I Don't Think This Can Be Topped

After my mom was too sick to keep teaching elementary school, she started volunteering at the Metroplex Hospital in Killeen's gift shop.  She brought home lots of pretty greeting cards, nifty pens and cool mobiles that looked like a strand of rainbow DNA.

My dad and step-mom recently moved and have been trying to clear out lots of furniture, which requires a clean sweep of every drawer, nook, and cubby hole.  Lennon and I went to their house to watch the superbowl, and my step-mom said she had something to give me.  She pulled out this card and at first I thought it would be money or a gift card inside.

She handed it to me and said she'd found it in a piece of furniture that was my mom and dad's, that no one could identify its origins, and it seems obvious that my mom had brought it home from the gift shop. 

The outside says "Happy Birthday Daughter," and the inside:

Six years after she died, I got a birthday card from my mom. 

I cried - are there words?  My step-mom cried too.  I can't think of any thing in the world I would rather have received.  I still can't get over it.



Before going home to Cove, I did hit up Buffalo Exchange to spend my birthday money.  While not nearly as exciting as above, I found some items I'm quite proud of:

Pink Puma tennis, faux-snake skin peep-toe sling-back booties, turquoise flats, and three dresses, one by Susana Monaco, who I love.  If only it weren't so cold this week - all I want to do is bundle up in matronly sweaters and water-proof boat shoes.

Sunday may have been gloomy, but that didn't put a damper on my birthday weekend!  Ok, I know, I make terrible jokes... and sometimes I put on clothes just because I was compelled to wear a certain item.  Like this skirt; it spoke to me from the closet and said it was lonely and in want of wear. 


Skirt: Charlotte Rouse
Shoes: Converse All Star (Target)
Tights: Target
Hippie t-shirt: Journey's
Long sleeve t-shirt: Kohls
Crystal strawberry necklace: mom's

I'm smiling here and this was before I even got the card.  It was a very smile-filled weekend.  Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate!  I plan to post embarrassing dance club photos soon :)

My chipotle chocolate cake didn't turn out shabby, either, but it was certainly spicy!  I'll also post the recipe and photos soon, since Grant asked so nicely :) :)      < more smiles!

Fashion Freakout 3 at Mohawk Austin

Growing into a full convert of the vintage gospel, there was no way I was going to miss the Fashion Freakout at Mohawk on Friday night.  My time savvy companions got us there early, (I'm always late to things), and we were able to snare front and center vantage points for the entire show.  The clothes were all from local Austin vintage stores: Buffalo Exchange, Prototype Vintage, and New Bohemia.  I just blew my birthday money in Buffalo Exchange today, (and of course - show and tell to come), and I'll need to check out the other places in Austin soon.  

I took a lot of pictures at the show, enough to make me consider getting an upgraded Flicker account.  Until then, I've decided to first sort through my photos by showing off some of my favorite trends depicted on the runway.

Poofy skirts:

Sparkly legs:

 

 

Re-Vamped 1960's

 

 

Short Skirts

Other common themes on the runway: 

• fringe
• hot pants
• sequins
• cowboys
• capes for men
• bodices
• lace (also on men!)
• platform heels
• butt cheeks (I saw a lot)
• being stick thin - this means all the clothes in my size are still on the racks!

Pretty much guaranteed this girl and I will never fight over a pair of slacks, (although I think I could take her):

 

Now, since it's time for bed, here is a smattering of the looks from the evening, and if there's anything you'd like to see bigger, feel free to send an email request my way.  

And maybe I'm too simple and too girly, as a lot of the styles were very loud and layered, but this was my favorite outfit of the night:

I love the swirly, sparkly skirt with a sheer blouse.  A lot of the clothes seemed to invoke 80's Madonna meets Riot Grrrl, and while I appreciate the music of both, my style aesthetic tends toward the sweet.  Regardless, it was a fun show, and after my toes thawed out, I felt very lucky to have been there!  As much as I love Little Rock, I can't imagine them ever doing a vintage fashion show like this.  It's good to be in Austin.

Oh, and if you don't believe me yet when I say we had a great spot, see below, (also note my awesome skills with MS Paint):

It's My Birthday!

Can I count the whole weekend as a giant 26th birthday festivus? I'm going to!

