Sources + January's to dos

My favorite places to find out about what's going on in Austin:
The Chronicle (free at stores)
Austin Family magazine (free at grocery stores)
Austin monthly ($15/yr for a year subscription)
check the sidebar for more

Also become a fan of "Austin" on facebook or of "365 Things To Do In Austin, Texas."
Here is the latter's January To Dos:
1. Mozart’s Coffee
2. See Bob Schneider
3. Cap City Comedy Club
4. Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trails
5. Bridal Extravaganza
6. Austin Segway Tour
7. Visit University of Texas Co-Op
8. IMAX Theater at Bob Bullock Museum
9. La Fuente’s
10. Rudy’s BBQ
11. Blanton Museum of Art
12. Volunteer at Town Lake Animal Shelter
13. Austin Boat Show January 14-17th
14. Sprouts Farmers Market
15. Texas Basketball Game – Lone Star Shootout
16. Enjoy the view at the Oasis
17. Hey Cupcake!
18. Climb Mount Bonnell
19. Tuesday Trivia Night at a Local Bar
20. Kerby Lane Café
21. Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center
22. Peter Pan Mini Golf
23. Huts Hamburgers
24. Stubbs BBQ Gospel Brunch
25. Grow your own organic food & flowers at Sunshine Community Garden
26. Dog & Duck Pub
27. Taste of Austin
28. Indoor Rock Climbing
29. The Belmont
30. Le Garage Sale

Chinese New Years Festival Austin

Chinese New Years Festival Austin
February 20-21, 2010
Chinatown Center
10901 N. Lamar BLVD
Austin, Texas 78753
Admission - FREE

http://chinatownaustin.com/ 

Cathedral of Junk

Cathedral of Junk
4422 Lareina Drive
Austin, TX
(512) 299-7413
Official Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 9-6 pm (Call ahead to verify)
Admission: Free with donations accepted (Leave an object on his front porch. If it is unique enough, he may just add it to the Cathedral.)

Schlitterbahn in Cedar Park?

Hurray!

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=265063

Lakeshore Learning Stores

For Ages 3 and up
Every Saturday 11:00 - 3:00, every store!

Lakeshore Learning Store Website
Free Craft page/calender

**our closest store is by the Arboretum**

Cameron Park Zoo

I've heard this zoo in Waco, TX is better than the one in San Antonio. It is about 80 miles north of me... less than 1 1/2 hrs.
 http://www.cameronparkzoo.com

• Adults(13+) - $9
• Children 4-12 yrs - $6
• Sr. Citizens (60+) - $8
• Children 3 years old and under - free

Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The zoo is open year-round. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day holidays, and the last Friday and Saturday of June. Phone 254-750-8400 for general information.

Dia de los Tres Reyes or Three Kings Day

Spain, Mexico, and most of the Spanish speaking world will celebrate Dia de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings) on January 6th. Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and more celebrate the same thing, although a little differently, and call it Three Kings Day.


Side note: We are celebrating this at mutual this week. Make sure your daughter comes. :)

If you want to celebrate, here is a good article and here is where you can buy the cakes in the Austin area.
Fiesta Mart (where I plan to get mine. It seems to be the best price).
3909 N I-35 Service Rd, (512) 406-3900
Sells rosca de reyes (Mexican cake)


La Mexicana, 1924 S. First, 443-6369
Serves rosca de reyes

Sweetish Hill Bakery, 1120 W. Sixth, 472-1347
Traditional French galette des roi

La Madeleine, Various locations
French-style king cake (galette des roi) and Mardi Gras-style king cake
(I called the Arboretum location and they have both).


Since I grew up in Belgium, I am partial to the galette des roi, but like all things French, it is also more expensive.

2010 Year of Fun in Austin

I made a list of events because last year I missed a few things I had been looking forward to. Not that I really plan on going to all of these, but this way I won't miss it just because I forgot! I resisted the urge to include a few day trips. This is solely Austin! To find more info, click on the corresponding month under Labels.

