodle puppy, so it was quite the full house! Daddy just “whipped up” some shrimp creole, making even the roux look effortless, but for dessert we had nothing less than frozen wedding cake. Mother had saved not just a bite but rather the whole top layer of our cake. It was still very good, and we went through the ceremony of lovingly feeding each other (awe) to hopefully bring us some good luck.
We also got to return to the site where it all went down one year ago – the Carleen Bright Arboretum. We practically had the place to ourselves, so we walked around the grounds and took advantage of the automatic timer on the camera to capture all sorts of sentimental memories. Awe – love this boy.
No comments:
Post a Comment