I had another music filled weekend!
1. It started out right with margaritas at Mary Helen’s!
2. Then I headed over to the Belmont to see Ben Rector in concert. The opening band was Alpha Rev, a new to me Austin band that I really liked!
After a good set from Alpha Rev, it was time for Ben Rector. I was an immediate fan of his after I learned of him from my friend, Sarah. Sarah is my music guru!
Here’s a small sample that I recorded during the show from his song, Hide Away.
3. On Saturday, I went to Rodeo Austin. It was my first rodeo! I’m a real Texan now. 
The most important thing on the agenda was…
Best washed down with 2 cans of Bud Light! You can’t drink craft beer at the rodeo, right?!
Am I too old to get involved in mutton bustin’?? Also, I’m sure I would have been terrified as a 5 year to try this!! The girl that won was adorable!
We were really there for the Gary Allan concert. I don’t listen to country much, but he was really good!!
4. I finally watched Rock of Ages today. I loved the music. I’m having to force myself not to buy all the songs on iTunes. My favorite 80′s rock song is Here I Go Again by Whitesnake!
What’s your favorite 80′s hair band song???
5. I have to give a shout out to my alma mater, Wichita State Shockers for upsetting Gonzaga last night! Woot! #marchmadness
In November, one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world, Sarah, came to visit. Sarah did a little research online first and asked if we could go to La Condesa for dinner her first night in town. Far be it from me to say no to tacos, guac, and beer!
I asked Sarah…..will you get up and stand in line at 9:30 am to eat BBQ with me tomorrow? Sarah said yes, of course. Yesssssssss!!
I finally got to try Franklin Barbecue!
Franklin’s is known for having some of the best brisket in the country. Just ask Anthony Bourdain. It was delicious, but I liked the ribs even better.
After devouring some meat, we headed off the duck tour of Austin. I don’t think Sarah blew her duck whistle once. But I made up for it for the both of us.
The State Capitol building
Lake Austin
During Sarah’s visit, we also took in two concerts. We saw Snow Patrol (great concert!) at Austin Music Hall and Counting Crows at Stubb’s.
I was very nervous for Snow Patrol as I’d read bad reviews about Austin Music Hall. So maybe the reviewers were whiny….or the hall was improved…or both, but I really enjoyed the venue!! The only downfall is that since it’s near condos/apartments, they have to stop concerts at 10 pm. I wish that Snow Patrol could have played longer.
Our other adventure during Sarah’s visit was the Austin Eats Food Tour. I’d been wanting to try the downtown Austin tour for awhile and had a Groupon to boot! The tour met on a Saturday morning the Republic Park farmers’ market.
Our stops on the food tour:
1. Dai Due Butcher Shop
2. Tacodeli
3. Hut’s Hamburgers
4. Haddington’s–I’d already been to Haddington’s twice before, but this was my first time trying a Moscow Mule! Loooooooove!!
5. Walton’s Fancy and Staple — The shortbread cookies are so good!
6. Frank’s
For Sarah’s last day in Austin, I suggested a Sunday Funday of brunch and bar hopping! We had brunch at Bess Bistro (otherwise known as Sandra Bullock’s restaurant–as is Walton’s). Then we headed over to Kung Fu Saloon and met up with with my friend, Brandi, and her hubs.
To end on a killer high note, Sarah and I had dinner at Uchi. Oh Uchi….I love thee!! Uchi, you are way better than Uchiko (sorry, Paul Qui). If you’re in Austin and you love sushi, you must go to Uchi. Go early (happy hour prices), get the shag roll, get the maguro sashimi and goat cheese…thank me later!
Sarah, I hope you come again in 2013!! Maybe for a little ACL concert action!
Today is my 1 month anniversary of living in Austin!
And I am lovingggggggg it so far!
It’s such a fun town and everyone has been so nice! I also wanted to say a big THANKS to my aunts & uncles for helping me unpack and get settled.
