Events may have already taken place in your area, but the Austin portion of the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale is happening this weekend, Sunday the 28th at the vegan restaurant Counter Culture on Cesar Chavez as well as at Monkey Wrench Books on East North Loop. Many local vegan food establishments are donating baked good for the volunteers to sell. That list includes:

• The Happy Vegan Baker
  
• Capital City Bakery
  
• Unity Vegan Kitchen
  
• Red Rabbit Bakery
  
• Sugar Mama's
  
• Sinfull Bakery
  
• Mr. Natural
  
• And many more!
  

Proceeds will go to two area animal sanctuaries, SARA Sanctuary and Sunny Day Farms. Our city's goal is to raise $2,000 for these groups.

You can participate in the bake sale in two ways; you can show up and invest your money in some awesome vegan sweets and you can also bake and donate some of your own.

For more information, head on over to the Austin area WWVBS page. For those of you not in Austin, visit the official website for the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. I hope you haven't missed your event!

And, just a reminder, this is just one of the many vegan-friendly events Texas has to offer. For a list of many more, head on over to my Texas Vegetarian Festivals and Events page!

See you at the bake sale!

I've had a pretty pleasant weekend and I truly hope you're doing similarly. Yesterday, Chris and I took a trip out to Burnet and Marble Falls. Why? Well, we were looking for bluebonnets, a wildflower that grows here in Central Texas. A popular thing to do is take photos in them. We have done this a few times before and I wanted to do it again. This past weekend was the Burnet Bluebonnet Festival, and this was our first stop in our hunt.

My hopes were a tad squashed after driving the 45 minutes to the festival without seeing a large patch of bluebonnets. Never fret, I thought, as there were bound to be a field of them someplace. So Chris, Rusty, and I stopped at the festival before venturing onward in our search.

An aerial show took place in the sky over the crowds of people listening to live music and shopping through stalls of handmade items, carnival foods, amusement rides, and crafts. I had also wanted to pick up a few items with bluebonnets adorning them, but failed to find something I felt I needed. What can I say? I'm trying to live a more simplified (junk free) life. We spent approximately an hour there before getting back in the car and moving on. Here are a few pictures from the festival.

I was a little disheartened getting back in the car, but Chris and I looked on the Internet for a wildflower route and drove to Marble Falls in search of more flowers. We found tiny patches along the way, but nowhere to pull off and frolic and take pictures. Dejected, we set a course for home, which actually sent us on a very windy back road, through lots of patches of bluebonnets. So we posed. And here we are.

We had a nice, relaxing evening, and ended up going to a movie this afternoon. After grocery shopping and having a late lunch, I decided to go into the kitchen and whip up something refreshing with another one of my springtime favorites; lavender.

I decided earlier this month to devote the majority of my blog posts for April to the subject of tea. I do, after all, just love the stuff, and I would very much like to encourage others to be tea-drinkers. Iced tea is one of my go-to summertime drinks so I figured it would be a great place to start. This recipe combines an old standard, Earl Grey tea, with floral lavender and mellow cream for a really refreshing combination. Let me know what you think.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups water
3 Earl Grey tea bags
1 teaspoon cullinary lavender
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 cup ice
1/2 cup soy based cream

DIRECTIONS
In a medium sized saucepan, bring the 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat, then add the lavender and tea bags. Let steep for five minutes.

In a decanter or pitcher, add the 1 cup of ice and soy cream. Set aside until steeping has finished (you can certainly do this in the refrigerator).

After steeping is finished, remove the tea bags. Give 'em a good squeeze to ensure a stronger flavor. Discard. Then, strain the tea base into a liquid measuring cup with a nice spout on it. This will help you pour the mixture into your decanter more easily. Add the agave nectar and stir until dissolved.

Pour the tea mix into your decanter with the iced soy based cream. Swish to mix. Serve immediately over ice or allow to thoroughly cool before serving.

Makes 2-4 servings.

Note: If entertaining, this recipe can easily be doubled!


Also, if you'd like to know more about tea, feel free to consult myIntroduction to Tea Drinking. You can also check out my new recipe for Oatmeal Tea-sies, cookies infused with traditional black tea. More tea based recipes are to come!

One of my favorite vegetarian events took place today! The Texas VegFest is Austin's premiere vegetarian festival, complete with food vendors, merchants, live music, speakers, and demonstrations. Here's a recap of our day spent there...

