Mile High Vogels: Sweet Austin

"I think we should move here" is what my husband kept saying during our long, kid free weekend in Austin. I would agree, minus the fact that my torso was dripping wet a majority of the time. And I don't do "hot" well. At all. And so we won't move there, unless God has other plans. BUT, we adored the city, the rolling hills, the wineries, the food, the flavor, the shopping, the farm to tableness, the accents, the vibe...all of it. We went for a family wedding on Tim's side, which was a treat and a half. 50+ of us means a whole lotta noise and randomness. And laughing and completely inappropriate commentary. All of which we love. We WILL be back Austin. Next time with the little people in tow.

Wine country. Who knew there was such a thing in Texas? It was stunning. And the long horned cows? Too much.

So much opportunity for lazy front porch dwelling. Especially in little towns where he refused to set foot in many of the shops. Namely the yarn shop. Sure was pretty in there, not that I know the first thing about yarn or what to do with it.

Then there was THIS. One of the most magical scenes we've laid eyes on. The Cyprus and Oak trees acted as the the most stunning canopy over this aqua river and it stretched on and on and on. You can find swimming holes just like this throughout the hill country. We stood in awe.

Another memorable stop was to check out Green Acres Boutique Retreat (delicious glamping), just 30 minutes outside Austin. It's owned and operated by a podcaster/author I follow and admire and it motivated us to consider setting up a yurt wonderland here in Colorado. Why? Because it was Awesome. Sauce. The epitome of relaxing in God's country with no distractions. And alpacas. Oh how I love me some Alpacas. We WILL be booking a family vaca here.

The highlight (for me) of the trip was our massive family, Farm to Table dinner at Eden East. If you are within 100 miles of Austin, this is an experience you'll want to take part in. The grounds are beautiful. The food is fresh, organic, and delightful. The service was charming and top notch. The setting with their countless farm tables, candlelight, tea lights strung as far as you can see, was dreamy and fairytalesque. They handled our group of 40+ with grace and patience and we all had an absolutely lovely night.

Our sweet nephew, Chase Man.

The shopping was F-U-N, fun. So many eclectic shops to parooze. And that I did.

There are over 700K bats living under this bridge and they come out in a 15 minute drove most evenings at dusk. We didn't see them, but apparently it's a thing. The bridge is PACKED with people, every night. This was the view from our hotel parking garage.

This was overpriced, but so purty. And the restaurant was even purtier.

Randomly, one of my favorite podcast/authors was doing a signing of her new book, At Home in the World while we were in town. I messaged her and she signed a couple books as we headed out to our farm dinner. Twas a treat for my word loving soul.