Out And About in Austin - South 1st St.

This post isn't really very specific, just a few random pictures of South 1st St. that I took on the morning of the 4th.

Random graffiti...Austin has a lot of it.

Make a wish!  Or 3...

Dolce Neve gelato shop...super tiny, but incredible!  It has a great old timey magical feel to it and the gelato was amazing!  (I had amaretto with candied orange peel.)

And then there's this.  Because you never really know what your gonna find behind other people's fences...

What's hiding in your city?
J.

Out and About in Austin

Happy December!
  I can't believe I'm saying that already!  Partly because of the amazing weather we've had...the 1st of December was in the 80's, sunny and lovely.  I'm not sure about the sun but it's still supposed to be 81 degrees today.  No complaints really, that's why I moved from the mid-west in the first place!  And I took full advantage of it yesterday! 
  It started out early, the dance studio I teach at had their annual holiday show, Breakfast With Santa, and I wish I had taken photos but it's really kind of too crazy for that.  However, I'm pleased to say that my little group of performers did fabulous, (despite the dress rehearsal the night before.)  They made me proud! 
After, the BF and I decided to head to the Triangle for a bite to eat, which was perfect because a couple of my co-workers were there at the Violet Crown Arts Festival, showing their wares.  I love the clean modern shapes of these pieces...


 The black on black earrings are my favorites! 


You can visit their site, jpear Design if you like what you see here.

After, we ate at Galaxy Cafe...

(Photo via)
Once again I failed to take pictures of because the BF and I were involved in a heavy duty, super intense discussion about the our future which superseded any pics of my French Breakfast, which was a slice of quiche, 1/2 a bagel and fruit cup.
  Anyway, we roamed the Triangle for a while before heading back to the car, and we stopped at one of my favorite local shops, SoLa.  I found so many great and reasonably priced items for people on my Christmas list!  Plus, I found these for myself... 


Yup, I fell into the "one for you, one for me" shopping trap but these were only $15...super sale!  I'd love to wear them today, but that requires a fresh pedicure...

  You would have thought this was plenty for today, but no, the studio still had one more holiday show, this time at the Georgetown Stroll.  Georgetown is a little further north of Austin, and is adorable.  The Square is filled mostly with restaurants and antique shops which aren't really me...

but I love the nostalgic feel of it at holiday time...


What are you doing this weekend?

J.

Out And About In Austin

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES J. A DULL GIRL.

So, even though I had mountains of housework to do I decided to enjoy myself for just a little while before I dug into the cleaning.
And first things first, eating was in order...


The BF and I went Kome' a Japanese restaurant, which was  packed for a Saturday!  I had the Sushi Lunch and it was so good!  The unagi was perfectly crispy around the edges...mmmm....(He doesn't like sushi so I rarely get to eat it...he had Ramen.)

Afterwards I dropped him off at home and I headed out to get some coconut water (I can't get enough of it!) and hit the Goodwill next door to the market.  (Which was also packed!)  I tried on a few things but didn't really find too much except for these clutches...

I love how all the colors look together!
Well I couldn't/didn't buy all three but I sure did think about it. Anyway, I think I had envisioned having Goodwill to myself that day, (this particular location isn't very busy during the week,) and wasn't in the mood to share so I made my purchases and went home...so which did I buy?

 
I love the texture and weave!  I couldn't say no!
Ok, and I bought this one too...


It barely holds anything, so I can't drag too much around with me!

I was very productive after my jaunt around town.  I've always been the kind of person who thinks that if I don't go to or do some work, then I don't get to have fun. Perhaps that means I need to balance my life out a little bit better...Have fun first, then work!
J.

Out And About in Austin

A day off!  I needed it! 
It's been a while since I've been out and about outside of my typical grocery store, gym, coffee shop haunts so today the BF and I went to a farmer's market that's relatively close to the house that we had not visited yet and though it was small, we were not disappointed!
 
These white things are squash.  I didn't get any...maybe next time... 



I love these colors! 


 
These are boxes from one of the local farms...how fabulous is the design/graphics?


  Random nearby rooftop...


Quick outfit pic...don't judge, it was still early on a Saturday morning for me, I needed lipstick or something...

