The last stop on my Blog, Inc. book tour was in Austin, Texas! We turned the trip into a long weekend and explored the city (mostly through food). It was the perfect ending to a whirlwind fall. Here's what we did…
I had gotten great recommendations for the Hotel St. Cecelia from folks on Twitter, so we stayed in one of their poolside bungalows. It was a bit more than we usually spend, but so well worth it to have the space and privacy for Ruby and the ability to go in and out as we pleased. Also, the property was just stunning and so convenient to South Congress. Ruby loved the pool.
Since there was so much good food to be had in Austin, I made Bob eat like four times a day…including breakfast at Torchy's Tacos.
One meal included these giant and amazing donuts from Gourdough's.
…and ice cream from Amy's (the pumpkin ice cream was gooood!)…
We met up with our friend Camille at her gorgeous home and met beautiful Phoebe. Ruby liked the bacon and waffles that Camille made for us.
We went to the most wonderful place ever—the Whole Foods in Austin which is like the Disneyland of Whole Foods. It's huge and has everything!
We trekked 30 minutes outside the city to visit Salt Lick and have some of their famous BBQ…
Before heading back to Austin, we found a playground at Salt Lick which Ruby loved. She played so much that passed out in the car as soon as we got on the road.
We had some pho, banh mi, and coconut chicken nuggets at Elizabeth St. Cafe…which is the cutest little spot!
Oh, and yes…we had a book party! After five stops and five Smilebooths…I was mixing things up here. For those of you at the event, here are Smilebooth photos from the night!
Bye Austin! Hope to see you again real soon!
P.S. Stay tuned at 11am PST/2pm EST for my virtual chat with Naomi from Rockstar Diaries. We'll be chatting about blogging, and I'll announce the winner of the Rx session and signed books at the end. For those of you who can't tune in live, I'll have it archived here soon after the chat!
{photos by Oh Joy}
so glad you had a fun visit! it was really great meeting you at your book event.
So glad your enjoyed our fine city!! Especially glad you got to enjoy Gourdough’s!! Come back and see us again sometime, and let me know if you ever need a sitter! 🙂
I had a fried avocado taco at Torchy’s a few years ago. Um, yum, ya’ll.
Ruby is so cute! Looks like she had a great time.
Love your photos! The food pics just made me hungry..
> Madebygirl.blogspot.com
> MadeByGirl.com
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Love all the pictures. Ruby looks like one happy little girl! (& super stylish of course)
Oh my word. Those bacon pictures are priceless.
Love the pics and austin tips!
So glad you loved Austin!!!
So glad you got to enjoy the city, I can’t wait to go there for Thanksgiving next week!
OMG you ate everything! You are my hero. Glad you enjoyed Austin!!!
i used to live in austin and this post made me so nostalgic! you stayed at the best place and hit so many fabulous eats too! so glad you enjoyed it!!
looks SO fun! i love a good taco any day, luckily we have our favorite go-to taqueria just a few blocks from home 😉
and your daughter is ADORRRRABLE!! maybe i’m just getting baby fever… that “naturally” happens at 25, right? even though i’m not married yet? my boyfriend is vietnamese, and i’m white, so i think i’m just getting anxious to see how our babies will turn out 🙂
cheers!
My boyfriend and I spent a long weekend in Austin in May and I swear we hit up ALL of those places too! What an amazing foodie city! Also, (This is ironic since I just watched your live chat) I read Naomi’s post on Austin before we went, and I made my bf take pictures with me at Jo’s Coffee- now my profile pic!
Thanks for letting us be part of your Austin adventures! Phoebe can’t wait until she can eat bacon with Ruby next time!! xoxo
food seems like the best way to get to know a city! looks like fun!
I really enjoyed Austin when I visited there too. Did you see the bats under the bridge? If you didn’t next time you HAVE to do that.
Austin is one of my favorite cities in the world. I’m right down the road….3 hours down the road…
So fun! I just visited friends in Austin & it’s such a good food city. We went to a lot of the same places, but now I want to go back to the ones we missed on your list like Gourdoughs & Elizabeth St Cafe! Mmm coconut chicken nuggets!
I love seeing pics of the little Rubester.
Pasadena’s Whole Foods is pretty epic, too.
Looks like you had a great time! And oh those food pictures were torturous! Looks so yummy & delicious!
I loved all these pictures! What a beautiful place! You have such a beautiful family, too!
Theresa
http://bomamma.blogspot.com
I’ve always loved living in Austin, though it was for a short term stint. Love the photos of Ruby — she is one cutie pie! 🙂
love austin! and you can’t beat the food!
As an Austinite, I have to say that your trip seems to have been the best of everything. Great job!
I big time love Austin. It reminds me of my neighborhood (Northern Liberties in Philadelphia) on a city wide scale, only the weather is much more pleasant and the people are nicer. Next time you go stay at http://www.kimbermodern.com/. It is my favorite hotel on the planet, I think they have a no kiddo policy though, just fyi.
I was in Texas in March… We stopped at the Whole Foods Market and I fell in love! Oh my goodness! It was such an amazing store. I could live in it! It looks like you enjoyed a lot of Texas!
So thankful to have had run into you at Amy’s! I was really bummed I had to work the day of your book signing, but what a surprise to see you with your sweet family on SoCo!
Hi Min!
So nice to meet you! Sorry you couldnt join us but I left some signed books there in case you still want one! 😉
Best!
Joy
Where did you get Ruby’s adorable pink and white shirt? and that pic with the bacon is priceless…
We went to Gourdough’s too! Isn’t Austin such a fun city?! I’m so glad we live so close, it’s only about 3 hours from Houston!
I wish I would have made it to meet you on your book tour! So happy to see your book everywhere! Woohoo!
http://www.sealedwithakay.com/2011/09/austin/