Boyfriend is a water baby. Surfing, scuba diving, tubing, anything on the lake – ask him to join any water activity and he’s in. I’m becoming convinced that he was a merman in another life. So when it came time to plan his birthday shindig, it was obvious something with the lake or river would be involved.

We conspired with our friends and rented a lake house in New Braunfels for the weekend to get away, eat good food, and float the river.

Weekend in New Braunfels

This was one of the most chill floats we’ve ever done. There were some clouds in the sky so it wasn’t scorching hot. We went around and told the birthday boy one thing we hated about him and roused everyone on the river to join us in a song of ‘happy birthday.’

The float ended up being an hour plus longer than we thought it would be. We had lunch waiting in a cooler in the car and who knew the simplest of sandwiches would taste so good?

We are so lucky to have foodie friends who are also fantastic cooks! Our friend Dan made a sous vide brisket, Claire made pounds of potato salad, and Cristina made beet deviled eggs. Claire also brought a fancy cheese spread and made jello squares for the river. With the amount of food (we *might* have over-prepared), we did not go hungry all weekend.

While the night before involved True American (a game from the show New Girl), charades, Twister, Kam Jam, and a dance party, the second night was karaoke for hours. As an adult, this is how you lose your voice. Circling back to True American, have y’all ever tried playing it? We attempted it for about a minute but I think we’re determined to figure it out now!

The weekend flew by way too quickly. It was a tease to wake up one morning PUMPED for a day of tubing and fun and then wake up the next morning to pack up and go home. Time flies when you’re having fun and the passing of time is so strange as an adult. The days feel long but the years are short. Don’t forget to take advantage of opportunities to spend time with people you care about.

The Logistics and Tips

• We stayed in this awesome rental on Lake Dunlap in New Braunfels. It was about 15 minutes from tubing options.
• We went to Texas Tubes to float the Comal River. $20 a tube and it’s $1 off per tube with a group of 10 or more. The float was about three and a half hours.
• New Braunfels is about an hour south of Austin, TX.
• There are a few tubing options in New Braunfels: Texas Tubes, Corner Tubes, Landa Falls, and Rockin’ R.
• When it comes to tubing in Central Texas, you can float the Comal River, Guadalupe River, and San Marcos River. Comal is the tamest and less party-focused.
• There is currently a can ban on the Comal River. In addition to cans, it includes disposable plastics like sandwich bags and one-time use plastic bottles. See all the rules here.

P.S. Want more birthday ideas? Check it out here!

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I love birthdays, especially my own! It’s a great excuse to gather my friends together and do something fun. I usually have an idea picked and planned months before my birthday, but this year, I had no strong opinion about what I wanted to do. In the past, I’ve thrown a Gold and Pink Brunch, a Wanderlust Party, and a Cake Potluck.

This year, I wanted something low-key, somewhat spontaneous, and with as little planning as possible. (I know, who am I?!) A night out sounded perfect. The Domain is an entertainment area in North Austin, and they opened the Northside area this year, which has exploded with new shops, bars, and restaurants. Rock Rose Street has been unofficially dubbed the “west 6th of the north,” because of the bars and restaurants that line the street. I’m excited about this hip, new area because I’ve lived in North Austin for 10 years and don’t always want to drive downtown when I go out. It also brings some fun stores and restaurants to Austin.

We started the night out by checking into our room at the Archer Hotel. (I LOVE staying in and experiencing different hotels. Check out my hotel secrets post here.) This place is gorgeous! The lobby features high ceilings and touches of a rock ‘n’ roll motif. Black and blue and leather can be seen everywhere. Hallways are lined with photos of legendary rock stars on stage.

These lemon pastries with dried cranberries welcomed us in the room and they were mouth-watering!

Our room had the same black and blue scheme with a touch of animal print. It was spacious with a sitting area. The bathroom was really nice, as you can see from the first photo in this post!

After dropping off our stuff, we met up with friends at Shake Shack for dinner. While technically not in the Northside area, this second location of Shake Shack in Austin opened at The Domain this year. Counter service is easy for big group dinners, and everyone loves Shake Shack! I usually go with a classic Shack Burger but was quickly convinced to get the Shroom Stack. Yum!

If you want to bar hop in the area, Rock Rose Road is your best bet. The bars on this street include:

• Lavaca Street Bar
• Jack and Ginger’s Pub
• Rose Room
• 77 Degrees
• Kung Fu Saloon
• The Dogwood
• St. Genevieve

The highlight of my night: getting to ring the gong at Kung Fu Saloon. Birthday perks!

After a wonderful night of rest, we woke up for brunch at Second Bar + Kitchen. The brunch is all-inclusive for $38 per person and includes passed appetizers, a carving station, a pastry display, and made-to-order entrée dishes. The quality of the dishes wasn’t what I expected of the restaurant but they were photo-worthy.

All-in-all, it was a fun night away to satisfy my love of hotels, birthdays, and quality time with friends.

Visiting The Domain soon? Here are some of my recommendations of places in the Northside to eat, shop, and play!

Eat

• Culinary Dropout – I’ve been hearing great things about this New American restaurant.
• Flower Child – Same owners as Culinary Dropout, this restaurant is focused on greens.
• General Tso’Boy – Counter-service Chinese-fusion restaurant.
• Salvation Pizza – Local Austin, counter-service pizza place.
• Thai-Kun – Great Thai dishes here.

Shop

• Sugarfina – I’ll take you to the candy shop.
• Warby Parker – Need glasses? This is your place.

