These beauties above can be found at Walton’s Fancy & Staple on West Sixth. For those Us Weekly readers out there, Walton’s is best known for its owner, Sandra Bullock, who also owns Bess Bistro across the street, but Walton’s is worth a visit for more than just a potential celeb sighting. The tagline “Perishable, cherishable, fetishable” certainly doesn’t lie. Everything about the place is adorable, from the branding and the menu to the beautiful historic building its housed in to the names of the dishes.

No matter what your sweet tooth demands, you’ll find something to satisfy it. For carb-lovers, I’d recommend the Golden Egg, a nutmeg cake rolled in cinnamon and sugar that despite being the size of your palm, feels like it weighs as much as a bar of gold. It’s pure rich goodness. Chocoholics should try the flourless chocolate hearts, which are also unbelievably dense and unbelievably rich. The next best thing to comfort food is the Lone Star Whoopie Pie, a cream cheese filling sandwiched between two sweet potato cakes. YUM. And the cookies are huge and mouthwatering. The iced lemon sugar cookie I tried was soft and chewy and the perfect palate-cleanser to my awesome turkey sandwich, The Gobble.

On the weekday I stopped in, the line for lunch was out the door, and I heard soon they’ll also be serving wine and beer in the evenings. Or you could pick up a pastry and gourmet espresso drink during their reverse morning happy hour. If you stop by, fall in love with the food and also happen to hear wedding bells in your future, keep Walton’s in mind. This one-stop shop also offers custom cakes, catering and floral design. Sweet.

Many people took to the stage for several of the more energetic pop princess songs like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” where we were asked to display the flashing gummy rings they provided us while waiting in line. They also threw out glow sticks in hoards during “Toxic” and again during Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” and confetti rained down during Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.”

There were many favorites from the ’80s and ’10s ranging from The Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited” and “Love is a Battlefield” (in which, yes, Pat Benatar and company shimmy at a man to frighten him) to “Womanizer” and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.”

There were also, of course, Lady Gaga videos, which I admit I’ve only heard about in legend until last night (though I already loved her music), and they’re amazing. Just those videos alone make this experience worth checking out.

Never been to a sing-along? Basically, you’re surrounded by a sold-out theater of people who want to sing and dance along with their favorite videos, loudly, so any possible shyness evaporates during the first line of the first song played. People also tend to dress up (I might’ve sported a hot pink wig) and dance dance dance. And just in case you don’t know the words to a song, they run them on screen, so you’ll be able to sing your heart out to every lyric.

Word to the wise: Buy tickets while they last. Sing-alongs tend to sell out very quickly.

Seth’s Meatloaf

           3 pounds of ground beef
           2 eggs
           1 can of diced tomatoes
           1 can of tomato sauce
           3 slices of bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix ground beef, two eggs, and diced tomatoes. Tear the bread into 1-inch chunks, add to the mix, and hand mush all ingredients together. (Good to wash your hands first). Put mound into a deep cooking pan and cook in the oven for 50 minutes. Remove, pour out half of the grease, pour tomato sauce over it, and return it to the oven to cook for an additional 30 minutes. It’s simple and the only meatloaf I’ve ever liked….

Well she’d make the cut, but I won’t be running away to the circus any time soon. (They wouldn’t take me.) I couldn’t even lift my legs and wrap them around the stick and hang after 4 tries, which is step 1….

Trapeze is harder than it looks, but it’s still hella fun, even if you sadly discover, like me, that you’ve lost your ab muscles somewhere along the 40-hour-a-week-office-job trail. Though I was disappointed in my own non-ability, I was not disappointed in this class offered by Trapeze Austin. Even at full price it would be a bargain. You get 2 hours of training, and you’re up on the platform performing your first leg tuck and hang (unless you’re me) within the first 20 minutes. You do this while being strung from safety lines and over a very sturdy net, of course. The most dangerous part is the climb up the narrow ladder and holding on with white knuckles as you try to chalk your hands. The rest isn’t so bad after that first “hep” and drop. Here is a video of my prodigy friend performing a catch on her very first try.

I wish I’d had the foresight to take a photo of the Black Out before we devoured it, but honestly, as soon as my name was called, and we set it down in front of us, it was like some primal drive took over and my husband and I couldn’t think of anything but eating the ridiculously unhealthy bit of deliciousness in front of us. But it was the perfect dessert – a deep-fried donut topped with brownie batter, fudge icing and chocolate-covered brownie bits. YUM.