So far: had a smooth day at work on Friday after a window-smashing incident on Thursday, went out to dinner with Michelle of Wicked Whimsy and Indiana of Adored Austin at Koriente, attended the Fashion Freakout at Mohawk with those lovely girls and my friend Katie, drank free vodka cocktails, got great pictures being front and center during the show, (so great I'm even in the news page's pictures with my camera snapping away), drooled over the swag bags that were so close yet so far, said hi to Tolly because I think she's great too, then got a free beer at the Dog & Duck Pub because the bar tenders there ROCK, then Lennon made my tipsy-self spiced potatoes and a fried egg for a 3AM snack.  Then today, lunch at my FAVORITE place: Taco Bueno with Michelle and her husband, Lennon made me mac n'cheese for dinner, and I'm working on a chipotle chocolate cake with Nutella-cream-cheese frosting I can hopefully feed to some chocolate loving friends.  Then it's downtown time!  Woot!

Dress: Cecico
Long sleeve tee: Target
Cardigan: Target
Belt: from a Little Rock boutique
Shoes: from Dillards
Jeans: Citizens
Necklace: from Francesca's
 

I got one picture of myself with three beautiful girls, and it turned out completely white!  I'm so sad...  (Luckily my gazillion photos of the show turned out great, expect to see lots of those soon).  And since it's my birthday and all...

I'll cry if I want to!

Or whine about the sun being in my eyes during photo time.  Now back to my cake baking.  Happy February 6th!  And if you're a follower of my blog, or a commenter, or a lurker who only shows up in my stats, then I just want you to know that you are the best birthday "gift" a blogging girl could ever ask for!  Thank you so much for coming by.

Oh, and the second best present is definitely the worm composting kit my dad and step-mom got me.  I can not WAIT to get started making dirt!!  I'm going to have a gorgeous tomato plant for my salsa. 

Mohawk Fashion Freakout

I know I'm not really a heads-up-neat-event type-blogger, but I'm really excited about this one!  My after school program runs a sewing class called "Project Runway" and our girls were invited to a Go Green Fashion Show at the university in San Marcos before Christmas, and I didn't get to go.  I was quite sad, (but not about missing the long car ride).  That show was a vintage revamped extravaganza as well, and my girls got to model some skirts they made from old jeans as well as walk in some of the clothes made by the university students.

Having missed out there, I do not plan to miss out on the Fashion Freakout at Mohawk tomorrow night.  I even twisted Lennon's arm into going by promising him we could hit the Dog & Duck Pub after, (not exactly a sacrifice on my part....).  I bought our tickets in advance, but Tolly is giving away two tickets at her blog, and winning those is way more cost effective than purchasing online, (although there's only a $2 difference between buying online and buying at the door). 

At midnight it's my birthday so if you're there come say hi to me :)

My Valentine? Radical Self Love!

I suppose any one who runs a blog about themselves is automatically categorized as fully self-loving.  I sort of disagree.  Yes, I respect myself, and I am happy with where I am in life right now, but if I had confidence, I wouldn't be posting my thoughts and pictures to the safety of a non-reactive screen, I'd be on stage slamming poems, writing songs for the guitar, and working on my fiction.  Blogging is much safer, easier, and offers a far slimmer chance of tangible failure.  While I love blogging, I need to bust-a-rut of holding back in my non-cyber life and practice the sagely and tired advice of: accept failing as a possibility, and go forth anyway. 

The first blog I ever started reading that wasn't a live journal was Gala Darling's.  This month, she's proposing a project of "radical" proportions: stop trying to please others, and make the world better by being our best and true selves.  Sounds good to me.  I'm certainly lucky to have a boyfriend as my Valentine this year, but I'm completely on board with her proposition to be my my own "Valentine," and light up the world through acceptance and love, starting with ground zero.

"I’m delighted to announce that from now until the 28th of the month, in addition to your regular content, I’ll be dishing out tips on how to really truly madly deeply fall in love with yourself! Topics will range far & wide. Girl love...honoring & respecting yourself, positive self-talk, being assertive, manifesting your own dream girl persona & self-marriage are all up for grabs! Homework will be assigned (though it is totally optional, of course!), & I’ll be asking you to participate by sending in photos, stories & spreading the word!"  - Gala

Sounds great!  Speaking of self-love, while outfit photos may seem silly to some, it really is worthwhile to have the motivation to not dress like a slob everyday, and walk into a public space not feeling invisible and sloppy.  The clothes don't make the man by any means, but they can help make the attitude.  Self-love made manifest round one! 

My attitude is triple improved in this outfit, because I got the skirt for free at Tolly's Rock N'Swap last Saturday!

Skirt: free and snagged at the Austin Rock N' Swap
Boots: Hunter
Hoodie: Fossil (note those awesome pockets!)
Cardigan: Gap
Tank: Banana Republic (can I be any more preppy?)
Dove necklace: from Little Rock
Butterfly necklace: from Etsy
Rain: delightful

My photographer makes me feel very pretty.  What makes you feel beautiful?

If you're wanting to throw embarrassment, self-consciousness, any any other suffocating hang-ups to the proverbial wind, consider participating in the radical-self-love challenge, and swing by here!