Last year was the inaugural event (click here to read my 2012 Texas VegFest recap!). I had only been blogging for a few months at that point, and I was eager to get down there and check out all of the local food establishments I hadn't gotten to yet as well as see what kinds of nifty products existed that I hadn't encountered before. In fact, the first Texas VegFest was when I was introduced to Sweet Ritual for the first time, Austin's local vegan ice cream parlor (and my favorite indulgence!). This year was no different for my partner and I- we tried new foods, collected samples, and bought all the vegan merch we could afford.

Our first stop was the booth belonging to Capital City Bakery, another one of our favorite sweet shops. I had been seeing a lot of vegan cheesecake on the company's Instagram and absolutely needed to try a slice for myself. To be completely honest, this was my breakfast. Chris had a peanut butter whoopie pie with marshmallow filling. Yes, we're totally responsible 30-somethings and always eat a healthy, nutritious meal first thing. Moving on...

The cheesecake was amazing, of course. The texture was just like "conventional" cheesecake. I've found that a lot of vegan pies and wannabee cheesecakes are way too sweet and are more soft and custardy. The kind I had from Capital City Bakery wasn't like this. It was pretty much perfect, honestly, and my mind was so consumed by devouring it that I didn't take a picture. You should stop by, though, and order a slice for yourself.

Another destination we knew we needed to get to sooner rather than later was the Herbivore Clothing Company. Last year, Chris really wanted to get a "Bacon Had A Mom" t-shirt but they sold out before she decided she needed one. We each bought a new shirt today and she added another belt to her collection. The Herbivore folks have a storefront in Oregon but they also travel to festivals throughout the country. Their fashion line is humorous, stylish, and extremely popular with vegans nationwide. Definitely be sure to check them out.

Like I stated previously, we encountered a number of new manufacturers we hadn't heard of before. One such company was called Better Bean. The Portland based group boasts the first line of refrigerated beans. I tried three of their varieties, all of which were truly flavorful and unique. I was a bit concerned as I have a thing about texture and they were sampling their items cold instead of warm. I used to be so picky about cold food that I wouldn't eat cherry tomatoes! Thankfully, I've gotten bolder; I tried the beans regardless of their temperature and was very impressed. 

The "Uncanny Refried Beans" were probably my favorite- a bit smoky with a lot of spiciness in the aftertaste. They use serano and habanero peppers to make it, which offer a vastly different flavor than the more common jalapeno and cayenne peppers. The "Cuban Black Beans" were great, too, with a pronounced lime flavor that went fantastically with the poblano peppers and apple cider vinegar they also use in the recipe. You can only get Better Bean products in Austin at Central Market right now, but they told me they're trying to get add more local retailers soon.

Next up on the list of vendors we were excited to meet were the team from Atkinson Candies! They manufacture Chick-o-Sticks, which are a Butterfinger-like candy popular with vegans because  well, they're vegan! They were super excited to be there themselves and were giving away candy left and right. Visitors could spin a wheel and win a Chick-o-Stick or Crunchy Peanut Butter Bar (which is like a Chick-o-Stick but without coconut). Chris won one while I got the other. They were also handing out samples of their new hard candies, which they told us are flavored with fruit juices and have fruit pieces added to them as well. I don't typically like hard candy, but these babies taste wonderful. They're light, fruity, and easy to just suck on for awhile. Yum! 


Other vendors I was happy to discover for the first time were:

• Sophie's Kitchen: Vegan seafood! They were sampling vegan scallops, which were actually really freakin' good.
  
• V-Dog: For your canine companion. They don't sell locally but do have free shipping on any order. Picked up a sample for my little buddy Rust. He'll probably love it as he eats anything.
• Yay! Benches: Adorable name, beautiful outdoor furniture. 
• Curry in Hurry: Which took me to India in one very spicy bite!
• Wholesome Sweeteners: Who offer non-GMO and organic erythritol sweetener, which I hadn't seen before.

Our swag bags also a ton of pamphlets from local places and companies including White Cloud World Teas, Austin Bhakti Yoga, and Emancipet. Compassion Over Killing also provided the bags with a book of easy vegan recipes. Swag bags are also great for samples; this years included a ton of samples from Wholesome Sweeteners, mini Lara bars, Go Raw spirulina bars, and more. I imagine the bags differed a tiny bit, because Chris and I got different things in each of our bags. Regardless, they were still fabulous. And the bags themselves were reusable!

Additionally, the bags included coupons by brands including Tofutti, Beanfields, and Sophie's Kitchen. These and the ones we picked up from booths totaled over $10 plus promo coupons for 20% off at Le Creuset and half off coupons to Austin Java. 