January

1^st Night

February

Chinese New Years (at Chinatown Center on N. Lamar)

March

Zilker Park Kite Festival

Rodeo Austin

Music on the Plaza of Austin City Hall begins

April

Annual Barsana Dham Mela

May

Cinco de Mayo at the Mexican American Cultural Center

Pecan Street Festival

Texas Greek Festival

Austin Symphony Summer Series begins

June

RR Express Baseball game, Friday fireworks

Blues on the green begins

Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival begins

Watermelon Festival

July

Zilker Hillside Theater

August

Austin Ice Cream Festival

Austin Kids Day

Bats at Congress Bridge (best month)

September

Pecan Street Festival

October

Texas Book Festival

November

Dia de los Muertos at the Mexican American Cultural Center

Native American Pow Wow

December

48^th Annual production of The Nutcracker at The Long Center

Ice skate atop Whole Foods

More Lights

Community Impact has an article about good Cedar Park light displays.
Find the following on Google maps:

2410 Sharon Drive
Anna Court
2004 Marysol Trail
Castleguard Way
Horizon Park subdivision

37th street Christmas lights

37th St. between Guadalupe and Home Ln.

The center of the lighting display is just east of Guadalupe. Walking or driving through is free.
I hear they are doing their part to keep Austin weird. You won't get your typical light displays!

Where do you take your guests?

My husband's family is coming into town for 3 weeks over the holidays. Here is my list of things we can choose from to do. Maybe it will give you an idea of what to do with your guests.

FREE:
Mt. Bonnell
Dino Pit at Austin Science & Nature Center
Blanton Museum on thursday
Barton Creek Greenbelt
feed ducks at Brushy Creek Park
walk/bike along Town Lake
Zilker Park botanical gardens
Harry Ransom Center (copy of gutenburg bible, 1st photograph, and other cool/random things)
Trail of Lights
AMOA- Laguna Gloria (takes donations)
1st Night on the 31st

Cost:
Wed night Austin Childrens Museum ($1 min donation per person)
Hula Hut- dinner on the lake
Austin Museum of Art on 9th- under 12 are free
Phil's Ice House - fun dinner for kids
Teo's Gelato $2 Tuesdays
UT Tower $6 per person
La Feria Mariachis on at Lamar location thurs
Farmers market wed or sat (entrance and parking are free)
rooftop skating at Whole Foods. $10 includes ice skates rental
Mexic-Arte Museum

free sample music together classes at Heartsong Music

This week and next week Heartsong Music is offering up some free sample classes at their studio and also around town!

2700 West Anderson Lane, Ste. 320 , Austin

Heartsong Music hosts an Open House and free sample classes.

Thanks, Austin Savvy's website for information!

2nd weekend's events

Friday 11th
34th Annual Armadillo Christmas Bazaar
11am-6:30pm
2nd & Trinity
armadillobazaar.com

9th Annual Children's Nutcracker
austin-conservatory-arts.com

Mainstreet Bethlehem is still going on
fbcburnet.org

Saturday 12th
The Georgetown Kids Book Swap
for every book you bring in, you get a ticket for a replacement book.
12-5pm
entry fee is one new/like new book donated to Blue Santa Christmas
Georgetown Library, upstairs
Georgetownkidsbookswap.com

Cocoa & Cookies w/ Mrs. Claus
for kids age 2-11
hot cocoa, cookies, craft project, sing along, story time with Mrs. Claus before Santa comes
9, 10, 11am and 12pm
limited space so sign up beforehand
Twin Lakes YMCA
ymcagwc.org

Santas Workshop
music, games, inflatables, art projects, Santa Cluas
bring an unwrapped gift for Blue Santa
6-8pm
Heritage Oak Park
cedarparkfun.com

Sunday 13th
Zilker Park Trail of Lights & Tree Lighting
tree lighting 6pm
www.ci.austin.tx.us/tol/

This weekend's events

Some of these events happen on more than one day. Check the websites for details. If you have done any of these in the past, please let me know if you liked them or not.

