Bringin' it Back

I recently came to to the realization that this blog has veered off course a bit.... I originally created it so that I could keep friends and family in the loop about my move to Texas and to share all that I was getting into. The things I was doing, sights I was seeing, people I was meeting. It started with restaurant reviews, adventurous stories, and (hopefully somewhat) entertaining stories about my life here in Austin. Looking back on the last few months, it appears that I'm more inclined to write the most random blog post instead of focusing on the the things that I'm actually doing.... I mean seriously, cabbage patch dolls? So while I can't promise to not write a totally pointless blog post every once in a while, and it's inevitable that I will continue to share stories about my elderpals, I am going to try to get back in the groove of sharing more of my life here in Austin. This will also encourage me to seek out new adventures and explore more of the city. So to bring me back to my "blog roots", I'll start with the three new places I tried while Nicole, Deirdre, and Tara were in town. Yes, all three involve food.... and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I had visitors in town and Austin has a lot to offer in the food department. Excuses, excuses...

Drum roll please....

Round Rock Donuts: I am not a donut person. I've always been more of a bagel person. My friends from home and I had an activity that we like to call "donuting"... without going into too much detail, it involves "dumpster diving" for boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts that weren't sold throughout the day and proceeding to do various things with them. This might include filling a friend's truck bed with them, selling them to UVa fraternities, gently tossing them at people walking down the university's main strip (the Corner) while shouting, "FREE DONUTS".... and the list goes on. Let's just say we got creative. That's the extent of my love for donuts.... I love the joy that donuts brought to my life between the ages of 18-21. Yes, too old, way too old. But anyways, back to Round Rock Donuts. I had often heard of these since moving to Austin, but it wasn't until Tara saw the donut shop on an episode of Man vs. Food that I knew we had to experience this oh-so-famous treat. We stopped by Round Rock donuts on the way to the outlets and I was blown away. They're known for their ginormous donut, which we of course did not attempt to eat. But the selection we chose was de-lish. I will always be a bagel person, but if I had to eat a donut, Round Rock Donuts would be my donut of choice. I don't know how to describe the goodness of a donut without sounding gluttonous, so I won't try. Just know that they were good.

Bananarchy: What's not to love about a frozen banana dipped in peanut butter and covered in reeses pieces? It helps that they're served out of an actual banana stand, just like the one in Arrested Development.... "there's always money in the banana stand..." It might be one of the best sweet treats I've ever eaten. You can choose to have your banana dipped in chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter (peanut butter being the obvious choice) and then choose from a variety of toppings including cookies, candy, graham crackers, coconut, sprinkles, peanuts, etc. Get your tail to Bananarchy. And call me before you go. Green Mesquite BBQ: I was always a bit leery of this place as it looks like a total dive from the outside... but you know what they say, don't judge a book by it's cover. Or in this case, don't judge BBQ by it's bun. Zing! We were beyond starving as we were looking for a place to grab a bite for lunch after outlet shopping and a quick stop at my work. I had wanted to take them to Crow Bar for barbecue waffle fries (another food post for a different day), but found out it didn't open until 4 pm. Just as we were about to eat our arms out of hunger, we stumbled upon Green Mesquite, and luckily for us there was a parking spot and table calling our names. I wasn't in the barbecue mood, so I dared to try the Green Mesquite Cheese Steak: sliced rib eye, swiss american cheese, sauteed mushrooms, grilled onions, pico de gallo, and horseradish mayo. Oh. My. Gosh. Hands down, the best sandwich I've had in Austin. I can't wait to take Firas there to try it. It was juicy and spicy and all around good. We were also amused with the slogan on the back of their t-shirts: "Horrifying Vegetarians since 1988". Considering I once belonged to the facebook group, "For Every Animal You Don't Eat, I'll Eat Three", I obviously got a kick out of this. We were so pleased that we landed at Green Mesquite for lunch, and I will definitely be back. I was so excited to try these three Austin hot-spots (or in the case of Bananarchy, cold-spot) with Nicole, Deirdre, and Tara. They provided us with a good time and satisfied stomachs.

