Yvette, Vianney, Melissa, Sommer, Christy, Deborah, Ali, Me and Jenny

Last week I went to Austin, Texas for a blogging event with Old El Paso. We are partnering with Old El Paso this year so it was exciting to meet the other bloggers, the Old El Paso team, and learn more about their products.

I went to Austin last year for the first time and instantly fell in love. It is such a fun city!

We stayed at Hotel San Jose. The urban bungalow-style hotel is located on South Congress Avenue, a few blocks from downtown and in one of Austin’s favorite neighborhoods. The staff was super friendly and I loved the garden courtyard and funky rooms! I also loved having Joe’s next door. They are known for their coffee, breakfast tacos, and sweet treats, but I went for their ice. They have the BEST ice ever. I crave ice like mad when I am pregnant and Joe’s kept me refreshed every day! 

After I checked into my hotel room, I went to lunch with a few of my blogging friends. We walked to South Congress Cafe, which is only a few blocks from Hotel San Jose. I ordered the Migas. I figured I needed to kick-off my Austin experience with some Mexican food! They hit the spot!

After lunch, we stopped by Amy’s Ice Creams for a sweet and cool treat. I had a scoop of Mexican vanilla ice cream with homemade brownie chunks. SO good!

Next, we met up to learn more about Old El Paso. We talked all about Mexican food…one of my favorite topics! We also took a few fun photos:)

For dinner, we went to La Condesa, a modern Mexican restaurant. We ate, ate, and ate some more! The chips and fresh salsas were to die for…and so was the Mexican street corn!

The next day, Mando Rayo, author of Austin Breakfast Tacos, took us on a taco tour. We went to four of his favorite spots in Austin: VeraCruz All Natural, Joe’s Bakery, Tacodeli, and Al Pastor.

I loved the migas and grilled veggie tacos at VeraCruz All Natural. I could eat there every day!

The watermelon agua fresca was also a winner! So refreshing!

My other favorite spot was Tacodeli. They have lots of vegetarian and vegan options. The Heather taco was my favorite-grilled queso fressco, refried black beans, guacamole, lettuce, and tomatoes. So tasty…even when I was already full:)

We also visited the farmers market to pick up fresh ingredients to make dinner!

We found some pretty produce!

For dinner, we went to the Silver Whisk to cook up a storm. We were divided in teams and were challenged to create recipes using the produce we bought at the market and Old El Paso ingredients.

Jenny and I made a Green Chile Roasted Tomato Guacamole. It was down right delicious…if I do say so myself:)

Of course, we had to create a sweet treat:) We used Old El Paso’s Stand ‘n Stuff shells to create a cinnamon sugar taco filled with Greek yogurt, honey, and fruit. Yum!

Old El Paso surprised us with special cupcakes. I’ve never had my face on a cupcake before:)

On our last day in Austin, Ali and I met up with Jeanine from Love and Lemons. We went to breakfast at Elizabeth Street Cafe. Such a cute spot. Ali and I shared the vegetarian Breakfast Banh Mi. It had egg whites, mushrooms, and fresh chiles. The baguette was super soft! So good!

We also shared the French toast. It sounded too good to pass up-Brioche French toast with sweetened condensed milk ice cream and peaches! A sweet way to start our day!

Next, we went on a Friday Night Lights tour. Ali and I are OBSESSED with the show…and Tim Riggins. The show was filmed in Austin so we visited a few of the spots from the show. First, we drove to Tim Riggin’s land. It might not look like much, but if you watched the show, you know how epic this piece of land is:) (Address: 7252 Burleson Manor Rd., Manor, Texas) 

We also went to Tim and Billy Riggin’s house. Tim’s truck wasn’t in the driveway, sad! We were hoping to run into #33! (Address: 2604 Lehigh Dr., Austin, Texas 78723)

Coach Taylor’s house! I wanted to knock on the door, but I resisted the temptation:) (Address: 6805 De Paul Cove, Austin, Texas 78723)

Our final stop was Matt Saracen’s house! I was hoping there would be a Dillion Panther sign in the front yard, but nope! No grandma, either! (Address: 3009 Kuhlman Ave., Austin, Texas 78702)

It was fun to visit a few spots from our favorite show! Texas Forever!

Thanks Old El Paso for a fun trip to Austin! Stay tuned for lots of fresh and tasty Mexican recipes this year!

Disclosure-we are partnering with Old El Paso this year to create recipes. Old El Paso paid for my trip, but our opinions are our own!