Flashback Friday & Some Tunes

Jason and I at a friend's wedding in the Texas hill country // Summer 2010

Ah, to be young again, haha!  In all seriousness, I still can't believe it's been nearly three years with my guy.  It has absolutely flown by; I guess that's a good thing though. :)

Well, excuse the super short post, but I have an insanely busy Friday night planned playing with my pets, sipping my lime-a-rita and reading The Hunger Games.  Now, here's a track to take your Friday evening to the next level, babies.  I adore these guys!  We saw them sometime last year at The Mohawk downtown, and they jammed some serious jams and blew my mind.  I would die to see them again, so much fun.

BBQ, Beer & Other Bits

Figuratively speaking, today is my Monday.  Womp womp woommmmp.  However, I did have a great "weekend" the past two days.  Monday night I made delicious chicken pot pies as per Jason's request, but I was just as excited to make and devour those little bowls o' fatty goodness.  I got the recipe from Ms. Ina  Garten herself (via the Food Network's website).  If you enjoy comfort food heaven as much as I do, you've got to try this recipe.  Beware - it requires a TON of butter and some heavy cream, but if you absolutely must be a health-nut I'm sure you can make some substitutions.  Whilst stuffing our faces, Jason was sweet and let me melt over one of my favorite movies, Blue Valentine with Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.  It's a real heartbreaker.  I mean that in the most literal sense possible.  It's a REAL heartbreaker. It will make a tear or two (or many) fall from your eyes, but I just love the honesty of it.  Plus, I just have a thing for depressing films with hot actors.

I spent the first part of Tuesday alone, indulging myself by sleeping in until 9 a.m. and catching a few episodes of Law & Order: SVU before heading over to the gym to partake in some unfamiliar bodily pain.  After the sweat storm wore off, I decided to indulge myself a little more by treating my taste buds and tummy to the magical wonder of Torchy's Tacos.  I got a green chile pork taco and a fried avocado taco (the absolute best) with a tall, beautiful glass bottle of Topo Chico to wash it all down.  After that, I drove home, freshened up, waited for Jason to get home from work and then we headed out for dinner and drinks.  Long story short, we ended up at Whip In, a convenient store/beer mart/local & independent beer bar/wine bar/music venue/Indian cafe (aka: the most awesome place in South Austin).  I tried a delicious cider new to me called Original Sin Hard Cider that was quite to my liking.  They even had this beer from a new local brewery in North Austin called Twisted X that was jalapeno-infused...very strange.

Wednesday we knew we wanted to go to Franklin Barbecue over on the east side because of all the rave reviews it has gotten from our friends and various publications.  It's been called the best BBQ in Texas, maybe even the U.S.  But the thing is they open at 11 a.m. and close when they run out, which is typically around 1 p.m. so a nice little line starts to develop outside the door as early as 9 a.m. every morning on the days they're open.  We got there at about 10 a.m., and the line wasn't too crazy yet so we were feeling pretty good about ourselves.  Once they opened the doors at 11, we waited about 40 more minutes before getting our food which was what we were expecting.  Let me tell you, it was SO very worth the wait.  The brisket was fabulously lean and tender and didn't require any sauce whatsoever.  You know it's serious when the queen of condiments and sauces here is telling you you don't need any!  Mmm mmm mmm.  Post food comas and nap time, we ended our night with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which was very entertaining- a bit long, but just as good as the original.

Here are some photos from my weekend.  Enjoy the rest of your Thursday, and for those of you about to begin your actual weekend, I envy you to the ends of the earth.

Post-Weekend Links

Good afternoon, ladies & gents.  I thought I'd take a little time to share some links I've saved throughout the week on this beautiful Tuesday.

First of all, I can't get enough of Katie's impeccable style and her blog is just the cutest thing since Polly Pockets.

And how delicious does this strawberry spoon bread look?

I sure would like to make that spoon bread in a kitchen like this!

I love that long-strap shoulder bags & crossbodies are re-gaining their popularity.  I especially like this one and this one.

Anthropologie sure does a great job of making me wish money grew on trees because I'm obsessing over this bedding.

