Sunday, January 9, 2011

Hittin’ The Texas Roads (Part I)

Before I tell y’all (ok, so I tried to pull of a Texas accent) about my trip down south, I first need to introduce you to my newest addition.

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Yes folks, that’s a beautiful Canon Rebel XS camera—my dreams officially came true this past Christmas. Thanks mom and dad! So of course Ms.Canon got put to work this past week as I toured Texas for the first time. And my Casio digital camera has officially filed for retirement.

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My gram and I left for Texas last Thursday. What seemed like a start to a nightmare (delayed flights, 4 hour bus ride, 6 hours layover in Minneapolis airport), finally led to waking up to some Texas sunshine Friday morning.

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I thought it was so weird to see everything still decorated for Christmas minus the snow. Is it just me, or does Christmas just need snow?

Downtown Austin

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I think I mentioned this before, but my cousin is opening up a bistro in downtown Austin on 6th street, so this trip was highly anticipated for me—I knew it would be a lot of things food related! She is starting from scratch in an old historical building.

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It’s going to focus highly on brunch, appetizers, and a wide variety of wine. She is also renting out the bottom half for test kitchen needs! She plans to open in April..I can’t wait to see how it goes!

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Starting a restaurant from scratch is no easy feat. I realized this as we paged through plans, forms, and more plans!

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Then my cousin knew I’d jump at the chance to visit the HUGE Whole Foods. When I say huge, I am not exaggerating! We spent at least two hours browsing, admiring,  and of course eating at the famous hot bar.

Throughout our browsing, I bought this gorgeous kabocha squash..

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I admired the gorgeous bakery displays..

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IMG_0861And after working up an appetite walking around, we ate at the hot bar.

Check out the gigantic salad bar!

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Glorious grilled salmon!

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Grilled salmon, grilled squash, sautéed broccoli. So fresh & delicious!

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And of course, a day spent traveling is not complete without some shopping. This was on the top of my list!

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The All in One Bakeshop is  the largest cake supply store in Central Texas. I had a few things I’ve been looking for, so I figured this would be the spot! It was a baker’s delight!

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Cupcake toppers galore!

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Every birthday theme imaginable!

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Cookie cutters anyone??

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Sprinkles, glitter, flavoring & more!

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If you are ever in the Austin area, make sure to pay the All in One Bake Shop a visit! :-)

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And other must when I travel?

 Self-serve frozen yogurt places of course!

Being that Minnesota has virtually none, I cram as many in as possible when I am in states that do!

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The Yogurt Spot happened to pop up first on the GPS, so off we went!

16 flavors of pure goodness—so hard to choose.

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After much debate, I decided on two kinds—cheesecake and pumpkin with some crushed grahams and a few strawberries thrown into the mix! Amazing!

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Had to get the classic fro-yo shot!

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And then it was time to call it a night!

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**Stay tuned for part 2 and 3 of my trip!**

Have you been to Texas? If yes, what did you do? If you haven’t, would you like to visit sometime?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

texas looks so awesome!!! never been there, but i hear they just got some snow. So random for the south!

So jealous of your new camera and cupcake shop adventures :)

Christina said...

We drove through Texas on our way to Arizona. We stopped at that one restaurant that's always on TV w/ the huge cow and statue guy where if you eat the big steak it's free. haha That's all I remember.

That wall of cookie cutters is INSANE!

Erica said...

What an awesome trip! First off- congrats on the camera. And next, I'm a firm believer that Christmas does not require snow....but I hate the white stuff so ;) Congrats to your cousin- what a cool undertaking. And the bake shop looks incredible- I could spend hours in there

Krista said...

You're right....this road trip sounds like it was AMAZING!!! And I adore your new camera. hun!

Kylie @ A Hungry Spoon said...

What a fun treat! I've never been to a self-serve froyo shop because they're non-existent in WV :( Maybe someday when I'm traveling!

I could get lost in a Whole Foods for hours--aren't they the most fun place to shop?! I love how food bloggers all share the preference for shopping at massive health food stores (and baking specialty shops), as opposed to clothing boutiques :)

laurie said...

Guess what?

Last summer some guys from CA opened up a self serve yogurt bar here in town at a local coffee shop. It looks just like your photo, with the different yogurt machines in the wall.It has about 6 kinds, and I think they change them every so often.I'm not sure if it's open now or just seasonal.

So you aren't too far from one!


Looks like such a fun trip!

Kerstin said...

Congrats on your new camera - woohoo! Glad you're having fun on your vacation too!

Kim said...

Hey there - congrats to you on your new camera! You're going to have so much fun breaking it in:)

Looks like you are really enjoying your time in Texas. Very exciting that your cousin is opening up a bistro. It looks like it will be a very charming place. Enjoy Texas!

Sue said...

Love the bake shop! Congrats on your new addition:)

Jessica@tastyandtrim said...

Hey love! I’m just letting you know that I chose you as one my favorite bloggers to receive the “Stylish Blogger Award” because I adore your blog! Here’s the link to the post http://tastyandtrim.com/?p=3240 Have an amazing weekend :)

Lisa said...

What a bakery, what a trip, and what a camera! Looks like your new year is off to an awesome start.