Our New House

So we are finally back after a very long and exhausting trip (I will allow Shaunelle to blog about the rest of the trip later). The trip did have a positive note however...we found a house in Texas! My parents were kind enough to watch Jaimason so that we could head out to our new town and house-hunt/sight see. We had a blast!

The first day, we met with our Realtor (prospective house list in hand of course) and hit about 20 houses...talk about a blur. As luck would have it, we fell in love with the first house we found but still wanted to see the others before making our choice (I know, we have commitment issues). The house ended up being the smallest one we looked at but we fell in love with the neighborhood and the house. While it is only one story, it is still quite a bit larger than our current home and allows me to realize my dream of living on a golf course...score! Anyway, for those of you interested it has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms so there is plenty of room for visitors...hint hint! I, of course, am thrilled about the fact that the home backs to a green complete with water-hazard (stinks for the golfers, pretty for us!)...I may just have to jump the fence and practice my short game. Shaunelle is pumped because we will now have a large kitchen with tons of counters, cupboards, and an island. For Jaimason, the community includes 2 pools, 2 playgrounds, miles of biking/walking trails, tennis and basketball courts, and his soon-to-be elementary school. The community even has a fitness facility...granted we probably won't ever use it but it's comforting to know it is there if we ever feel the urge. Needless to say, we are very excited to move and get settled out there. After our house hunting we went to Rudy's BBQ for some real Texas BBQ. This place is in a gas station but is supposedly ranked as one of the best places in Texas. When the cashier found out we had never been there before, they started into the "rookie" routine which thoroughly embarassed us and then, to make up for it, they let us sample everything on the menu. We ended up ordering some ribs, brisket, cream corn (so yummy), and homemade cole slaw. I was skeptical of the restaurant/gas station combo as it can be lethal, but I have to say it was dang good.

The entrance to our neighborhood.


Our House

Another front shot.


Back patio.


View from our backyard.

Another backyard view.


The main pool area.


One of the parks.


24/7 tennis courts.
Rudy's (notice the gas pumps in the background).

Since we found a house the first day, we were able to enjoy some sight seeing the second day. We spent the ENTIRE morning wandering through IKEA which is pretty close to our new place. Note to husbands everywhere...DO NOT let your wife talk you into going into that place, it is a laborynth of despair and there is no escape...but I must say that the cup of Swedish meatballs at the end almost made the trip worth it. After IKEA, we headed down to Austin and walked through the capitol and then went out to dinner at a little hole in the wall BBQ place called Ironworks to end the short but fun trip. Ironworks is a very cool place. It used to be a shop where iron brands were made. The shop was flooded back in the day and most of the building is original. They have a wrap-around patio out back that is surrounded by trees...it truly feels like you are in the old south. They also have hoses spraying the tin roof and dripping off the sides so it sounds and feels like it's raining and they have old gas lamps hanging outside. The atmosphere was awesome...food not as good! But it was still fun.

The massive Texas state capitol.

Me posing in front of the capitol.

The inside of the dome...this thing is HUGE!


The Texas star on the entry floor of the building.


The BBQ place.


The BBQ place again.


The patio of the BBQ place.