Labor Day Weekend

Mom, Dad and Paul came down to Austin last weekend for the first UT football game. It was a wonderful long weekend filled with cheering on the Horns, celebrating Mom's birthday, and spending time together in San Antonio.

On Saturday, we had the entire morning and afternoon to do things around Austin since the game didn't start until 7. We ate at Kerbey Lane for breakfast, and then Mom and I went to the Citywide Garage Sale and a few other thrift stores while Dad and Paul picked up my car from the dealership (it needed a new compressor — eek!). That afternoon, we ate a late lunch/early dinner at Maggiano's and enjoyed Mom's wonderful birthday cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. The game that night went well, and Texas started off the season with a victory. It was much cooler than we thought it would be at the stadium, even though it was still very hot.

The next day, we got off to a late start because of the late night before. We drove down to San Antonio that afternoon, stopping at San Marcos along the way to do a little shopping at the outlets. Once we made it to San Antonio, we checked into the hotel and then went down to the Riverwalk. Later we ate at Casa Rio and went to see the Alamo. It's been over five years since I've been to San Antonio so it was nice to be able to experience it again — I just love that city!

On Monday, we went to the Market before heading back to Austin. The parents and Paul headed back to East Texas after that.

Throughout our time in San Antonio, we kept hearing about how bad the fires were around Austin (and East Texas), and we could see the smoke on the drive back. It seems so unreal to have wildfires in Texas, but everything is just so dry. Hopefully rain will come soon.

I've included a few of my Instagram photos from the weekend below.

Scrapbook on the Road

Before leaving on our trip to Chicago, I decided to take Ali Edwards' Scrapbook on the Road self-paced workshop. I have always loved creating scrapbooks for my vacations, but it usually takes me a year (or sometimes longer in the case of Africa) to finish them. One of the things I loved about this project was that I did most of the creative work beforehand. I focused on writing and gathering ephemera during the trip and then added the pictures after I made it home. It's nice to have everything finished rather than adding another item to my ever-growing to-do list.

I've included a few of my favorite pictures of the book below; once you add all of the different pieces, it can be a little overwhelming to share every single page. (Note to self: I need to buy a white tablecloth before taking any more pictures on my dining room table. The pictures were way too dark before I brightened them in iPhoto.)

Cover

Title Page

An example of one of the 6x9 photos.

The bag from the gift shop at the Art Institute with the ticket stapled on.

Insta-what?

I finally got an iPhone about two weeks ago, and I have to admit that part of the reason I wanted one so much was Instagram. I've had fun taking pictures and trying out the different actions the last few days. Here are a few of my favorites:

Snapshots of Chicago

Just a few snapshots of Chicago... (using the Polaroid Effects Action from The CoffeeShop Blog)

Chicago

It's hard to believe, but at this point last week, my parents and I were at Wrigley Field watching the Cubs beat the Phillies (and trying to stay cool — what a heat wave!). Our time in Chicago was wonderful but sadly way too short. Each day was jam-packed with activities as we visited the Field Museum, Millennium Park, Willis Tower, the Art Institute, Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium, and many more.

What I want to remember from this trip:

• Walking and taking public transportation rather than relying on a car to go anywhere. This is one of the things I miss most about Boston.
• Exploring Millennium Park — from posing at The Bean to dipping our toes in the stream at the Lurie Garden, it was a wonderful public space within the city.
• Participating in a photo safari in Millennium Park — I learned so much about my camera. (Photos to come later.)
• Moving to the front of the line with the CityPass. (This came in handy at the aquarium and the Willis Tower.)
• Eating deep dish pizza at Gino's East. It tasted so good after a long, hot day.
• Begging one of the cashiers at the zoo for a rubber band so I could put my hair up. It was such a relief to have my hair off my neck. (This sounds silly, but it made a world of difference that day.)
• Finally finding the piece of the Alamo on the Chicago Tribune building.
• Working on my travel journal/scrapbook while I was on the trip.
• Sharing French toast with my mom for breakfast one morning.
• Indulging in Jelly Bellies just because it was vacation.
• Riding the huge Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier.
• Just putting my toes over the edge at the Willis Tower.

I'll post photos later. For now, you can check out some of the photos on my Flickr photostream on the right.