Every once in awhile, Austin –which is overall a great place to be all the time– will give you one of those days that is just exceptional.  You can’t plan or predict them, they just unfold on their very own.  Fueled by perfect weather, these days all have one thing in common: time spent in the great outdoors.  The memory of my first day like this is quite vivid:  the husband & I rode our bikes to lunch, took ’em off-road to explore the Lady Bird Lake Hike & Bike Trail, followed by a quick stop to wade in Barton Springs, then dinner at henri’s, and ice cream at lick.  I remember arriving back at home that night, reflecting on the day, and concluding that it was my best, most favorite day in Austin thus far.

Today was simply splendid, too.  We had a quiet morning but left for a quick lunchtime workout at our gym.  I got in 30 minutes on the treadmill, a set of tricep presses and a set of calf raises.  Any day that I make it to the gym is a win, in my book!  It’s like, I almost NEVER want to get off my butt and go, but I always feel so energized & accomplished afterward.

We took the top down for the drive home — love me some convertible weather!  After a quick shower, I was off to the Arboretum area for a haircut at AZIZ Salon.  There was a $20 gift card in my goodie bag from the last Austin Beauty Guide event I attended, so I took it as a sign to go ahead and book a fresh cut for Spring.  Their downtown location is so much closer to where I live, but the Arboretum salon looked so pretty & tranquil online.  Plus, I don’t mind driving a few extra miles in the aforementioned convertible weather!  I like to explore new areas of Austin and I’m not super familiar with all that’s in & around the Arboretum, so I though this was a good excuse to get out there.

Split-end free, I left my visit to AZIZ happy with my bouncy new blown-out hair.  Do you like???

This #selfie was snapped at a little park I stumbled upon right outside the salon.  The weather was ab-fab and I couldn’t help but take a few minutes for some time under the trees.  The bench I’m sitting on is at the end of the park (also utilized as The Arboretum’s ‘food court”?) and has a panoramic hill country view.  There’s also these life-size marble sculpture cows in various natural colors, aptly called “Arboretum Cows” by Harold Clayton. 

There’s also a magical gazebo there that looks straight out of a fairy tale.  

Once back home in South Austin, I quickly freshened up to meet up with a friend for a rooftop film at The Contemporary Austin, our modern art museum.  They screened a documentary on “architectural futurist” Paolo Soleri, entitled The Vision of Paolo Soleri: Prophet in the Desert.  “The story of an unprecedented artistic quest, exploring Paolo Soleri’s legacy as an architect, environmentalist, and philosopher.”  The piece was informative, but was a little long (for a documentary) & indulgent to me.  However, it’s good to attend cultural events such as this and support museum exhibitions, even if they don’t turn out to be exactly your taste.  The setting, though, was gorgeous…couldn’t have asked for a better night for an outdoor movie!