Right across South Lamar from Maudie’s and only a few blocks down from the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, Gourdough’s is the perfect place to stop for dessert after a margarita or a movie. Or make it a meal and get the bacon-topped Flying Pig or the fried chicken and honey butter Mother Clucker. All donuts are $4.25, and you can add ice cream for $1. Few things in life are worth spending an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill, but I think an ice cream-topped donut is one of them.

Krause Springs was the perfect introduction to Austin’s swimming holes. Set in an absolutely idyllic bit of Spicewood, Krause Springs is more than worth the 30-mile drive out Hwy. 71. For $5, you get your run of the springs, and for $5 more, you can camp out overnight. Best of all, you can drink. Yay! All beverages not in glass containers are welcome. A picnic lunch, some beer, 72-degree water and a little bit of sun make for the perfect summer day. And I mean a little bit of sun. As a super pale chick, I really appreciated the ample shade the trees provided, both in the water and out of it.

When we first arrived at the springs, we paid our entry fee, walked onto the grounds and saw a decent-sized rectangular pool that looked pretty much like every neighborhood pool ever, except in pretty surroundings and with crystal clear water. I was kind of bummed that it was what we’d driven all that way for, but then we saw signs directing us to the real springs, which are below. A winding swath of water surrounded by cliffs and trees, the springs were exactly what I’d always imagined. They even had a rope swing. (See if you can spot the guy in the photo below who looks like he belongs in the wolf pack.)

If you’ve never been to Krause Springs before, I definitely recommend bringing along some water shoes. They may be dorky and bring back bad memories of childhood trips to the beach, but the footing (at least in the spots where I could touch) is very slippery, so you’ll be glad you have them.

So which swimming hole do you think I should try next?

Seth’s Stir-fry

         1 and 1/2 pound of beef stew meat, super trim
         Worcestershire sauce
         1 red bell pepper
         1 green pepper
         1 yellow bell pepper
         1 yellow squash
         2 red potatoes
         Tony’s seasoning
         garlic salt
         garlic powder

Cut squash into thin “half dollars.” Slice all peppers into strips. Cut potatoes into 1-inch chunks.

Put meat in a bowl and generously sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce and Tony’s and stir. Coat frying pan with butter-spray or a cap filled with vegetable oil. Put meat in pan and cook on medium high heat for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Strain the meat with a strainer.

Re-coat pan and put chopped vegetables into the pan adding a little Tony’s, garlic powder, and a tiny bit of garlic salt. Add the meat back to the pan and return to the burner cooking on high (but not boiling) heat. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring continuously.

On Friday night, the ladies took their neon, taffeta and teased hair to the Thirsty Nickel’s stage. The bar is owned by Brad Womack, star of “The Bachelor’s” 11th season. Womack also owns The Dizzy Rooster and The Chuggin’ Monkey, both of which Cover Girl will play in July and August.

In addition to belting out rad songs from the Reagan era, Cover Girl sold hot pink slap bracelets and effectively channeled the feel-good fun and frivolity of the Decade of Greed.

The Austin Chronicle’s 2009-2010 music awards ranked Cover Girl the city’s #6 best cover band, which is four spots above Austin’s other esteemed ’80s cover band, The Spazmatics.Cover Girl kicked off Sunday’s show with performances by members of Girl Guitar. To see a sample of Cover Girl’s awesome set list, please click here.

Cover Girl‘s lead singer is Mandy Rowden, founder of Girl Guitar Austin, which offers lessons and opportunities for women to take their musical talent to the stage. Click here to read Cynthia’s post about the awesome experience of Girl Guitar classes.

Beef Stroganoff

        1 to 2 lbs. sirloin
        1 can of beef broth or beef consomme
        1 small can tomato paste
        1/2 pint of sour cream
        12 or 16 oz of noodles
 
Meat: Cut up the meat into 1-inch chunks. Put a tbsp. of olive oil in a frying pan. Brown meat on all sides on high, reduce heat to low, add beef consomme (or beef broth), cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in tomato paste and about 1/2 pint of sour cream.

Noodles: Boil lots of water, add noodles, bring back to boil and cook for 7 minutes and then drain.
 
Copper Pennies

        4 large carrots
        1 green bell pepper
        1 can of tomato soup

Peel carrots and chop into “pennies.” Cut 1 bell pepper into 1-inch chunks (discard seedy center). Bring a small pot of water to a boil, throw in the chopped bell peppers and carrots and cook for 5 minutes on high. Pour vegetables into a strainer and then mix them with a can of tomato soup. It’s a great side.