First Impressions – Austin, Texas
Ten more days and I will be home. After nearly seven months without a home, home is a strange thought. I feel like I might pinch myself only to wake up and find this was all a dream.
So that February weekend of work in Austin was a harbinger of good things to come. My husband took a job in Austin and we’re back in our beloved Texas. This time I hope to stay.
I love this state. And here in the heart of Texas, I almost feel as though I’m in another country. It’s hours of driving in any direction to visit another state…or another country! It’s only May and it’s hot as…well we all know where. AND FINALLY…we are back to the land of Tex Mex. I can’t tell you how many fish tacos and chips and salsa and chips and queso orders I’ve consumed in the two weeks we’ve been here. It just isn’t the same elsewhere. I think that wannabe Tex Mex restaurants in other states need to discover a couple ingredients – cilantro and peppers. You know even jalapenos would be a good start…but why stop there? Branch out. Serranos, anchos, habaneros, tomatillos, chiles and many more peppers are just waiting to be invited outside of Texas.
Austin has it’s own set of beauty rules. I haven’t learned them all yet, but here are a few I have observed.
1. The more ink and piercings the better.
2. Dreadlocks are mainstream.
3. If you have an infant it’s best to let it all hang out to breastfeed in public.
4. Plastic surgery has not found its way here. The amount of skin people show here seems directly proportional to the number of curves in all the wrong places.
5. Beauty is on the inside. People here have been kind and warm and friendly. And SMART! So snappy and witty. Truly interesting.
So it’s in this beautiful town that we’re putting down roots in a small suburban home made of white Texas stone. We’ll hang our son’s lone star with pride and pray to God this is one dream that just won’t end.