Mr. Siss and I managed to leave around 5 pm, the Tuesday night of that week. I was feeling all proud of myself because I managed to get all of my baked goods packed up nicely. I have never really baked in my life, hence all the self-congratulation and sense of accomplishment. I had pumpkin break cupcakes with cream cheese icing, a loaf of pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, and a whole pan of apple crisp.
We had some visiting and school touring to do before meeting up with everyone on Wednesday night. We broke up the drive and stayed with my friend, Jeff, in Fort Worth before heading down to Austin. The family was convening for a few days in Austin, all driving in from various parts of the state. All five of us, plus two dogs, would be sharing a two-room sweet at the Wyndham Garden Hotel (read: not near as nice as a real deal Wyndham) just near downtown. I don't mean to rip on this hotel, but when you say the room (called a cabina. really?) overlooks the pool and then it faces the back of the exercise room and you can't even see the pool, that's annoying. And why would you go to all the trouble and expense to put in a kitchen, complete with full size refrigerator, dishwasher, sink, and microwave, and then supply it with n-o-t-h-i-n-g? I just don't get that. Four styrofoam cups. That's it. Anyway, enough complaining about the hotel. It served us well and my mom was even generous enough to foot the bill for us! Yay Mom!
Emily, the lovely redhead you see above and one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world (and former roommate, last year), was kind enough to host Thanksgiving dinner at her place. My aunt and uncle (upper left picture in above collage) drove down from Dallas that day and came over, too. Jason and Maria did double duty, eating at her family's house and then coming over to join us. I really doubted their eating abilities, but they came through and then some! My brother had seconds, and dessert! He ordered a Greenberg smoked turkey and had it sent to Austin from east Texas. It's definitely my favorite way to have Thanksgiving turkey - SMOKED.
On Friday the ladies enjoyed a lovely day of shopping. No, we are not hardcore enough to get up early and go to all the big box stores, fighting crowds and looking for deals. No deal is that sweet for my liking. We went and checked out this new-ish part of Austin (2nd Street) where they have some little boutiques and various shops. None of us had been there before, so we wanted to scope it out. We went to this great little place (if I remember the name, I will come back here and link it) that even served us mimosas while we shopped! My mom bought me this super cute necklace and we had a lot of fun just trying different things on and taking our time. Hangin' out. Then, since we couldn't really afford anything else in their shops, we headed off to Marshalls! Ha ha. I had to go back to my old shopping spot. It paid off. I bought two adorable dresses, one that my mom thought was way too tight and then I bought it anyway. The ladies that were working the dressing room were all winking at me on the side while I tried it on, like, "Yeah girl, don't listen to yo momma. That dress is hot on you! Mmm hnh."
Friday night we all met up for dinner at Curra's. Holy crap. The enchiladas were amazeballs. The Chiapas enchiladas...I'm tellin' you. Mr. Siss went into food coma for a bit. He was so happy.
Saturday morning it was time to part ways. Always the sad part. My brother would be leaving for Baja in a few weeks. My sister-in-law would be holding down the homestead in South Padre while he's away. So I knew it would be a while before I saw them again. Sad face. Luckily I will be seeing my mom for a couple of days over Christmas before we head to Alaska. Overall, it was an excellent holiday (would've been better if we could've seen Dad) and I really have so very much for which I am very grateful.
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