This past weekend the hubs and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary!! Whoop! Whoop! To be quite honest, about 5 years ago, I didn’t think we would be standing here.  But all I can say is, but God. So here we are, another year under our belts. I have no stories for you on the lessons learned this far.  Just know that its been work, compromise, communication (actively listening) and whole lot of respect for one another.  But it’s also been filled with plenty of laughter and fun times. With that being said, I wanted to make sure that this weekend would be no different!I decided to keep it local and explore the city we have come to love in spite of the damn near nonexistence of black folk in the city.  At times I feel like I’m in middle school or high school again because I can usually count on one hand the number of “us” I see while out and about and festivals do not count!!  Even then, the ratio is still small.  But we’ll do our part and temporarily add to the population until we head back up north to the suburbs.

Now the hubs usually takes the lead and plans all of our excursions and mini getaways but I decided that this one was on me.  He just simply needed to take care of childcare arrangements for the weekend.  Thanks to our in laws that live a somewhat short drive away (ok more like hour and half but still) that wasn’t too difficult.  Thank ya’ll so much!!  Oh! I can't forget Abdul, a friend of ours for years, who house sat for us so Tyson could be cared for as well.  He was so sad when we left.  Whenever he sees overnight bags or luggage packed he knows what's up. 

With the little person safe and sound, Friday night dinner plans to help celebrate one of my good friend’s 35th birthday ruined by storms (sorry Carla!!), our weekend was off to a rough start.  Then, Saturday appeared and well, it didn’t look so promising either.  But I was not going to let that ruin our day. I mean it was anniversary!!  Cue Toni, Tony! Toni! Tone`!, "Do you know what today is!? It's our anniversary." 

 We had a late start and took our sweet time getting ready because well, no kid!  Whoopity whoop!!

I told him to pack his overnight bag and to be sure to include a pair of swim trunks.  I then presented him with one of his two gifts, two sessions of floatation therapy at Aquatonic Float Spa.  What is float therapy you ask?  Lying in a floatation tank filled with a mixture of water and epsom salts that allows anyone of any size to float effortlessly while experiencing the sensation of weightlessness. No lights or sounds (if you so choose).  Just you.  He was pretty geeked.

We headed out for food because, yo it was pushing noon and we had not had breakfast!  I had chose a different spot initially but opted for Snooze last minute. But ended up at Olivia when we found out that wait time was at least an hour and a half. Um no thanks!  Do you want to see me kicking people in the face from hunger!?  

The food was delicious and filling.  It was bit pricey for breakfast but worth it AND far better than Snooze (we ate there the next day).  

The vanilla and coffee flavored syrups were everything!!

They used local ingredients including herbs and veggies grown in the back of the restaurant and eggs from their own chickens.  Ya'll they have their own chicken coop made out of a Lone Star delivery truck.  How cool is that!?

Our next stop was our Air BnB spot for the night.  While it definitely didn’t compare to our digs in Denver for my birthday, it wasn’t too shabby.  I was hoping to use the bikes that came with the room but one was broken and the weather was still trying to be disrespectful to my plans.

I had planned for us to bike to a stand up paddleboard shop but that was a no go, but bike riding wasn’t out of the picture just yet.

We ended up renting a couple of bikes from Barton Springs Bike Rental and it was so worth it!  Great service and dog that really, really liked the taste of my skin.  He licked me for about a good 2 minutes.  We chose the fat tire bikes, which if you are ever here and want to cruise around or hit the trails, get one of these. Its just fun. Plus the roll over anything!

A map showcasing all of the countries and states of the people that have rented from them.

Sooooo.. about halfway through the first part of our ride, this man gets a foot cramp. He had pulled over and I didn't even know because I was being magical on these trails.  When I finally realized it and came back, this is what I found.  Sad state.  Sir, your age is showing. Ha!!

We managed to ride a little further before we head to return to get ready for dinner. I personally had been waiting on this moment ALL day!  

When I told him the address, he immediately knew where we were headed. Since our reservations weren't until 9 we were more than ready to devour the goodness that would soon be before us.

Waiting on that first dish to arrive.

Uchiko as well as Uchi, has become one of favorite spots to dine for special occasions as well as when friends and family visit us from out of town.  The  service is ALWAYS on point, the food consistent and pretty damn tasty.  If you so happen to have an opportunity to sit at the sushi bar, take it. Good conversation with the chefs and an appreciation for the food will go a long way (there may be a tasting or two on them).  

This dessert by the way, has flavors (cilantro, pineapple, crumbled honey, jasmine and some type of ice cream or gelato) that you probably wouldn't normally put together but works oh so well together.  Try it!

Then after dinner this happened.

Everyone time we have been in Austin together, even before we moved here, I've always had something done that involved needles (my nose ring, that tattoo behind my right ear) and now this. To you, it’s a few squiggles on our wrists.  To us they are tiny smiles that represent the laughter we’ve shared over the years and the fun we’ve managed to have doing random and not so random things.  It’s an integral part of who we are and hope to always remain.  Side note, I have had two other tattoos done, one on my shoulder and the other behind my ear but this one was by far the most painful.  Needle over bone seems to work better for me than needle over tendons. Jeeeeesssuuuuusss!!

To end the night, we stopped at Halcyon to do a little people watching but no desire to participate in any shenanigans.  Can’t you tell?

Comfort over beauty.  I left my cute shoes in the car.  Whatevs.....

As we began to close out our little staycation, we decided to give Snooze one more try.  It was still busy as hell but they claimed the wait would be about 45 minutes long because people were dropping out due to the wait.  

Yeah, well, they lied.  It ended up being more like 1 hour and 15 minutes, tuh! That doesn't include the time to check in with the hostess, be seated, order and then wait. Considering all the time we waited, the food was okay.  Though our plates were somewhat basic, one of our two eggs benedict choices was on point.  

Maybe we’ll go back again and try something different, but probably not.  Who knows.  A coworker recommended it awhile back when we went to Denver but we didn't have time try it while there.  So just maybe they'll get one more shot.  The pancakes topped with crumbled bacon at the next table looked kind of nice.  

We had one more stop to make before returning to reality.  We had seen this place while bike riding the day before.

We had to wait about 20 minutes but no complaints from me!! This little sweet treat more than made up for it.

Ya’ll listen, when you come to Austin, and I know you will because I said so, after you leave the bike rental spot which is down the street, walk this way, stop and get you some.  They make it right there!  

Plus it’s cute once they present it to you.

After all of the fun and little bit of sun, we finally headed home, ending one “trip” so that hubs could then prepare for another.  My mother-in-law's husband had passed away earlier in the week. The hubs and his brother were going to go spend some much needed time with her. So goes the circle of life.

This past weekend was another one for the books.  11 years with this guy hasn’t been too shabby.  He sometimes works my nerves and I know I do his but we’re doing this thing together with our little ninja in tow.  God has brought us this far and I pray we get to keep traveling this road together a little while longer.