Review: Voodoo Doughnut V Austin

It's truly a shame that Voodoo Doughnut has been in Austin for nearly a year and I didn't make it over until yesterday. When we lived downtown, it would have been an easy (and dangerous!) jaunt that we probably would have made every month or so. Anyway, it was well overdue, and so we headed that way as soon as we were up and around.

6th Street Austin is very different at 8:30 AM on Saturday than it is during the weekdays or on weekend nights. Basically, it's dead. We could have parked right in front of the door but didn't because I didn't know this at the time and didn't feel like fighting for parking when the situation is what it is any other time, so I parked a couple of blocks away. Now I know, and now you know. Metered parking charges don't start until 11 AM, so as long as you're and and out by then, even if the storefront is full (as it was when we left a bit after 9), you can still park a few shops away and not pay.

The moon was out, even though the people weren't.

Actually, there *are* a few people out on the streets in downtown Austin at 8:30 on Saturday morning. They are: Fitness enthusiasts, homeless people (we've missed them since moving away), and other people going to Voodoo Donut.

Voodoo Donut started in Portland, Oregon, where there are now two outlets of the shop. There is another in Eugene, OR, and a fourth in Denver, Colorado. Austin is the fifth shop, and just so you know: all of them take cash only. There is a convenient (if spendy) ATM in the store, in case you forgot.

My first impression upon entering: This place is too cool and quirky for me to be allowed in. It's the kind of doughnut shop I'd like to be if I were a doughnut shop, but I'd probably only be like a Ken's Donuts or maybe a Donut Hole. Anyway, I was quickly put at ease by the number of families who were there getting their iced yeast bread fix. Again, I'm sure the clientele was totally different five hours before we got there, just after the bars closed. I'll bet those are some good times.

There are display carousels and menus around, in case you didn't memorize what you wanted before you got there. Each carousel has a shelf that is labeled vegan, so you know what to order if that's how you roll.

 

The vegan 'nuts

We ordered several we'd decided in advance we *had* to have. James: Voodoo (voodoo doll with a pretzel stake and chocolate icing, filled with raspberry jelly/blood), pothole (cream-filled bar, chocolate icing, crushed Oreos, and white icing "stripes" down the road), and bacon maple bar (just what it sounds like). Moi: mango tango (mango-filled, vanilla frosting, with Tang powder dusting the top) and Memphis Mafia (fried dough with bananas and cinnamon, topped with glaze, chocolate frosting, peanut butter, peanuts and chocolate chips... because I like to keep it subtle). Then we got a Voodoo for D and a plain chocolate doughnut for Mal.

I was not prepared for how big the Memphis Mafia was going to be. I took this as a comparison, but it was really about four times the size of the chocolate doughnut, if you add in the height and total spread. And the chocolate-iced doughnut isn't a mini, either.

After we sat down, I really looked around to appreciate the fun decor of the place. I especially liked their simulated trees with signature doughnuts adorning the limbs.

Another fun thing is the chalkboard paint in the stalls of the restroom. Kept my little 'un busy whilst I conducted some business. (This isn't what he drew, but I'm sure he was feelin' it.)

The doughnuts were excellent. I mean, doughnut dough should be doughnut dough, but it's tastier some places than others (like Round Rock Donuts has it down with their egg yolk base, whereas Krispy Kreme, though fine, is just like puffy air coated with different toppings or pumped with fillings, and it doesn't really taste like you've eaten anything other than sugary air). And some places must not fry their doughnuts in hot enough oil because they're greasy (not mentioning any names) or the opposite of Krispy Kreme, where they're so dense (not in a good cake donut way, but like a day-old smooshed donut that used to be maybe good), they're easy to dismiss as "not real food."

The doughnuts here are a good bread product by themselves. I'd eat one that wasn't iced or glazed. It is a yeasty, light (but not too airy) yellowish fried bread. They don't feel greasy (though our take-home box attests to some oil now that it's Day Two), and they don't taste heavy. And the icings and toppings don't seem to have been mass-produced three years ago, nor do they dry to a crunch on the top of the doughnuts.

I'd have taken one of each from this shelf, if I only had a week to live, anyway.

We have to go back! There are several more that I really want to try. One they have advertised in the store, but not their website: the viscous hibiscus, which has hibiscus frosting and is half-dipped in chocolate sprinkles. But I also want to sample the glazed buttermilk bar and the grape ape (vanilla frosting, grape "dust," and lavender sprinkles.)

That's one more thing: Thinking to use instant beverage powder (Tang, tea, lemonade, and grape, from what I can tell) is a stroke of genius that is so simple, I can't believe it wasn't utilized earlier. 