Margaritas con Amigos

I was so lucky to have both my sisters and best friend from college visit me in Austin for five days. I couldn't have asked for a better vacation, even though I didn't even leave the city. While I do love living here and have met some great people, there's nothing like being with three of the people who know me best. There is no holding back with the four of us, and I always remember how fortunate I am that one of my best friends gets along so well with my sisters, even without me present. Tara is definitely an honorary Lauer sister, and I'm pretty sure she earned that title by revealing her secret talent to my Mom back in college... she can talk backwards. Not just one word at a time, but give her a complete sentence and she'll recite it back to you from finish to start. It's amazing. Anyways, we had such a good trip together. I even got to do some things around Austin that I hadn't done before. It was fun to have a few firsts with them... I felt like a bit of a tourist myself still. We ate, drank, danced, ate, laughed, shared stories, ate, shopped, relaxed, exchanged clothes... it was just what I needed. Minus being yelled at for texting while driving. But I've put that habit to rest, being told that Nana would be very upset with me. Following our drive from the San Antonio airport back to Austin, which was filled with catching up, lots of laughs, and celebrating being together again, I took them to good ol' Polvos for dinner. I like to think that Polvos is a hidden gem among the millions of restaurants and bars in Austin, but I think it's time to give that notion up considering there are always 15-2o people waiting in the parking lot for their table. I felt that it was crucial that Nicole, Deirdre, and Tara experience one of the best margaritas in town, and Polvos was the restaurant of choice!

Mango margaritas, chile con queso, and cerveza fajitas.... viva la Mexico! The girls were impressed with Polvos... and full. But not too full for fro-yo, which we enjoyed afterwards. Another reason to love the three of them.

We enjoyed our frozen yogurt back at the apartment in our pajamas while watching home videos that I asked Deirdre to bring. Lucky for us, Tara thinks our family videos are funny because I would probably rather stare at a wall than watch somebody else's home videos. Or maybe she's just too nice to say something. Most likely. It was a great, relaxing first night.... and we had a lot to look forward to over the next few days......

(Love) of the Irish

I love St. Patrick's Day. So do my sisters and best friend Tara. And that is why we planned their visit to Texas around this glorious day. We weren't yet aware that SXSW fell on the same weekend or that the rodeo was in town... we just knew that the four of us had to be together to celebrate in green. While Irish blood does run through my veins, my love of the holiday didn't begin with Mom making corned beef and cabbage every year in honor of my grandparents heritage... it began with a Disney original movie called "Luck of the Irish". If you've seen it, consider yourself fortunate. If you haven't, there's still time. And hopefully re-runs. I was a senior in high school when we thought we would be awesome (and by awesome, I mean totally dorky) by planning "DOM" parties. The Luck of the Irish was one of our favorites... shamrock cookies and all. We soon fell in love with Kyle the Leprechaun and to this day quote lines from this classic TV movie. Ah, saints preserve us! My appreciation for the holiday grew while on my spring break trip to San Diego during senior year of college. Tara and I stayed with my sister Nicole, and I will always remember this specific St. Patty's Day as one of the best nights of my life. Decked out in green, loud trucker hats that said, "Kiss Me I'm Irish", and the best accessory of all.... shot glass necklaces.

We spent the evening at a block party in downtown San Diego where they had the most amazing DJ playing for an incredibly energetic crowd... and we danced the night away. In the street. Like the nuns in Sister Act. We found it extremely entertaining to approach random people at the block party insisting that "another shot would hit the spot!" in our best leprechaun voice, while holding out our shot glass necklaces. Typically, they filled it up with beer, but I do remember tasting my first whiskey sour that night. Sold! The whole night was a blast. And so my love for the Irish, and everything St. Patrick's Day related, continues on......

Mama Lauer sent the most amazing collection of green accessories that helped us to be the most spirited St. Patty's party people in downtown Austin. It's safe to say that our presence was known wherever we went. And we can probably chalk that up to the fact that we had whistles.

We convinced Tara to buy a shirt that screamed, "I'll Be Your Lucky Charm" in metallic silver block letters. Let's be honest, it didn't take much. The combination of the shirt, green garter, flashing shamrock necklace, and green pigtail headband helped her to have a very successful St. Patrick's Day. She was pretty much the highlight of many peoples' night.

I am totally rocking this St. Patty's day garter when I get married.

The best part of this picture is that it was probably taken around 8:00 pm. We started celebrating early.

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Lauer Christmas card, 2011.

I hope each and every one of you had a festive St. Patrick's Day. If you feel that it could have been more exciting, celebrate with us next year!