And just like last year, Chris and I bought tamales from Vegeria to go (click here for my restaurant feature on them). I also had a very butter vegan corn dog before we left. It wasn't much like a traditional corn dog, but it was really super tasty. And buttery. In fact, the guy at the fryer was pretty much holding a tub of Earth Balance the whole time I was waiting in line. Yep.

Oh, and Chris finally got me a Sweet Ritual shirt while we were there. She admitted earlier this year that she had meant to get me one for Christmas, but had run out of time before we left for the holiday weekend. But I have one, and I will be wearing it a lot this summer.

We stayed for a few hours before coming home. Chris is on the ill side and needed to get home to recuperate. We had a great time, though, and are already looking forward to next year. In the meantime, how about a slideshow? Enjoy!

If there is one thing I enjoy nearly as much as I enjoy cooking it is festivals or events. And I live in a great place for that! Austin has tons of events every year for things including but not limited to books, arts and crafts, music, film, food, and even dogs! When it comes to events in honor of our animal companions, I had only been to Dogtoberfest at the Domain. When a co-worker mentioned the Mighty Texas Dog Walk, I knew I wanted to add this event to my schedule.

 Most animal inspired events here raise money for non-profit groups. This was the walk's 15th year. It is organized by the Texas Hearing and Service Dogs group, now called Service Dogs, Inc. The group trains dogs to assist individuals with disabilities at no cost to the recipients.
 
This year, the walk also had a goal of meeting several Guinness World Records; Biggest Fur Ball, most dogs eating the same treat, most dogs doing dog yoga or "Doga," and most dogs wearing the same bandanna (which I know is one they completed with certainty). In addition to the charity walk and record-breaking goals, the event also boasted a large number of booths handing out samples of their products and giving away raffle prizes. Rusty's favorite part was the samples, of course.
 
Many local groups helped sponsor the event or had vendor spots there. The Happy Vegan Baker was one, which Chris and I were particularly excited for. We started the day off by ordering breakfast tacos from them. Mine was sweet potato and black bean; very smoky and sweet at the same time. We also ordered a couple of cinnamon rolls to go at the end of the event. They'll be our breakfast tomorrow morning! And whenever I checked, they always had a line or were serving customers. A very popular place, it seemed, which made me a happy camper.

I was also excited to get dog treats for Rusty from Austin's doggie food truck, Bow-Wow Chow. I had been meaning to bring my little monster down there for a long time but hadn't had the opportunity until now. 

I know that I had a great time and I'm pretty sure the rest of my family did, too. If you'd like to learn more about the group Service Dogs, Inc., visit their website. For more of my local Austin event coverage, click here.

Check out the rest of my photos in the slideshow below (if you don't see a slideshow, click here to open this post in your browser)!

The last few weeks have passed so quickly I find it very difficult to believe that we are almost at the middle of March. Phew! My mind has been set on moving since the beginning of February with the Techmunch Food Blogger Conference at the very end of the busiest 6 weeks I've had in ages. It was a great experience and I've learned a lot but I'm glad I can go back to normal life and start blogging regularly again.

You may or may not know that Techmunch took place during one of Austin's huge festivals, this one being SXSW (South by South West). The energy during this first weekend has been great. Chris and I went downtown yesterday to take in SXSWi including the gaming expo and NASA exhibit, at the Palmer Events Center and Long Center respectively. 

I've uploaded more photos to Google+, which you can view here. 

Chris is an astro-nut, as I've called her on Twitter (lolz), and the trip to the NASA stuff was totally worth it despite the rain and traffic. It made her that happy.

We grabbed some food truck favorites to go on our way back home and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

And then this morning was Techmunch. The food blogger conference is organized by the website Bakespace.com, and I was asked to speak at it after appearing on their Hangout series called Cookbook Cafe TV (you can watch that interview here). The topic I was given was meal planning and I also touched on saving time in the kitchen and money at the grocery store. The whole event was very casual and I enjoyed it a lot. The other attendees had some great questions about my topics. And I hope to share the presentation in some format with you all in the near future.

A number of excellent brands were there, providing samples, including Chameleon Coffee, Jade Monk, Good Pop, and more. The event was also sponsored by KitchenAid, Driscoll's, Goodies Company, and Whole Foods, where the event was also hosted. I managed to win a set of Jade Monk matcha teas, which are so amazingly awesome. I will be sharing them with you in the very near future.