So, go ahead, even if you can't drive to downtown Austin at the moment (or Portland, Eugene, or Denver), look over here at their menu and see if you can't whip up the inspiration to do it soon! You'll be glad that you did.

The Austin Voodoo Donut is open 24 hours, and you can even get married there, if you really want do. Details on the website.

Austin's Bike Lanes, a tutorial

Austin is one of those places that really wants to be bike friendly, and that almost *is* bike friendly... Just that not everyone's on board yet. 

First thing I'll say is that people don't tend to be openly hostile to me as a bike rider. Austin's a little too laid back for that. If anything, they go overboard to be "nice." I'll be approaching a 4-way stop, and a motorist will be stopped; instead of going when they see me, they hit the brakes again just to make sure I'm actually going to observe the stop sign. Well, I am... so GO. Don't waste my time! Admittedly, sometimes, after I've started decelerating and they're still not moving, I'll shake my head, start pumping, and go on through without stopping because... why???

However, people don't seem to understand things about the new bike lanes that are starting to proliferate the city.

Heading north from MLK on Rio Grande. Bi-directional on the same side, even!

These lanes? People seem to understand them. They've been around for a long time. They're clearly marked, and while I've seen several delivery or moving trucks parked in the lanes to load/unload, they tend to be free of vehicles or pedestrians.

However...

Awesome protected bike lane going south on Guadalupe from 24th to MLK.

Guadalupe still has the old-school "here, ride in the gutter, cyclist" lane northbound, but this lane southbound has opened since we moved to the Nuthaus in 2013. It's great! The lane is specially surfaced (which I like except after it's rained; I've seen a couple of bikes hydroplane as they came into a stop or turn too fast when the road was damp) to be smooth, and it's protected from traffic by parking.

Therein lies one problem: You're supposed to park, look both ways, then cross to the sidewalk. But no. Many pedestrians, during particularly busy times, will avoid the people-packed sidewalks and use this cool new apparently deserted boulevard. I don't have a bell anymore (mine fell off), so you'll have to excuse me when I scream at you as I approach at 12 miles per hour or so.

Yesterday when Mal and I were riding, a guy parked, saw his friends huddled around a news stand about half a block away, and started slowly meandering toward them, trash-talking the whole way. In the bike lane. "EXCUSE ME!" and he moved in good humor. I should have waited longer to alert him. A li'l pee in the old pants might cure this guy of this forever.

You know what this lane is *not*? It is NOT MOTORCYCLE PARKING. For the first time, also yesterday, I saw an entire motorcycle parked length-wise across the bike lane. Ironically, the parking space to the left of it was empty! There was no way to get up on the sidewalk, and I was fortunately able to use the empty parking space to get around the motorcycle, but if someone had backed into the spot or there had been a car there, I would have had to dismount and walk around the obstruction.

Finally, yesterday I ended up behind two cyclists originally using the lane in the way it was intended, albeit much more slowly than I desired to ride. I was waiting for an open space to get past them, as they were riding two-along. Then I think they saw a place they wanted to eat, and they slowed and finally stopped, maybe to read the menu posted in the window, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE.

They were appropriately sheepish when I screamed (I wasn't startled; it was the third obstacle in half a mile, so I was on guard), so I think they'll not stop in the bike lane any further.

Today, for the first time (probably surprisingly) I was almost struck by a vehicle turning right. Memo to motorists: when turning right across a bike lane, look first! It's just like turning right from the middle lane, even though that's the only lane available to you. Not only did she turn, she started to turn and realized traffic was backed up, and stopped in the middle of the bike lane! Meanwhile, I had a green light and was headed full-bore through the intersection. (No contact; we're all fine.)

New lanes partially open and partially still under construction going east and west on 3rd Street.

As you can see from the picture above, downtown, trucks do use the bike lane to load and unload. I guess that's kosher, but weaving in and out of traffic (when there is some) makes me nervous; I'd rather just ride in the street. When it's clear, it's wonderful! These are also very smoothly-surfaced.

To recap, use the bike lanes thusly:
1) To ride a bicycle.
2) To stop on a bicycle because you are at a light or have to yield to a pedestrian, as indicated in the lane.
3) To quickly mount or dismount your bicycle.
4) As a pedestrian to get from your car to the sidewalk and/or back.
5) As a pedestrian to get from the sidewalk to the crosswalk and/or back.

I think that's about it!

Oh, another request? If you're parallel parking, please be careful! There are those flexible barriers, but if you hit one of them, you're probably going to give an oncoming cyclist a heart-attack. :)

And, yes, I know there are rude cyclists. I can be one. But the bike lanes give such a sense of security, they should be secure places!

