Round Top, Texas...

Saturday we set off for a quick whirlwind trip to Round Top, Texas.  It is no secret that my husband and I are huge fans of tiny Texas towns- the tinier the better.  Round Top has a population of 90, and since I am bad with remembering names I think that would be the perfect sized town for me to live in.

We picked up my mom and headed out the door at 8:30 am.  About an hour or so into the trip we made the traditional stop at Buc ee's.  It's a Texas thing.  Think over the top HUGE truck stop with an amazing food and fudge selection.  Then top that off with 100 bathrooms that are probably cleaner than the ones you have at home.  Talk about a recipe for business success.

Me and the Buc ee Beaver...

Then it was on to Round Top.  First stop: Royers Cafe.  I know, it was only 11 in the morning, but to get a table at Royers you have to show up early.  We were lucky to get a seat in the corner- best spot for people watching, and we had the most amazing lunch finished off with a pie that I can only describe as a spiritual awakening.  It was that good y'all...

At one point during the eating of the pie I saw a small tear slip from my husband's eye.  It was that good...

Hubby had Pecan.  Pronounced Pehcahn  NOT PEECAN!

Raspberry iced tea with lime.  I'm forever ruined on just plain ol iced tea...

Then it was off to do some shopping.  Antiques week is coming up next week, so we knew that there would not be a lot of shops open or vendors out, but it was worth the trip to go and do a bit of poking about.

The main square has the most amazing little church with a blue door.  The structure was originally a schoolhouse, but has been turned into the cutest church.

 

This German saying is printed above the door.  Something about taking new life into the church and leading them out at death.  Prettier than my rendition of it, but that is all I can remember!  I think I may attempt to hand letter this into a sign. It was just so beautiful...

There is a local artist, Beth Anderson, who at the age of 89 paints every day.  Her works are displayed in a small gallery in the square and you can purchase her pieces.  I chose one of the little white church with the blue door.  I adore it and it is hanging in our library.

Next up were shops...

My Grandfather had an apothecary cabinet just like this in his Patterson, NJ store...

This old abandoned house was right next to the Junk Gypsy store.  I adored the house, but loved the look of it through the bramble and the small wild flowers that were growing up the tree...

This was a beautiful file system for the wall in German...

The square also has a small garden shop and I purchased six creeping Thyme for our back flower bed...

On our way home we stopped in Houston to pick up the barstool slipcovers I had Laura from LS Slipcovers do for us.  I will post more about them later, but if you are looking to change up a piece or give life to an older piece, Laura is your girl.  The level of artistry that goes into her work is amazing!

By the time we got home it was late and the rain was steady.  It was a beautiful misty day to be in a tiny Texas town with my mom and husband.  Life just doesn't get any better than that.

A Bonsai & Daddy's girl...

A few weeks ago we went out to Wimberley, Texas with my parents.  It was our anniversary week and I really wanted my mom and dad to see the hill country.  I could see them retiring there and really enjoying small town life, so into the truck we all piled and drove off to Wimberley.

There were quite a few little places to check out, but the one that had me most excited was the Central Texas Bonsai Exhibit.

I was pretty blown away by the entire exhibit.  First of all, I thought that all Bonsai were Juinpers.  Wrong.  They are any plant that you train up into being a Bonsai, which literally means in Japanese, potted plant:  bon, basin + sai, to plant.

Some of these Bonsai had taken decades to grow.  To grow the base they are kept in nursery pots, once they are transferred to their permanent pot the base will stop growing.  The plants are removed periodically from their containers to trim around all of the edges of the root system to keep it from getting too cramped and then inhibiting further growth. 

The couple who runs the exhibit were so nice and proudly walked us around their museum and shop explaining all of the various Bonsai and how they were created. 

Then my dad told me to pick one out.  He does stuff like that- I swear I feel like I'm five years old when I get excited about something and my dad can tell, and just like that he says, "Why don't you pick out one that you like".  At 45 years old I am still daddy's girl ;)  

So we walked around for a while until I found my Bonsai:

Then I picked out a cute little figurine to place underneath my Bonsai tree.  These are added for perspective to give the tree the illusion of being much bigger than it really is.  

So far the maintenance has been easy.  I watered it thoroughly when I got home and check it every few days to give it a light watering evenly across the top.  My tree can be indoors or outdoors, but I prefer to have it inside where I can see it more.  

If you get out to the Wimbereley area be sure to check out the Central Texas Bonsai Exhibit.  It is a beautiful stroll through rows and rows of gorgeous Bonsai.