Play

• Viva Day Spa – My favorite spa in Austin! Read about my experience here.
• CorePower Yoga – I’ve worked out here several times and it’s a great studio for yoga and boot camp workouts.
• SoulCycle – Get your spin on! You’ll find an energetic cycling workout here.

Keep up with me elsewhere! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, or Snapchat (@wanderlustanita). You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

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Words of Wisdom
“They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.”

How could he go back to living a mundane life?
I enjoyed this thought-provoking interview. We create our own meaning of life. Maybe the way of living described below is something to strive for.

“I wonder if that’s all that keeps him going in life. Once he made that first attempt that was so amazing, how could he go back to living a mundane life? So he made it a life goal to keep going with the records and expeditions, and maybe that’s how he keeps going. Pushing your own limits in some impactful way and forget everyone else. Just keep carving into something for as long as you can hold out for.”

Run for the Water
Race #2 for the Austin Distance Challenge is in the books! This 10-miler was hilly and difficult but I’m glad I pressed on for an ok time. I’ve got half-marathons in December, January, and February coming up!

8th ATXBloggerMixer
Jesse and I hosted the 8th ATXBloggerMixer at the beginning of November. As always, it was a fun and productive time to meet new bloggers, catch up with blogger friends, and get tips from our speaker.

Chrystie Vachon of Living for Naptime had a wealth of knowledge from her 16 years of blogging and community-building.

Thank you to all our sponsors for helping us throw this event!
Host: Adelante Boutique
Cocktails: Reyka Vodka and Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey
Wraps: Baby Greens
Brownies: LovePuppies
Cookies: Shortbread Baking Co.

And Still I Rise
If you need some extra encouragement, listen to Maya Angelou read her poem ‘And Still I Rise.’

Fighting for what’s right is worth it
I enjoyed reading this post from Hither and Thither. I encourage you to read it!

What have you been captivated by lately? Any cool articles, videos or products you want to share in the comments below?

Keep up with me elsewhere! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, or Snapchat (@wanderlustanita). You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.

The post Captivations v.29: Birthday, 8th ATXBloggerMixer, and Life appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Kindness
I’ve been thinking about this post from The Fresh Exchange a lot. As someone who was also raised with the church and Christianity being an incredibly big part of my life, I know the feeling behind this post, but the overarching lessons that can come from religion and the story about tremendous kindness that extends beyond differences.

The Great Food Bloggers Cookie Exchange
I was really excited to participate in the Great Food Bloggers Cookie Exchange this year. I received a dozen cookies each from three bloggers (see below) and I came up with a recipe that I sent to three different bloggers. Take a look at my recipe.

Deb Perelman Interview on The Great Discontent
I love the thoughtful interviews on The Great Discontent and they recently posted an interview with one of my favorite bloggers, Deb Perelman of The Smitten Kitchen. There are so many good bits in the interview, so I’ll let you take it all in.

I Ran my 4th Half-Marathon!
You would think that by the fourth time around I would actually train for the race. I haven’t gotten down the discipline of keeping up with a training schedule, especially in the wintertime, but I finished with a PR of 2:43, four minutes faster than my previous time. The weather was absolutely perfect for the race! I’m looking for my next race because I still want to maintain a 10-minute mile!

Birthday Celebrations
My birthday was at the end of November and the celebrations came in a flurry of two weeks, due to Thanksgiving and the half-marathon being prioritized over it. I celebrated with a cake with my family during Thanksgiving, going out to dinner with the boyfriend, birthday lunch with my co-workers and Cake Party! It was a chill and relaxing time and I wouldn’t have had it any other way!

Drake on a Cake
No further explanation needed.

Instagram Husband
Because behind all the beautiful photos you see on social media is an Instagram husband putting up with everything.

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For my birthday this year, I went with a theme that has been on my list for a while – wanderlust. My idea was to celebrate the adventures we had taken and be inspired by the places we could go.

I asked guests to send me a favorite photo from their travels and it resulted in this wall of beautiful places. We are a well-traveled bunch!

For eats, we enjoyed foods representing different countries: chips, salsa, sausage dip, brisket, cranberry crumb bars, coffee toffee, lasagna, and crepe cake.

The chocolate on top of the homemade crepe cake may have been a little overdone, but it was delicious! This amazing cake is from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and has layers and layers of crepes with hazelnut cream in-between the layers. Also, candied hazelnuts on top.

I’ve developed a love of Type 2 Volkswagen buses and I think a long road trip in one would be a fun adventure. This cut-out was a fun prop.

My clever friends also gifted wanderlust-themed gifts. Yes, the candle really smells like baguette!

The Details
Theme: Wanderlust Birthday Party
Date: November 2013
Place: house
Food: chips, salsa, sausage dip, brisket, cranberry crumb bars, coffee toffee, lasagna, crepe cake
Special decor/features: VW bus cut-out, paper airplane garland, travel-related sign, tin globe, paper airplanes, travel photo wall

Have you ever given a gift to match a party theme? What was it?

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When I asked my friend Linda what she was doing for her upcoming big THREE-OH birthday and she said she was thinking about a ball potluck, I immediately said “YES, DO IT” and I can host it! If you know me, celebrating birthdays and planning themed parties are two of my favorite things. This was a jackpot! 

Friends brought ball-shaped foods.

Sweet Balls

Savory Balls

We took pictures in front of a ball wall backdrop.

 We decorated with ball objects.

We wrote the birthday girl birthday messages.

And we celebrated a monumental birthday for a friend who has filled my life incredibly in the past year!

Thanks for letting me host, Linda! Wish you a monumental 30th year!

What’s your favorite themed birthday party you’ve thrown or attended?

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