Loving this faded chambray by American Eagle.

And this sheer top by Aerie.

There are some great brunch spots in Austin, and I'm dying to try this one.

Didn't make it to Coachella this year? Me either, but Pitchfork did a great job of documenting it.

MUSIC MONDAY

Lana Del Rey.  Some love her, others hate her and I have somewhat mixed feelings about her.  I don't necessarily like how she's completely made-over her image to be something she's not because I'm all about being who you are and being okay with that, but her music is gangster glam at its finest.  Plus, I always feel super pretty when I'm listening to it.  In an interview with Lana that I watched on YouTube, she said the tracks "Blue Jeans", "Video Games" and "Born To Die" were all meant to go together sort of like a trilogy, and I'm pretty much obsessed with that idea and the songs.  So here are the videos for "Blue Jeans" and "Born To Die."  Enjoy!

Because Doth This Was My Week

I had a pretty decent week, aside from returning to work after my short escape to Dallas.  Work has been crazy busy the past couple of days because (1) we had to run software updates yesterday which caused our system to be completely down for most of the day and (2) Reggae/Marley Fest is this weekend which brings in quite the crowd.  Last year, Ziggy and Damien Marley actually stayed at the hotel I work at!  I haven't seen them this year however.  Anyway, aside from work chaos, I've been feelin' pretty good the past few days.  Tuesday night Jason and I had a little date night.  We went to Alamo Slaughter Lane to see Cabin in the Woods (excellent horror flick) and indulged in some cocktails at 400 Rabbits.  I had all day Wednesday off so I ventured out for some frozen yogurt at Tutti Frutti and tried out a yummy sushi place down the street. Last night I made tuna melts for dinner, and this afternoon my friend Stella and I munched on crawfish and sipped some margaritas lakeside at Joe's Crab Shack.  Afterward we ran over to Sugar Mama's Bakeshop to satisfy our sweet tooth, and I, of course, brought home a red velvet cupcake for Jason.  Whatever this past week had in store for you, I hope you were able to find at least a few minutes of relaxation.  Cheers!

Playlist Post: April 2012

I recently realized I never uploaded a playlist at the beginning of the month.  I am going to have to get better at this whole consistent blogging thing.  Just like the March playlist, I couldn't find all of my original songs on Playlist.com, so I've provided the original track listing if you'd like to download the songs for yourself.

My Original 'April 2012' Track List:

1.  The What - Method Man

2.  Written In Blood - She Wants Revenge

3.  We'rewolf - Every Time I Die

4.  Fried My Little Brains - The Kills

5.  Your Rocky Spine - Great Lake Swimmers

6.  Sour Apples - The Cool Kids

7.  Suffragette City - David Bowie

8.  Through the Floor - Crystal Stilts

9.  Not A Problem - Black Lips

10.  I Could Never Be Your Man - Bass Drum of Death

11.  Be Your Baby - Harlem

12.  Then He Kissed Me - The Crystals

13.  All Of This - blink-182 & Robert Smith

14.  You're Not Pretty But You Got It Goin' On - Band of Skulls

15.  Homework - Big Deal

16.  It All Feels the Same - Tennis

17.  Little Motel - Modest Mouse

18.  Tranquilize - The Killers, Lou Reed

19.  C'Mon - The Soft Pack

Dallas: Girls' Weekend/Reunion

Last Friday I drove up to Dallas for a refreshing weekend with my ladies.  As I've mentioned before, Heather and Emily both moved up to the Dallas area after college to work at Fossil.  Heather still works there, but Emily has since moved on to a different job.  Sammy, who lives back in Humble currently finishing up her degree, and I set aside this particular weekend to go up for a visit.  We hadn't been together all at once (minus Taylor who lives up in NY) since possibly Christmas of 2008, which is just ridiculous.  It is way too much fun being all together for it to only happen every few years, but I'll take what I can get.

