You may not know this about me, but I’m a Texas girl born and raised. I have lived in 1 other state and it was for about 2 years total before coming back to Texas. There are so many things that I love about this great state. The pride people have in being from Texas has always been amazing to me. There are tons of cute sayings about Texans and in all of my world travels people always know where Texas is.
While Summers are crazy hot in Texas, they are also the best time for lots of exploring. Taking in a baseball game, floating the river, snackin’ at food trucks, swimming in the springs and spending weekends at the farmers market. No matter what we are doing this summer, everything is bigger and better in Texas. I wanted to share with you what I love about Texas and invite my fellow Texans to share why their Texas is the best! Right now my little guy and I love fitting up the local farmer’s market on the weekend. Trying local favorites and bring home delicious new foods to try.
Here are a few other things I love about Texas:
- Wild flowers: We’ve lived in the Texas Hill Country for the past 6 years, everyone I know takes pictures of their kids in a field of bluebonnets annually. My favorite time to road trip is when the fields are filled with bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes.
- Barbecue: This is a hot button topic when you’re talking to the locals. The competition is steep and people are VERY serious about who is best. A few times a month we drive 45 minutes away to enjoy our favorite spot!
- Texas Country Music: I love the classics, don’t get me wrong. My heart skips a beat when my favorite Red Dirt country songs come on the radio. Maybe it reminds me of my college days!
- Austin: We’ve lived here for almost 6 years and while I love the West Texas town I grew up in, Austin is an amazing place. It’s packed with live music (live music capitol of the world), amazing food and and is an outdoors men’s playground.
- Big Bend National Park: My first trip to Big Bend was with my husband (then boyfriend) and his parents. I fell in love and over the years have hiked, canoes and camped all around the beautiful park.
- Football: High school, college or pro. We take out football as serious as out BBQ. Friday nights are for football, end of story.
While I love all of these fun things in the summer, its HOT here in Texas and it’s important to stay hydrated! You can usually find me with a bottle of Ozarka® Brand Natural Spring Water in hand. Did you know it comes from three Texas springs and has a uniquely Texan taste? Since I love to have my groceries delivered for convenience it only makes sense that I would use the Ozarka delivery service too!
For joining Ozarka in their #FromHereForHere campaign, they sent me this amazing box of goodies full of Texas made favorites!
Paqui Tortilla Chips are great tasting tortilla chips that are crafted with unbleached, untreated flour, or by stone grinding corn and adding mouth-watering flavors using high-quality ingredients, such as fire-roasted jalapenos, fresh cilantro leaves, buttermilk, pumpkin and other spices and flavors.
Snow’s BBQ Sauce, with complex Texas flavor, Snow’s Original BBQ Sauce is excellent on any cut of beef, chicken, or pork. It’s just as good as a dipping sauce as it is a marinade or brush-on sauce during the last minutes of grilling.
Yellowbird Habanero Sauces are totally natural, spicy pepper condiments. Made with ♥ in Austin, Tx. These are the most delicious, most versatile, most satisfying condiment that will ever hit your lips! Yellowbird Sauce goes great on tacos, burgers, wings, sushi, pasta, steak, fish, eggs, pizza, soup AND Migas!
Black Garlic Rosemary BBQ Sauce are handmade in small batches using organic and, whenever possible, locally grown Texas ingredients.
Sweet & Spicy Mustard Seeds are little flavor-packed pearls are absolutely addicting. Cook them to make them just tender enough to burst in your mouth. Then we add a little sweet and a little heat. Add them to a charcuterie tray to surprise your guests, use as a condiment–any place you use mustard (you’ll love it on bbq sandwiches and hot dogs), pair with main dishes–terrific with meatloaf, use in homemade vinaigrette!
Queso con Salsa Escabeche is built around a flavorful blend of cheddar and blue cheeses combined with fire-roasted tomatoes, onions, diced jalapeños, and fresh-squeezed lime juice to create simply the best and authentic queso you can buy. Cookwell & Company is located in the heart of Austin, Texas. These guys wear boots to work and boast three grills and a smoker at their office.
