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Gruene Market Days

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:21:33 +0000

Have you visited historic Gruene, Tx. lately? Do you love antiques and collectibles and hidden little towns that just take your breath away? Well, if you haven’t been to this charming little hill country town located on the beautiful Guadalupe River, hop in the car for a trip back in time to this delightful litte gem located just 30 minutes north of San Antonio and about an hour south from Austin. Gruene Market Days are held on the 3rd full weekend of each month February – November from 10-5pm. Not only will you find beautiful outdoor plants and homemade jams and jellies to delight, but also wonderful local artisans displaying their art for sale. And if that isn’t enough, you can explore the shops that line the streets and eat at some of the wonderful award winning restaurants like The River House Tea Room which in my opinion is one of the best restaurants in Central Texas! Gruene also has delightful little shops lining both sides of main street. What a wonderful place to shop for those unique gifts that are sure to surprise and delight the lucky recipients. And just think, you are supporting someone’s dreams when you purchase something he or she has created with their heart and hands. And if you wander over to Gruene Hall which boasts the proud moniker of “ Oldest Dance Hall in Texas”, you can grab a cold drink and enjoy live music, too! Who knows who will be playing there? You might just be lucky and catch Lyle Lovett! What a great place to spend the day and evening!

Enjoy the slide show and be sure and visit Gruene, Tx on one of our beautiful hill country weekends! [[Show as slideshow]]

Arbor Trails

admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:35:28 +0000

Arbor Trails Austin, Tx.

Locatd southwest of the William Cannon exit off Mopac is a delightful hidden jewel for runners, walkers, and bike riders, the Arbor Trails Hike and Bike Trail. With its crushed granite (gentle on our joints), beautiful landscaping, and canopy of oaks and cedars, you forget that you are just a few hundred yards off Mopac and William Cannon. It is also a pet-friendly trail where most owners do clean up after their pets, so that is wonderful as well! There is even a delightful water feature on the backside of the trail (yes, it still has water!) and the sunsets are just gorgeous from this spot. Rest benches are located in several spots along the trail and the loop goes around the Arbor Trails Shops, so you can grab a bite to eat at one of the local restaurants like Chuy’s, Cheddar’s, Dimassi’s Mediterranean Grill, Firehouse Subs, Panda Express, Red Brick Pizza, Smoothie King, etc. which are located inside the hiking trail. You can also shop at Costco and Steinmart or Wine Styles while you are there! So much to offer and right here in our very own Southwest Austin neighborhood. Local subdivisions to check out if you want to be able to just walk to the trail, Western Oaks and Westcreek.

Call us for more info as we walk this trail almost daily!

Austin Named No. 2 in Top 10 Hot Spots for 2009!

admin — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:11:50 +0000

Our lovely Austin hits the Top 10 List again! This time it is named number 2 Hot Spot for Top Travel Picks for 2009 in a survey by Sherman Travel. Nestled right between No. 1 Tasmania and No. 3 Cappadocia, Turkey, Austin was only one of the two U.S. cities to make the list! And it is our unique blend of eclectic, funky, and fabulous music and restaurants which brought us to the attention of those compiling “cool” places that are a “Must See in 2009″! And let’s face it, we are a lot easier to get to than Tasmania or Turkey!Here is a short excerpt from the article,”Must See Places in 2009″,

…2. Austin’s superlative live music scene may have made the city famous, but this hip Texas capital city’s quirky charm extends far beyond its melodic beats. Largely enriched by the dynamic energy of the homegrown University of Texas, Austin boasts the Lone Star State’s best cultural offerings, with numerous galleries, museums, and music venues (more than 100 in all!) alongside some more unexpected attractions — like the summer congregation of some million bats by the Congress Avenue Bridge — without sacrificing its appealing small-town feel. Combine that with more than 300 sunshine-filled days a year, and it’s little wonder that Austin’s consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the U.S.

Why Go In 2009: Sure, traveling abroad can be a pricey venture in these trying economic times, but who says you need to leave America to escape it? Austin, whose unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird,” offers the American traveler a rare U.S. city vacation destination that’s devoid of the cookie-cutter commercial strips found nearly everywhere else — in fact, all chain and big-box stores (think McDonald’s and Walmart) are pleasantly absent from the downtown area, giving way to hundreds of sensational local businesses that can only be experienced in Austin. What’s more, some exciting new music festivals are slated for autumn 2009: Look for the Texas Wine & Song Festival in October and the punk and indie rock Fun Fun Fun Fest in November.