Adult Baby on a Bike

I was completely surprised last week when Firas rolled up to the driver's window of my car on a bike.... that he had found as a gift for me! I have been talking about getting one for months, and both of us have commented on how much fun it would be to ride them together. I never thought he'd actually find me one, but he did and I love it! I jumped out of my car screaming, "SHUT UP! NO WAY!" and a few minutes later, I was awkwardly making my way onto the seat of the bike and taking it for a spin around his condo's parking lot. I was a little uneasy at first, as it has been at least six years since I've even sat on a bike. I had put up a facebook status in regard to the city of Austin looking out for their lives whenever I'm on my bike as it had been a long time since I've ridden and a friend commented, "You'll be fine.... it's just like riding a bike." How clever. And I was hoping he was right.

I was ready for my first big biking adventure on Sunday afternoon. Firas, Angie, and I planned to ride our bikes to Zilker Park for the kite festival. I was a tad bit, okay VERY, nervous about this excursion as we would be riding on high-traffic roads, down a very steep hill, and then have to endure an uphill battle on the way back. I couldn't help but think back to when I was in elementary and middle school, when all we would do was ride our bikes. That was our only mode of transportation, especially if our parents were at work or busy. We had our own version of a biker gang back in the day that we liked to call the 'West Leigh Posse". West Leigh was our neighborhood, and our bikes knew every inch of every road. I would fly down the main hill of West Leigh Drive with my arms in the air. We would ride our bikes down an extremely steep off-road hill on a very narrow path while our arms brushed up against unkept prickly bushes and vines. We would ride all the way to the end of the neighborhood in the middle of the ungodly hot summer, stopping at the railroad tracks and wondering if we would ever make it back without water. It was our idea of Survivor, I suppose. But what I'm trying to say is that I was fearless. We didn't think twice about riding our bikes, falling, or getting back on our bike after a great big spill. It's just what we did.

Times have changed. I was literally gripping my handlebars for dear life while focusing on how close I was to the cars parked alongside the curb and doing my best to keep my balance and stay upright on the bike. It was still as thrilling as a bike ride should be, but instead of feeling free, I felt afraid. When the heck did that happen? Call me Grandma Jac. Regardless, I was very proud of myself when we arrived to Zilker Park and when we arrived back at Firas's condo; it was quite a feeling of accomplishment. So here's to my next big big adventure and feeling a bit more confident.... who knows, maybe I'll throw my arms up in the air down another steep hill one of these days. Or maybe in a couple years... considering I took one hand off the handlebar to wave back at a homeless man on Sunday and felt that I was about to tip over and plummet to my death. I'll work on that.

Sidenote: As I was having these thoughts while on our bike adventure, I kept wondering why I sounded like a Carrie Bradshaw column. And after a quick google search on Sex and the City quotes, here's why:

"When you're young, your whole life is about the pursuit of fun. Then, you grow up and learn to be cautious. You could break a bone or heart. You look before you leap and sometimes you don't leap at all because there's not always someone there to catch you. And in life, there's no safety net. When did it stop being fun and start being scary?"

Amen, sister Carrie.

My Buddies and Me

My sisters and I were exchanging e-mails a few weeks ago, reminiscing about our favorite companions from our childhood. We share almost all of the same ones as it was common for the three of us to get the same gift, but perhaps with a different haircolor, dress, theme, etc. Deirdre always got the African American dollbaby... never quite figured that one out. I kid, I kid. Anyways, I was laughing as we brought these toys up and got to thinking about the future of my (hopefully existant someday) children. I want them to have an imagination, to venture outside, to play make-believe (even when the acted out plots are borderline creepy... Dana knows what I'm talking about) to act like kids for as long as possible. I'm sure they'll try their luck at a few video games (Mario Kart will still be around if I'm lucky), but for the most part I hope they're active and on the move. My sisters, cousins, and I hardly spent a minute indoors when we were together. If we were inside, it meant that we were writing or producing a brilliant play or musical. We spent an entire vacation creating the "Wolfman Trail" around our grandparents house in New Hampshire, brainstorming and imagining every single detail about each stopping point along the path... "This area (that very much resembles a horseshoe pit) is where the wolfman EATS HIS MEAT when he is very, very hungry"... things like that. We were always on the run. But anyways, back to the topic of this post... I hope my children find the same comfort in companions such as these, just like my sisters and I did. Here's a few that I will always remember...

Cabbage Patch Kids.

