Texas is a big mystery to me still. It's been eight months since we moved to Austin and I'm still surprised or confused by something almost every day.  Take cowboys and gauchos for example. I always thought gaucho was just cowboy in Spanish but it turns out I was very wrong. Evidently there is a big difference in culture, food, and lifestyle of Texas cowboys and South American gauchos

I found out about my mistake on the way to a festival put on by The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas a couple of months ago. Cowboys and Gauchos was a one day festival at a ranch-style venue a few miles out of town. There was promise of all you can eat meats and flowing bottles of Texas wine. How could we say no?

On the way out to the festival my husband set me straight on the cowboys vs. gauchos thing. Being a native Texan he got pretty worked up over me not knowing the difference. I thought it was a pretty easy mistake to make, but what do I know?

I bet you want me to stop boring you with my story so you can see the pictures of carnage don't you?


Are you happy now? No?


Still not satisfied? Wow. I thought I was weird...


Poor little piggy. He was pretty tasty though.

We weren't disappointed. There was enough meat available to feed at least a few packs of wolves. We had meaty bison sliders, spit-roasted Brazilian sausage and quail dripping with smoky juices, whole roasted pig (buried and smoked in a pile of wood shavings for hours), and of course the lamb and pig splayed out above. It certainly wasn't barbeque.  But it was tasty.


Along with the meat there was an entire room with booths for various Texas wineries (yes they actually grow wine in Texas. Fascinating, I know...) so plenty of people were getting sloshed on that fine Sunday afternoon.


Probably helped liven up the dance floor - there was no shortage of dancing to the country/western music in the main hall. Adding to the experience were the huge live Oak trees around the property, the girls in beautiful dresses and cowboy boots, and the smoke from roasting meat lingering in the air. Quite an experience.

Small town Texas

Becoming Texan?

The last two months in Texas haven't gotten me any closer to an accent and I haven't bought a pair of boots or cowboy hat yet, but that hasn't stopped me from falling in love.What's not to love about a place where you can eat barbecue, biscuits and gravy, and sushi alike out of food trucks, where you can hang out at an outdoor pub on a Sunday afternoon with your dog, or get all dressed up for a night on the town?  I don't even think I've gotten to the honeymoon stage yet, but the activities below have made me feel all head over heels for my new home.

5 Cool Things I've Done So Far

1. Music - saw my first concert at Austin institution, Emo's.  For only $20 we saw three great bands on the outdoor stage. It was cool hanging out in the crisp air, drinking cheap beer, and getting smoke blown in my face. Definitely a must for anyone into music
2. Food - My husband and I celebrated our 9th anniversary in style at Jeffrey's downtown. What a treat! Foie terrine and duck confit for me, crispy oysters and fillet for him. I only wish I would have taken pictures
3. More Food - A trip to San Marcos a few miles away ended with some of the best barbecue I've ever eaten in a hole in the wall we never would have found without the help of Google. Kip's Texas BBQ off I-35 had brisket that melted like butter when it hit your tongue and cornbread that would make a grown man cry and ask for more (okay, there wasn't really any crying but there certainly were seconds)
4. Shoal Creek - A great off-leash area runs along the creek just a couple of miles from our house. We take our dog Ripley down, let her off the leash and watch as she chases squirrels, plays with other dogs, and cools off by laying in the shallow creek. I love how dog friendly this town is!
5. Shopping - I discovered Central Market, also just a mile from our house. This mecca of organic specialty foods is absolutely amazing. The produce section alone could occupy me for whole afternoons.

What's Next?

The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty cool here in Austin. Here's a few things I hope to do and blog about:

1. Farmer's Market - I'm hoping to hit up the local farmer's market for the first time this week. I'll post about all the interesting things I find
2. Mardi Gras - guaranteed to be a blast - I'm sure I'll find something fun to do.   
3. SXSW -  South by Southwest is about to start! Good thing we got wristbands -they'll get us into some of the amazing concerts. My husband, the lucky dog, scored himself a ticket to the interactive portion and will be spending a whole week geeking out.
4. Spring Planting - I know this doesn't sound as cool as everything else but I'm excited! It's been over a year since I've had any sort of a garden and I'm looking forward to getting some dirt under my fingernails.

Keep checking back for updates! Spring is in the air and my fingers are itchy to tell stories.

The snow is already all melted, but this morning felt like a winter wonderland when we woke up. Ripley and I went to play outside for a while and it was all silent and peaceful (except for the kids yelling and throwing snowballs at each other down the street). I think most people took the day off. It wasn't a lot of snow but after living on a tropical island for the last nine months it was kind of surreal. Weren't we just sweating our brains out in Taipei a couple of months ago?

Ripley was cautiously optimistic about the snow until she slid on her butt

The last few days have been ridiculously cold. I was excited at first but the dog and I started getting pretty stir-crazy mid week. I hope it warms up next week. We found a great off-leash trail (where dogs can run around off their leashes and terrorize squirrels and unsuspecting hikers) only about a mile away from home. I can't wait to take her back so she can get into the creek and bite at the fishes but it's way too cold out right now. 

We're finally starting to settle in to our new home a little more. It was really strange coming back to the states and to a new city but little by little it's feeling like real life again. The highlight of the week (other than the snow obviously) was my first trip to the local library. I got a card and a stack of books. Something I dreamed about many times in Taipei (yeah I'm weird. I longed for the library...)

Definitely not a scene you see in Arizona.