“Unplugged at the Grove” Shady Grove Cafe Austin, Tx.

admin — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:05:31 +0000

If you haven’t heard about KGSR’s (Radio 107.1) www.kgsr.com free Thursday night concerts at the Shady Grove in Austin, Tx., then you have been missing some incredible music. The “Unplugged at the Grove” concert series begins in April and runs through Sept. 25th this year. You still have time to make next week’s concert which will be the phenomenal Alejandro Escovedo! You can bring a blanket for the lawn or sit in one of the many chairs that the Shady Grove has so conveniently set up for the hundreds that throng there on Thursday nights. When you stroll on in, do try some of the Shady Grove’s wonderful food, too. We were amazed at how fast we had service and our food, even with so many people. Great servers, great service, and totally awesome food and music! Last night found me munching down on the best chicken tacos ever and happily hanging out with friends up from New Braunfels under those enormous pecan trees in perfect 70+ degree weather.! We were in heaven as we sat enjoying our dinners while listening to some of the best blues around with award winning bluesman, Gary Clark Jr. Wow! Life just doesn’t get any better than this….

Clark also was featured in the 2007 film, The Honeydripper. Check out his music here:01-tribute-to-albert-collins or www.garyclarkjr.com Gary Clark Jr. Winner of Austin Music Awards 2008 Best Blues Musician and Best Electric Guitarist and 2007 Best Blues Artist p

MFF

FFarch 14, 2007 Gary was chosen at the Austin Music Awards.

Texas scores big in U.S. Job Market!

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:28:54 +0000

We live in an incredible state, Texas! (Yes, even with Ike taking a big swipe at us!) With the housing market in most parts of the country in a slump and with jobs in a serious decline in other parts of our country, Central Texas remains strong in both areas. A recent report in a national business journal shows Texas leading with the top 3 job spots! Yes, we are no. 1,2,3 and NATIONWIDE for job market strength! Wow! And San Antonio is in there, too. It scored No. 6 out of 100! Houston, Austin, and Dallas-Ft. Worth rounded out the top 3 spots! See the article in its entirety at http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/200.html”>employment rankings of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas.

From the article, …”Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth are 1-2-3 in the latest employment rankings of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. The three Texas markets have added a total of 107,200 private-sector jobs since mid-2007, while keeping their unemployment rates below 5 percent.

Texas’ impressive performance, ironically enough, is partially the result of higher energy costs, the same factor that has bedeviled much of the rest of the nation.

‘The state’s natural resources and mining industry, helped by higher oil prices, posted an annual employment growth rate of 6.4 percent from June 2007 to June 2008 and ranked first among Texas industries in employment-growth rate,” said a midyear report from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.

Texas also has been able to avoid the mortgage bubble that burst with devastating impact in other high-growth states such as California and Florida. bizjournals study in March identified Houston as one of the nation’s 10 most-affordable housing markets, with Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin close behind in 15th and 22nd place, respectively.

So, if you are thinking of moving here, give me a call…Texas is a fantastic place to live and play and just enjoy life to the fullest!

And if after looking for a job here, you find yourself downtown, do yourself a favor and check out some of our fantastic restaurants for lunch or dinner. That is what I did recently…with an incredible lunch of almond encrusted trout and fresh steamed veggies at the scrumptous Louie’s 106 which is billed as a Mediterranean Grill and Tapas Bar. You will find Louie’s on our infamous 6th Street at 106 6th Street www.louies106.net . It was a wonderfully delicious way to try some of their fine dining menu without the $$ cost of the dinner. Lunch is served from 11am-5pm Mon-Friday. (Saturday and Sunday Louie’s opens at 5 pm for dinner only). But during the week, they also have a great happy hour from 4-7 with half-price appetizers that are just succulently sinful! My favorite is a toss-up between the escargot which is sauteed in white wine and a walnut-herb butter sauce and their gazpacho andaluz which features fresh crabmeat and avocado swimming on the top! MMMM…hungry yet? !