Out And About in Austin-The Butterfly Bar

I have been stuck at home sick on and off for the last two weeks and I finally had the chance to get dressed and go out for the evening! 

Yup, no more pajamas and sweatpants.  No heels but they weren't really necessary for the night.  Austin is probably one of the most casual cities ever and the Butterfly Bar helps it live up to that reputation.

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It's attached to a local theater, the Vortex.  I think it sort of serves as the concession stand for the theater.  The inside is lovely but it's even better outside...

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You can hang out on the patio or in one of the many outdoor chairs...

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or in the greenhouse for a little privacy.  No heels...they either get caught between the porch planks or dig into the dirt.  I speak from experience.  But like I said, Austin is very casual and this place is kind of like hanging out at your neighbor's, which also happens to have an excellent Italian food cart conveniently located in the backyard...

 Mmmm!  Patrizi's!  I don't tend to eat Italian food very often so it's a treat when I do.  Apparently the family has a few restaurants around Texas and this is the 2nd food trailer/cart in Austin.

 Plastic forks and paper plates...Last night I had the carbonara and soup special. 

(If I hadn't almost gotten my car towed, it would have been a perfectly lovely night...it took a lot of politeness and sweet talk, but I got out of it!)
I love eating outdoors and the sweaty hot nights of Austin...what do you love about where you live?

J.

Closet Ease-Bailey 44 Dress

I have a few Bailey 44 pieces in my closet but this dress is my favorite...

It's a super soft jersey and the lines are so very flattering, body hugging but not super sexy.  I wouldn't think twice about wearing it with a white or chambray shirt tied over the top of it and a pair of flat sandals. 

(Hmmm...interesting hair day...) A big chunky necklace works just fine too. 
Anyway, I've said it before, dresses just make life easier, especially if you need to be somewhere early, but tend to not be so much an early person, one step, nothing to think about except shoes and accessories.  Actually, now that I think about it, perhaps the dress is only second in ease to a toga,

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but even then you have a belt and sandals to think about...

J.bail

Out Of The Closet- My Age (40)

I have thought long and hard about writing this post and I finally decided to do it.  There's no denying it, I am a fashion blogger in my 40's.  I love clothes and blogging and I won't apologize!

It started in the 80's when I first discovered high fashion magazines like "Town and Country" and "Vogue" at the doctors office.

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  No lie, the waiting room always ended up a few publications lighter by the time I left.  The photos, the glamorous stories, the incredible lifestyles!!!!  Of course this convinced me that central Wisconsin had to be the least cultured place in the world as far as fashion went, (not true, but maybe not far off.)

My small town finally received a mall around the time I was in 5th grade and even though we didn't have cable at my house, I was very aware of it when I went to friends homes who did have it.

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  I loved watching MTV for 2 things...the clothing and the dancing! 

I started going through my own little fashion phases, the first around 6th grade, when breakdancing was very popular...I think I owned 3 pairs of parachute pants and in 7th grade, neon colors and neon colors only! (Mom and Dad were not thrilled and did not allow this apparel to be worn to church.)  8th grade brought on an envy of every girl who owned a Limited fisherman's sweater.

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 When high school came along, matchy matchy was VERY in as were dressy shorts with nylons and flats or white Keds.  I rarely wore jeans and loved 2 piece skirt and top sets...anyway, I could go on.

I'm not saying that in these 40 years I've become a fashion know it all, in fact far from it.  But fashion educated me in ways that have helped shaped my life.  You know that neon phase?  Yeah, I was the only one in my school (town?) doing this, and I wore that neon- puffy paint- tropical sunset tee shirt proudly (I even got a sneak into church!)  And in high school wearing my matching houndstooth skirt and top (I wish I still had this,) during exam time?  Well, maybe feeling good just has a little something to do with how well you perform. 

Anyway, this is becoming psychology, and I'm just saying I'm a fashion blogger in my 40's.
J.

Closet Satisfaction-White Heels

With the addition of these snowy heels,


I am having a brief moment of closet satisfaction. I've been on the hunt for at least 2 months, (once again, it was a size issue, nothing to be had in a size 5,) and they are exactly what I've been looking for, a basic leather, open toe in white, something that I think will actually be in my closet for a long time. 

Yes, satisfied...there's no knowing how long this will last.
J.

 

Pleated Persuasion

I fell hard for this mini pleated midi length skirt...


