Merry Christmas!

WINOS Weekend 2015

I'm way overdue on this post as we celebrated our WINOS Weekend 2015 over a month ago. Due to schedules, kids, and pregnancies, we decided to keep our yearly event low-key and (somewhat) local again this year...so Lolly graciously invited us all to stay at her house in Austin for the weekend. And she was an amazing hostess!

Friday night we opted to spend a relaxing night in, complete with lots of wine and cheese. 

I worked from my Austin office on Friday, so I was the first to arrive. Lolly and I sipped on several French 75s while waiting for the rest of the Dallas crew.

Once everyone was accounted for, we poured some more adult beverages (that was the theme of the weekend, after all) and readied the fire pit for some s'mores.

Other than one burn and some #stinkycrackers, it was a wildly successful night of drinking, cheese eating, and s'mores making.

Saturday morning, we started our day with brunch at Olivia.

We started off with a mimosa trio...

And then stuffed ourselves with all their delicious food, including:

Eggs Florentine

Olivia Benedict

Vegetable Hash

French Toast

And of course some Smoked Gouda Grits for the table.

Everything was amazing, and it was such a cute little restaurant. Had the weather been better, we definitely would have requested a table on the patio next to their garden.

We also discovered during the meal that Jill's purse is basically just like Mary Poppins' carpetbag. 

After brunch, we headed to South Congress.

Our first stop was for coffee at Jo's.

We waited out a little rain while enjoying our coffee on their covered patio, and of course had to get a picture in front of the iconic "i love you so much" sign. 

Then it was time for a little shopping. Despite the rain and crowds, we came away with some great finds, including the adorable Christmas ornaments that are currently hanging on Ava and Rylan's trees.

A nap would have been nice at this point, but we rallied and headed to Alta's Cafe to enjoy some wine and cheese on the lake. Despite the chilly, rainy weather, we thoroughly enjoyed this view thanks to the covered patio at Alta's.

I highly recommend this lovely little spot. I mean…we didn't have any fun at all ;).

Then it was time to head back to Lolly's for a bit.

[It should be noted that we drove around clown-car style all day long. But I would be smooshed in a car any day with these girls.]

It was also during these car rides that we started recording many a Dubsmash. Including this lovely one:

We had a little time to kill before dinner, so we cozied up by the fire and watched Pitch Perfect 2 (not as good as the first one, but cute nonetheless). 

We managed to drag ourselves back out for dinner. And I'm so glad we did, because Juliet was fabulous. 

The patio and outdoor bar area are fantastic, and the heaters allowed us to sit outside despite the weather.

Everything we ordered was really tasty, and the olive oil tasting was a fun addition.

"Jill-iet"

Upon returning to Lolly's at midnight, you would think that we would have been exhausted from the full day of fun; however, we decided it was time for a two-hour dance party. Yessss!

And of course some more Dubsmash goodness.

I haven't danced that much or laughed that hard in a long time.

Thank goodness for these ladies.

I love them so much.

Finally, my favorite Dubsmash of the weekend and our "What's Hot/What's Not" wrap-up (written at Torchy's on Sunday morning before everyone headed home).

Until next year!