Inconsistent Blogging

One of the reasons I resisted getting a blog was the time and frequency I felt like I needed to write. Well, it's been almost two months and I feel like a slacker. But I have been doing many things around Austin, like hiking Enchanted Rock, eating German food at Fredericksburg and visiting an awesome bridge by the river. I even went and explored some of the Missions in San Antonio with my friend Naomi. I'm going to slowly add some posts covering all the activities I've done so far.

There are still quite a few outdoor activities I would like to do. I found an awesome deal to go biking on the Lady Bird Lake (yep, on the lake) and can't wait to do that. Other than that, I want to find all the springs, watering holes and places to swim. The weather has been heating up and the humidity increasing. I've decided if I'm not indoor working, I should be outside in water. So stay tuned for photos of my future and past activities. I promise to try to commit some of my computer time to blogging and not just working.

Easter paradise

Easter and spring just go along. There's something beautiful about walking around nature and seeing all the green, color and wildlife. For our Easter we went to Zilker Botanical Garden (which is free!!), and were amazed at this paradise that is right outside of downtown Austin.

Adrian's almost as tall as a dinosaur -- well, a plant dinosaur.

There is even a butterfly garden. We saw quite a few large ones, and blue ones.

I look like I'm in a tropical locale.

A beautiful mama tree -- and a lizard!

In the Oriental Garden.

The peaceful and beautiful Oriental Garden.

We love bamboo.

There was even a cactus garden.

Yep, all of this right outside downtown Austin.

We enjoyed some yummy Rita's Italian Ice after our stroll through paradise.

A different kind of hike

The past few weeks I have been busy getting acclimated to my new job and schedule, but I'm not one to be all work and no play. And since the weather has been a-ma-zing, we've tried to spend as much time outside on the weekends as we can.

A good representation of the trails.

Yesterday, we went with a friend of mine on a hike in the Greenbelt. The Greenbelt is just southwest of downtown and has amazing hiking and biking trails; there are even cliffs for those who want to go rock climbing. This was my first experience do anything outdoorsy in Austin. I'm still amazed at how green this area is. Hiking in Austin is quite different than the hiking I've done in the Utah mountains, but it's still just as much fun. Next time, we want to hike on the other side where there's a waterfall and we can go swimming. 
 
We have some other excursions planned for the next few months, especially since I've been told that now is the perfect weather to do all the outdoor activities (I believe it since yesterday was around 90 degrees with a nice breeze and what I would classify as a perfect day). It feels wonderful to know that all these activities are so close.

Follow the long line

This morning, while running some errands in Round Rock, we drove past a donut shop with long lines out the door and in the drive through. I had never heard of Round Rock Donuts, but Adrian said, wherever there's a long line at a restaurant, stop and try it out -- so we did. I may have gone a little overboard, ordering a dozen mixed variety and a couple sausage kolaches, but I needed to try them all to choose a favorite.

From all the taste testing I put myself through, I would say my favorite are the fruit variety, whether center filled or filled. I've never tasted such authentic fruit flavors on a pastry before. The cherry, raspberry, apricot and pineapple were all amazing. Also, the sausage kolaches were quite scrumptious. The sausage stuffed with jalepenos and cheese was just the right amount of spicy.

The bakery shop has an illustrious history and is touted as a piece of Texas history. I'm excited to have stumbled across such a great shop. We'll be back, especially since I missed a few varieties of donuts in my taste testing and I can't have an unfinished study. Gotta be thorough!

Images of (my) Christmas

Lights in Round Rock. These lights were synchronized with Christmas music.

With all the moving and chaos over the past few months, we decide on a nice relaxing evening; or in otherwords, we didn't plan anything. It was nice to not have the stress of decorating, buying or cooking for the holidays. One thing we did enjoy was the Christmas lights. I don't know what it is, but there's always something magical about driving around and viewing the Christmas lights. And Austin does not disappoint; there is even a list of the best lights in the city. Even though we only made it to a few of those on the list, I think we saw some great displays. My favorite was the house that synchronized their lights to Christmas music. Somehow they used a radio frequency so that cars driving past could hear the music on their radios while watching the lights. I appreciate how much time they put in for all us viewers. 

The tree at Zilker Park.

Now this is a flashy nativity.

The extent of our Christmas decorating. Maybe next year I'll do a tree.

Light up the night

For our second free event, we attended the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for its Luminations night. It was a chilly 40 degrees in Austin, but we figured since we're used to Utah winters, we could brave it :) When we arrived, there was a banjo band playing in the courtyard next to a clear spring pool, kids creating crafts and people following the luminaries towards an area with Christmas music. We decided to walk along the paths, where they had quite a few benches to sit and enjoy the evening. This is definitely a place to return to when it's spring and the flowers are blooming. As we left, we stopped at the Hey Cupcake! trailer to get one of their amazing cupcakes, which I intend to blog about in the future. It just so happened we were the last customers, so they gave us 4 for the price of 1!!! I would say that was a perfect way to end the evening.   

