Dat + Cecilia = HOT!

I couldn’t help but tease my readers with this photo from my session in Austin. More great shots from their engagement coming soon!

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For those of you who voted for me in the Click2Houston’s Best Photographer 2010 contest, I am greatly appreciative of your support and votes!

I have finally found some time to randomly pick the winners for the following prize:

+ A half-hour photo session with me
+ Disc of edited images
+ Online gallery hosting
+ $100 print credit

As promised, for every 100 people who voted, I will pick one winner. As it turned out, over 300 people casted votes! The grand total was about 400, so 4 lucky voters will get the prize.

Hanna Kubin
Myrna Rombado
Catherine Szeto
Waiaka Wang

Please email me at she.takes.photos[at]gmail.com to claim your session! Offer ends 12/31/10.

I have known Cindy and Daniel for awhile now and they are just the sweetest couple! They are high school sweethearts who are also alumni from Vanderbilt. Both are smart and very talented. Both are cute and love to have fun. I just couldn’t wait to do their photo session and capture their silly personalities on camera!

I took a trip to Austin this past week for work and to hang out with friends. We did a lot of shopping, catching up, and of course, eating! Austin has some of the best eats in Texas, baby!

Our adventure started at Pluckers Wing Bar. Hot wings and fried pickles is a must when I visit Austin. It brings back fond memories of my college days (oh-so-long-ago) and satisfies my cravings for these delicious, finger-licking chicken wings! I have no iPhone photos to prove our great eats, so you’re just going to have to trust me on this one. ;)

The following day, my friends and I grabbed a yummy lunch at Rice Bowl Cafe. It’s new in Chinatown and serves the most amazing Szuchuan Beef Noodle Soup. My BFF, Risa and I shared a large bowl and finished it with a huge smile on our faces. Happy and satisfied. The meal was not complete without a side of Green Onion Pie. Another tasty addition to our trip! Again, I have no photos to show and drool over. But I do recommend my readers to visit the cafe for a taste. You won’t be disappointed!

For dinner, we treated ourselves to the wonderful, Fino Restaurant Patio and Bar. The environment was warm and inviting. I stepped into the room and my nostrils immediately filled with the aromatic flavors of the menu. Our orders were pure bliss, I tell you. I’ve never been so satisfied with a meal as good as the one I ate that night. We opened our night to a pork belly appetizer. It was topped and dressed with a soft-boiled, fried egg and green onion. When I broke the egg with my fork, the runny yolk ran down all the sides of the pork. Let me just say that I am a sucker for running yolk. It beats most all of the other ways to cook or serve eggs in my book. Scrambled eggs ain’t got nothin’!

The entrées were served with the freshest of herbs, spices, vegetables, and seafood. You just had to be there to taste it.

Our dessert was decorated with a creamy scoop of gelato deliciousness. Talk about MELT IN YOUR MOUTH! I still think gelato totally beats the frozen yogurt trend nowadays. Hands down.

Our final day on the trip marked an amazing food-hopping adventure! Risa and I savored the incredible flavors from Torchy’s Tacos, Mighty Cones, and Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop. First off, I have been longing to go try the cupcakes at Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop. After hearing a few of my friends rave about its goodness, I put it on my list of food places to try. And I must say, I am pretty excited about their selection and baked goods! We settled for the Southern Belle, a red velvet and cream cheese frosting treat and was neither overly sweet or dense. The texture of the cake was perfect and so was the frosting. Perfect. And when I find good cupcake shops, I do come back for more!

Mighty Cones was another popular “must revisit” trailer. We indulged in their chili-powered fries. Skinny. Nommy. And best dipped in their special recipe ketchup, which had a subtle sweetness from the roasted red peppers. YUM! This season, the trailer added fried pickles to their menu. The pickles was served with a jalapeño ranch, giving your taste buds just enough heat and sour from each bite. By the way, Risa and I noted that the delicious batter did not fall off the pickle. That’s how you know the pickle was fried right!

When we arrived at Torchy’s Tacos, it was apparent that the trailer brought many people far and near to its storefront. The reason is simple: Yummy and affordable tacos. I had myself a Mr. Pink and grabbed a bite of Risa’s Green Chile Pork. The carnitas in the pork taco was moist, tender, and perfectly simmered. As I am typing this post, my mouth still drools for that bite of carnitas. It was just that good! (I am slightly embarrassed to say that the carnitas tasted better than my boyfriend, Jeff’s. But I hope this comment comes off as a challenge for him to make more carnitas for everyone to refine his recipe!) As for my choice taco, Mr. Pink, I loved how the seared Ahi tuna blended with the cilantro, lime, and Chipotle sauce. My mouth danced to a medley of spicy, tangy, and fresh! All for under 10 bucks!

Full stomachs on the road back to Houston marked our end to a successful trip to Austin. I can’t wait to revisit Austin again. Until then, bon appétit!