Weekend of Champions

I had such a good weekend. Good enough to blog about. My friend Angie moved back to Austin, which is good enough news to make my weekend blog-worthy. Angie and I became close after she moved here from Michigan in August, but soon had to relocate to Dallas for work, which was quite a bummer for me. However, she's back, and I'm ecstatic! I started off my Friday with a happy hour at Botticellis, the most relaxing place I can think of to grab a beer after a long work week. They have a biergarden in the back of the restaurant and it's a cozy little outdoor area with tables underneath a few large trees and a small stage for live entertainment. Whoever was in charge of the layout and vibe of the place gets an A for Ambiance. Their happy hour menu also features $5 appetizers and they have a little something called "Botticelli Bread" which you might describe as a non-greasy vegetable stromboli. Mouth-watering. Later on that night, Angie, Bri, and I ventured more east than usual to meet up with an old friend of mine from Richmond who is in town for a few days. I had my first "Emos" experience, which I am ashamed to say occurred after already living here for a year. I suppose I can't claim to love live music if I've never stepped foot in Emos after a year in Austin. It was quite an experience. Four bands were on the line-up, and the first was a band that my friend Joe knew of through a member of the band who he knew through a friend, through a cousin, etc... one of those deals. The band was young and so was their music, but it was refreshing to see how elated they were to be playing at a music goldmine like Emos. I enjoyed observing their group of devoted followers who knew almost every word to the eight songs they played. They were standing six inches from the stage, bopping along to the not-so-melodic tunes, hootin' and hollerin' for their band. My favorite part was the huge black X's on both of their hands. Oh, to be under 21 again. It reminded me of when Nicole would take me to Trax in 8th and 9th grade to see Sweet Baby J perform. We were smitten with the band. They might have sounded terrible, but my amateur ears (and eyes) told me they were perfect. It was amusing to see myself in those fans on Friday night. Only I'm almost positive I was wearing my Mudd flare jeans and sugar t-shirt while they were decked out in skinny jeans or fishnets. One was even wearing a silver cape. Nicole would have killed me if I tried to wear a silver cape to Sweet Baby J. That's what big sisters are for. Overall, it was a great night - good to be reunited with Angie, always great to see a friend from home, and excited to finally say that I've seen a show at Emos.

On Saturday, I decided to be semi-productive... I cleaned out my closet, rearranged my bedroom, and did a massive amount of laundry. I was quite proud of myself. Even though there's a million other things to get done. But it's a start! And on Saturday night, Firas and I ate an amazing dinner at Thai Spice. YUM! For those of you that live in Austin, you should definitely make the trek to this restaurant. Firas had the drunken noodles and I had the massamun curry. I dared to be different, and I was glad I took my chances - SO good! Following dinner, I had my world rocked by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at La Zona Rosa, a well known concert venue in downtown Austin. The concert deserves it's own post. It was the most incredible show with the most miserable crowd experience. Ever. More to come on that topic. But Firas and I had such a blast and we were both blown away by the show.

Sunday was a relaxing day... enjoyed a good cup of coffee from Fair Bean Coffee, watched a few episodes of Greek on Netflix (love it), and enjoyed a delicious meal with Firas and his family in Cedar Park. It was the perfect end to a memorable weekend.