Ladies' Weekend

What better way to celebrate Labor Day weekend than to take a break from anything that involves labor and stress? That was exactly my goal when I planned a trip to North Carolina with three of my close friends from Austin months ago. Granted, since that time, I've found myself remarkably devoid of all things stressful or laborious, but I still appreciated the weekend away! And I know my friends, who are in the middle of the busy season at their work, loved the relaxation and beautiful setting (not to mention that their Blackberries hardly got reception in the mountains!)

We set out from Austin on an early morning flight, having given ourselves plenty of time, but arrived at the airport to the longest security line that any of us had ever seen. Apparently, one of the two main security checkpoints was not able to raise their gate that morning, and therefore we all had to suffer. Not cool at 6:00 a.m.! After over an hour in line, we ran to our gate and narrowly made our flight. Once on board, we relaxed and settled in for a great weekend to come.

First stop in Asheville was the Biltmore Estate, built by wealthy George Vanderbilt and known as the largest residence in the United States. We toured through the massive house, marveled at the gardens and drove through acres upon acres of land as we exited.

The girls on their inaugural visit to the Biltmore



Picturesque gardens



After a quick stop at 12 Bones for a late lunch, we set out for Cashiers, final destination: Mountaintop. Other than some mild confusion courtesy of my bad sense of direction and a touch of car sickness as we wound around the mountain roads, the drive was very entertaining. We arrived and headed straight to dinner at the club, where we were seated and immediately served complimentary cocktails, under the guise that this was 'Ladies' Weekend.' While this was a very sweet gesture, clearly the male bartender mistook us for a bunch of girly girls and made some awful Midori drinks. Each of us politely took turns pouring most of our drinks out under the table (we were outside) when no one was looking! We're pretty sure that there is now florescent green grass growing in those spots...

The following day, we awoke with the excitement that only the start of college football season can bring! Neither Florida nor Texas played particularly well, but school colors were donned, cheering commenced, beers were consumed and everyone walked away with a victory. Not a bad day!

Day three of our vacation meant that it was time to get off of our butts and explore nature. How could we resist when we were in such a beautiful setting? We set out for Yellow Mountain, the highest peak around from what we were told. We drove down a suspiciously narrow road that we were not sure we were supposed to be driving on, parked and began our hike. It was breath taking from the top and we all made it back in one piece. Success!

Up we go



View from the top of the Ranger's lookout



Taking a breather...from these pictures, I was really glowing this day



As a reward for exerting ourselves physically, we went out to dinner at lovely restaurant down the mountain. The food was good and the company was of course second to none, but the service left a lot to be desired. Perhaps the waiter was intimidated by four loud, outspoken girls, but he certainly didn't go out of his way to enhance our dining experience. In fact, he hardly even asked us for our order! Very strange behavior for someone who is working for tips, don't you think? After dinner, we headed home and made a desperate attempt to secure some dessert from the club, to no avail. We begged both the guard at the front gate and the valet guys for cookies, and we're 99% sure that they all thought we were smoking crack. It made our night!

Prom picture before heading to dinner



Our last full day of our North Carolina vacation was full of activity. We kicked things off with some exercise up and down the mountain hills (impressed?) and then set out for a boat ride at the lake club. The weather could not have been more beautiful and the scenery was amazing. Common theme, I know!

Morning cocktails on the boat



Self portrait



Natural beauty abounds



We spent our last night thanking our hosts (my parents) by cooking dinner for them. What else would we make but a Tex Mex fiesta? Allison manned the grill, Emy was on queso duty and Mandy ran point on everything else (especially the clean-up detail). Dinner was delicious, but paled in comparison to the gorgeous sunset afterward. All in all, the trip was a resounding success, and we all returned to Austin rested and happy, albeit in the middle of Tropical Storm Hermine. It was a great Ladies' Weekend indeed!

Giant pumpkin patch



The chefs



The hosts



Is this even real?

For Sale

No, I'm not for sale, and neither is my blog. But, my house is!

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As you may have heard, Austin, TX is one of the best places to live in the United States today. Some evidence to back up my claims:

The Mother Nature Network recognizes Austin as one of the 10 greenest cities in the country.

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Not too shabby, right? Pass this along and help me sell my house! Muchas Gracias!

My Best Friend's Wedding

I'll be the first to admit that leaving Australia was much harder than I had expected. And if I wasn't returning to the States to attend the wedding (eight years in the making) of one of my very best friend from college, I'm not sure that I would have come back! I returned to Austin for a brief three day layover, and I mean that in the most literal sense of the word as I was lying in bed for most of that time. The jetlag combined with lack of sleep during my last weekend in Oz nearly did me in! One of the few things I did during my short stay in Austin was meet two of my favorite partners in crime for some Mexican food, margaritas and a much needed catch-up session.

