What a weekend!
Thank you so much for your patience! If you are following the WJ Instagram and Facebook pages, I updated you on this post yesterday via the stories and I was so surprised at how many folks replied with sweet words of “hurry up, I’m waiting!”.
It just melts my heart!
Last week was fantastic! I booked my flights home for this upcoming weekend, we had a co-workers lunch, I made it to a spin class, I spontaneously ran a mile and half (which is more of a surprise as I haven’t ran in easily 6 months), I completed a lot of work tasks, and I geared up for the most fun bachelorette weekend, ever!
For our co-workers lunch, we decided on Berryhill where I converted my fish tacos into a salad. The usual grilled fish taco is seasoned with a chipotle glaze and since “glaze” often equates “sugar”, I asked for a grilled unseasoned taco.
On Wednesday, we decided to have a Mother-Daughter date at El Tiempo. I absolutely love their ceviche. It is a calamari, scallop, and shrimp mix tossed in an herb vinaigrette. I attempted my own creation here but you can not top with the real deal. I enjoyed a club soda on the rocks in a margarita glass and my Mom and I cheers’d the night away!
Friday night I ate dinner at home but then accepted an invitation to dinner with the family. Hah! My parents have a neighborhood Mexican restaurant just minutes away and since I had technically eaten already, I went for their ceviche tostada. The idea was to keep it “light” but once it came out, I wasn’t worried about a light, post dinner, dinner anymore.
Off with the chip and into the plate, two dinners won my soul.
Bachelorette party!
This weekend we celebrated my girlfriend, Laura, in Austin as she prepares to marry her best friend and other half in San Francisco at the end of the month. Words can not describe how incredible her tribe is. I have attended a lot of parties and to date, this was the smoothest, no drama, and relaxingly fun one yet.
I must have complimented her 1,000 times because through the planning process and all, everyone was beyond “chill” and day of, only cared about what she wanted to do. It was the best weekend. Laura’s got a great judge of character!
We headed out Saturday morning to the Austin, Oakhill- Sunset Valley area. We opted for this location because of hiking and wineries. For hiking, we took the Gus Fruh trail in the Greenbelt which gave us the both of best worlds. One direction, we were rock hiking, while the other direction was a traditional path. Needless to say, we only found the normal path because we heard someone’s claim of a cave. There was no cave. However, it got me 10,000 steps by noon so I can not complain!
My favorite restaurant in the area is The Park on South Lamar. They have the best brunch cocktails and it’s a staple for Caleb and I each time we visit. To celebrate the official start to the weekend, I cheers’d with:
- Club soda
- A splash of grapefruit juice
- Salted rim
- Lime
The Park has the easiest menu to navigate full of ways to modify. I almost always opt for a burger because they offer to wrap them in lettuce and know how to properly execute my medium rare burger.
This time, I had the Park Original with an egg and grilled broccoli as my side. It was fantastic.
From lunch, we headed to our hotel where we showered and changed into the most adorable party shirts! Shout out to my friend, Lauren, for coming through with the best designs ever!
We sipped our way through three wineries in the Driftwood area beginning with Driftwood Estates Winery. They gladly provided me a glass for my Topo Chico tasting.
We finished with Fall Creek Vineyard and The Salt Lick tasting cellar. The weather was beyond amazing but then again it’s Austin.
To complete the day, we headed downtown for dinner and drinks on 6th. My absolute favorite restaurant (and point of direction) is The Iron Cactus. I had the beef fajitas and of course, lots of club soda.
We headed back to Houston Sunday after brunch at Kerbey Lane (Austin classic) and I didn’t make it back until close to 3. At that point I was determined to hit the hay early so I followed comfort to a nearby sushi and pho restaurant. They had a yellowtail and papaya salad included in their happy hour and I am so happy I tried it. It was tossed in fish sauce and included tomatoes, shredded green papaya, and jalapeños.
I ordered the chicken pho without noodles with extra jalapeños and garlic chili paste.
Overall, it was the best weekend! This week I am gearing up to travel home for the weekend where I will spend 72 hours drooling over my husband while begging him to take me to the “all you can eat” sushi heaven.
I hope that you have the most perfect week!
This week’s menu and list are below! You will notice Friday’s dinner is not included as I am flying out after work and have no idea what I am going to eat yet!
Week 3 Menu and Grocery List:
Menu (printable PDF)
Grocery List (printable PDF)..
Wholesome Joy 
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