As I mentioned in my entry below, I've wrapped up the wearing of a few hats and have packed them away in hat boxes.  Since I am down to my normal wardrobe of hats, dh suggested we take advantage of the lovely spring weather which has wafted into our area.  Friday had been so gorgeous with bright blue skies and soft warm breezes,  that we could feel the winter duldreams slipping away.  DH and the children asked if we could go to Fredericksburg, a charming town in the hill country, to walk around and shop.  Aren't I blessed to have a family who actually enjoys shopping?  ;)

Sadly, Saturday felt cold, cloudy and wintery.  We kept looking at the weather prediction and the two did not seem to match.  Incredibly disheartened, I decided to tag along.  DS kept saying we could always keep warm in the shops.  I suffer terribly in the cold and did not relish the idea of having to work to stay warm. Elatedly, we watched the skies clear and the sun shone forth, warming my chilled bones.  The day turned out to be gorgeous!

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I have to eat at certain times.  And it was time to eat lunch!  I was not feeling great from my breakfast of whole wheat pancakes with a smidge of maple syrup.  It was the maple syrup crashing my blood sugar.  Therefore, I was very picky about where we ate.  Fredericksburg is a charming German town, with many restaurants that serve saurkraut.  Although I am of German descent on both sides of my family, even my maiden name is German, I feel blessed that my ancestors came to the New World to try new foods!  LOL  We found this charming little spot that does not serve saurkraut! 

The weather was so nice, we ate in the courtyard.

We enjoyed the flowers and blue skies while waiting for our food.

DH ordered creole gumbo, which he said was wonderfully spicy, as it should be.  Years ago we went to New Orleans and the food we had in the French Quarter was not spicy.  He kept sending it back to the kitchen to get more spice, but to no avail.  Texas knows how to spice up the food!  LOL  Actually, I'm sure the French Quarter does too; we must have chosen the wrong places.   He also ate the rest of the hamburger ds couldn't finish. I have a few recipes for gumbo that I want to try.

I ordered a salad with pomegranates, walnuts and parmesian, because I knew it would be perfect to get my blood sugar straight. Although I love onion rings, I didn't like these.  Too greasy.  I was delighted to find they used various lettuces! I first "cooked" with pomegranates during our first unit celebration and we love it!  They are very healthy too!

However I knew I needed more carbs to keep me going, walking through town.  DH also ordered chips and salsa for us all to share.  WOW!  The salsa was roasted and warm, my new favorite way to eat it.  I need to experiment with good recipes.  I have a recipe I used to like.  But I am now spoiled with the roasted flavor I've had here and a few other places.

Refueled, energized and feeling terrific, I led dh here.

Remember Kellie Ann's "Find the Wreath" contest?  I won a pair of earrings from her, courtesy of Jeep Collins. 

www.homeschoolblogger.com/teacupsinthegarden/447378/

This is his only store.  His workshop is a couple of miles away.  I showed dh there are plenty of less expensive pieces that I liked.  I even found a pair of bluebonnet earrings!  After drooling for a while, we went to other shops.

This is one of my favorite shops.

The windows express the mood well.

How true...LOL

  Oh, this would never describe me! LOL

Flowers were everywhere.  Pansies only grow well in the winter and early spring here.  They withstand freeze quite well.

See the accordian player? The shop is a kitchen store, the best one I've found in my area.

DD found a mold for petit fours.  She has a birthday coming up on March 19 and she always likes a tea party.  So I bought the mold.  Has anyone used these before?  Any tips or great recipes?  Doesn't have to be healthy, not for her bd!  LOL  The nice thing about these is that one of these will probably be a carb and very allowable in my diet (and my mom's).  It's the huge slices of cake and pie we have to worry about!  So this is a great way to have the taste of the real thing without going overboard!

This is the Nimitz hotel.  Admiral Nimitz, who headed the South Pacific operations during WWII, grew up in this hotel that was owned by his family.  It's a great museum today!  It has recently opened from extensive renovations.

This is my dh's and dc's favorite store.  There are a million food samples here.  You get to try before you buy!  I told my family they could not sample!  LOL  Too many germs this time of year.  Since they know I want to go to Dallas healthy, and I am on antibiotic right now, they conceded.  However we did sample fudge, which is behind the counter and served by a girl who touches it with her hands covered.  I love dark chocolate the best, but don't like anyone's fudge but my own.  So I sampled other flavors. Orange cream was delicious.  Coconut and chocolate was a huge wow!  I love coconut! These are mere slivers, so certainly doable on my diet! 

I asked dh to buy some Cajun Mesquite Mustard.  I always buy a jar when we come.  Pricey but a wow! I use it to make incredible low fat/carb free sauces to put over grilled meat.  WOW! 

Being an old town that dates back to the mid 1800's, the stores are built into some old buildings.  Lots of stone work.

Plenty of Victorian styling as well.