So just a quick recap of the weekend - Friday night, Emily and I picked up Heather and Sammy and drove out to Plano for dinner at Ra Sushi.  I had never been before and was so excited to try it!  We ordered four rolls to share - all delicious - and a round of sake sangria.  After dinner, Heather and Emily surprised Sammy and I with movie tickets to a midnight showing of a horror film called The Pact that was part of the Dallas International Film Festival going on right now.  The movie was extremely suspenseful and entertaining, with a nicely original plot.

Saturday mid-morning we met up at Taverna for brunch with a few others including my bestie, Jessica, who was in town from Denton for DIFF.  The second "surprise" of the weekend was a little canoeing/kayaking on White Rock Lake, which turned out to be a blast.  It was also a nice upper-body workout; the next day my shoulder blades and biceps were a tad tender, but I'm not complaining because lord knows they needed it.  After canoeing/kayaking, we spruced up for dinner at Katy Trail Icehouse and then went out and painted the town like the good ol' days, even enjoyed a few honey butter chicken biscuits at the end of the night.

Before Sammy and I headed out early Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed one last meal together at In-N-Out Burger - another first for me.  It was definitely a nice treat, especially with the burger and fries both animal-style.  I wouldn't say it's better than Mighty Fine or P Terry's however, but I inhaled it just the same.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.  I took way less than I intended, but at least I remembered to pack my camera!

Friday night at DIFF

Saturday at Taverna for brunch

Jason's New Musical Project

Hello everyone!  Sorry for the delay in my Dallas post.  I've been pretty busy since I got back, and our internet was down until this morning so I haven't been able to share.  I wanted to take a little time to introduce you to Jason's latest musical endeavor, Affordable Caskets.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but he's an amazing guitar player and has played in a number of bands throughout the years, mostly metal.  He listens to and enjoys all different kinds of music, but he's always said metal is the most fun for him to write, play and record.  I'm really proud of him for keeping up with his passion; even though he doesn't have time for a full-fledged band right now, he's still writing and recording music himself.  So I highly encourage you to check out his latest track, even if metal isn't really your thing.  Jason is super talented and just might surprise you!  

Small Update

I apologize for the absence of posts this week.  It's been a crazy one for me at work, and last night Jason and I met up with some friends at the Draught House up in central Austin.  It was Jester King "Take a Glass" night.  We tried a couple of their newer brews, Petit Prince and Boxer's Revenge and got to take home some fancy stemware.  It was my first time at this pub, and I was definitely impressed.  It's got a lot of German character to it, and it's been there quite a while.  Jason's mom actually used to tend bar there when he was a kid.  And when our bellies started to grumble, there was a delicious Korean BBQ food truck right by the bier garten with delicious pork tacos, a California burrito and spicy fries to satisfy our needs.  As soon as we got home around 9:30 p.m. I pretty much passed out I was so exhausted.

But alas, my work week has finally come to an end, and I'm off to Dallas tomorrow afternoon for a fun-filled girls' weekend with my college roomies and longtime friends - Heather, Emily and Sammy.  Apparently, Heather and Em have a few surprises up their sleeves for Friday night and Saturday afternoon, if the weather allows.  I plan on taking my camera, so when I return I'll have a picture-filled post for you to enjoy.

Hope your week hasn't been as exhausting as mine.  I'll leave you with some pictures from this week:

Easter candy :)

Hunter making a sour face

Morning Mermaid at work

An Austin morning

An Austin afternoon

A dinner I made - twice baked potatoes with shrimp & a spring salad

Jason & Maeby

Music Monday & Some Links

Grizzly Bear is by far one of the best musical groups to ever grace my little ears.  Their music and talent is so lusciously decadent and beautiful I cannot even bring myself to call them a "band."  Musical group just sounds so much more appropriate.  If you've never really listened to them, aside from a few of their songs on commercials, the best way I can describe their sound is that it's like listening to flowers blooming, clouds floating, blades of grass rippling in the wind and snow lightly falling in an open meadow...if those things could produce music.  It's truly enlightening.  Now that I've totally built them up in your mind, I hope you actually enjoy it as much as I do and in the same infectious manner.

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I haven't shared any links in quite a while, so I thought now would be a good time:

Here are some instructions on how to make the Perfect Pie Crust.

Seven delicious (and healthy) snacks high in protein.  These all sound so wonderful, especially the peanut butter yogurt dip!

I adore these shorts and these moccasins by Free People.

Andie's blog entry about planning a Caribbean vacation is so inspiring and I love all her pictures. 

How many of these books do you remember from childhood?  The Little House was one of my favorites!

This is a perfect and pretty example of an ideal day of eating.

And finally, a couple of Easter entries from two of my favorite blogs - one & two.

Houston (City of the Syrup)

Happy Easter/Passover Weekend!  I'm feeling a little down because this is the first Easter I won't be with my family dying Easter eggs, getting a basket full of goodies, hiding/hunting eggs and eating a huge meal filled with love.  Ah well, I suppose it's all part of growing up?  I'll just keep telling myself that.

Even though I won't be able to spend the weekend at home, I did get to spend the past few days there on my days off work.  I had such a great time, as always!  I got to catch one of my brother, Kaleb's, baseball games Tuesday night against Crosby, my mom's alma mater.  He's currently the third baseman and he did a phenomenal job contributing to the ultimate victory.  His team was losing 3-7 until the very last inning.  Kaleb scored a triple run which gave the rest of the team hope, and they started hitting like crazy from then on.  It was such a thrill!  It almost brought me to tears watching them celebrate at the end.  One of the best things about the game was that most of my family was able to attend, and we all went out for a big, greasy Mexican dinner afterward.

I spent Wednesday afternoon independently roaming around downtown Houston.  I started in my favorite neighborhood- The Houston Heights.  It's a historic-turned-trendy area just inside loop 610.  I've been going down to the Heights for as long as I can remember.  My Pop (Mom's dad) grew up there and spent much of his adult life visiting the area.  Every now and then he would take me down there with him and we'd have a cheeseburger and a chocolate malt at Yale Street Pharmacy (used to be a pharmacy; now it's a diner).  So, that's what I did after shopping around at a few of my favorite thrift shops on 19th Street.  After lunch, I headed over to Beauchamp St. to see the little house Pop was raised in.  It could really be a great house again after a little fixing-up.  Then I decided to head over to Rice Village for a little more shopping.  All in all, it was a nice, relaxing day by my lonesome.

I came back to Austin Thursday evening and was so glad to be reunited with Jason and the pets.  I had a wonderful time in Houston, but, as always, it's nice to come home.

Sunday Currently

Obsessing over: my crazy mood swings.  I'm not entirely sure what it is, but I've been experiencing a roller-coaster of emotions as of late, and it's getting really frustrating for me.  If I'm annoying myself, I know I'm annoying others, especially poor Jason wondering what the hay is going on.  Whatever the case may be, I plan on getting to the bottom of it and putting a stop to this psychotic behavior.

Working on: making friends.  Ok, I haven't really made huge leaps and bounds in this department, but, in my defense, it's difficult to meet people after college, especially when you despise pretty much everyone until they give you a reason to like them.  

Thinking about: Boardwalk Empire!  Such a great show.  Jason and I started season two last night, and we are both hooked.  The cast is awesome, the music and fashion are superb and the plot is super absorbing.  Lovin' it.

Anticipating: a trip to Houston this week.  I haven't been home for a visit in over two months which has been pretty hard on me, so I'm heading out tomorrow after work and will return to Austin on Thursday.  I plan to spend time with my Mom and sister, catch my brother's baseball game Tuesday night, visit Nana and have lunch with an old friend.  It should be a fun week.  

Listening to: these five Canadians:

Eating: breakfast for dinner tonight!  We're making some of our specialties: banana-cinnamon waffles, creole eggs with hollandaise sauce, bacon and biscuits.  So excited to chow down!

Wishing: I would have listened to adults when I was in high school.  Life really does just get tougher as you age.  I wish it weren't so, but sadly, I was not lied to.  Bills, responsibility, tough decisions, etc.  It's an endless cycle of madness.

Sorry to end on such a downer.  Hope you all have a great week!

xoxo