And now you are UP TO DATE

SUPER SOCIAL FOOD LEAGUE UPDATE: October finds us three strong (welcome, Emily!) and checking out Garrido's, purportedly for tacos although only one of us actually ordered tacos (good thing you joined the team, Emily!). You may notice that even though my company was very charming and attractive, I did not take any pictures of them. This is because I am just using them for picture-taking access to their food. Look how much pretty food I have to show you now!

Oysters Bocaditos on yucca root chips.

Coffee-marinated steak and caramelized onion salad with fresh corn.

Ceviche del dia.

Pork carnitas tacos.

Imagine how great it will be when there are a dozen FL members and I badger them into all ordering different things. I will catalogue every dish in Austin. No one can stop me. Ahem. Along those lines, here is a:

BLOGGERS IN TOWN UPDATE: Saturday night I went to Home Slice Pizza, aka House O' Transcendent Aromas, with Donna, Kammah, Maryann, and Shalini. They were charming and attractive. I...did not take any pictures of them. Let's call it a theme, yes? I DID take pictures of the pizza. Oh mercy, the pizza.

"White pie with spinach." Translation: "Cheeeeeeeeses, so many cheeeeeeeeeses for yooooooooooou."

"NO ONE TOUCH IT YET" I barked joked. Haha. I'm fun.

"Sausage, ricotta cheese, and roasted red pepper." Translation: "What even happened back there? I think I passed out."

And then I took home all the leftovers and everyone was very nice about it. Probably because they saw the gleam in my eye indicating that resistance would be...you know, not futile exactly because I'm pretty confrontation-averse, but certainly more trouble than it was worth.

LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER FALL PLANT SALE UPDATE: One downside of using a giant trough as a swimming pool at home is that your children will grow up thinking that giant troughs are swimming pools.

Aside from that distraction, the girls proved they were ready for some hard, and frequently unnecessary, work.

We were definitely getting that empty wagon up the trail.

We rewarded their efforts with some time in the butterfly garden.

Judging by his calm reaction, I assume it wasn't the first time someone has screamed "FUH-FWY FUH-FWY!" at him for ten minutes.

PINTEREST RECIPE UPDATE: I also rewarded my garden-workers with the following orange-hued meals, of which I would recommend any and all:

Sausage and white bean stew with Swiss chard.

Panisse with garlic-ginger sauce.

Sweet potato and caramelized onion shells.

Butternut squash and chicken mash.

Okay girls, seriously. It's time to go.