A cool walkway covered in vines.

Sitting on a large, wooden bench.

A pool of spring water.

Adrian and I above the walkway.

Luminaries lighting the path.

Getting more for less

Who knew saving money could be so exciting? While I've tried to use coupons and search out deals, it always seemed like a hassle that got in the way of relaxing and having fun. But while searching for a job, I have resolved to be more frugal with my money. Of course, I don't want to miss out on exploring the new city I've moved to. Luckily, through a job club, I found out about this amazing blog (definitely makes me appreciate bloggers even more) that highlights all FREE things to do and deals in Austin!!

Free Fun in Austin is my new go-to site for fun. While the site is specifically geared at families with children, a lot of the activities are for people of all ages. In addition to having a calendar of FREE stuff to do in Austin, they also point out restaurant and online coupons. I am just way excited!! They also filter in discounts from other sites like Groupon.com and Restaurant.com, which makes it a lot easier than checking tons of sites everyday for deals.

As our first activity from the blog, Adrian and I attended Christmas Tidings at the French Legation Museum. The museum is tucked away in a neighborhood just minutes from downtown; in fact, from the grounds there is an amazing view of the city. I learned that the main house is the oldest house in Austin (still extremely sturdy). It's a small museum but one with lots of history and beautiful grounds. Nowadays, the grounds can be rented for events and weddings (jot that down next to possible locations :). With this event a success, I'm already making plans for what free stuff I'll be doing for the rest of the weekend.    

Me enjoying the beautiful grounds.

This is the oldest house in Austin. Now, the veranda is used for weddings.

There is an amazing view of the city. This is just a small glimpse of the capitol.

S'mores in the Austin winter

It's winter!! For Austin that means the temperature has drifted down to 35 degrees — at night. No snow, but there is a frigid wind that makes people head indoors for something nice and warm. Sunday night, Adrian and I decided to head downtown and check out one of our new favorite coffee shops, Halcyon. I love the modern look and artsy vibe of this place; plus, on a previous trip I had noticed they had s'mores on the menu. Since we needed something to warm us up, s'mores seemed like the perfect option. They provide everything needed, even a mini-fire. We enjoyed the whole experience, and there were quite a few people in the coffee shop that did the same thing. This is definitely a unique activity that everyone in Austin should try at least once. I'm sure we'll enjoy this no-hassle s'more cookin' again, especially since I didn't have to worry about my hair or clothes reeking of campfire afterwards :)  

Just trying to get that nice golden coating.

Cookin up our marshmallows.

Adrian enjoyed his s'more.

Starting to feel like home

So I have now been in Austin for over a month. Crazy!! It feels longer and shorter at the same time. Overall, very nice. I do feel like this is my new home, especially now that I have an apartment. I'm way excited to not be living in a hotel anymore. And the new place is about twice the size as my one in Salt Lake. Of course, since I don't have a lot of stuff, it's just empty space; But it's my empty space and I like it. I'll take some photos and post them.

As for what I've been doing. I'm am just about done writing my letter of intent (read about that dilemma) and applying to grad school. I've been exploring the city, which is quite awesome. There is so much good food. I want to call out some of them specifically later. There is such a variety. The people are also really nice. I've made some good connections with designer types.

Also, I love that the coldest its gotten during the day is 50, and 30 at night. Sorry to all my Utah friends who have had to fight the snow. I'm pretty grateful I got out just in time :)

On a new adventure

It's been a crazy week but, finally, I am out of Salt Lake City and on the road towards my new life. Since the drive to Austin is 24+ hours, Adrian and I decided to make it a vacation and spread the trip over three days. For Day 1, we visited Kolob Canyon and Zion National Park. I've lived in Utah for about 11 years and never made it to any of the parks in southern Utah. They are amazing!! Especially during this time of change, it's great to have an opportunity to go somewhere peaceful and just marvel at the wonderful works of nature.

The drive through Kolob Canyon only took about an hour; yet, it had some of the most amazing red rock formations I've ever seen. Around every turn ascending the canyon, the view continued to open up and expose more breathtaking views. I was definitely grateful that we didn't bypass this short, scenic drive.

With only a few more hours of daylight left in the day, we headed to the main part of Zions. Access to the majority of the park was limited to shuttles that went back and forth along the path. The shuttles were actually a very efficient way to see the main views of the park. We even had time to take a short hike up to the Weeping Rock. I wish I had more time to hike up to some of the other sites, especially the lakes. All in all, it was a great first day. Tomorrow, the Grand Canyon. 

Presenting Beautiful Kolob Canyon

Adrian and me in Kolob Canyon

Amazing Cliffs in Zions

Mini waterfall by the Weeping Rock

Take a dart and throw it at a map

Since I announced my move to Austin, one of the most popular questions is, "Why Austin?" Sure it seems random because I only announced it a few weeks ago, but this decision has been a long process. The timing of my move is quicker than I even thought; I wasn't planning on moving till next summer. But when everything is yelling at you it's time to move, you go.