KTHXBAI

Review: Arturo's Underground Cafe and Bakery

One of our favorite places to eat around here is Arturo's Underground Cafe at 314 W. 17th Street. During the week, they operate as a take-out and bakery, serving sandwiches, breakfast tacos, quesadillas, and pastries. If you look on Yelp, they have very good reviews. We've never been during the week, though.

We've always gone to their weekend brunches, when the cafe is open. I can't believe I haven't written about it before, but since we did a first today, I decided to let you guys in on our secret!

The cafe is literally underground. That window in the background is just above sidewalk level. On the bar to the side, they have all of their condiments and coffee, tea, ice, etc. If you ever visit their restroom (which appears to be just past the bus sink) and see how tiny their kitchen is, you'll know why they bring as much of the cafe operations downstairs as possible!

On the weekends, they have a more limited menu than during the week, apparently. We've never had any problem with choices, whether we wanted something savory (James always does) or sweet. Or a mix. They used to have on the menu a Mexican/French toast, which was made with their cheese jalapeno bread. Although it's no longer featured, they still have the bread and they still offer French toast, so I'll bet you could talk them into it.

They do have a really good Caribbean French toast now, which is made with rum caramel and bananas. I thought I'd end up with left-overs, but no.

Today, however, due to my and my baby's feeling under the weather and our not wanting to fight the closed streets for a bike race after yesterday's Longhorn Run "fun," we ended up not going to church (and, in fact, vowing not to get in the car at all) and finally made it to Arturo's "Heathen Happy Hour."

What is Heathen Happy Hour? It's from 10-12 (church hours, typically, see?) on Sundays, and they have $3 mimosas (that's a buck off regular) or a pitcher (about four drinks) for $10, AND *FREE* chocolate chip cookies as long as they last!

I started off with a Mimosa and chocolate chip cookie (fresh out of the oven!).

The cookies were delicious and had a real "homemade" feel about them (as opposed to the cookies we get across the street, which I love, but which are very uniform in shape whereas these look like they're crafted more by hand). My husband tasted his and saved all but that bite for proper dessert, but I think he's from another planet because there was no way I could let a warm cookie cool like that.

In addition to the fun offerings on the menu, there was this:

... which is what James got. I ordered something I've had my eye on for a long time: bagel and lox. Pretty straight-forward, but we've been several places here in Austin AFTER church, and they've always already run out of lox! Since we'd gotten to Arturo's just as it was opening, I knew this was my shoo-in opportunity.

I got a plain bagel, but you can choose an "everything" if you want. It was piping hot and very tender! This made a great, fresh, satisfying sandwich.

That's James' Chupacabra (with the cookie waiting on him... weird-o) and it was fabulous! There was a lot going on, flavor-wise, but nothing overwhelmed anything else. The Hollandaise was rich and creamy, and the poached eggs were absolutely perfect. The potatoes are well-seasoned with one side nice and crunchy from the pan, and the others soft. So good.

Now we just need to try Arturo's during the week. The menu looks a little cheaper, but the portion size is also smaller. James did have left-overs from his meal.

The weekend brunch, though, we can heartily recommend. I'm not telling you to skip church, either, but if you go to a church with Saturday night services or really early/late Sunday service, the Heathen Happy Hour is a fun little kick, too. Try to get there early, as the first batch of chocolate chip cookies is apparently the best!

The price for weekend brunch is a little higher than some of the other mom/pop places around here, but the food is elevated more than some of the places around here. My bagel and lox was $8.50 and James' meal was, as you can see, $13. With two mimosas and a coffee, it was about $33. We don't eat here super often, but Arturo's is tied with Clay Pit for the walking-distance restaurant we have patronized the most in the past two years.

Austin Google fiber space and event

This morning, we braved the "traffic delays" (dead stop for half an hour) to go downtown... And, yes, we could have walked faster, but my daughter had somewhere to be at 11, so we needed to be able to get out quickly (at which time the streets were back open again).

Where did we go?

The old Austin children's museum!

...Which is now the HQ for Google fiber here in Austin. We've been meaning to go check it out, anyway, but today they had an event, Saturday Morning Cartoons, wherein they were showing stuff from Disney Junior and, allegedly, XD (which is how we got my 13-year-old to go, though they never showed any XD when we were there), and having breakfast.

The first thing I have to tell you is that about nine months ago or so, there was a similar event at a downtown hotel that was a pancake breakfast (I think affiliated with ACL or some other larger event), and they took RSVPs, but they had reached their fire-marshal-approved limit about 20 minutes before the event even started, so even though we all got there when it was supposed to begin, we were turned away. So, I was a little nervous about arriving at this thing as it began, but our road was closed down for the run, and my teen doesn't do really early mornings.

