A shout-out to Mandy. . .

First, let me say, I see my inbox is full of emails and cookies questions and I promise I will respond very soon! Here's my excuse...my husband & I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary this week with a trip {alone!} to Austin.

{Insert blurry picture of happy couple here.}

So, the reason for this post if to give a BIG shout-out and thank you to Mandy of Home with Mandy. Mandy is a food blogger from Austin. I've followed her blog for a while now. She doesn't fool around with silly stuff like decorated cookies, Mandy makes real food like Perfecto Pot Roast and Potato Rolls and Pork Dumplings with Ginger Dipping Sauce. So when we made our plans for Austin, I knew just who to bug for restaurant recommendations. :)

Mandy, well, Mandy rocks! Not only did she give a few suggestions, she gave us a serious list of places to try. We could have stayed in Austin a week. But here's why hubby & I ended up toasting Mandy over our anniversary dinner.

We started at Jeffrey's for drinks and appetizers, pommes frites (french fries to you & me). Wonderfully friendly, adorable bartender (Brian) and yummy drinks & fries.

Then, on to the BEST MEAL OF MY LIFE at Hudson's on the Bend. Seriously, I almost cried during dinner...it was so incredible. The starter...Lobster Bisque...it was perfection. You know those beer helmets? If Hudson's offered a lobster bisque helmet, I'd be wearing it right now. The meal just continued in it's perfection....espresso, chili, chocolate rubbed smoked elk, crunchy trout, and chocolate mousse with legs of fudge {yes, legs of fudge}!!!

You see why Mandy is my new best friend?

I won't bore you with any more of our "foodcation" as my husband called it, but it was wonderful. Once I come off my "Austin high" (and fit into my jeans again), I'll be back answering emails and getting back to WFMW. Until then....here's me saying "hi."

Did I mention that I love Mandy?