Around town

We've had a blast exploring Austin!  It's great to be living in the heart of downtown, because there are hike/bike trails and lanes throughout, and we can get anywhere using our own energy just about as fast as we could in a car.  It's awesome :)

We invested in some high-quality bike locks AND chains because here in Austin, since ::everyone:: bikes ::everywhere::, bike theft is rampant and bike thieves are very experienced.  We also store our bikes inside.  Oh, and another thing that ::everyone:: does ::everywhere::, is bring their dogs!!!  Almost ALL of the stores and restaurants are dog-friendly!!  The restaurants even bring your dog a water bowl :)

The restaurants are great.  Most have live music.  Most have amazing, local, organic, humanely-raised food :)  Haha.  You think I'm joking.

And we even got to eat with my Great Aunt and Uncle!

And the best food of all?  FOOD TRUCKS!!!  They are parked permanently throughout the ENTIRE city-- not just one area, not just two, but on almost every corner or random lot or empty space!  They call large conglomerations of them "trailer parks."  Haha!  We visited one of the best, most renowned trucks-- Torchy's Tacos.   AMAZING.  I got the "Independent," mushrooms and avocados and some spicy aioli and veggies, and Brandon got the special, "Libertarian," chicken and chorizo and who knows what else.  AGH!  SO GOOD!

So when are you going to visit?!  You'll never eat better!!!!

Our place on the lake

This was the view as we arrived at our new apartment.  We got out of our car, parked alongside the creek that runs behind us, and stood and admired the surroundings.  This tree-lined lake (the Colorado River dammed up) runs straight through the middle of Austin, and on the opposite side are the high-rises and luxury condos of downtown.  The sunrise the next morning was breathtaking.  Although we thought we were facing north, apparently it's northeast, and the sun rises directly opposite our porch.

There's tons of wildlife around the lake.  The largest urban bat colony lives under the nearest bridge, and it's a nightly spectacle to watch the millions of bats fly out all together right after sunset (we tried to watch it once, but they aren't always punctual).  We have many insect-friends at this apartment, but thankfully that doesn't bother us.  And the turtles.  We love the turtles that hang out in the lake.

We're starting to get our place put together, too.  We are still in need of a couch/loveseat and a bed, but that's not stopping us!  The one thing we added to our stuff collection right before we left was a fireplace mantel, because I wanted SOMETHING to feel warm and cozy if the place couldn't be mine to paint and decorate!  Thankfully, they WILL let us hang things on the walls, and they'll even let us hang our own light fixtures (YAY for the Turkish chandelier!!!).

As we continue to decorate, we'll post more updates!  We're really having too much fun outdoors to do much to the inside right away :)

Moving Day!

We loaded up my grandfather's friend's trailer almost a week before moving day, and so we were able to [somewhat] enjoy the last few days in Speedway.  We got to see many friends and family, and eat at our favorite local joints (another perk to packing everything--including cooking utensils-- early!).  At 6am the morning of our departure, we loaded up the kayaks and bikes, and we set off on our adventure across the country.  What a funny little caravan!

Thanks to a certain serial-killer masquerading as a policeman around the Memphis area, we took a westward route and got to explore a few new states, like Oklahoma.  We thought that this way would be easier on the truck/trailer as well, assuming it would be flatter than heading south through the Midwest, but it was really hilly!  And beautiful.  The wildflowers were just beautiful!

We stayed the night at a great pet-friendly hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Smokey growled the whole night-- apparently she got pretty used to house-life and forgot what it was like to be able to hear other people.  And she didn't like it.  Hopefully she gets the hang of apartment living pretty soon!  Anyhow, after little sleep as a result of said puppy, we set out the next morning toward Dallas and then Austin.  It was a great drive!  Said angry puppy even enjoyed the trip too, and left her nose-prints smudged all over the window (probably from admiring the wildflowers).

The Enchanted Green Door

We both turned in our notices to our workplaces in the hopes that Brandon would receive the job offer and we would continue with our plans to move to Austin.  One week passed, nothing.  Second week passed, nothing.  I sobbed my last day at work from all the beautiful notes and gifts my coworkers gave me (THANK YOU for all the love!!!), and sobbed the whole way home at the uncertainty ahead.  As I was driving home that last day, Brandon received the offer for his dream job.  And we began packing.  

It's no simple task to pack up two years of decoration and organization from a two-bedroom + basement + shed home, to plan to move it into a tiny one-bedroom apartment.  Thankfully we stuck with our original idea and didn't downsize further to the studio apartment!  We gave away many pieces, most to their original owners, and took many, many loads to Goodwill.  We kept our favorite pieces, or the ones we knew we wanted to keep for a long time, or the ones we spent a lot of time refinishing/painting.  We probably could've made a fortune from a garage sale, but we just didn't have time; we were (most gratefully) in the process of selling both houses.

It was really heartbreaking to lock up that "Enchanted Green" door for the last time-- the "Enchanted Green" door that had been "River Rock" and "Pumpkin Bread" and "Mountain Botanical" and numerous other colors-- my many experiments with the first front door I could call my own.  Brandon and I shared a moment of reflection together in the empty kitchen before we left.  We realized that our memories aren't in that home, they're in us, and we'll take them wherever we go.  But it was still emotional to leave the first place we owned together.  

The only consolation I had was how uninspiring the house felt when it was empty.  Perhaps it's not the house itself that was so perfect for us, but the way we filled it.  Hopefully, then, our next place will be perfect, too, as long as we fill it with what and whom we love.