However... there were more staff there than visitors when we arrived! (5:2 before we got there.)

First, the space.

It's a big, wide-open room with various couches and poofs on which you can sit and watch the big-screen television or use your own device using Google fiber's 1 gigabit internet. (See my girl there on the left in the "Gravity Falls" pine tree trucker hat? "Gravity Falls." You know, from Disney XD. We were kinda hoping.)

There is an interactive area to compare the regular internet speeds versus Google fiber. I loved the mouse. There are a couple of other televisions streaming programming, too. 

The space is very comfortable. A lot of the couches have blankets, in case you get chilly. Nice touch.

The Star Wars cartoon actually looked pretty interesting.

Also, there are signs up in the common area that say, basically, your presence is acknowledgement and agreement that you might be photographed and your image used without compensation or further permission, so if you don't like it, you

Today, though, was special. In addition to the displays, wi-fi, and complimentary copies of the NY Times newspaper, they provided...

... breakfast! Including...

...a doughnut bar! It included chocolate, glazed, blueberry, and cinnamon doughnut holes as well as scones. They had chocolate syrup, vanilla icing, maple syrup, sprinkles, and bacon bits for toppings!

Oh, and milk, coffee, and OJ.

I was super impressed by my idea of chocolate syrup and bacon. However, it was the cinnamon doughnut holes that were super addictive! Nonetheless, my husband ended up co-opting the choco-bacon thing, too.

If you're in the downtown area, Google fiber space is worth dropping into just to check it out. But you might as well take a gander at their website and see if anything special is going on. They have a couple of kick-off (and closing) happy hours coming up, and a tailgate party next Saturday afternoon!

An update on the Nuthaus and its surrounds

Well, it's official. There's a lockbox on our door, and we're planning to move when our lease is up this summer. We're looking in town, so will still be in a pretty urban area... but it won't be the same. That has its good points and its bad points.

We love walking everywhere. The walking score where we're looking is nowhere near as good as here. But we'll get to walk a bit further, so maybe get more exercise. And we'll get to know a new area of Austin. This part isn't the only cool part, right?

Someone stole one of our flamingos last night, which brings the stolen flamingo count up to 4, plus the one someone took then abandoned in the alley, and I found it and put it back.

Also, last night our neighbors had a very weird domestic dispute right outside of our bedroom window (the house is like 4 feet from ours) when the woman came home and couldn't get into the house. She said, "Seriously? You're going to be like this? Let me in! I want in the house!" This went on for about 10 minutes before she went upstairs and started trying to get him to open the door up there. Reminding him, "I have a key!" and yelling his name and, "Let me in the house!" THAT went on for about half an hour. I was seriously considering calling 311 because clearly she needed some help.

Side note: She's very sweet. She's offered to help me with my baby, if I need it, but I think I'll take a big old pass on that one for now.

Anyway, the better part of an hour after it started, the guy's voice chimes in. It didn't sound like he came from the house, so maybe he'd parked and walked to a bar or something? He said, "Just a second. I'll let you in." (She was upstairs at that door, and he was down at the lower entry.) He then said, "I found the other key." And we didn't hear anything after that. Weird stuff.

Today, a guy was walking by, saw Mal and me sitting out front, and stopped to chat with us. That happens a lot. But he told me I had a "little blessing" in my lap and said he had gotten 3 packages of wipes and would bring me one, leaving it on the bench cushion outside. Oookay.

Finally, I'm sad to say the crochet guy has disappeared! After like a year! The last time I saw him, I took him some cookies we'd made at a cookie exchange just before Christmas. I figured I'd do that first, and then next time I saw him, ask him what he was making. Now he's gone.

I rode down to get cat food today, and I love this neighborhood. I got a little misty-eyed sitting out on the porch today. This has been a great two years.

The Mission, should I choose to accept it...

It's been a while since I've posted to this blog, but I have a good excuse! I have a two-month-old who LOVES his mommy and can't seem to be around me enough. It's flattering, if exhausting, but I miss writing. Hopefully, within the next few months, we'll get onto some kind of nap schedule that allows me to do it some more. Baby steps. Literally.

I'm writing this because I want some accountability to do something that's way out of my comfort zone. First of all, I'm sad to say that I haven't seen "Grandpa" in months, and I hope hope hope that means he got into a long-term shelter or even that he was able to get off of the streets and into a permanent living situation.

The other day, I thought fondly and sadly of him when I saw another (unfamiliar) older guy walking around with his face pretty beat up: puffy (new) black eye with cuts and bruises, forehead bruise, face scratched up. I made it a point to make eye contact and say, "Hi." I wonder what caused the fight, and if it were reciprocal.