Lady Gaga, Dance Halls, My Birthday, and Pumpkins

It's not news that I am consistently behind the times, but on this round, everyone in my apartment is.  At Halloween, I was baffled as to why all the girls at the party we went to were wearing leotards and high heels.  Then the facebook pictures started popping up: more leotards!  And later, I finally learned.  We all did.  Lennon, Eirik and I: we have finally discovered Lady Gaga.  Specifically, this song:



 

In Little Rock, my favorite dance clubs were Backstreet and Discovery, and it makes me very sad to know I have only been dancing in Austin once since moving here, and then it was ten minutes before last call.

This is me breaking it down at the monthly Cool Shoes Dance Party.  One time with my friend Scott, other times with a bunch of strangers.  I'm friendly.  

I want to go out dancing again on my birthday, and I'd say I should take a few tips from the video:

But I can't get over how the costumes remind me of this:

I'm also thinking the finale of the video is very Faulkner-esque:

"A Rose For Emily," anyone?  I wasn't allowed to teach that story to my sophomores, but I did to my summer academy students.  It may be high time to giddy up on that higher degree so I can get to teaching the material I love most - Faulkner, the naughty parts of Chaucer, (I got in trouble for using "The Miller's Tale" to get my seniors interested in Chaucer - it was worth it), etcetcetc.

So for my birthday festivities, I want to go back to Qua and dance with the sharks and fishies.  Anyone from Austin know other good places for dancing?  The two Little Rock clubs were great because they stayed open until 5AM.  Being nocturnal, I do not approve of 2 o'clock shut downs.

Speaking of time - twenty-six!  Yikes!  In honor of my racing clock, I have devised my perfect "older but fabulous" birthday ensemble, complete with flats so as not to poke holes in the shark tank plexi-glass.

Of course I'll need sunglasses so no one sees me falling asleep like a pumpkin before the night is over, and an umbrella in case it keeps raining like it has been all day today.  Maybe I should have selected wellies. 

For One Night Only!

Monday night was the Girl Guitar showcase (awesome recital on steroids) at Antones.  I was terrified, and being in the beginner class, got to go second.  For the whole four minutes I was on stage, though, it was so much fun!  Even though my fingers seemed to swell and I missed a lot of the proper frets, strings, notes...

I have the song - Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel - memorized, but I was too scared to look at the audience so I looked at my music even though I didn't need it.  Also, maybe I should buy myself a guitar strap...

On stage with Mandy, the beauty and brains behind Girl Guitar.  I hope I can start taking private lessons with her soon as most classes happen in the evening while I'm at work.

Triptychs & Mango Lassis

I had a mango I didn't use from a recipe I made the other night, so I saved it to put into a mango lassi for breakfast.  I used this recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped mango (peeled)
4 teaspoons sugar, to taste (I used agave nectar)
A dash of ground cardamom

Directions

Put mango, yogurt, milk, sugar and cardamom into a blender and blend for 2 minutes, then pour into individual glasses, and serve.  Sprinkle with a little cardamom.  The lassi can be kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours and makes about 2 cups.

Other than the fact that I need a better blender, it's sweet and bright and perfect for a rainy morning, (especially a morning where I should really be rushing out the door as opposed to making fancy smoothies and then posting pictures of it online).

As I haven't put on my pants and wellies to brave the wet weather outside yet, here is another boots outfit that I wanted to share.

First picture: my hard core neck tattoo!  (does a Frida Kahlo element count as hard core?)
Dress: from Little Rock boutique two years ago
Tights: Target
Cardigan: Target
Boots: Steve Madden
Necklace: from my step-momma
Standing on a stool: I have no idea why

I have an important meeting in like twenty minutes....

But I have to post my internetz fame!

 

Meghann immortalized me in reference to this moment, (see below), which I promptly came in to work and told everyone about after it happened.  And that thing around my neck is the massive key chain/ID on a lanyard I carry around at work.

 

I have mad skills in the kitchen sometimes.

I work hard to test all my recipes before I post them for your viewing pleasure (disgust?)

Gabrielle Bouliane

"The lovely and amazing performance poet Gabrielle Bouliane performs for the audience at the Austin Poetry Slam.

This would be her last public performance.

Gabrielle was diagnosed with Stage Four Cancer shortly before this video was filmed. Our dear sister fought hard, but she ended her fight January 29, 2010. She was surrounded by family and friends, and her passing was in a very quiet, peaceful room full of love and affection. She was so brave.

Please share this video with everyone you know. I am sure it would tickle her to no end to have this video get as viral as a video can be. Tell the world.

Bunny up!"

                                                      -- Eirik Ott