Coming to you this morning from beautiful Austin. At least, I assume it’s beautiful. We got here after dark last night and our Airbnb is so amazing and cozy that I’ve given myself permission to sleep in and blog from bed. I’m a happy girl.

One housekeeping note: I think I say this every year when I start the blog again, but WordPress makes it impossible (for me) to determine whether it’s going to post the pics sideways or right-side-up. So I’m just going to stop stressing about it…since they all came out normally in the last post once I published it. If some end up sideways, I imagine you’ll be okay.

I last left you in Watumpka, Alabama, at this charming cabin.

Beautiful, right? It was. Lots of room for Waffles to run around. Addie has to stay on the leash because she’s a jerk and will just plain leave us for hours at a time. Incredible windows. That whole front panel of windows is hinged at the top and can be opened outward in nice weather! Amazing. However, it was 40 degrees at best while we were there. We were a little chilly. The bathroom, I believe I already told you, was outside, so that added an extra bit of invigoration to the experience. The morning we left, a plumber arrived, unannounced, while I was in the outhouse, as I’m calling it. I was super lucky that I had locked the bathroom door for the first time because he just walked right up and tried to open the door. And a few minutes later, the owner came up and did the same thing. Nice relaxing retreat, right?

No, it was lovely and would be a great place in fall or spring. I can’t imagine the heat and the bugs in the summer, and it’s too cold for this girl in winter!

The only other minor issue in Alabama concerned Waffles. We didn’t realize just how spoiled our little boy was! He was baffled when he didn’t have his bed to lay on and the only thing available was a hardwood floor. He just would not lay down. Not even in front of the big wood stove, where Addie made herself comfortable. Poor guy. He just walked around and whined at us. Once we all closed ourselves into the tiny bedroom – with two heaters taking up a decent portion of the floor space – it took him a while to settle down. Luckily, he survived the ordeal and went on to bark another day.

When we arrived in New Orleans, he quickly claimed my lumpy bag filled with shampoo, toiletries, and shoes for a bed. Strange guy.

Our place in New Orleans was in Tremé – otherwise known as the neighborhood that is the focus of HBO’s show Treme. The neighborhood was interesting in that our block had something like 12 airbnbs on it, but the rest of the area appeared to be folks who had lived there forever. Some folks are pretty upset that people are buying up all the real estate to rent out.

The house was a mini shotgun – the style of house you see a lot in New Orleans (and Charleston, I think?) that is narrow in the front, but is rather deep. This one had a small courtyard with Addie-proof fences – a definite plus for us. Waffles finally was able to relax outside a little bit…poor stressed out doggie.

Inside, the place was decorated with bright colors and had lamps made of trombones and trumpets. Very cute, very clean, well-appointed. Only problem I had with it was the water temperature – the shower only got to lukewarm at best. But yes, I showered. Twice, believe it or not, which is more than I can say for Eric. Come to think of it, he still hasn’t showered in a few days…

We grabbed po’boys and gumbo on Bourbon Street the first night, but brought it back to our cute little house. SO GOOD! It’s like they just decided it was okay to eat gravy by itself. I love it.

The next morning we ventured out on foot to Café du Monde – the place to get beignets, apparently. I was amused at just how much powdered sugar this place must go through. Employees were covered in it, the waitstaff wore white fleeces to avoid showing just how much was all over them, the floors were covered. I mean, do you really need a cup of sugar on three beignets? The answer, I discovered, is that absolutely you do. So amazing.

We continued our tour down to Canal Street, all the way up Royal – where we saw some awesome brass street bands and beautiful art galleries – then back up Bourbon Street b/c you’re just supposed to do that. For lunch, Eric had his second po’boy, and I enjoyed a Whiskey Grilled Cheese. Oh my goodness.

That evening, we had a chance to stop by and see our friends, the Goulds, who moved down there a few years ago. Kris was my classmate of mine at UNC Law, and Sarah ended up living with Addie and me for a year or two. They now have two cute kiddos who let us hang out with them while they ate dinner. A quick visit, but great to see them for the first time in years!

We spent one more night, then headed out the next morning for Austin. I was a bit anxious about getting back in the car for the 7-8 hour drive, but luckily Eric just powers through stuff like that and was able to get me going. We left by 9 am and made it to Houston around 2:30. Once there, we found the Beer Can House, which I had discovered on a roadtrip app. Pretty random. It’s a house that’s entirely covered in beer cans that have been cut open and unrolled. It’s apparently been there for several decades and stands in the middle of what is otherwise a quite posh neighborhood. So weird.

Yep, beer can house. Our next stop was at a Greek cafe just off the interstate to meet up with an author I’ve been working with for the past year or so. Actually, it was my first time meeting him at all. It’s so strange to know his book so well, to know his dark sense of humor, but to never have met him in person. Anyway, check out Ches Smith’s blog here. He has a particularly hilarious post on a time in a coffee shop when the barista forgot to give him the chocolate pastry he had ordered and all the anxiety he experiences as a result. Should I ask about it? Gosh, I’m going to look really stupid if I do, now that it’s been a good 25 minutes. Good stuff. Also, watch for his book, The Author is Dead, to come out in the next few months. It’s brilliant. I read it at least 5 times during the editing process and seriously laughed out loud each time. I love it.

We drove (well, Eric drove) for three more hours, and we arrived in Austin. Our airbnb is, I imagine, a converted three-car garage behind a huge and beautiful white house on a ton of land – considering that it’s still a traditionally laid out neighborhood. There are strings of lights all over the backyard and there was a campfire going. A really nice welcome. We met our hostess who immediately offered to close the gate for the weekend to allow our dogs to run wild all over her yard. I found an Addie-sized hole under one gate, so she hasn’t been let loose, but Waffles is reveling in his newfound freedom.

And I am here: 

The little apartment has windows all along the tops of each wall, plus large windows in, well, places where windows normally go, so the light is fantastic. Add the adorable notes all over about how there are beer mugs in the freezer, plus the hazelnut chocolate and salt & vinegar chips left out for us, and I am in heaven.

So where’s Eric this morning? Well, he started his 48th shower-free hour by heading out in search of barbeque! As you may or may not know, TX bbq is all about the meat. Ribs, brisket, sausage, whatever, but NO SAUCE. I’m so confused. What do you dip it in?

The part of the menu that cracked me up? They offer NC style bbq! I love it!

On the docket: visit to UT, a hike to a beautiful view of the city, a quirky antique stop, and a graffiti wall. There are so many amazing looking hikes nearby, and we have so little time to take advantage of them all! There’s a chance of rain today, but tomorrow looks beautiful.

Thanks so much to all of you who have texted and emailed and called asking about our trip. We feel very loved! Dustin, Eric said you were eager for the next chapter, so here you go!