At the beginning of this year, I made my decision to go to grad school; the first question was where. I was definitely wanting to leave Utah because I've been here for so long (11 years!!). Adrian first suggested Arizona because that's where his dad lives. Then we were looking at San Antonio. Then Austin. My family lived in Arizona for a year when I was younger and the only things I can remember are the intense heat and the fact that everyone had a pool; Arizona was not my first option. So I began to look into Texas.

I will admit that one of the main factors in deciding where to live was weather. I have lived the majority of my life in places with snow (Indiana and Utah). Winter to me equates to hibernation and cold. I loved going to California for Christmas and seeing lights on palm tress. When I went online and searched for the weather information on Texas cities, Austin was the most moderate. Sure there's the humidity and it does get fairly hot in summer, but very little, if any, snow. Winter is actually the nice, cool season!! I could go for that kind of a switch. Plus, compared to the other major Texas cities, Austin doesn't have many of those pesky natural disasters like hurricanes.

Once we decided on Austin and I looked into the University of Texas, I become excited. The university has a lot to offer: great professors in what I want to study, great resources, a progressive attitude towards journalism and diversity(!!). I'm excited to visit the school when I arrive in Austin. Hopefully everything will work and out and next year I will be attending as a grad student.

Other perks to Austin are the great community and social activities. Austin is known as one of the top spots for live music. Pretty much every night you can find a band playing somewhere. Plus there is a great downtown area, 6th Street, that they sometimes shut down for festivities. As for culturally, Austin has many museums, including the Blanton Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum and George Washtington Carver Museum and Cultural Center. I am extremely excited to be around more diversity and cultural activities.

The more I learn about Austin, the more excited I become. I'll be closer to a beach. Austin has bike trails, natural springs and a lake. Wow!! There is so much to do. My official moving date has been set for Oct. 25. In a week I will hop in my car, filled with all my belongings, and head off to my new adventure in Austin. And once I'm settled, anyone can come and visit. By that time, I'll be the perfect tour guide.

And now for the bad news

Apparently with good news there also has to be some bad. Adrian's temp job that he was supposed to have for the rest of the month has ended (oh, Utah and it's crazy right-to-workness). It brings up money issues again. We're both trying to work temp jobs till we leave but, obviously, they are unreliable. It just overall sucks because it's money that we needed and were halfway depending on. More stress to add to the pile. I wish that we could head to Austin now and start looking for jobs. I've heard that right now Austin is one of the top places to find jobs. We've already been browsing online and it seems to be true. This situation of job or no job seems to have been a constant in Utah for the past few years. I'm not going too crazy about it because we've been here before and somehow gotten through it. Sometimes you just wish you could fast forward to a solution; the solution being moving. Right now we just have to continue on our schedule and be extra tight with money; and hope that tomorrow brings another job.

And for a little pick me up, here's a video with a perfect message for anytime you're feeling down or going through something.

A place to call home (for a couple months)

Good news!! We will have a place to stay in Austin for November and December. It's not in the price range we wanted for a room, but at least I know it will be nice. We will be renting a room from a lady named Cyndi (who is a friend of a daughter of an artist who Adrian's dad knows). One nice thing is she has an Italian Greyhound, which is the breed of dog that I want.

It will be nice to be around pets and living in a house. I'm a little apprehensive about living with someone I don't know (I never really had that feeling with college roommates; I must be getting old). I think it's just the whole stress of a new situation. At least this one decision is made and I can focus on other things.

Movin' on up (or actually, down South)

My prior attempt at blogging didn't quite work out. It was helpful for me, but I didn't blog often. My goal is to remedy that with a new blog that is more general about the going ons of my life. And this is the perfect time since I will be moving to Austin in 3 weeks from Salt Lake City.

No, I have never visited Austin. No, I do not have a job there. No, I do not have family or close friends there. It is a completely new experience, one I'm glad I'm sharing with my boyfriend, Adrian. It is a daunting task to up and move to a new place, so I'm glad Adrian will be with me. Already, the stressful decisions have begun.

Currently our apartment is almost bare. A few weeks ago I sold off all the large furniture, except for the bed. Last week we had quite a successful yard sale, and then took all the remaining stuff to charity. Towards the end of the month, I'll begin boxing up what remaining things we have. The rule is that we can only take what will fit in the car or in a few boxes to ship. So with all that taken care of, the biggest stress is housing.

It is quite difficult to pick a place to live when you have no idea about the area. I've talked to people who live in Austin or have lived there and tried to get as much information as I could. Online I've searched through so many apartment sites and talked to realtors. I'm finding out about differences in deposits, fees, utilities and amenities. And it seems the more I learn, the more confused I become. There are so many options and I feel like I'm missing the crucial key to understanding them. We would like to stay with someone for a few months before we sign a long-term contract so that we can have time to explore the city, but that's still up in the air. Right now I'm throwing out lines and hoping something catches. So, basically, I end with a prayer that we won't be living in our car when we arrive in Austin.