Ah, Austin....

I'll preface this by saying that I used to live in Austin and often fantasize about moving back there. I sing its praises so often that my best friends are sick of hearing about it and the Austin CVB should be sending me a paycheck. So if this entry is overly-effusive, forgive me. I left my heart in Austin (fortunately I took my husband with me).

My mother also loves Austin, so we planned this little journey and thought we'd stay at her favorite hotel, the iconic Austin Motel. Alas they were booked, so a quick search led me to the Park Lane Guest House, and it's now one of my all-time favorite B&Bs! Tucked away under some meandering oak trees in my old neighborhood Travis Heights, this lovely little getaway is an absolutely perfect place to stay if you want some true hippiefied Austin flavor, with Tibetan prayer flags strewn across the yard and an overall blissful zen vibe, and it's walking distance to everything I love to do. We stayed in the Garden Cottage, which has a separate bedroom and a full little kitchen. But if I return I'll opt for the uber-cool Carriage House, which is like a grown up version of a tree house and was recently built and installed by a neat little outfit called Tiny Texas Houses. They build customized little cottages and sheds out of reused, found material. It was so lovely!

For two days we basically shopped and ate our way up and down South Congress, including the obligatory stops at Guero's (see mom and me with mariachis!) and Jo's Coffee. Since we were staying in such a great little home, we were able to invite my Austin amigos over for poolside wine, which we bought at a great little grocer called Farm to Market.

A shout out here to my friend Marla, who's the publisher of a must-have magazine for you foodies out there (whether or not you live in Austin). It's called Edible Austin, and it's a terrific resource for learning about seasonal and sustainable foods. Check it out! There also might be a version that caters to your area (Edible Portland, Edible East Bay, etc.).

I did discover some new additions to Austin. The restaurant Mars (pictured here), which for years lived over near UT, is now located on South Congress and has a really fantastic patio, again shaded by those amazing old oak trees. They have a terrific happy hour and the setting and people-watching can't be beat. That was where we celebrated my anti-birthday (you grow younger in Austin), then set off for a downtown bar I'd never heard of called Lambert's. It's actually a restaurant serving fancy-fied comfort food, but all I can attest to is their quality martinis, and their choice in artwork and music. A band called Pink Nasty played that night, and I just loved them! They reminded us a bit of Cowboy Junkies, but they really made me think of Madder Rose. Thoughtful, melodic, rockin', and a slightly twangy female vocalist. I bought two CD's!

On the walls of Lambert's were gorgeous paintings by a local artist named Gerardo Arellano. This one, System Trap, is from 2006. His work was so vibrant and full of energy, it even captivated me in the dark bar.

In was the quintessential Austin evening - yummy inexpensive food on a shady balcony, followed by stumbling on a terrific band and local artist. Austin, you don't make it easy on me, do you!?