#GratiTuesday

 

grateful for quiet fall weekends, under a gorgeous south texas sky, with great friends and delicious food/drinks.

i've decided this is my favorite time of year, nature-wise.  now, don't get me wrong, i've always said i'm a summer-baby, and i am.  there is no feeling better to me than the sun on my bare skin.  but altogether, the chill and crispness in the air, the fall foliage, holiday decor, coziness of this time of year?  hard to top, right?

my cutie patootie best friend, melissa, and i decided to take advantage of the cold front that (finally) hit san antonio over the weekend.  we had planned on taking a trip to lost maples state park and do some hiking, take in the fall foliage, and maybe have a picnic.  it's a two hour drive to the park though, and i had to be back early to cook a turkey that afternoon for friendsgiving, so we ended up scratching that idea and met up with melissa's bff, lily, downtown for brunch.  we went to the farmer's market at the pearl, where we discovered yapa and had yummy, savory empanadas* for breakfast, with delicious hot cocoa.

we followed this up with a walk along the riverwalk, where we spotted all the really cute new urban dwellings (apartments and such) that have popped up between the pearl and the san antonio museum of art.  i'd love an apartment that overlooked the riverwalk and art museum with floor-to-ceiling windows and tons natural light.  we ended up the luxury, a fun little beer garden and the perfect place for a midday drink on a pretty fall sunday.  i tried the blur hefe, which is brewed by texas brewery circle brewing co., and is quite enjoyable.  melissa and lily have both had food there, and had nothing but good things to say about their sandwiches and fries (which you can be sure i will be trying next time).

it was probably the best day i've had in a while.  it was so nice to be outside and walk around.  next time i plan on taking riley with me.  he needs the exercise and both melissa and lily brought their cute pups, leaving me feeling very riley-sick.  we've rescheduled our trip to lost maples for the next free weekend we have and i can't wait to see how pretty it gets now that it's finally cooling down here in south texas (and by cooling down i mean we have a low of 60 degrees and a high of like 78 haha).  fall is hardly a season here in the south, y'all, so i'm trying to savor as much of it as possible!

*i tried the conquistador - a chilean traditional empanada filled with beef, merken, hard boiled egg, raisins, black olives, onion, and flavored with cumin & salt.  totally recommend it!