We love living near the UT campus and downtown, and homelessness and "feral people" are things we see every day. Still, we have a roof and doors and we are so far removed from it.

There is a gentleman who we've seen ever since we lived here, and he looks like a healthy and reasonably mentally sound person. I don't know where he sleeps, but he spends several hours of each day in the same place: a parking garage stairwell. It's right at the corner of Martin Luther King and Nueces, in the building that houses a dry cleaner and a Subway. It's where we climbed to the roof to watch fireworks last New Year's Eve.

But he doesn't just while away the hours staring off into space or talking to his invisible dog. No. This guy... crochets. He is always crocheting when I see him sitting there. The last time I saw him, it was a small white square using very fine yarn. I've seen him do longer pieces with bulkier stuff. I've never seen something as recognizable as, say, a sweater or anything... and here is where I'm challenging myself:

I want to ask him what he's making. I want to engage him. He is my neighbor. I see him at least twice a week, which is a lot more often than I see the people who live next door (which is about 5 times this whole year, although on Halloween the girl did offer to help me with the baby if I ever needed it... bless her).

As I was thinking about this, and in the middle of writing this blog post, yesterday, I saw him walking down our sidewalk, in front of our house. I was nursing at the time and while I don't mind nursing in the public that is our front porch, it's not the time I want to initially introduce myself to a potential friend. Besides, he seemed to be on his way somewhere. He has his backpack, and he has a crafting bag. I've seen him up Guadalupe a mile or so, too. But he's always around. And I want to know his story.

Maybe it's stupid that I have to put it out here and make it a "thing." My introvert husband just naturally connects with people. I wish that were the case with me, but it's not. So I'm asking you: In early 2015, ask me if I've talked with this gentleman. I hope I can tell you something more about him.

Austin Real Estate

We love our little lot here in the middle of the action. The only negative: because it's owned by someone else, we are not masters of our own destiny here. Well, and it's expensive. When our lease renewed in July, we were granted an increase of "only" 10% instead of the apparently typical 20% because we're such good tenants.

We'd love to buy a house in this ZIP code, but here's why we can't...

Yep, those are the only six properties for sale in this ZIP right now, and the cheapest one is $450,000. For a 1300-ish square foot condo.

We're not in the market to buy right this second, but I like to keep an eye open, both to have an idea of what's "out there," and on the slim chance that the most perfect, amazing fit opened up, we might be persuaded to jump on it.

There are lots of reasons not to move right now, but the two biggest are: 1) Our lease just renewed, and I prefer not to break leases (though I would for the perfect opportunity). 2) I'm about to have a baby. I did move when my daughter was 2 months old, and again when she was 8 months old, and I don't recommend it. Very stressful.

Also, my mother-in-law is visiting in a month or so, and we got her a hotel really close to our house. Plus, we have a vacation planned for late this winter, and I'd love to get that paid for and enjoy it before we have to think about the financial stuff related to moving. Plus, you know, the actual moving.

There are lots of reasons I don't necessarily care to own a home again (I've owned three and it's been hit-or-miss as to the financial benefit): 1) It's an anchor. 2) If you need to sell, you're at the market's whim. 3) Maintenance is expensive. 4) Property taxes are expensive, and mean you never actually own your home.

Anyway, we have looked at three properties in the past three or four months, because they were in areas we liked and were good deals, or the houses looked really neat (a lot of the houses on the market are absolute dogs, because it's a seller's market and they know they can get away with it). Twice, we have dealt with Realtors and once directly with the homeowner. We much preferred dealing with the homeowner, and I'll tell you why, in case you're a real estate agent and want to know what we're thinking after we interact with you.

The first house was one that was gorgeous online, but up close and in person needed a LOT of work. I mean, like $50,000 just to make it livable, and it was already at the top end of what we can afford. But I got in touch with an agent and said that we wanted to see the house, and made an appointment. When we got there, I realized that I'd left my phone at home but it didn't seem like a big deal. We knew that there were a lot of showings that day, so we just walked around the yard as there were already people inside the house.

We waited until about 10 minutes after we were supposed to meet the agent, and could already tell from walking around that the entire fence needed to be replaced; it was dangerous. We went ahead and walked into the house and realized it was a mobile home. That's not a deal-breaker, but the asking price was typical for a standard permanent home. The floor was rolling, and what we'd thought was maybe stained concrete (from the pictures) turned out to be old linoleum that had been painted white. The hall had drywall work that needed to be done, and they'd patched it to look "cool" using old newspapers. It was just a mess.

