I *Heart* Austin...

and Advil is my bestest friend!

So the Farmboy had to be in Austin this past weekend... not necessarily working-working, but to be there in case for some mumbojumbotechnicalcomputerthingymabob reason. So Pretty Lady and Capin' Davy Cannonswine and I went down to join him.

I spent all day Wednesday doing laundry, because there is nothing worse than going on a trip without clean underwear, and Thursday morning finished it up and packed it up. However, while taking a quick break, I checked email. Come to find out my body isn't as young as I think it is and hunching over my laptop when it is sitting on a stool and sending email that way isn't, evidently, the smart thing to do. When I stood up, I couldn't stand up. The pain in my lower back was terrible! So I popped some Advil and got the kids to load up the car.



My MIL had come over to ride to the rent car place. Farmboy had reserved a car for us so that we could all ride home together in his car... MIL was to drive my car back home once we got our rent car. We get there, mind you we are already running 30 minutes behind my planned schedule, I hobble from the parking lot into the office, stand in line for too long and then get to the desk only to be told that I can't drop the car off in Austin. No one-way tickets from this shop people! (it doesn't say this on the website) "Oh, but don't worry, we will take care of you and get you a car from the McKinney shop." (which means I have to turn around and go the wrong direction) They get off the phone to tell me "so sorry, they don't have any cars." I take MIL home apologizing profusely, fill my car up with gas (which wasn't already done, because we weren't supposed to take it) and feed the starving pirate in the backseat before he starts a mutiny.

Now we are on the road... an hour and 15 minutes behind my planned schedule, the Advil hasn't touched my back, but I think that's okay because it doesn't hurt as long as I'm sitting and the 4 hour trip flies by due to the non-stop talking teenage girl sitting in the front passenger seat.



We get there and it takes me, what seems like, another 4 hours to get out of the car. We were quite the sight walking through the lobby... me looking like a very old grandma who has misplaced her walker, Pretty Lady loaded down like a pack mule and Capin' Davy Cannonswine continuously and loudly asking "when is Dad leaving his office?" After Farmboy showed up and they all finished with the "need a walker" jokes and more Advil was popped, we went to the house of the one with magic hands! Otherwise known to us as the mother of our god daughters. Thank the heavens for massage therapists! Anyway, she worked on me for quite awhile and told me it wasn't a muscle in my back, but yes, it was a muscle in my butt! Guess it's all of that bike riding and laundry. When we left I was still hobbling, but could stand upright.

The rest of the weekend was spent hobbling around Austin, popping Advil that was working now, eating good Tex-Mex, watching the bats fly out from under the bridge, and treasure hunting.

Now for the good stuff. I went to Uncommon Objects on Friday. The rhinestone strawberry brooch and velvet rose embellished purse I was eyeballing the last time were both still there. And they were both still more than I'm willing to pay for them. I did find a 1939 wallpaper sample book (the best treasure from there) and also picked up a little pink lingerie box and some bingo cards. I cannot tell you how excited I was to find that wallpaper book. I have been searching high and low in every shop I've been going into, for wallpaper.


I had meant to check before we left to see if anything good was going to be going on in Austin while we were there, but didn't get to it. So I planned to hit the Jerrell flea market on our way home. I didn't, because it turns out that Luck was on my side and must have just been messing with me when it came to my back. :) Sunday morning we went down to Lake Lady Bird (for those of you who know Austin, that sounds so weird to me... should be Town Lake!) to fulfill the pirate's need for water. He evidently had spent too much time on dry land and was pretty sure if he didn't set sail soon he would shrivel up and die... so we went kayaking. Not quite the pirate vessel he was after, but it did the trick. On the way back to the hotel afterwards we were driving by the Civic Center and the sign happened to catch my eye. I screeched to Farmboy to turn the car around... the Austin City Wide Garage Sale was going on! He asked if I really wanted to go, seeing that my shorts were soaking wet from boating. "Well YES!!!" Sometimes he is just plain crazy in the head! What do I care about chaffing in places that you don't want to be chaffed when there are treasures to be found!

Sarah and I had been chatting about this just last month and I wasn't about to miss it. They call it a garage sale, but it's a flea market with lots and lots of wonderful stuff and the prices, for the most part, are right. There were only two booths, both filled with gorgeousness, that I wanted almost everything in, but their prices were not flea market prices. Oh well. I did purchase enough goodies to make me happy! :) The family couldn't hang with me so they left to get some lunch and thought I was crazy that I would rather stay there than eat. To each his own! And I want to say thank you to Joanna. She posted the other day about how she always asks the dealer for their best price. Normally I have trouble doing this. I have trouble talking face to face with strangers anyway, unless they are under 4 feet tall and can't tie their shoes yet. Anyhoo, I did it every time and get this... IT WORKED!!!!

I have to show you this picture and then I'll stop rambling.

There were maybe 8 of these tables set up like this and depending on what was on them, they were priced all under $10, by the pound. I tried 4 times to dig through all of these linens... I tried the pillowcase table, the tablecloth table, the crochet table and the apron table (you know how I LOVE aprons!) I couldn't do it. Every time, I had to stop and walk away... there was so much, I had to walk away each time because I was so overwhelmed!

Alright, now that I've probably bored you to tears with my drama, here's to a beautiful Monday!