Austin Livin'

This weekend was a food, friends and art filled weekend for the Austin Luskeys and we must say, we are getting the hang of this Austin livin' thing! Saturday was the Art City Austin festival as well as The Alliance Austin Actors Fair which were both fun and informative. I went to the actors fair to attempt to establish some casting contacts here in Austin and so far so great! I have a lunch meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss how I can get more involved in the Austin casting/acting communities. The art festival was a great way to spend some time outdoors and interact with the nation's most talented artists. Brian and I had a great time pretending we had a mile-high pile of cash we needed to spend on art and deciding which pieces we wanted to take home. The good thing is, we are both drawn to the same styles of art and appreciate photographs, paintings and sculptures with a sense of humor and whimsy.

The entrance to the Art City Austin festival.

(Look closely on the lefthand side and you'll see an

Austinite wearing a sombrero and riding a unicycle!)

Close-up of a multi layered, metal photograph

of Austin's famous South Congress Street!

We also tried an awesome, new restaurant called Eastside Cafe. Get a load of our romantic, date night cuisine:

Plate #1:

Panko & Pecan Encrusted Chicken with Jalapeno Cream Gravy,

Mashed Potatoes & Field Greens

Plate #2:

Four Jumbo Fried Shrimp

with Crispy Fries and Apple Pecan Slaw

Side Dish:

Miso Ginger Acorn Squash

And this is how Markley spent her weekend while her parents were out exploring...

Watching television... in the coffee table...

Snuggling with her favorite toy!

Ps. Today marks Day #16 in my 30 Day Challenge - more than half way there! I'll admit, I've failed on the "blog every day" goal, but I've succeeded on the much more personal and important goals of taking time for myself and reflecting on what I really want and need out of this next chapter in my life. I think giving myself a moment to breathe without the pressure to hurry up and decide has been the greatest gift of all. It's also given me the extra patience I need as we are now on Day #2 of Markley's biggest challenge yet... crate training!