After about half an hour, we left because we knew we didn't want the house and because the real estate agent who'd been showing the house said she had to leave and lock up. I felt kind of bad about not meeting the agent, but he hadn't shown up, so it must not have been too important to him.

When we got home, there was a message waiting for me on my cell phone. It was the agent, and I called him back. He asked, "Was that you in the purple van?" Um, yes. He had watched us walk around the property and hadn't bothered to get out of his car because he figured if he called me, he'd see me answer the phone. That seemed crazy to me. How could you not just say, "Excuse me, are you...?" or even, "May I help you?" when people are walking unaccompanied around a property you have an appointment to show?

But to make matters worse, he said, "I had a whole list of properties in that area that I wanted to show you." So I told him the truth: We were not really in house-hunting mode, that most of the houses in that area did not appeal to us, and that the reason we wanted to see that house is that we liked THAT house. It spoke to us in pictures, even though the reality didn't turn out to be the same. It had been painted bright yellow with orange trim, and the living room was purple with wood accents. It was just quirky and "different" but they'd managed to weed out the icky stuff in the sales material.

He wanted to send us some emails, anyway, even though I told him it would probably be wasting his time as we weren't actually in the market to buy a house in general. Sure enough, everything he sent was inappropriate. So after we signed our lease renewal, I was able to tell him we'd committed to another year and he could stop sending us emails.

I have been a Realtor before. I was fortunate enough that I was a property manager and my pay wasn't dependent on sales or even rentals. I might have gotten a hundred bucks or so if I showed a house that was eventually leased, but it wasn't enough that I felt like I had a huge stake in whether or not someone rented the home I'd showed them. So I understand only in theory what living on commission means. Still, when someone tells you what they want (a particular property) and don't want (any old other property), it seems like you could avoid wasting your time by listening to them.

Here's the deal about me: I know my own mind. I will not add an ear of hot buttered corn on the cob to my order at KFC just because the lady at the drive-through suggests it (which is why I would not suggest it when I was in high school, and I got consistently poor reviews during my six-week employment). I can look through listings myself and know what might fit and what definitely won't. You can't plug in "3 bedrooms, 2 baths, good walk score" and automatically come up with properties that are going to fit my family. I can weed them all out and call you and if you would like to take time out of your schedule to show us exactly one house, then that's great. If not, I'm totally okay with being told, "No, I'm sorry. I only show houses to clients who have signed a contract" or whatever.

This last weekend, it was worse.

We went to an open house at a house in a neighborhood I have no idea why I even saw the house. I guess I was just trolling around James' work. The area does not excite us at all. It has a pretty restrictive HOA, which James HATES. But we actually liked the house quite a lot. The problem was the Realtor hosting the open house. She would not leave us alone. She was asking us every sales question in the book:

"What is to you the best feature of this house?"

"What is one negative feature of this house?"

"Can you imagine yourself here?"

When James found out about the HOA, he basically stated that was a deal-breaker, and she practically chastised him. She said, "Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices when we find a home we like." James said, "Honestly, I'd prefer to sacrifice the home than my ability to have chickens if I want." She said, "Well, sometimes we have to make compromises."

Then she started asking other questions. "So, you don't want an HOA, but you do like three bedrooms? Can I get your email address and send you some other listings in this area?"

We told her flat out that we were not interested in that area; we had only been interested in that house in particular. She said, "I understand. But if I can find out what you are looking for, I do concierge. I don't sent out automatic listings. I weed through them and only send you the best ones."

Ugh. So we told her we were not in a position to move right now and gave her the practically impossible parameters we were looking for here in town. She said that where we were looking was more expensive than we are willing to spend, but that one house we really liked that is currently not on the market as it's being renovated... the one where we dealt with the owner directly? It's right at the top of our spending budget and it's in an ideal area... AND I FOUND IT MYSELF.

After we left, we talked about it and its proximity to James' work plus the house itself really appealed to both of us. We actually made an appointment to go see it again, privately, with a different agent. I explained to him that the host had turned on the sales when we were there (a family came in and just wanted a flyer, but she said she'd be with them in a moment, and they got tired of waiting for her to finish talking to us so they left empty-handed).

Anyway, we realized as we talked last night and this morning that there is some paperwork we can't get until after the first of the year, so we won't be in a position to buy until 2015 (frankly, it's a load off, as far as I'm concerned).

Today, I received an email from the lady who hosted the open house we attended yesterday. I wrote her back to tell her that we weren't going to be able to buy for a few months, and she responded that she understood, "In a meantime I'd like to ask you for giving my information to your family, friends or neighbors. Probably somebody close to you is looking for a home to buy, sell or lease."

