It's been a few weeks since I added anything here, but I'm back with New Year fun ideas in the Austin area! On New Year's Eve we tried to experience 12 new things/places/food, and over the holidays we enjoyed some new experiences with family as well!
So...in case you're looking for some fun this January with you and yours, here are the top dozen (plus a few extra) of new places we visited and things we enjoyed...in no particular order. Try one and let us know how you liked it!
1. Provision - This is a new restaurant that is located where Red's Porch used to be over by Roaring Fork on Stonelake in NW Austin. Provision has a great menu, and we ordered their pimiento cheese/crackers/pickles - all homemade! Every bite was delicious, and the restaurant was beautiful inside.
2. Take Heart - This is a cute boutique on E. 11th Street and it's full of unique gift/home items from candles to cutting boards to books and more. There are TONS of things to see in this small store. I really wanted this cute sandwich cutting board and spreader, but I'll have to wait until next Christmas :)
3. AMC Tech Ridge - This is a brand new theater in the Austin area and it's dine-in - you order and they bring it to you in the theater. I tried their chicken nachos and LOVED them. It's new, it's modern, it's clean and it's located where Sears used to be, at Parmer and 35.
4. Greater Goods Coffee Shop - located way down E. 5th street - it's a cute place with lots of ambience. Books are on shelves, there are cozy spots indoor and outdoors and it's a great spot for sipping and playing a game...
5. Wheel of Fortune card game - We got this on clearance at Kohls and it was fun to play! It's played just like the game on TV where you guess letters and fill in puzzles, only with cards. (I won - yay)
6. The Hidden Life - This is a new movie that's 3 hours long but fantastic. It's the story of an Austrian family (the scenery of their farm is amazing) during the time of Hitler's Third Reich, and the father refuses to serve Hitler, in the army. Consequences are huge, and their faith is weak, but this story is STRONG.
7. Snack - In After Christmas sales, I snagged a couple of snowman bowls and waters (yeah, the water bottles had snowmen on them - Family Dollar!) Instead of popcorn for one movie, we took leftovers of olives, cheese spread, crackers, and jr mints into the theater and enjoyed! A new dish or food is always fun!
8. Heaven's Bistro - There's a new bakery on Parmer Lane near Mopac that's a tall building and houses delicious pastries and good coffee! (That's what other say, I don't drink...) There are high top tables and stools that look like bicycle seats. It's a cute place to try!
9. The Van Zandt - this is a hotel in downtown Austin with a great lobby and a huge fireplace, for sitting and playing a game. There was one couple putting together a jigsaw puzzle on a table near the fire, as well. We lingered there a long while, it was so relaxing.
10. Cafe 605 - this is the little cafe just by the lobby in the Van Zandt, and we opted there for lunch. The food was good and it was a cute place to sit and sip and people watch.
11. Duke's Mini Golf - this is in far south Austin on Slaugher Lane, and a perfect family outing experience for all. There's even a hole where you purposefully hit your ball in the water to move it on down toward the hole! Since we have plenty of nice weather among the cold, take your family and enjoy.
12. Cosmic Coffee and Beer Garden - This is a big food trailer park in south Austin as well, and there is great food and even greater ambience to be had. There's a couple of water features, lots of different choices for seating, a coffee house, and delicious food. You'll want to frequent this place!
13. The Hideaway on South I-35 - a small place tucked between two hotels - offers great breakfasts!
14. Thunderbird Coffee on Koenig is cozy (also has great sandwiches!), and there's a churros truck there that makes them homemade with ice cream and toppings! They are DELISH.
15. We played a corn hole game that was a gift to my son from Academy, and that was a hit for sure - out in the backyard!
Happy New Year!