Impromptu trip to Austin.

What's one of my favorite things about living in Dallas?  That we're only 2.5 hours away from Austin!  One of the best cities out there, in my opinion - excellent food, great shops, rolling hills and beauty, and a ton of hippies like us.

A few weeks ago, we had an important task for Urban Acres to attend to there, so our family of three went together.  What a fun day.

All road trips make me sentimental for Nashville, so we popped in my "Nashville Memories" track list and started the trip off right - belting out "Check Yes Or No" by George Strait as we cruised out of Dallas in the rain.

The little one was excited to finally face forward in her car seat, armed with a banana and a Dr. Seuss book.  What more could you want in life?  

Steven and I were happy to have some undistracted time together to talk.  That alone was worth the trip.

The drive to Austin was pretty uneventful...that is, until we pulled into the parking lot of our first stop, Daily Juice, Austin's famous juice/smoothie bar and home of the super fat straw.  At this very moment, after holding it in for 2.5 hours, our carsick-prone daughter decided to puke up her entire breakfast.  A shirt change and an entire case of baby wipes later, we made a dash for the front door of Daily Juice in the pouring rain.

Once we were inside and saw their amazing menu board, all things were redeemed.  You've never seen a smoothie bar like this place.  We ordered one of the Serious Smoothies - the "El Paraiso" with added raw pecan butter.  YUM. 

After some work stuff, it was time for lunch, so we shuttled our grumbly tummies over to the highly recommended Elizabeth Street Café for French Vietnamese food. 

Luci Belle tried to figure out chop stix while we sampled the Bánh mì - a warm Vietnamese bun stuffed with pork belly, cucumber, cilantro, and a delicious sauce.

And then of course, Phở.  A steaming hot bowl of beef broth and noodles on a cold, rainy day?  Yes, please.

It hit the spot and gave us the energy to traipse around S. Lamar Blvd. in the rain looking for some new TOMS, to replace my beloved plaid Cordones that had worn holes through the toes.

Luci Belle was unfazed by the rain and was in heaven jumping in puddles, but Steven and I were soaked and just about to give up when we decided to seek shelter and warmth at Whole Earth Provision Co.  Just in case, we checked the sale rack, tucked into a dark corner on the second floor.  And there they were, just one pair, in my size, in the right color, and for $30 less.  Seriously?  I tried them on, and they were so comfortable they felt like socks.  Then as I was modeling them tentatively, Steven remarked, "Oh, those are SO you," and it was a done deal. 

I love them.

Even the rain couldn't keep us from a successful road trip - delicious smoothie, the perfect noodles, new shoes, and the companionship of my two favorite people in the world.