Um. No. I like my family and friends and don't want to refer someone who is getting on my nerves. It would be funny to give her card to the neighbors we know best, all of whom are homeless. But I respect them too much, as well.

Basically, if you're a real estate agent, I get it if you don't have time to show me one property. Just tell me. And I'll be honest and up front about where we are in the process. I don't want to waste your time OR mine, so if you can trust me that I know my mind and what I want and where we are in the process, I think we can avoid annoyances and frustration.

Besides, right now Austin is truly a seller's market. I'd think they could chill the heck out a little bit.

For what it's worth, I will say that if we do need to involve a real estate agent in the future, I will definitely use Redfin. Their agents are salaried and get a commission based on customer service feedback, not sales. Here's their listing and reviews of Austin agents.

Review: The Cutting Room, Austin, TX

Several months ago, my daughter decided to get her first "real" hair cut... meaning, an actual style rather than just trimming up the ends as we have done her entire life until now. Both because I do mystery shopping and am often offered quicky-chain-salon jobs and because it's difficult for the cheap-o in me to justify paying more than $15 or so to have split ends chopped, we've always gone the quick and dirty route.

For this major change, though, I wanted someone who would take time, talk to Daphne, want to see her happy, and was in our neighborhood... Shopping local is a pretty big deal and one of the benefits of living as close as we do to everything. And, honestly, it's a luxury that my dear husband works very hard to afford us.

So, I called and made an appointment at The Cutting Room, which is easy walking distance from our house. Since I didn't know anyone who works there, we had no preference, and ended up with Melanie. As it turns out, she was the perfect fit for Daphne.

The Cutting Room last Christmas season.

And again on the spring day we visited.

One of the coolest things about The Cutting Room is that they have a back bathroom full of robes for you to choose from. Daphne picked out a pretty standard "hair cutting" cape, but when we went back and I got my hair cut, I picked a purple silk that looked like a kimono. I seriously wanted to bring it home. One lady in the salon when we were there the first time had on a hippy muumuu. There are literally dozens to choose from, so that's fun.

Melanie sat Daphne down, looked at her head, talked to her about what she wanted to do, and showed her the plan before moving her back to the sinks for a shampoo.

This is an Aveda concept salon, so all of the product is Aveda. And smells delicious.

After shampoo and conditioning, Melanie cut a ponytail long enough to qualify for Pantene's Pony Up! Beautiful Lengths hair donation. Locks of Love requires 10 inches, but Pantene only needs 8.

Immediately when the ponytail came off, Daphne already looked more like... Daphne. It's weird. Shorter hair suits her personality *so* much better.

Next came the cutting. So. much. cutting. Melanie was meticulous, measuring and eyeballing and working with some "fun" quirks Daphne's hair has. The end result was beautiful.

We wanted a few highlights, so Melanie put in some foils, carefully avoiding some damaged and vulnerable hair. She basically framed Daphne's face.

It's easy to enjoy the pretty view while waiting for the color to set.

While we were waiting for the processing, Melanie showed Daphne the bright colors of highlights that they can do, so Daphne could think about them in case she decided she wanted a purple or blue or something more drastic later.

In the end, Melanie was disappointed that the highlights didn't "pop" as much as she wanted them to. I thought it looked great and very natural. She asked to take an "after" picture of D to add to her Instagram portfolio, and I promised to send her a "before."

Daphne, stoically enduring the modeling preparations.

Her "before" is the top right. This style works really well for her, and she recently took to wearing a beanie most of the time, so basically she just has a bit of hair sticking out from the hat, which she loves.

Melanie didn't charge us full price for the highlights since she wasn't happy with them (even though I was), and offered to "fix" it next time we came in. We did go back two months later to get the cut evened out, but since D is wearing a hat most of the time, anyway, told the stylist not to worry about any more highlights for now. Even though it was just a maintenance trim, Daphne's clean-up took about 40 minutes. I appreciate the time and care dedicated to making clients look their best.

When D went in last time, I made an appointment for myself, as well. I needed a good trim, and I have very fine damaged hair that is in layers. Melanie did a great job with straightening everything out so that it looks healthy enough that I don't feel like I have to style it every day, so I can give it a rest.

One thing I really love is that a couple of the hair-dressers here asked about my hair color... and not one of them lectured me about coloring it at home. I've had employees at Super Cuts tell me that my hair will fall out if I don't let them professionally color it, or tell me that I'll never have healthy hair because I'm ruining it by using home color. The fact is, coloring hair at home might be worse on it than having someone custom mix and watch the process, but I cannot afford that every six weeks. I prefer not to be bawled out at the salon when all I want is to get my hair cut!