One of the things I was most impressed with about Techmunch is that it really felt like the local food blog scene as well as food industry was well represented. Speakers and attendees did come from all around, but more than a few were from Austin or within a few hours' drive. I took notes on a lot of topics during the day, but here are some of my favorite tips, for those of you who are also bloggers but weren't able to attend.

Addie Broyles reminded everyone that it's just as important to consume food blogger content as it is to create it; in other words, appreciate the work of other food bloggers in addition to priding yourself in yours. Serena Ehlrich recommended to us that we discover what types of magazines or chefs our readers like and tie in their content to our own blogs. And Stephanie Manley suggested that food bloggers think in terms of a series as opposed to individual posts, re-purposing content as needed.

I appreciated seeing a heavy Google+ user base at Techmunch as it is my favorite social networking platform (you can visit my profile here)! Ronnie Bincer took every opportunity he could to share with attendees how important all of Google's tools are and how we can take advantage of them in every capacity. He was on hand throughout the day interviewing as many attendees as he could. Check out my interview at this link or by watching the video below!

I had a really great time and would definitely recommend anyone new to food blogging to attend a Techmunch conference if there's one near you. Here are some photos from the Austin event. If you're reading this through another website and can't see the slideshow, click here and open this page in a browser window. 

Thanks for reading! If you went to Techmunch, I would love to hear about your experiences! Please leave a comment or share the link to your own write up!

I knew 2013 would be an awesome year. I started off with a raise at work, followed shortly by my first appearance on a Google hangout, and then Chris and I signed a lease for an awesome apartment. Well, it keeps on getting better and better. On March 14th, I'll be giving my first presentation at a conference!

The very fabulous website BakeSpace.com has been hosting a food blogging conference called Techmunch for a couple of years now. This will be their second conference in Austin and I was asked to speak about my experiments in kitchen management during this year's event. I'm due for an update on my Scrimpy Livin' challenge, but it was that column that sparked the presentation I'm giving. My topic will be Creating a Menu and Optimizing Your Grocery List, which is something that I've had a lot of practice with since the beginning of the year. You may recall that I decided to try and cut my grocery bills in half during this challenge. Well, menu planning and kitchen organization were an integral part of my success in this regard. Yes, I have been successful nearly every week in this self-imposed state of frugality. And I couldn't be happier for it!

If you'd like to see this presentation (as well as many, many others) I encourage you to sign up for the conference asap! It's taking place on Sunday, March 10th at Whole Foods on 6th and Lamar in Austin. This event WILL take place during SXSW, which means the location will be on fire with activity. Tickets for the all day event are only $99. Attendees will be busy learning the ins and outs of food blogging from approximately 9am to 6pm, with snacks and meals provided by Whole Foods and various sponsors. A mixer will also take place when the conference has ended, and your admission price includes your attendance to that, too.

Other (more interesting) topics will include:

So, I hope you'll consider coming to Techmunch! If you see me there, don't hesitate to say hi! For a complete schedule, visit the Techmunch site. And you can click here to purchase your tickets! If you live beyond Texas, other conferences will take place throughout the USA. Check to see if this valuable event is coming to your neighborhood! 

I have to admit that I'm rather missing the blog. I've been working on a few things (like exciting recipes to be published next week!) but I had to share with you my experiences at the Lone Star Vegetarian Chili Cookoff.

First thing first, I have never been to a chili cookoff, anywhere. While Chris and I were at the Walk for Farm Animals in October, Brendan and Stevie introduced themselves and told us ALL about it. Yes, it sounded awesome, and we made a point to go. 

It was fabulous. There were a total of 23 teams set up at the Burnet Road Market competing in two categories; Traditional (which could use meat substitutes like seitan) and All-Veg (which included ingredients like beans, lentils, nuts, and more).

I honestly did not expect it to be so popular. There were tons of people there. But that didn't stop Chris and I (and Rusty) from enjoying ourselves. We tried 22 of the 23 chilis that were competing. The only reason we missed one was because team Straight From The Streets was busy whipping some up when we got to their booth and we unfortunately forgot to return before we headed out. D'oh! Not that we needed to be any more full as we were both about to burst. Well, Chris and I were anyway. Rusty didn't get any chili. Poor guy. Look at his sad little face!

He did, however, get a couple of bones from Barker's Bakers who was handing out samples. He loved them, too. He's not really into big, crunchy biscuits, but he devoured both of the ones the owner gave us.