Has anyone seen our other Bree?



My next stop was Cashiers, NC, en route to Clayton, GA for the wedding. This worked out perfectly as I got to visit with my grandparents, eat at my favorite local bbq joint, spend a night with my parents at their mountain house and be reunited with Bailey! The drive to Clayton was less than an hour from there and the wedding festivities got underway the next day.

12 Bones with Big Daddy and Jean



After much anxiety and concern about the weather holding out for the outside wedding, the day turned out to be beautiful and the ceremony went off without a hitch! There were even some gunshots off in the distance...we were in rural Georgia after all. Meghan and Mike have been dating since we were in college at the University of Florida, and they looked so happy on their big day that it brought a tear to my eye (or was that tear because I'm now one of the last single girls still standing?).

The beautiful bride



Kirsten, the next to get hitched (and my twin separated at birth)!



JoAnn, who recently learned what a french fried potato was...



The party following the wedding was one of the best in recent memory. We danced until late into the night and then Jaime and I apparently raided the fridge and ate the O'Malleys out of all of their cheese. Very strange behavior, but it made sense to us at the time!

Where the girls are the fairest...



J-Pratt, vW and Metzger



The 8 (including a stand-in for Beatriz...the resemblance was uncanny!)



Cheers!



Jaime and I were lucky enough to get to spend an unexpected extra night with the newlyweds in Georgia before hitching a ride with them down to Florida. Bailey also got to come along for the ride. Once in Orlando, I had a fabulous time with my family and friends. My niece stole the show of course; she is just too cute for words (me, biased?). I made sure to sneak in a few days at New Smyrna Beach and hit up two of my favorite NSB institutions - Mon Delice Bakery and JB's Fishcamp. They did not disappoint!

Love her to pieces



This explains why my phone bill was so high this month!



Swimming at the club



My dad always says the ocean cures everything. I think he's right!



Ahhhh...



Just some of the ambiance at JB's



They also had a picture of Tim Tebow hanging from a pipe...love this place



One of the best parts of Meghan and Mike's nuptials was that we got to celebrate them again the next weekend at a party in Orlando. The Florida girls were in attendance, as was Jaime, who also stuck around an extra week to be there.

Comedic duo: V-Dub and the former O'Malley



Apparently we love big belts



Bailey and I are now safely back in Austin, catching up with our friends here and figuring out our next move!

The Life of Byron

My last weekend in Australia (sniff, sniff) was nothing short of a blowout! It started with a trip down to the Gold Coast to see the quality crew down there, and ended with an amazing night in Byron Bay. If I was going to have to leave, this was the best send off I could have imagined!

The night on the Gold Coast started with dinner at Mai Thai, where the food was abundant and the wine was flowing. We then headed over to a bar called Shuck for the remainder of the evening and finished out the night with an impromptu afterparty at Steve's place.

At Shuck with Filo and Kiersten



Love the Gold Coast!



Me, Kiersten and the Whole Package



Note to self: never pass out at an afterparty...



After employing various recovery methods (coffee, going for a swim, etc), Steve, Filo, Simon and I hopped in the car for a last minute roadtrip to Byron Bay. We started the trip off the right way by stopping at the Manolas Brothers Deli in Broadbeach for breakfast. Then we were on our way. What started as a three person trip eventually expanded into eight, and we had a blast!

We started the trip with a climb up to the lighthouse that looks out over Byron Bay and is the most Easterly point in all of Australia.



Shadow of the lighthouse in the surf below



In the window of the lighthouse



Begging to have their picture taken (only fair since I was crashing boys' weekend and all)



We then recovered back in our room at the Belongil Beachhouse as everyone else arrived.

Bunk Buddies!



Steve took charge of rationing the tequila



From there, it was time to hit the town and we didn't stop until well into the morning!

Checking out some reggae music at the brewery



Me and the lovely Sharon



Triple S - Sharon, Simon and Sacha



This picture speaks for itself (and says 'WTF?')



With Filo at the Beachy



Chris (Yes Man) getting his groove on at the Beach Bar



Solid crew



Lounging on the beach before we made the trip home



Wish we could have stayed longer, but our time in Byron was well spent. I hope to go back again someday soon!

A couple of the most memorable quotes from the weekend:

"Have you heard the latest about Bob Seger? He's still running against the wind."

"I eat because I'm sad. And I'm sad because I eat."