Friday Dec 4: 
Holiday Tree Lighting 6:30-8:30pm
FREE
Santa, caroling, carriage rides
Heritage Oak Park. cedarparkfun.com

Main Street Bethlehem 6-9pm
FREE but donations accepted
Burnet. fbcburnet.org

Saturday Dec 5:
Annual holiday Sing Along, Downtown Stroll, and Tree Lighting 6-9pm
FREE but please donate a jar of peanut butter
south steps of Capitol building
downtownaustin.com/holidays

Christmas Market Festival 10-4pm
live performances, a visit from St. Nikolaus, imported German Christmas items for sale (nutcrackers, pyramids, smokers)
germantexans.org

36th Annual Dickens on The Strand 10am-7pm
kids under 7 are FREE
voted best holiday event in Dec by TX Monthly
Galveston. galvestonhistory.org/dickens

University of TX Tower Tours
$6. Reservation required
12-5pm on the hour
utexas.edu/txunion

Kids Workshops for ages 5-12
All Homedepots
FREE
homedepot.com

47th Annual production of The Nutcracker
The Long Center
$15 and up
balletaustin.org

Rooftop Skating at Whole Foods downtown

The rink opens Friday, November 27^th and is open every day except Christmas through Sunday January 17^th.  Tickets are $10 per person, which includes skate rentals.
Skating hours are 10:00am - 10:00pm, with the last skating session starting at 9:00pm.

Whole Foods Flagship
525 Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78703
(512)476-1206
www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/lamar

Special Hours:
December 24^th - 10 - 7
December 25^th - closed
December 31^st - 10 - 7
January  1^st   - 10 - 8

• Sessions begin each hour on the hour and run for 50 minutes, with a 10 minute ice maintenance time to follow.
• Tickets will be available for the same day skating sessions on the plaza, beginning at 9:00am. Limit 10 tickets per guest. Absolutely no advance day ticket sales will be offered.
• Tickets are only available at Whole Foods Market downtown Sixth and Lamar location.
• 40 people maximum capacity on ice. Skate sizes range from Junior 9 to Men's 14. Because it is a small rink, we only have a limited number of skates in each size. We discourage planning large parties for this reason.
• We are not offering private party bookings - for a large event please contact our Catering Center at 512-542-2209.

Caffe Teo review

I finally went to Caffe Teo, and it is GOOD. The gelato is as good as Italy's. My favorites were coconut, chocolate, and pistachio. They were really nice and let me try almost all of them. Next time I'll get Texican Vanilla. Mmmm.

If you are ever near 38th street, I highly recommend stopping by.
$2 Tuesdays!! if you pay in cash.

Oh and in case you didn't know, gelato isn't as bad for you as ice cream. Because of how slow they churn it, they don't need to use heavy cream like ice cream does. I think it tastes better too!

The northern location no longer exists. They really should update their website.

Persuasion

My brother has an interview in Austin! He is coming for 4 days in December and in that time I want to convince him that he needs to move here. He likes being active and being outdoors. Where should I take him?
Where do you take someone you are trying to persuade that Austin is a great place to live? What was it about Austin that convinced you to move here?

He is also interviewing near where my other brother lives, so the fact that a sibling is here is not enough.

Oh P.S. I know a lot of you check my blog and don't comment. Now is the time to comment! My brother and his cute wife and baby living in the same town with me is on the line. :)

New Bounce House

There is a new bounce house coming to Cedar Park. They are coming "Fall 2009," but I'm not sure if that means they are open yet. They are located on Bagdad Rd.

http://www.thebigbouncetx.com/

I heard they were going to have half off days on Mondays and Wednesdays, which would be great. Inflatable Wonderland at the mall has half price days on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I believe, if you can make them.

Austin Planetarium

Did you hear Austin is going to have a Planetarium?? Yay. I'm excited, and I hope it gets finished soon. I guess they are still trying to raise money. See what you can do to make it happen:
http://www.austinplanetarium.org/

I wish someone would also build an aquarium so I could take my kids...

Blue Genie Art Industries

Among other things they have an annual, free Blue Genie Art Bazaar every December featuring the work of over 100 local and regional artists and artisans.

See the website here
See reviews on yelp here