(Close up...the details get lost on black.) I normally stay away from the pleated persuasion because sometimes I think it adds inches in places where I don't want them, but this one from Bordeaux drapes quite nicely, I'm guessing because the crimping is much smaller.


Ok, so on me it's maybe a little closer to a maxi, but I can still show off a great shoe. It's a piece that I can dress up easily so really the challenge will be to dress it down, to be more wearable for day.  Which I attempted to do with this look, just going with a simple cotton v-neck top/tee, (that I have actually been debating about getting rid of,) and fun necklace from Debbie Carroll. I would love to find a great flat sandal to wear with it for summer...suggestions?

J.

Out And About In Austin

Warning-Picture Heavy
This past weekend, on a hunt for a very specific mustard, I visited no less than 3 local farmers markets.  When the lady who makes and sells the mustard was finally found, she was already sold out!  (It's that good!)  Bummer, but at least I know where to find her and I guarantee that I'll be first in line to get it this coming weekend, and I'm not complaining about that because Austin has some great local vendors and there's nothing like cooking with fresh foods and of course there's no calories in taking pictures of pretty food...

On Saturday the BF and I visited the Barton Creek Farmer's Market, one of the nicer and bigger markets around. Isn't this beet beautiful?  It's from one of my favorite local farms, Johnson's Backyard Garden.  They always have a great variety and a few interesting things as well, (like black Spanish radishes.)


I didn't buy any beets or radishes but I did buy some of these turnips, which I have only eaten once and have never prepared myself, so these will be an adventure for sure!  (Let me know if you have any good recipes!)

  I love this sign!  And I'm looking forward to eating some lamb.  (I go for ground.)  It's a new item in my diet and I only eat it every so often because it's a heavier and fattier meat than chicken or beef but it's delicious!

Afterwards we stopped at Gourdough's Public House for lunch, another new place for me.


Anything and everything served on or with a donut!  Burgers were actually served on donuts instead of buns.  Sounds weird because you think it's going to be overly sugary but not so!  They were a little bit on the sweet side, but without any frostings or fillings it worked perfectly with the saltier items that it was served with.


 I had 3 Little Guidos.  Pork belly, mozzarella, basil and tomato on donuts with homemade chips.  What can I say but WOW!


I guess technically this place is a bar and the rustic, industrial interior is really quite perfect, very Austin.  Afterwards, we rolled ourselves home for a nap.

  On Sunday we thought we would try to catch the mustard lady at another market, this time it was the Mueller Market, but sadly, she wasn't at this location.  However, this one had more prepared foods, and was very child friendly with a petting zoo and balloons.


You see the rectangular donut on the right?  Peanut butter frosting and jelly filling.  And it was amazing!  (Ok, so it wasn't the healthiest of weekends...) 

So after admiring some ducks we made our way out to Micklethwait's Meat Trailer, the newest, hyped up barbeque joint (trailer) in town.


 Barbeque goes fast here in Austin and to get the good stuff you gotta go early, that's all there is to it.  Usually you need to be in line by 10:30 AM.  We got there around 1:30 and they were already sold out of everything but ribs and sausage and 2 or 3 sides.  I was already full by the time we got there so after a few bites of sausage, I was done!  The BF enjoyed the ribs.

Verdict-Sometimes BBQ gets a little over spiced but we both agreed that you could actually taste the meat and it was very nice.  We will be returning to try the brisket.

As if this post isn't super long already, here's a few pics of the local scenery around the BBQ trailer...

Gigantic BBQ pit/smoker thing...I don't claim to know the process, I just eat it.  And for some reason I find these things wonderfully depressing, like oil derricks.


This little salon was right next door...


and this Airstream was sitting next to it.  I looked up the website - I'm some what intrigued by facial acupuncture.  Anyway, it was just as pretty on the other side...

Used to be that you never went to the East Side of Austin...ever...

What's going on with you?
J.

  

A Pair of Heels Helps Everything

I knew we were having a meeting with some regional managers and I really should have worn something more appropriate...like a dress... but the day had 3 things going against it...A) I was going to be putting in a long day, B) it was suddenly very very cold, and C) it was Monday...enough said.  So I stuck with my original outfit that I first put on that day and added these heels...

 

Old Steve Maddens, and really, these were not meant for work, knowing that I would be on my feet for an extended period of time, but they took the look to the next level...


 They loved it. 
PS-Looking for a new orange lipstick...suggestions?

What lessons did you learn this week?
J.