We were really pleased with everything about our visits to The Cutting Room. In fact, walking home after the initial cut, Daphne said, "I wish I could have better expressed my appreciation." So I'm expressing our appreciation by recommending The Cutting Room, and Melanie specifically. Go check them out!

The Nuthaus, an Update (Including the Nursery, a Work in Progress)

Several people have asked for pictures of the nursery, so we'll get to that in a minute.

First, I wanted to take you on a tour of the Nuthaus in general, so you can see how much has changed since we moved here a little over a year ago.

Changes: 1) Daphne got a desktop. 2) We never watched the TV James had (literally, we didn't turn it on in the year we had it here), so we put it out on the curb and someone took it! We use the space for the litter box that used to be in James' office, which will be the nursery. It's mostly Aish's box, and I think she likes the privacy of the fireplace. 3) I think there are more tchotske on the mantel, including a speaker system we bought solely because our laptops wouldn't play "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." loudly enough. Also, we have one outlet in the whole living room, so we have a lot of old-fashioned running of the wires all up in here.

The white shelving unit is new. We'd had the printer in James' office, and all of our school books (which are difficult to see behind the table) in the black bookshelves. We moved our school stuff over when James was re-homing some of his books, and the drawers have all of our pencils, envelopes, etc. That stuff was also on the bookshelves and fell off frequently. Don't know why we didn't think of that sooner.

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James' new "office" has less privacy but a great view! He admits to missing his little hobbit hole, but you do what you have to do, and we kind of like having him around.

Our nerd robes adorn the back of the door in our tiny bathroom. Pictures courtesy a story National Geographic did on sugar and how horrible it is on both nutritional and cultural levels... But to illustrate this, they had frame-worthy art of sugary foods like cupcakes, candies, and cereal.

Still making do with not much storage of which to speak.

Finally got our corkboard "Wall of Awesome" up after "winning" the board at a Christmas white elephant exchange. We'd had a WoA in the trailer and are filling this one with Team Dave's memorabilia, much of it from our recent trip to Colorado. 

Pardon our recycling; since we have so many deliveries these days, I filled up our outside recycle bin the day after it got picked up last week! Just 5 more days and I can dump this stuff. I love how the kitchen and living room are basically one room. It makes working in the kitchen not seem like a lonely task, even if I'm the only one in there.

Our beautiful bedroom, with the wedding quilt James' mom made us and the new bookshelf we got to help make space for James' office eviction. The metal heart we watched a blacksmith make at the Celtic Music Festival and James bought it back when we were still dating. The marker picture is of James and me as ponies, a gift from Daphne on my last birthday. On the bookshelf, we have both of the flowers we wore at our wedding. Mine was a fabric flower that came with my dress, and James' was a squirt sunflower.

The only closet in the house barely has room for James' Browncoat, a couple of suits, and our luggage. Everything else is on display for the world to see.

We rearranged D's room a bit, and it's still one of my favorite rooms in the house. I love all of the color.

The bookshelves helped us to move all of D's books back into her room. We'd had a lot of them in the built-ins in the living room, but decided to free up that space for, yes, more of James' books. Also, she has room now both to get new books and for all of her filled-up drawing pads.

I don't think we ever took a picture of her "closet" before. We moved her smaller bookshelf over here to make room for the new shelves. And, yes, Harry Potter is wearing an old pair of girls' underpants both as drawers and a hat, has on a fake blonde mustache, and is carrying a giant lollipop instead of a wand.

So, here are the money shots for those of you who wanted to see the nursery. It's good that we have all of the furniture we need now, because there is no more room for anything else!

I love, love, love bright colors, so this all makes me happy. A friend said he was afraid that our MamaRoo bouncy chair thing would become sentient and Borgify the baby, and that'd be super cool. It's neat; it has several white noise settings (it also has an input so you can play MP3s), and there are 5 different movements it can make. The cushiony things in the mobile will pop out for grabbing and chewing.

During graduation weekend, my sister noticed that someone had left a dirty little minky monkey in our driveway. We put it up on the porch and left it there for 3 days. When the weekend was over, I brought it in, washed and dried it twice, and decided it would be our first baby toy. Also, we can only accommodate clothes, shoes, socks, etc. that will fit in this cabinet.

I can't wait to fill up this bookshelf!

Aish loves sitting in "baby jail" underneath the elevated crib cushion. Also, for those of you thinking, "Wouldn't there be more room for the rocker behind the door?" Maybe. But where it is, you can see out of both sets of windows, and I prefer that.

So there you have it. As James said, "We're building a home." It definitely feels more like it every day. Thanks for your interest. Just 3 months to go!