Cupcakes For Breakfast

One of the classes, or sessions, I took during TxSC was called "From Blog to Book" lead by two incredibly talented and driven young women who have both published books.  Sitting there, listening to them talk about the ins and outs of the creative process and getting published simply blew my mind.  I don't necessarily have a formal "bucket list" as people are calling it these days, but if I did have one, writing a book and getting it published would be close to the top.  I have always enjoyed writing.  I was an only child until I was seven, and I've always been super independent.  I had friends, of course, but there were times when I really just wanted to play by myself.  I loved creating fictitious scenarios and stories for my barbies and paper dolls.  I had an extremely overactive imagination, if you will.  I could seriously entertain myself for hours upon hours every day.  From my elementary days well into high school, I would write poems (some of them embarrassingly emo), and I even started a few short stories, but they never held my attention long enough before I was on to the next fabulous idea that popped into my head.  I guess I just never had a good enough idea.  That one idea that I could take all the way to the top.  Since that TxSC session, the wheels in my mind have been creakily turning trying to come up with something I could write about.  Something I'm passionate enough about to write a lot of material and something I likely won't lose interest in.  This morning, I had a mini-cupcake - along with a grapefruit - for breakfast, and I watched my subconscious shake its head at me and giggle a little because I am the type of woman who will always have a partial little-girl mentality.  I'm afraid I will never fully become an adult, and honestly, that's fine with me.  Who wants to be a boring old grown-up anyhow?  I never want to forget the little things that meant the world to me as a child.  I want to be able to treasure those feelings of innocence and naivety for as long as possible, and if I want cupcakes for breakfast, I will HAVE cupcakes for breakfast.  So, to make my point, this idea of things that keep us young, that have kept me young, could be the sprout of a literary idea, and that makes me happy.

Have a happy Thursday!

xoxo

The Day After Independence Day

Greetings, everyone.  I thought I would take a short amount of time to illustrate what I've been up to the past couple of days.  MAGIC MIKE was such a fun movie!  Apparently everyone else was just as excited to see it as I was because the theater was already jam-packed thirty minutes before the showing, and Jason and I weren't able to sit by each other.  That was a bummer, but the entertainment made up for the crummy seating arrangement.  There isn't a whole lot that's better than watching a group of super foxy men bust a move and take their clothes off.  Ahem...the story was pretty good too.

Yesterday on the way home from work I bought True Blood season four on Blu Ray, so that's what I've been doing today.  It's amazing seeing all the little details I missed the first time I watched it.  Season five makes more sense now, haha.  

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Catch-Up Post

Hello, kiddies.  Yes, yes, never fear, my heart still beats.  So sorry I've been a bad blogger this past week.  I'll use my worn-out excuse of work being crazy.  In all seriousness though, I had two four-day periods of vacation from work which was SO nice, but it made it all the more rough getting back into the swing of things, and the hotel experienced a gas leak earlier in the week which meant no hot water or hot food in the restaurants for guests.  So, as you can probably imagine, it's been a touchy week full of comped rooms and free meal vouchers.  Thankfully, the leak was finally repaired and inspected yesterday afternoon so the gas is back on and all is well in the world.

I think I mentioned before that I was traveling to Houston last weekend to see my mom and sister and help Nana continue to settle back into her house.  It was a fun little sleepover, as we all stayed a couple of nights over at Nana's.  She had an outpatient procedure Friday morning in which they administered a small electric shock to her heart hoping to cure her atrial defibrillation (abnormal heartbeat).  All went well with the procedure and she was back home within a couple of hours.  Saturday, I went over and celebrated my dad's 45th birthday with him and some family at Carrabba's (his favorite restaurant).  Then that night my dad, Rebecca (stepmother), my grandparents and I went out to Jason's Deli to celebrate Father's Day.  I hanged around with my dad and Rebecca on Sunday for a little bit.  We went out for breakfast and some grocery shopping before I made the drive back over to Austin.

I hope everyone is having the best week, and I promise to not leave you hanging that long ever again!

Here are some pictures from my little trip to Houston:

Micah (sister) and I

Me circa 1991

My dad's birthday dessert platter!

Happy Birthday, Dad

MUSIC MONDAY & Another Update

As a HUGE Bee Gee's fan, (I swear I'm not just saying that because one of the members just died like everyone else tends to do.  I seriously have been a fan for going on 24 years now thanks to my Dad) I would like to dedicate this installment of my Music Monday to the ever-talented, beautiful soul of Robin Gibb.  This one's for you, buddy.

Aside from mourning the loss of Robin Gibb, I've been keeping pretty busy with work and naps mostly with a little bit of physical fitness (how 80s does that sound?) mixed in.  Jillian Michaels has been kicking my booty with her 'Ripped In 30' DVD.  Say what you will, but she is the peanut butter to my jelly.  I have been so sore for the past week because of these interval workouts.  The DVD also comes with a free download of her meal plan.  I've been looking through the recipes, and I'm really excited to try some of them.  Speaking of meals, Jason and I did good this week.  He made some ridiculously delish turkey and chorizo tacos with fresh avocado, cilantro and sour cream one night last week.  Friday evening we hosted dinner/movie night with our friend Amanda and I made homemade tilapia fish sticks with asparagus sauteed in a balsamic-honey mixture with garlic and pecans.  Amanda brought some almond croissants from central market for dessert that were so so scrumptious.  Needless to say, we ate good that night.  Last night I made Asian turkey lettuce wraps with zucchini chips - also wonderful, and tonight Jason made spinach-stuffed chicken with cilantro-lime rice.  It's been a week full of delightful eats and treats that's for sure!  Now, I'm about to catch up on this week's episode of Girls.  Which reminds me - I'm planning a blog entry about my all-time favorite TV shows and characters and recent favorites.  Basically, it will be all things TV as it pertains to the land of Kassie.  Trust me, you'll enjoy it.

Bye for now, lovers.

xoxo

A Date With the Night

Greetings, peeps.  I actually had last Sunday off - the first Sunday I've just been given the day off in forever (without requesting it off).  And, lucky me, my sweet Emily was in town for a visit!  It was such a treat to get to go out on a Saturday night.  I'm usually getting into bed when the rest of the world is getting ready for a night out on the town.  Poor pathetic me, huh?  I had such a great time venturing up and down Rainey Street with Emily, Sarah and a few of their friends.  We spent most of the night sitting outside under the Austin sky, and of course we ended the night with some delicious food at 24 Diner.  I can actually say I didn't get home until 4 o' clock in the morning!  That NEVER happens, haha.

Before Emily left on Sunday, I met she and her friend Mark at Taverna for brunch.  We enjoyed some amazing crabcake eggs benedict and $1 mimosas to our hearts' content.  It was a delightful and much needed break from the daily grind.

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.

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!

A Delightful Treat

Sweet, sweet babies.  You just don't understand my relationship with Oreo cookies.  It may seem silly that I'm writing a blog entry about a snack, but as I was dipping them in milk and enjoying every bite just a few minutes ago, I started thinking about 100 years.  March 6th was their 100th anniversary.  It's just so crazy to me that people were eating Oreos back in 1912.  Did they dip them in milk or have a weird way of eating them as the commercials encourage?  I just can't imagine it.  This led me to google search Oreos.  According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, Oreos were first produced by Nabisco in their Chelsea factory in New York!  How hip is that?  They are the absolute coolest cookies ever, being born in NYC and all.  Oreos have had seven different shapes and thirty-seven flavors over time.  Some of these flavors include GREEN TEA Oreos (in China and Japan) and Blueberry Ice Cream Oreos (in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand).  CRAZY.  These limited edition Birthday Cake Oreos are amazing, and I highly suggest you buy them before they're gone.  The cream filling is birthday cake flavored and has sprinkles.  Prepare to be in love.

Thank you for reading through that pointless post.

xoxo