Romantic Weekend Away

Brando won a night at a hotel, the Renaissance, through work a few weeks ago so this last weekend we took advantage of it to celebrate the end of my first semester! We started off the evening by getting checked in and checking out all the fun Christmas decorations in the hotel.

Then we hit up a band, With the Punches, at Emo's. I had heard about via Twitter, and when I checked out their myspace and saw one of their inspirations was Blink 182, I knew Brando would enjoy it. I was right on. We even bought a CD which sounds AHmazing! Wish it had my favorite song of theirs on it! I can't remember the words but there was a lot of "Ooooh, ooooh, oooh"ing in it.

Of course, besides the added plus of actually liking their music, I totally enjoyed it because it was a new place and a new experience for me! The funky atmosphere made for a perfect experience.

After their set and a series of texts to friends about where to eat nearby I remembered a hot spot within walking distance that I had been wanting to try so we took off to Max's Wine Dive (wish I'd gotten a picture of their sign, but since I didn't I'll use theirs).

Oh man, did it ever live up to expectations! First of all, such a cute atmosphere

combined with amazing food that I forgot I was in Texas (no offense, Texas) to the point where I saw a picture of John Wayne above the bar and wondered outloud, "Why is there a picture of John Wayne above the bar?" Brando gave me a look and reminded me, "We're still in Texas." On top of their delicious sounding menu,

the service was superb to the point where small used napkins were swept away discreetly by a waiter or waitress walking by to the point where if I hadn't been paying attention I wouldn't have even noticed. Something I am definitely NOT used to in Texas. Brando ordered the beer battered Mesquite Calamari which was so good he convinced me to try it (I've only been eating seafood for two years and insist on only eating it when a seafoodie claims it's the best they've ever had).

It WAS delicious. I ordered the Ribs with a hoisin glaze.

Mmmm, perfectly tender and sweet flavor. It is a wine bar, but I usually get a headache these days when I drink wine, so the waiter, Clint, convinced me to try a wine he claimed had never given him a headache, Prosecco.

It's a slightly sweet, but definitely not desert like, wine that was oh so good and just right with the hoisin ribs. And he was so right! No headache at all - not even the next day. Will definitely be having that again! After Max's Wine Dive, we stopped by to see a friend of mine at Pure Ultra Lounge. Fortunately we ran into her on the street and hung out with her for quite a bit. Brando's first time on Sixth Street!

I took tons of pictures to record the moment in case it doesn't happen again. We headed back early to get back to the hotel before the indoor pool closed, stopping by Emo's along the way to see if the next band was any good. It wasn't, but it was fun to see the funky atmosphere again and catch this picture.

Back to an amazing night at the super plush indoor pool in the hotel.

We finally checked out our huge room after the pool. I had been to the Renaissance before and the room was TINY so I wasn't expecting this.

Our view was gorgeous on top of it all.

We spent the next morning in bed til' noon, with belgian waffles, orange juice, and coffee in bed watching SurvivorMan (Brando's personal happy place).

Heaven.