One night before I moved, I was talking to my Dad about how I didn’t feel like I had much of a social life in Wichita. And that I believed that things would be different for me in Austin. My Dad said something to the effect of, “You’re going to have to put yourself out there in Texas though. You can’t sit alone in your apartment and expect things to change.”
I really took that to heart and made a promise to myself to explore Austin!
So….and this is really for my own benefit to document it….and to prove to my Dad that I do listen to him every once in awhile….here’s a list of what I’ve done this past month!
What Has Julie Been Up to Her 1st Month in Austin!
1. Very Little Baking…oops, I’ll work on rectifying that one.
2. I was a responsible adult and got my Texas car tags & driver’s license…barely.
3. Restaurants I’ve Been To:
Hula Hut
Abel’s On The Lake
Haddington’s
Satellite Diner
Guero’s Taco Bar
Hill’s Cafe
NoRTH
Pluckers
360 Cafe
Torchy’s Tacos
4. Bars I’ve Been To:
Mean Eyed Cat
Third Base
Waterloo Ice House
Tacos & Tequila
Baby A’s
Kung Fu Saloon
Cru
5. Shopping At:
Southpark Meadows
Barton Creek Square Mall
6. Concerts
Tyrone Wells @ Stubbs BBQ — I went to this concert by myself! It was way out of my comfort zone to do so, but I had a good time! Go me!! :)
7. New Experiences
Austin Food Challenge – this event was great! Everyone was very welcoming and can’t wait to go back this weekend with my new friend, Sylvia!
8. Blogger Meetups!
There are SO many food bloggers in Austin & San Antonio!
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting:
I can’t wait to see what my 2nd month in Austin holds!
1. I had to get up at 4 am on Thursday for a 6:20 am flight to Charlotte. How come it’s so easy to leap out of bed at 4 am for a flight, but it’s virtually impossible for me to drag myself out of bed to workout?
2. The 6:20 am flight didn’t leave until 12:15 pm! Hello 6 hour delay in the airport. At least I had plenty of time to catch up on blog reading. And I got a free round-trip flight voucher out of it. Score!
3. After making it to Charlotte, Sarah immediately took me out to dinner. I got a Sweet Heat cocktail made with jalapeno simple syrup. Ah-maz-ing.
4. I’m finally getting with it and reading The Hunger Games trilogy! I’m half through the first book and LOVING it!
5. One benefit of visiting a friend, perusing her iTunes library for new music. How did I not already know SafetySuit had a new CD!?
I took my nephew, Noah, to see Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked yesterday.
That movie is too cute!!
The songs are so fun and peppy too. I seriously want to buy the soundtrack. But I won’t. I mean…can a 32 year old single lady buy an album with songs sung by the Chipmunks? The answer is NO. Believe me, I’ve tried to justify it in my head all day.
So, instead I’ve just spent the day listening to previews of each song over & over on iTunes.
It’s a fun mix to listen to while in the kitchen too.
Creamy Bacon Dip
Recipe from Daisy
Ingredients:
8 ounces softened cream cheese
2 cups sour cream
6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped green onion
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Place prepared ingredients to a 1 quart baking dish. Spread evenly. Cover with foil and cook for 25-30 minutes.
Garnish top of dip with more green onions and crumbled bacon, if desired.
Serve with pita chips or whatever you desire!
Dip can served warm or cold. I preferred the dip cold the next day!
You know those people that listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving???
GUILTY!
I started listening to Christmas music before Halloween.
I can’t help it. It makes me happy! It makes me smile! It makes me want to eat Christmas cookies.
Julie’s Top 5 Favorite Christmas Songs:
5. All I Want for Christmas is You; Mariah Carey
4. Last Christmas; Wham
3. Silent Night; Michael Buble
2. O Holy Night; Celine Dion
I’m not afraid to admit it! Celine is fab! Celine can BELT out this wonderful song.
1. O Come All Ye Faithful; Josh Groban & the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
This song! This song! THIS SONG! Love! You NEED to get Josh Groban’s Noel album from iTunes if you don’t have it already.
