Weekend update

Our weekend started early with J's gall bladder surgery last Thursday. It was an out-patient procedure, so we were only at the hospital for about 6 hours, but I took the day off to chauffeur my hubby and play nurse. The surgery went off without a hitch, and we made it home around 1pm. After several anesthesia-induced hours of loopiness, he was almost back to normal by that evening. I went back to work on Friday, and he spent the day recuperating.

The weather here has turned a corner and it's suddenly gorgeous-- sunny, no humidity, and in the mid-70s. Like Seattle in the summer-- only it's verging on late October. Ha! For the first time since we arrived here, I had the feeling of wanting to spend as much time outdoors as possible this weekend. So on Friday night, we kicked off the weekend with dinner, drinks, and live music on Botticelli's back patio. I've had happy hour there before and it was so-so, but I was pleasantly surprised with my prosciutto and sage stuffed chicken breast on a bed of mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. (Is it weird that I love Brussels sprouts? I really do... ) Plus the patio is gorgeous. I love the huge like oaks strung with globe lights arching over every patio down here.

On Saturday morning, I went for a long walk around Town Lake. Then I met up with J and one of his buddies at Doc's, an outdoor bar next to our apartment complex, to watch the UT-OU game. I don't know if it was the beautiful weather, the fact that the place was jam packed with 'Horns fans, or the prospect of a UT National Championship this year, but somewhere along the line, I have become a legit fan-- yelling, screaming, and pumping my fists with the best of them. The first half was rough for both the Longhorns and the Sooners, but we prevailed and are now 6-0 for the season.

Later on Saturday evening, Jason and I had a super romantic date night, er, I mean grocery shopping trip. But, really, grocery shopping can be exciting! (Possibly a cue that I need to get out more, but that's a whole 'nother blog post...) Anyway, I am obviously huge fan of Central Market, but the whole paying-for-grad-school-and-trying-to-live-on-one-income thing makes those trips to Central Market few and far between. Enter my new fave, Sprouts. This place is awesome! It's the next best thing to Trader Joe's opening up here in the Lone Star state. Essentially, Sprouts is Central Market-quality on more of a TJ's budget, but with a much bigger produce section. Tons of fresh fruits and veggies, many of them organic, and lots of organic dairy and natural, hormone- and antibiotic-free meats. I still miss my TJs, but in the meantime, Sprouts will definitely do.

On Sunday, we took another walk around our neighborhood, ran some errands, and then stopped in for an impromptu coffee and cupcake break at this cute coffee shop, Mozart's, which is right on Lake Austin. It was such a nice day that we wound up just killing a couple hours driving around and exploring some of the posh neighborhoods around Lake Austin, and then hiking up to check out the view from Mt. Bonnell. Then we came home, raided our freshly stocked fridge and whipped up some roasted salmon and asparagus. Mmmm. Perfect way to end the weekend!