I'm sure most of you had one, if not two, of these chubby-cheeked dolls. I still remember their heads smelling like vanilla... I must have head a bald cabbage patch baby at one point. I even got to visit the Cabbage Patch Hospital while living in California... took my doll's heartbeat and everything. There were definitely a few floating around the Lauer house... and when I looked for a picture online, I came across several articles that were quite amusing. They discussed the cabbage patch craze in the 1980's and it reminded me of people now waiting for hours outside in the middle of the night of a Best Buy for the "next big thing".... or years ago when people were storming the toy stores for a "Tickle Me Elmo". On the topic of cabbage patch dolls, one article read, "During the peak of the fad, Coleco could not produce the dolls fast enough to satisfy demand. The dolls were hard to find at a time when every parent had to have one for their beloved kids. Pandemonium erupted. Two disc jockeys in Milwaukee wisecracked that a load of the dolls would be dropped from a B-29 bomber to people who held up catcher’s mitts and American Express cards. Two dozen believers turned up at County Stadium, braving a wind-chill factor of -2° F, in the vain hope of catching one of the prized dolls." That is awesome. I love gullible people. Mainly because they make me feel better about being one myself.

Popples.

I hope you were lucky enough to have one of these freakishly awesome little pals. How many toys or dolls can be rolled up into a ball of fur (tail and all), and then return to it's original shape with one swift "pop"? My popples saw me through some tough times... college and all.

Pillow People.

And last but not least.... the coolest.... my dirtiest (besides Buddy the clown, my thumb-sucking companion who got dragged absolutely everywhere).... the most bada$$ pal around.... the one and only "I'M PUNKY" pillow person. My pillow person was a hipster before these modern-day hipsters were even born... striped leggings, purple satin shoes and all. You go, Punky.

Let me give a quick shout-out to Buddy the clown, who deserves his own blog post. He was my most favorite companion from the time I was a tot to the time I was way too old to be sucking my thumb.... I don't think I'll divulge that secret yet to my readers. The reason he's not on here is because I can't find a picture that does him justice online, as he was very difficult to find in the stores. My relatives searched high and low for ol' Buddy, knowing that if I were to lose him, chances are I wouldn't make it through the night. I'm pretty sure my Uncle Jerry once came across him in a random drugstore in New York and ended up buying all they had in stock. That's a good uncle... and brother. We always had back-ups, and I'm quite certain my parents still have the stuffing of one of his legs stashed away in one of my seven memory boxes. I even won a writing contest in eighth grade sponsored by the Walton Museum for a paper I wrote about Buddy. I still remember my Aunt Cindy driving me to the museum to attend the ceremony and receive my award. Buddy was good to me.

Now it's your turn.... what was your favorite companion growing up? Slap bracelets don't count.

The Final Countdown

In less than TWO WEEKS, my sisters and best friend Tara will be here in AUSTIN, TEXAS!!! It's a Miami reunion (minus Meredith, booo) and we are going to conquer the city. Look out SXSW, Dino Park, food trailers, Taco Deli, St. Patrick, block parties, random strangers on the street, greenbelt, cake balls, and all of Austin.... here we come!

(courtesy of my sister Deirdre, the photoshop queen)

Kiss and Tell

(Doing a crossword puzzle with the residents)

Jaclyn: 27 across... 4 letters... the clue is "skin opening"...

Residents: Scar.... scab.... tear....

Jaclyn: No... think about when a person eats garlic and afterwards they might say, "I ate so much garlic, it's coming out my _______"?

Jay: Your rear?

(for those still clueless, the answer was "pore"... weak clue, I know)

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Lydia: Help me! Help me!

Jaclyn: Hi Lydia. What do you need?

Lydia: Help.

Jaclyn: What can I help you with?

Lydia: I don't know, honey.

Jaclyn: Why are you yelling help?

Lydia: Because I need help.

Jaclyn: With what?

Lydia: I don't know, honey. Help me.

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(While watching a movie with residents)

--Roger waves at Enza and blows her a kiss--

--Enza catches the kiss and plants it on her lips--

Enza, wide-eyed and as giddy as a 12-year old girl: I'm gonna go over there next to that man.

Jaclyn: I don't think so.... you're going to stay here next to me.

Enza: No I'm gonna go over there. And touch his leg!

Jaclyn: Probably not the best idea.

Enza: But I waaaaant to.

Jaclyn: Have some more popcorn.