January 2023 Monthly Adventure
To me, the best thing about having friends is being able to spend quality time with them somewhat spontaneously. That's what I got to do in this installment of the Monthly Adventures Series! After some quick planning during the workday on what was a productive Friday at work, I found myself adding brunch at Colleen's Kitchen and an afternoon of shopping at Le Garage Sale to my calendar for some exciting weekend plans.
Colleen's Kitchen
I'm no stranger to brunch at Colleen's. I've mentioned before that I absolutely LOVE brunch! They have a seasonal menu which means I can always expect to have something new and delicious to try. Colleen's does Southern-style brunch very well so I highly recommend making a reservation to make sure you have a table if you don't want to wait for one to become available. Another thing about Colleen's Kitchen that I like is how they calculate their bills for guests. Each bill has a 20% gratuity already factored in and you're welcome to add an additional tip. Combine all of this with an excellent location at Mueller and it makes for a perfect spot to enjoy brunch with friends!
We ordered a mimosa carafe and grilled banana bread to start. I love their grilled bread and there's been a different kind each time I've been to Colleen's Kitchen because of their seasonal menu. It's so good every time I go, but this might be my favorite! I also ordered two of the Little Biscuits on the menu as my entrée. One was a Breakfast Little Biscuit with bacon and the other was a Fried Chicken Little Biscuit. As I previously noted in my restaurants weeks Monthly Adventure post, I'm not a big fan of biscuits which means it's a big deal when I find a place with biscuits that I like. Colleen's has some perfectly baked biscuits!
Le Garage Sale
The focal point of the day was Le Garage Sale happening at the Palmer Events Center. Le Garage Sale is semi-annual, 2-day event where all of the best boutiques local to Austin, TX bring their merchandise to one location in downtown to sell at a steep discount. One of my friends described it as the wedding dress shopping scene in that one episode of Friends where Rachel is hiding between dresses on the rack blowing a whistle. This is a ticketed event and tickets are available at the door or you could purchase online. VIP tickets allowed early shopping access, but the standard ticket meant shopping in a frenzy with everyone else. It's a good thing they had caffeinated drinks, cocktails, and live DJs to keep people going and more enthusiastic about shopping!
When you walk in, you get a wristband for the day and the opportunity to enter your name for a raffle to win some different items or one of the $50 gift cards to be used while shopping. Everything you could think of that you would expect to find at fashion boutiques was available. Dresses, pajamas, jumpsuits, loungewear, jewelry, candles, bags, and other accessories for people or home we all on sale for incredibly low prices. With so many items on display, it was slightly overwhelming. I was incredibly worried about how much money I would potentially spend because my mom said that if "a cute dress is $20 then you have to buy it". We initially decided to go along the perimeter of the large event space to stop by the concessions and bar locations in opposite corners. However, we quickly got distracted by jewelry and other clothes. As we were each making purchases for rings from Stitch and Stone, a woman also looking at rings mentioned to us that she regularly goes to Le Garage Sale and has a game plan: buy a piece of jewelry and a pair of shoes. My friends and I quickly realized we did not approach this event with the correct mindset and quickly came up with more specific shopping goals. As I completed my purchase for a ring to match the gold necklace I designed at my Kendra Bar Color Bar Extravaganza birthday party last month, I focused my attention on creating my own shopping game plan.
Shortly after the realization, we found the bar and purchased margaritas to sip on while we shopped (made it a double so we wouldn't have to go back). My shopping game plan for the rest of the afternoon was to successfully find a dress that's $20 or less that I can wear for multiple occasions or casual jumpsuit. My backup plan was to purchase a new backpack to travel with, but I didn't see anything that had enough pockets for my liking. Fortunately, I was able to successfully find a denim romper for $25 from Beehive and a $15 dress from WEEK&. We each brought our own tote bags with us to make sure we had a way to carry everything we purchased. After buying items we liked, we caught a Lyft back to Mueller to wind down and chill out for the rest of the day once we decided it was time to leave the shopping frenzy that is Le Garage Sale.
Wrap-Up
This was our first time going to Le Garage Sale and I think it's safe to say it's something we'll all want to go to again! Since it's a semi-annual event, I'm looking forward to potentially going again later in the year. One of the primary ways I save money on clothes is by purchasing items when they go on sale in their off-season. This is the perfect event for me to refresh my closet with this strategic approach to shopping for new clothes. I also get to indulge in something else I enjoy which is supporting local small businesses, many of which are woman-owned. Le Garage Sale is something that can be just as fun solo as it is with a group of friends which I can confidently say based on the many solo shoppers at the event. I mentioned a couple of time to one of my friends that her jewelry business, Hendrickson Handmade, could be at Le Garage Sale one day. She's always at other large shopping events like this and I recommend being on the lookout for her at holiday strolls and other similar events that feature a plethora of small businesses. In the meantime, we're all going to plan our next brunch together and continue looking forward to more afternoons of hanging out...and likely spending more money!
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