Okay, back to the chili. It was extremely hard to pick a favorite. Some of the ones I really enjoyed were the Liberty Hill High School Vegetarian Club's mango chili, which was sweet but spicy and the only one using that fruit as its base, and Vegeria Vegan Restaurant's pumpkin pineapple and chipotle, which was also sweet and spicy but altogether a delight for the taste buds. Our hands-down favorites, though, were the chilis made by teams Red Hot Vegans and Austin Food Blogger Alliance (spearheaded by the blog Coseppi Kitchen). Which is such a coincidence considering they were the winning teams! Red Hot Vegans won the Traditional Division while AFBA won for All-Veg and the coveted People's Choice. I was excited to meet Marie and Daniel from Red Hot Vegans while we were there. I've been reading their blog since before I started mine! Yay!

If you're interested in the winning recipes, you can find Coseppi Kitchen's by clicking here. The Red Hot Vegans haven't published theirs yet, and I'm not sure if they're going to... If they do, though, I'll add the link at a later date.

The event offered up door prizes and vendors as well. Big Bald Mike was there, whom we saw at the Walk for Animals, encouraging the vegan lifestyle by sharing the story of how he became one of the strongest vegans ever! Capital City Bakery and Rabbit Food Grocery had booths in the vendor area. Chris and I picked up a mint chocolate cupcake and a whoopie pie from the bakery and also snagged some powdered vegan coffee creamer from the grocery. 

It was so awesome, you guys. If you have the chance to go next year you should so totally do it! In closing, have a slideshow. Thanks for reading!

This is yet another quick post recapping the Halloween adventure Chris and I had last night! Woo hoo!

I saw online the other day a map of vegan festivities taking place in Austin and that spurred Chris and I to go out and get costumes. We stopped by Party City Friday night and examined our options. Boy, was that the place to be! Long lines of happy customers, let's just say.

There were a few costumes I thought looked like they had potential. Butttt, I thought matching would be fun. The two of us decided on pirates (one of our favorite themes, if her birthday party wasn't evidence enough). We spent almost $100 and still had to delve into our current piratey stashes to finish off our ensembles.

We didn't go too overboard, but we donned our costumes and headed down to the food trailer lot near campus in hope of having wraps at Conscious Cravings before indulging in vegan caramel apples at Capital City Bakery. Except, I thought they were open until eight when they actually closed at six. But we ate our wraps regardless.

Look at how adorable our little sea monster was!! Yes, we dressed the dog up, too. Can't help it. He is my baby. And man, he liked those rosemary fries.

The guy at the counter seemed to be real entertained by our costumes. Especially the dog! A lot of "yarrs" were exchanged. Good times.

It seemed kind of silly to go home after that, what with our having gotten dressed up and spending all that money on apparel, so we also stopped at Sweet Ritual for dessert. They were offering kiddie cones to trick or treaters, but I ordered a Faux Butterfinger sundae. The homemade chocolate sauce was particularly delicious last night.

I had a great time. The plan right now is to keep collecting pirate gear for other costume related endeavors. Chris thinks we should break out the pirate duds at different times of year just for fun. We'll see. I expect we'll forget they're in the closet in about two months!

I hope you had a great Halloween!

Hello, blog. I have missed you! I have had a long and interesting week, y'all. I came down with a cold at the start of the week and it totally put a kibash on my plans for participating fully in the Vegan Mofo festivities. I just didn't have it in me to come home after 9 hours at work to play with new recipes, edit photos, or sit at the PC and write. I really apologize, but I wanted to get better in time for Saturday and the only way to do that was to get lots of sleep and concentrate on being well.

Saturday was, of course, Austin's Walk for Farm Animals to benefit Farm Sanctuary. I first heard about the walk while visiting Conscious Cravings one night for dinner. It sounded like a fun time and Chris and I signed up a few weeks later. We decided to make a team and encourage our friends and coworkers to join. We ended up with five people on our team (me, Chris, Jen, Kasey, and Eric) and I had set our goal to raise $250 for the farm animals.

I did a few different things in order to drum up support. I asked family members and former coworkers via the Internet for donations. I also offered to make cookies for some of them in exchange for donations. In the end, I ended up raising $130. But the biggest fundraiser on the team was Eric, who raised over $300! Altogether, our total was $500. I am so appreciative for the efforts of my team members, friends, and family, and especially thankful and impressed with Eric's contributions. 

