A Day in Fredericksburg Texas - Part 2 (Inside, where it was warm!)

Fredericksburg is only an hour or so away from Austin. 

Go by way of bus with a dozen other realtors and that hour passes fast... 

...especially if most of them are women! 

We slipped into this little restaurant on the main street for a coffee to-go. 

Ammunition against the freezing temperature and brisk wind outside.

All of the shops are inside historic buildings and show off the great architectural details. 

I should have bought this for my son and daughter-in-law.

I hope they're happy with just a photo of it.

Look who's keeping an eye on the store in Dogologie!

Stylishly bundled up against the cold.

Precious!

Embroidered boots! How do they do that?

If I hadn't just bought a pair of boots... 

(and if I had an extra few hundred bucks lying around...) 

Hmmmm....makes you think.

When in a German town, you have to drink a German beer...

My view as I ate my Reuben sandwich (and drank my German beer.)

More of our group wandered in later...

This unique stair railing graced the inside of one of the shops...

Such a cute idea!

On the way home, we stopped at Messina Hof winery for a tasting...

It was the perfect way to spend a winter day in Texas...

...although, honestly, Fredericksburg is great in any season!

A Day in Fredericksburg, Texas (Part 1 - On the Street)

I jumped on a bus with a bunch of other Keller Williams agents this past Thursday for a trip into the hill country...

...specifically, to Fredericksburg, a quaint little German-heritage Texas town just an hour or so west of Austin, known for shopping, wine, peaches, and lavender, depending on the season.

Thursday it was cold and windy, but the shops were warm and cozy, all decked out in Christmas color and bling. 

Grab some hot chocolate and follow me along the sidewalks...

So creative!

All decked out for Christmas.

(I had the Reuben. Yum!)

See those people down there? We weren't the only crazy ones exploring the town that day!

I love the architecture...and do you see the figures along the wall to the right?

The Salvation Army bell ringer braved the cold to bring in donations.

The Art Deco touches on this building caught my eye.

A little tequila would have warmed us up!

Who can resist Betty Boop?

Our bus parked near this church. While waiting on the rest of the group, I jumped out and took some photos. Surprised? I didn't think so.

This old home is right across the street from the church. I'd love to know how old it really is. 

Wasn't that fun? 

Join me tomorrow...or Monday or Wednesday...for Day 2, wherein I take you into the shops and restaurants with me!

Seeing Stars

On Thanksgiving weekend, we picked up my son from work on our way out of town.

We were early, so I used my time wisely...

Remember this fence?

It surrounds our state capitol building.

I just love it!

And my lucky kid gets to see it every day!

He probably doesn't even appreciate it.

Kids.

In Homage to the Architects of Old (Georgetown Flashback #3)

I look up when I wander through old sections of small towns, where progress looks outward, into the farmlands, filling the fields with unadorned concrete, glass and sheet metal buildings, built to be replaced.

The buildings in these small Texas towns were designed with pride and built to last, to show off, to stand out. 

It breaks my heart when I see them neglected.

That's not the case in Georgetown, though. At least not now. 

“Architecture, of all the arts, is the one which acts the most slowly, but the most surely, on the soul.” ~  Ernest Dimnet 

"There are three forms of visual art: Painting is art to look at, sculpture is art you can walk around, and architecture is art you can walk through." ~ Dan Rice

Can you tell I love these stairs? Such a great example of function meeting art - anything can be made beautiful, if attention is paid to the details and worked with pride.  

I almost missed this, hiding under an eave at the corner of a building. 

It becomes art when every surface is a part of the canvas.

“The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.” ~  Frank Lloyd Wright

“This building is like a book. Its architecture is the binding, its text is in the glass and sculpture.” ~  Malcolm Miller

“An architect is the drawer of dreams” ~  Grace McGarvie 

In these old towns, each building has its own personality.

“Architecture is music in space, as it were a frozen music.” ~  Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling