Finding Soul, Meat Sheets & Other Things that Happened to Me in July

You guys, have you heard of Top Golf? Neither had I until it took Austin by storm and everyone couldn’t stop talking about it. It’s a franchise in Texas and I have no idea if it is anywhere else but it’s kind of addictive. It turns out that even though I am not a golfer by any means, I am quite good at Top Golf. Which is probably why I like it. The idea is that you have to get the ball in one of the bulls eyes and it makes a fun noise on a screen and you have different goals that you have to accomplish. I’m a goal oriented person, this game satisfies my soul.

Can’t you tell how happy I am? I’m being instructed on my golf stance.

Also, at Top Golf they have an item on the menu that entails sheets of meat hanging from a clothes line with clothes pins. Meat sheets and scoring goals with a metal club! Bucket list item #684: Check.

Also in July… remember how I told you about the best bites of food in Austin? Well I had one, a sip really. That fab iced tea I told you about at Josephine House. The coasters and thin glass complete me. I’m telling you, sometimes it is the little things in life, God is in the details.

Also in July, I went to NYC for some media, or as I like to say, “to sell myself on the streets of NYC,” and got to play with my friend Worth’s little munchkin, Collette. She is 1 1/2 years old and has the most amazing hair I’ve ever seen on a child of that size.

Also in July, back in Austin, I went to Walton’s and they gave me and my girlfriend a rice crispy treat wrapped like this. It is all in the details… thank you Sandra Bullock!

In July, I discovered this Austin based Gin company called… Genius, quite ironically, while taking a genius test. Speaking of being a genius, have you heard of this test to see if you’re a right or left brained person?

Which are you? Tell me!

Want to know what I am? Can you guess?

Well, quite strangely, the woman spins in both directions when I look at it, she just stops and switches directions at random. What does it all mean?! Bueller??

Also in July I was dreaming about Montana. And wanted this sign. I’m going there in 6 weeks for my next Adventure Getaway and You. Could. Be. Too. We have some crazy cool media coming, wait til you see. Oh wait, but you have to be there to see.

Went to a movie in July… it was weird and depressing so I’ve forgotten the name, but this picture reminded me of a funny quote my friend said to me while they were pouring our movie drinks (yes, Austin has theaters where you can bring cocktails into the theater!). He said “If it is stemless, it’s more masculine.” That’s how he gets away with drinking girly drinks. It’s all about the glass. I’m telling you… it’s in the details!

Also in July, I discovered this in my neighborhood and proclaimed on my Instagram that it was reason #632 why Austin was awesome. And then it turns out that there are Little Free Libraries all over the country and I’m just really out of the loop. What else is new.

Oh! In July I went to visit my second family in the Delta for a July 4th party and the band asked if they could take their pic with me and I said, “only if I can take my picture with you.” And so we took our pictures together.

They were so good y’all! We danced the night away to their tunes.

This also happened in the Delta. Guess what he does for a living….

He’s an accountant. You can bring him home to mama and tell ’em that girls.

Also in July in the Delta, I had to judge a bean cook off. It was a lot of pressure because a lot of my friends entered and they were talking a lot of smack to each other and so I felt pressure because some of them were hosting me and would I have a place to sleep if I didn’t pick their beans? Then I was assured the winner would be responsible for my accommodations if I lost them as a hazard of being a judge so I picked the best beans and their was quite the uproar. My friend Freddie Black won. He worked on them meticulously which is a good thing cause he was talking the most smack.

In July on the lake in the Delta, we went out on the party barge at night and it was magical and very tropical feeling.

We also made patriotic eggs because it was the right thing to do.

AND, I went to the sunflower fields to pick flowers for the party! Can you believe it? It’s like France. Except in a few weeks when I go back for dove hunting it’s gonna be a great place to park my dove stool.

For the party we also stenciled the lawn, and you can see the how-to here.

In July, I also made alligator. Because my friend in the Delta got a big one last fall and he had a TON of gator meat. Yum and recipe here.

In July we ate a lot of food at the party in the Delta, because that’s what you do when you’re in the Delta, you party and eat food.

And you eat this thing called Pasta Marco Pollo. I don’t know what it means but it’s delicious. It has walnuts and basil and roasted red pepper and cheese and olives and basically it means that it’s tomato sauce free but full of other delicious bits.

When I was in the Delta my friend Freddie Black picked me up from the airport and showed me the corn they had just picked that morning. Kind of amazing, right?!?

He also brought a plate of his famous ribs with him in the car because he is awesome and knows how much I love them. Recipe here.

And then he made them again a few days later.

And I ate a lot of them while looking at the sunsets.

And then I went back to Austin and reality set in because this was waiting for me in the airport parking lot. I’m telling you, I’m having the worst car karma these days. But the good news is that I have the best parking karma still. Have I ever told you about my good parking karma? I always get the best parking spots. I’m telling you, it’s the little things.

In July my friend Joey Fly came to town and we ate this.

And we hung out here, and I found soul at last.

And he took me to an LL Cool J concert so we could re-live the 80s.

And we ate sugar.

And he acted all cool and stuff rolling around in his rented Prius. And I rolled up next to him and took a picture of him being a silly goose.

And we ate this thing they call Salmon Butter at the new Paul Qui restaurant… except I’ve made this dish a bunch of times in professional kitchens and so it wasn’t as novel to me. And I left hungry so we had to have a second dinner.

And in July, my friend Natalie posted this t-shirt on twitter while visiting her Dutch beau and I want one sooo badly. I’m going to start shopping at toddler stores until I find one.

And last but not least, I taught you how to clean cast iron in July, as part of an international effort to save the cast iron near you.

How was your July friends?! I already have so much to tell you about August. I have to catch my breath first.