Celebrating Candied

Momentous -(of a decision, event, or change) of great importance or significance, especially in its bearing on the future.

The perfect word to describe Candied Jansen’s birthday in Austin this weekend.  There were so many moments that were significant to me.  Silly, serious, big, and little…but all important.  Here are a few highlights from our trip.

We headed to Austin on Thursday with big plans for the weekend.  Those plans mostly included relaxing and taking it easy.  Check and Check!  One of the highlights from our trip was walking up 100 steps at Mount Bonnell to see the view.  It was beautiful!

After walking up the steps we decided to hike back down through some trails.  Very cool!

I also really enjoyed the places we chose to eat.  When all was said and done, we realized that we had eaten at an Austin favorite, a neighborhood gem, a lakeside hangout, a favorite TexMex chain, and from a street vendor.  The perfect balance!

The first night and the last night we had slices of pizza on 6th street.  And when I say slices, I mean HUGE slices as evident by the fact that it doesn’t even fit on the paper plate in my lap!  Nothing like eating pizza in the early morning hours after having a few drinks!  We had a late breakfast at the famous Magnolia Cafe on Friday morning.  The home fries covered with eggs and cheese were delicious!  Later that afternoon we stopped by the local Chuy’s for some yummy TexMex!  I had the Elvis Green Chile Fried Chicken which was made with a coating of Lay’s potato chips.  Nice!  On Saturday, we ate breakfast at a neighborhood restaurant called Cenote.  It had a variety of baked goods as well as some delicious breakfast choices.  I had a Cinnamon Roll for an appetizer and Migas for my meal.  Continuing with the Mexican theme that afternoon, we stopped at Hula Hut on Lake Austin.  We took the invitation to sit back, relax, and hang out on the pier overlooking the water quite literally.  We spent over 3 hours doing just that.  Hanging out and enjoying the breeze off the water, watching the boats and buses putter by, and sipping on the cold drinks we were served!  And the chips and salsa, Coconut Shrimp, and Fajita Chicken sandwich weren’t too shabby either!  As we were leaving Austin on Sunday, we stopped in Cenote to grab lunch before we headed back home.  The BLAT sandwich, a BLT with avocado, was scrumptious!

Another great part of the trip was our time on 6th street.  I had only ever seen 6th street in the daylight so to see it lit up and lively was so much fun!  We had a couple of drinks at Coyote Ugly on Thursday night.  I wasn’t willing to go crazy myself, but I did enjoy watching the other patrons have fun dancing on the bar and playing alcohol games.  We stopped in Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar our first and last nights in town.  There was a much bigger crowd on Saturday night compared to Thursday night, but both times were highly entertaining.  Apparently we made an impression on one of the piano players because as we were leaving on Saturday, he followed us out of the bar and told us he loved seeing that we were having fun and gave us four free passes to use in Houston or back in Austin the next time we’re in town!  So nice!  There was also a great doorman at Touchè’s Shot Bar.  He was very friendly and when he found out that the next day was Candied’s birthday, he brought us into the bar and got us a free drink.  The bartender was a really cool girl who was originally from Boston, and she gave us buy one get one free drinks while we were there.  When we stopped back in on Saturday night, both the doorman and the bartender were happy to see us and talked to us like we were old friends.  Later that night as we started back to our room, the doorman ran down the street to wish Candied a Happy Birthday one more time and picked us up in a great big hug!  I loved how friendly everyone was!

We stayed in a rented room in a house just across the freeway from all the action.  It was a quick walk to and from 6th street which was a nice way to get in some steps to possibly work off some of the food and drinks we consumed.  Just being together, holding hands, and talking while we walked was so perfectly relaxing.

There were a few kinks in the original plan though.  Candied’s car was towed our first night in town so we had that to deal with in the middle of the night.  A boat trip that we’ve tried to plan twice now ended up being a no go, and a driver scraped the side of Candied’s car while I was adhering a parking pass to the windshield, nearly giving me a heart attack!  But even though those things happened, I have come away from the weekend with a feeling of contentment and happiness that defies description.  Being able to get away and enjoy each other was so nice.  Having to deal with the car issues together gave us insight into each other’s personalities a little more.  I loved that there were opportunities to learn what the other needs and how to give it so that they feel loved and important.  I am so thankful for the amazing person that Candied is.  I am so lucky that I get to spend my life with her!  I love that she celebrated her birthday in a momentous way!  I pray that this is the first of many birthday celebrations spent together!

Happy Birthday, beautiful!  I love you!