Christmas music is great to listen to whilst baking too.
Let’s bake! Shall we?
Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
Recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Yields approximately 26 cookies
Ingredients:
For the Chocolate Cookie Dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
Turbinado sugar, for rolling
For the Peanut Butter Filling
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
To make the chocolate cookie dough:
Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set bowl aside.
Beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter in a bowl until smooth. Add in the vanilla, whole egg, and egg yolk. Beat until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients to the wet. Blend well.
To make the peanut butter filling: Stir together the peanut butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Using your hands, roll the filling into 26 small balls. Place flour on your hands if they become sticky.
To shape the cookies: Using a cookie scoop, scoop out 26 balls of chocolate cookie dough. Make an indentation in the center of the chocolate ball with your finger. Place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.
Bring the chocolate cookie dough up and over the filling to cover the peanut butter inside. Roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Roll each rounded cookie in turbinado sugar. Place prepared dough on baking sheets. Use a flat surface to flatten each cookie to about 1/2 inch thick.
Bake cookies for 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
I can’t get this blast from the past out of my head today.
That’s all.
Enjoy.
Que-sera, que-sera
So, as I mentioned on my Facebook, I haven’t felt like baking. Oops. I will rectify that soon. I wish that Wichita had online grocery shopping. I loved living in Charlotte and grocery shopping online at 1 am and then going to pick it up the next day. So easy!
In the meantime, here’s some randomness for you.
My favorite meal of late consists of heating up some kidney beans, chicken, and diced tomatoes. Serve that over a bed of spinach leaves and top with blue tortilla chips. Delicious!
I’m really loving Food Network Magazine. Just started getting it.
Every time I see the Old Navy “Only in my jeans” commercial, I get the Debbie Song song stuck in my head!
I’m going to Austin over Columbus Day weekend in October to visit family. I’ve been reading about some of the food trucks and different parts of town. I.can’t.wait!! A quirky music and food city…sign me up.
Were you Team Debbie Gibson or Team Tiffany?? I was Team Debbie Gibson all the way. Oh excuse me….she’s Deborah now. Geez.
I’m a list person. I love lists. Lists of things to do. Lists of things I want. Lists of things I’ve done. It makes me feel productive.
And I love music! And I love concerts!
Hence, here’s a list of concerts I’ve been to! I have had an outdated list on a past blog. (Yeah, this isn’t my first blog rodeo.) I wanted to recopy it, so that I don’t lose it. Maybe you’ll find it interesting, maybe not!
Bands I’ve Seen:
New Kids on the Block (5th grade!! First concert ever.) I was a Joey fan.
Boyz II Men (Sophomore year of high school)
Third Eye Blind (Their self-titled 1st CD is still one of my fave CD’s…especially the songs I Want You, The Background, Motorcycle Drive By, and God of Wine)
Huey Lewis & the News
Richard Marx
The Calling
The Wallflowers
Better than Ezra–twice
Lifehouse–twice
Matchbox 20
Coldplay
Sister Hazel–twice
Stixx
Sugar Ray
Live
Spin Doctors
Goo Goo Dolls
Smashmouth
Jars of Clay
Bryan Adams–twice, I LOVE Bryan Adams too. Summer of ’69 is my FAVORITE SONG!! 
Def Leppard
Bon Jovi
Dave Matthews Band–three times
Weezer
Tom Petty–probably the best concert that I’ve been to
Augustana
Chris Daughtry
Dashboard Confessional
Gin Blossoms
Candlebox
Switchfoot
The Fray–twice
Mat Kearney–twice
Matt Nathanson–twice
Glen Phillips–lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket
Amos Lee–three times!! Amos Lee is my absolute favorite singer.
John Mayer
Justin Nozuka
Matt Wertz–twice
Ray Lamontagne
Jason Mraz
No Doubt
Ani Defranco
Matt White
Josh Kelly
This list would be longer if I still lived in Charlotte. There’s not a lot of bands that come through Wichita that I want to see. Although I will get to add The Script to my list in September!