After all of our efforts prior to the big day, the event took place at Pease Park, a popular place that hosts other events as well as casual fun. Chris and I almost didn't find a place to park as there isn't a parking lot to speak of, but we managed to squeeze between two cars under a bridge and scampered on over to the registration desk to check in.

We received green rubber wristbands and entered two of the many raffles provided by area businesses while we were there. After that, Chris and I wandered around, introduced ourselves to Eric and to everyone else. A yoga warmup came next, which was actually very fun and invigorating. And after a few words from the organizers, the walk began a little bit after 11am.

Our fairly sizable group sauntered on along Lamar Boulevard, waving our signs with pride and making a spectacle- what with a horse with short legs leading the way, all of our dogs, and a little pig in a pet stroller! :-) We couldn't have been discreet if we'd have tried.

Getting to meet everyone and socializing with each other throughout the walk was fun. Everyone was in a great mood and seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the colder temperature. The whole gang was super nice and full of energy.

We arrived back at the park just before 1pm and were treated to snacks provided by locally based companies including Mr. Fruit Cup, Happy Vegan Bakery, and Cornucopia. Big Bald Mike spoke while we recuperated, sharing the story of how he became one of the world's strongest vegans. We also heard from the organizers of the 24th Annual Lonestar Vegetarian Chili Cookoff which will be taking place on November 11th at the 6701 Burnet Road Market. They're still looking for participants, by the way! If you make a mean chili, you should consider entering! And the day finished with picking the raffle prize winners. One of our tickets was picked to win a $50 gift certificate to Mother's Cafe and Garden, which is one of our favorite restaurants in Austin.

It was such a great day and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year!

Thank you again to everyone who helped and donated and participated. I know I am grateful and I'm pretty sure that the farm animals who'll be benefiting from the $5,000 the Austin event raised are grateful as well!

If you'd like to see some more photos, check out the slideshow below.

So I just got back from Dogtoberfest at the Domain and thought I would share a few pictures. I didn't go as camera happy as I usually do, mainly because having a dog has made me more of a responsible person. I find myself focusing more on my little guy and not photographing everything. He's a scaredy boo and there were a lot of dogs and people around and I wanted to protect him. But, anyway.

Dogtoberfest is a free event that takes place at the Domain every year. The Domain is kind of an upscale shopping and residential complex. It's not something you see in Texas much though I've seen places similar in New England and oversees that grew organically as opposed to as planned by a commercial entity.

The streets of the Domain's "Phase Two" are blocked off and vendors and non profits set up booths for customers to peruse that are full of information and samples. The event has a costume contest as well, and dressing your dog up is a very popular thing to do. The photo above was my favorite that I saw. A little chihuahua, named Georgie it seems, in a "Where's Georgie?" costume. The whole setup was on wheels. He was, of course, being pushed by a guardian that matched him. Very cute.

We entered a lot of raffles for things like gift baskets and free overnight boarding. Rusty tried some new jerky treats that are made locally. He seemed to love them and we bought a bag as a result. There seem to be so many dog bakeries in Austin now! Bentley's was there, too, which is a bakery and boutique on 183 and Anderson Mill that Chris and I are particularly fond of. Michelle, the owner, was handing out $5 off coupons which I am eager to spend. 

Our other purchase was a water bottle made especially for dogs. If you've ever traveled with your dog before, you know the hassle of bringing along a dish and a bottle. It can be messy and often difficult to get him to drink in a moving vehicle or while walking down the street. The Paws for Water bottle is similar to ones used in small animal cages; a ball uses gravity to keep the water from leaking out, but when the dog licks the ball, drops come out onto his tongue. They were having a sale as well. The bottles themselves were $15 and a coozie for the bottle was only $5 with your purchase. So, yes, we got both.

Throughout the day, visitors can watch Weenie Dog Races and demonstrations. Food vendors are set up in a small area, but the Domain has a number of restaurants you can choose from as well. The Steeping Room is right in the middle of the festivities, and their cafe is an excellent option for vegans and vegetarians as well as for everyone else. We didn't partake in any delicacies this time. You may remember me mentioning in my review of their restaurant that we first encountered the Steeping Room at Dogtoberfest. And I'm so glad that we did!

I haven't mentioned it just yet, but Rusty went to Dogtoberfest dressed like Captain America... Yes, everyone thought he was adorable. Chris and I wore somewhat matching t-shirts. Aaand we got our portrait taken at the photo booth at Neiman Marcus.

Yeah, we're a bunch of nerdy nerd nerds. But this picture is my favoritest thing ever. =)

Thanks for reading!