hors d'oeuvres and new fall attire

Oh, how do I miss Austin. Last Friday night Megan and I met my mom and her coworker at Hyde Park Grill...a local favorite. The restaurant is located in central Austin's historical Hyde Park- where I grew up. I was craving the steamed dumplings with chicken, ginger, cabbage and carrots. It was accompanied by a spicy Thai sauce that was almost too hot to handle.

After wine and their delicious margaritas were passed around the table, Mom ordered the crispy crab cakes with spiced, roasted sweet potatoes. Megan went for the eggplant sandwich- lightly fried with Gouda and olive tapenade with Hyde Parks' famous buttermilk-dredged french fries and remoulade for dipping. I was in a veggie mood...I ordered the veggie plate with steamed, crisp broccoli, sweet corn and cheese tamales, green chile mashed potatoes and a corn and edamame saute.

During the meal, dessert was the main thing on my mind. We ordered Wom Kim's Peach pudding (my favorite growing up)- a lightly sweetened, warm, airy cake atop ripe peaches served with fresh cream and the banana cream pie with mounds of homemade whipped cream and sliced bananas.

My mom had a "purse" party on Saturday afternoon and Megan and I were in charge of food. Our finger-food menu was:

Bruschetta with fresh garlic, white beans, sun dried tomatoes and chiffonade basil

Watercress salad with roasted cashews, Bosc pears and an Asian vinaigrette
(lime juice, olive oil, fresh cracked pepper and a touch of soy sauce)

Manchego cheese drizzled with a honey brown butter sauce with fresh figs

The party was great and we snacked all afternoon. Around 5 p.m., Megan and I met the "girls" of my family at the legendary El Patio for some nachos and margaritas. There is something about the nachos there that is so addicting. We then hit up Anthropologie on Lamar and 6th for some funky pieces for Fall- I left with an embroidered sweater, satin hoodie, vintage earrings and a cream blouse- mission accomplished.

For dinner, we met my friend Megan Rother and her boyfriend Joel at Cuba Libre on 5th and Colorado. After a pitcher of mojitos, we split a platter of coconut shrimp with a honey sauce, chicken satay with guacamole and veggie empanadas with a saffron sauce. After dinner, we hit up West 6th for some beer, shots and camaraderie.

Sunday morning breakfast was back to basics: scrambled eggs, sausage, blackberries and creme fraiche, cinnamon rolls, orange juice and coffee. We were then off to the Domain to hit up Betsey Johnson, Free People, Barney's and but of course...my home away from home...the makeup counter at Neiman Marcus (my mom and I both share this guilty pleasure). After making friends at the Chantecaille counter...it was back to Fort Worth.