celebrate the small things | May 31

Although being grateful many times a day comes naturally to me ~ I haven't been very good at Celebrating the Small Things in blog form religiously every Friday.  In my defense, the past two Fridays I've been tied up in family functions that in themselves were cause for celebration: the first because I was able to see Will's family all together for the first time all year (Dallas/ graduation) and the second because my own family came to visit from overseas and we spent the day in San Antonio. :)

This week though, despite being kicked out of the official Celebrate the Small Things blog hop for negligence :( ... I'm celebrating (all alone):

• the local travel opportunity to San Antonio and a wonderful time with the relatives!
• another girls' day with some girls who are rapidly becoming good friends here in Austin
• my bird feeder becoming a hit with the neighbourhood birds!  I jump with excitement every time I see a pretty blue jay or cardinal eating the nuts and seeds :)
• my brand new, genuine Mexican, elaborate talavera pot for the coffee trunk centerpiece!  Oh yeah!  One step closer to having the house decorated in Southwestern style! (pics to come soon)

I hope you have a great weekend!  Will and I are taking the dogs on a hike and cooking dinner together tonight ~ then we're thinking a new adventure is in order for tomorrow... fingers crossed the weather holds up :)

Roadtrip | San Antonio TX. Pt II

My favourite thing about San Antonio was the river-walk.  Talk about European influence!  Each one of us agreed that it resembled the canals of Italy, but was even more spectacular because of the enormous Montezuma Cypress and Magnolia trees growing along the banks in amongst cafes, restaurants, clubs, bars and shops.  It was unlike anything I'd ever seen in Texas and I found it amusing that in trying to give my foreign family a taste of true Texas, we found somewhere unlike Texas at all!

We did however manage to find an authentic American southern- style lunch at a BBQ place called the County Line where we sampled almost every bbq'd meat option they had on the menu, with locally brewed beer.  The restaurant was located (like all the others) along the canal and was the perfect place to watch both people and wildlife :)

Then we set off again, walking around the enormous canal system for two hours, stopping periodically at shops or for refreshments until we reached the river.

It was another truly marvelous day, surrounded by beauty and new adventure.  I could hardly believe all this awesomeness is only an hour from Austin and I know I always say this of every place we visit around here, but: we'll definitely be back again!!

Roadtrip | San Antonio TX. Pt I

After moving to Austin last October, Will and I very quickly discovered there are many amazing places in every direction, all within a short drive from the city and once we had the furniture arranged, found our bearings and were somewhat settled; we set ourselves a new year's resolution (hate the word, let's say) goal to go on a roadtrip once a month to explore these places.

San Antonio was #1 on Will's roadtrip list but somehow every time we headed down that way, we stopped short... the first time spending an entire day at the outlet malls in San Marcos... the second time veering off to New Braunfels instead.  Last Friday however, with my family visiting from overseas, it was the perfect occasion to finally visit the city and experience firsthand the history of Texas at the Alamo.

It was at the Alamo that our visit began, as every first trip to San Antonio should.  This was everything you'd expect such a momentous battle field to be: informative, eerie and incredibly well preserved/ maintained.  Entering the Shrine was a very moving experience - despite visiting on a school day with excursion groups of children who were too young to appreciate the magnitude of what had occurred there: acting all noisy and restless - I could feel the very presence and desperation of those who huddled within its walls, hoping to be spared from the famous massacre.  Those walls, more than half of which are the original structure, have survived and witnessed so much turbulence!  I was astonished to see some of America's oldest graffiti upon them, from a time when the United States Army used it as a storage facility: initials and dates from the 1800's!  I feel certain that had I been alone within those walls, they would have spoken.   

 One thing I wasn't expecting at the Alamo was the beautiful garden that surrounds the fortress, where everything living thing is giant: from the cactus clusters and live oak to the goldfish, swimming lazily around the pond. We visited on an overcast day, so everything appeared dark green, lush and serene - as if in reverence - which took me by surprise since I'd only ever seen pictures of the Alamo online, where in my mind it was located in a desert.

I never knew San Antonio was such a big city until we left the Alamo and walked around its downtown district, where just like all American cities: history is blended with modernity.  I was expecting to see more Spanish influence in the architecture but then again, seeing the varying European styles all around the city make the fortress and her Shrine even more sacred - as an homage to the last time Texas was under foreign rule.  

For me, the highlight of our walking around the city was when my cousin Rita got a bag of nuts out of her handbag and taught me how to feed wild squirrels at the city park!  It was so much fun that I think I'll start carrying nuts around too, just so I can do it again!! ... It's little things like this that will always bring me the most joy <3