Visit from Keri!

We were so excited to have my sister Keri visit a few weeks ago for the 4th of July (sorry I'm a little late on the blog post). She was such a great guest and I hope she had as good of a time as we did. We were thrilled to host to try out the new guest room.

We started her trip by stopping by a taco stand (well, trailer actually) called Torchy's Tacos on the way home from the airport. We felt like it was a good plunge into Austin culture. Many of Austin's favorite eating establishments serve food out of trailers. Torchy's has a nice outdoor eating area so we were able to enjoy our delicious tacos in the cool (80-85) night air.

Cody and I had to work the next morning, so Keri got to spend a relaxing few hours hanging out with the dogs and reading in the back yard. Sugar and Rocky were really excited to have Keri around for extra pets and treats! I was able to meet Keri for brunch at Kerbey Lane, a local chain that serves breakfast all day. We tried their gingerbread pancakes which were delicious! Then we headed to another favorite destination - Super Target. We managed to spend 3 hours and a lot of money buying something in every department (makeup, groceries, clothes, etc.). We had to hurry home in order to make it to our movie in time.

One of the things on Keri's list was see a movie at the Alamo Draft House since we now use that movie theater exclusively. We saw Get Smart which was great and dined on some delicious food. I think Keri really liked the Alamo even though their service wasn't great that night. On the way home from the Alamo we stopped at Tiff's Treats (another favorite!) for some delicious cookies. Thanks to my persuasive email Tiff's Treats will be opening a new location right by our house, so future house guests can look forward to cookies delivered!

Friday was the 4th of July and we started the day off with some delicious breakfast tacos at Taco Shack (another thing on Keri's list). Then Keri and I headed to my favorite "US Spa" for some relaxing pedicures. They included hot stone massage on our calves and feet during the pedicure and then MORE hot stone massage on our necks while the nail polish dried. This place is awesome and we loved it. The ladies who were working there also tipped us off that some of the department stores were having big sales that day, so that was our next stop. Keri and I were both looking for new swimming suits (always a dreaded task) and Macy's was having a huge swimwear sale. Jackpot! Of the 15 cute suits that Keri tried on she came out with 5 that she loved! After narrowing it down some more she walked away with 2 really cute suits and I found one. It was a huge success.

While we were out we stopped by Firehouse Subs (another of our favorites) for some sandwiches, which were delicious, and then did some more shopping. Then we headed home to get everything ready for the BBQ we were having in honor of the 4th of July. Keri made some awesome black bean and corn salsa for the party which everyone loved. We threw some burgers on the grill and broke out Rock Band; add all of our awesome friends and you have the recipe for a great party.

girl band (L-R): Jessica on bass, Madelyn on guitar, Keri on drums - we rocked!

I think everyone had a great time at the BBQ and we were even able to see some fireworks from our front lawn!

Saturday we planned a fun day away from home which was supposed to include Barton Springs so we could cool off and try out our new suits. We got all the way down town and even paid to park when we saw the line to get in to the pool. It had to be 200 people long and it wasn't moving...at all. We scratched that idea and headed to the South Congress boutiques for some local shopping. We grabbed a slice of Home Slice pizza (delicious) and spent a fun afternoon boutiquing. We stayed downtown and hit up one of our favorite BBQ spots - Green Mesquite. We weren't the only people who had that idea, however, and it was so crowded that we had to share a picnic table with some other people. It was worth it though. We warned Keri in advance to save room for dessert because they have the best pecan pie I've ever tasted. We each ordered our own piece because I assured her it was so good that she wouldn't want to share. She agreed.

Me and Keri at Green Mesquite

Sunday we spent the morning at home and then headed to Matt's El Rancho (another of our favorites) for an early lunch of delicious Mexican food.

Me in front of the Matt's sign.

Cody was invited for a round of golf near where we ate, so we dropped him off and Keri and I headed to an awesome fabric store called Craft-o-rama which was recommended by our friend Jessica. We spent a long time and a little money there before we headed back to the boutiques on South Congress since we didn't get a chance to see them all on Saturday. Keri found an AWESOME teal parasol to shield her from the sun. As we walked out of the store and Keri opened her parasol a woman driving her car pulled over to the side of the road to ask Keri where she got her parasol. Talk about purchase satisfaction!

We hit up Amy's ice cream on the way to the airport (another request of Keri's) and then, sadly, said good bye as I dropped her off at the curbside checkin. I'm so glad that Keri was able to come visit and we really had a blast. Keri is the perfect guest. She is just the right amount of decisive and flexible to make for an enjoyable time. It's a good thing I will see her again next month or I would have cried (even more) all the way home from the airport.