Hello! Good morning! How’s Thursday going for you? I’m in the BEST mood because the weather has finally *FINALLY* finally turned here in Austin and I’m not quite as afraid that I might actually melt every time I step outside.
I don’t know, but there’s just this feeling in the air of excitement and anticipation once the weather dips below 90 degrees. I love waking up and feeling the cool-ish morning outside, lighting a fall candle while I get my work done, and playing outside with the boys in the afternoon. Bliss! And you can bet that as soon as our kitchen remodel is complete I’ll be baking all sorts of fall muffins and desserts. Tis the season.
Today I’m sharing a bit into my life lately. It’s been a while since I shared one of these posts, and here’s what I’ve been up to:
Well, of course, the kitchen remodel has been a central part of our lives! It moved really FAST for the first two weeks, and then the  most recent two weeks have been a bit slower while we wait around on the city for permits. But my contractor is saying that as soon as we get those permits, it will be pretty quick sprint to the finish line.
Ha! What a messy photo, but it is my life. The cabinets and all the appliances were delivered, so half of our garage is currently a holding zone. I can’t wait to see these beauties installed!
Since we had a couple noisy weeks of construction in the house, and it was too hot in August to play outside, I took the opportunity to take the boys to fun places around town. First up? Altitude Trampoline Park!
Two very happy and sweaty little boys.
We also drove down to San Antonio one afternoon to go to The DoSeum. I love this place! I think it might be an even better kids museum than The Thinkery here in Austin.
^ Dayton behind a steering wheel? TERRIFYING.
I love spending time with these two!
Milo is very into costumes these days. I’m curious what he picks for his halloween costume this year.
And Dayton just does everything his big brother does. 🙂
I mean, we had a blast…but also part of the struggle of our home being a construction zone is that Dayton’s nap schedule has been a bit wonky! This kid is a very consistent sleeper: 12 hours at night, 2 hours in the afternoon. So when I had to get the boys out of the house and he missed his nap, it was all fun and games until about 4:30 pm when he crashed hard. ^Hence laying on the ground at the kids museums with his pacifier and throwing plastic balls up in the air.
Milo started at a sweet little half-day Montessori school this year, which means Dayton and I have had lots of extra 1-on-1 time! I was getting dressed one morning when I hear, “mommy, LOOK!” and I came out to my room and found him sitting right there, just hanging out.
Dayton and I went to Goldy’s at Littlefield’s. Delish!
I also took the boys out to Frontward Brewing with my friend Caitlin. This place is out in Spicewood Springs, so it’s a bit of a drive from Austin (35 min or so?) and I hadn’t been yet! Despite it being hot hot HOT outside (even at 11 am), we had a great time.
My baby. 🙂
I loved their beers! I’ll definitely be heading back here sometime in the fall. It was a gorgeous space!
Milo, Dayton, and Louie all played outside while Caitlin and I drank our beers and ate tacos for lunch.
The sweet lady at the food truck gave the boys a popsicle! This is Milo telling me to take a picture of it to send to Nate.
Another big part of my life lately? I’ve been eating out SO much! I mean, I always eat out a lot, but it’s been an extra amount since we don’t have a full kitchen right now. ^ Brunch at Pinthouse Brewing was delicious.
I also finally checked out the new(ish) Bulevar, which is up at the Arboretum in the old Z’Tejas space. Oh my soul…one of the best meals I’ve had in a while!
Bill’s Oyster is a brand new spot downtown. It’s a New Orleans-inspired oyster bar in the space that used to be Daily Juice on 3rd St.
And of course, this new wine bar immediately became a favorite for me. I’m obsessed.
Nate and I went on a date night to Uchiko. I hadn’t been there in quite a while, but those Uchi restaurants are consistently good! I love how you can make a full meal out of their happy hour. We did the happy hour omakase + added on a few more bites and desserts.
I also went back to Este! I went last year when it opened and LOVED it, but I hadn’t brought Nate yet. When my sister and her boyfriend said they were coming to visit us, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to go back for a double date.
I love both Este and Surety (sister restaurants) for double dates because the plates are all meant to be shared! We ordered a bunch of food and shared everything, and it was all so delish!
We love you so much, Kylee and Tyler!
(Ugh, also, it’s impossible to share ^ that photo above without thinking of this double date weekend back in June with Cara and Sayed. We miss you so, so much, Sayed. I wish we got to have a hundred more of those double dates.)
After dinner we stopped by Oddwood Ales, because it’s one of the few breweries in Austin Kylee hasn’t been to yet..
…and then went to our post-dinner drinks at Here Nor There. My friend Emily got me obsessed with this speakeasy, and now Nate and I keep wanting to go back.
It’s Oktoberfest season! We’ll be going to these every weekend, all season long. The Oktoberfest at Fast Friends was fun!
My brother Will showed up too, so I snapped this pic of Kylee and Will playing corn hole. Have I mentioned how much I love it when my family comes to town?
Oh hey!! We went to another restaurant in the Uchi family a few days later – Loro! Another gem in Austin that I hadn’t been to in a while. This kitchen remodel has made my life very delicious.
Nate and I went to a Matt & Kim concert at Mohawk. They’re one of Nate’s favorite bands, so when he heard they were doing another tour he scooped up a pair of tickets.
Nate’s seen them before but it was my first time, and OMG! The energy! This show was SO much fun.
At one point Kim grabbed handfuls of balloons and threw them out at the audience and told everyone to inflate them, and then ^ this was the result. I mean, it’s not the $50 million set design that Taylor Swift has on her stadium shows, but I think it’s pretty fun that they turn this little $10 gimmick into a really fun concert addition. They had all sorts of fun stuff like this and it just made their tour so fun and memorable!
And I’ll leave you with this great news: I discovered that Milo still enjoys wearing footie pajamas. (Please stay my baby forever, Milo.)
Have a great Thursday! XO