Afterwards, we went across the street to the Hot Rod Coffee Trailer.

 
This man knows his coffee!  I've been here a few times before and have had an outstanding cup every time!  I need to stop here more often...

 I love this wavy bamboo fence behind the trailer.  (Bamboo grows like crazy here!)

  

And I'm not sure you can see the details but this paint splattered picnic table was awesome.


(The top.)  Sadly, it was falling apart and super splintery, not very shorts friendly in the summer if you get what I mean.
Anyway, off to make stew or something with my goodies from the farmer's market...


Have a great weekend!
J.

Art Of Austin On Friday Night

I was going to blog about an art show that I went to on Friday evening and my friend Debbie Carroll was a part of, but sadly they didn't allow pictures and really what's a post about an art show if there's no art? Well, here are a few of Debbie's paintings that I pulled from her Etsy site, Debbie Carroll Designs ...

China Berries
I think she actually sold this painting...it was tiny, 8x10 but up close it was full of depth and personality...

Local Cacti
For me, the orange surrounding the prickly cactus some how really represents the current heat wave Texas is having...

Anyway, it was a great show at the Gallery Black Lagoon . If you're local check it out, it's called the Austin Series Part 3 and there's some fabulous photography and screen printing as well.

J.

Art Fund Raiser For KIPP School

Last night I went to a fund raiser at La Pena Gallery for the kindergarten art program at my nephew's school...

Basically, the student's art could be purchased for either $5 or $10, (depending on whether or not it was framed.)
It was so fun! Everyone was all dressed up and each student was so excited to find their work framed and displayed!


It may not be a Picasso or a Renoir, but in a special way each one was priceless!

Other than my nephew's (of course!) this one may have been my favorite!

The artist contemplates his work.
I actually purchased J's art for my sister as a belated Mother's Day gift.

Though I believe the fund raiser was for the kindergarten classes specifically, there was also art from some of the older children.

This one was called "The Big Wedding." I love the bright colors!

I remember loving art class as a kid and can't imagine it not having been a part of my school life! I hope they made enough to keep it going for at least another year!

J.

Austin Texas, I Live Here

I finally had a day off! 2 days off, actually, which is very rare. And I took full advantage of the first one! (And if you don't already know it, Austin is campy, very campy...)

After sleeping in, a pot of coffee and a little housekeeping, it was time for lunch and I love trying new eateries, so today the BF and I decided to try out "Cutie Pies" which had just opened last month...

Originally it had started out as a cute little pink "pie wagon"...

(photo from cutiepiewagon.com)
Adorable!
Anyway, I had a delicious 4 inch quiche Lorraine and the BF had the chicken pot pie, but we ate them before I could even get a picture, (I was starving,) but I did manage to remember to snap one of my tiny lemon meringue pie before it was gone...

but only because I was too full to eat it all!

After that we stopped at Austin Shoe Hospital,

(image from austinshoehospital.com)
because I happened to be wearing my thrifted Ferragamos and they were in bad need of a new heel and because it was on the way. I'd been meaning to do this for a while now and lucky me, the neon light announced that they repaired heels while you wait and 20 minutes later, I was on my way out the door. I had them put rubber on the bottom as well and it's well worth the $30 investment to make them last. (I only paid $10 for them.)

I've taken belts and shoes here previously and they always do a great job without over charging, and I'm certain I saw a lovely pair of red soled stilettos on the back counter waiting for it's owner...

After a little afternoon nap, (always a luxury,) and a little TV, we wrote up the grocery list and headed to the store, which seemed like a good idea at the time and would have been a good idea if it hadn't happened to be rush hour on Friday afternoon...traffic was horrible! So we stopped for a cappuccino at Monkey Nest ...

(Photo from www.monkeynestcoffee.com)
before heading onward to Central Market. And of course, being the time of day that it was, we had to fight for a parking space but once inside, it was clear that everyone was there for the live music at restaurant part of the store which made grocery shopping go by easily! (I admit, I'm not the best grocery shopper!)

But Central Market is always interesting...

I didn't buy any, but interesting, right?

Like I said, Austin is campy, very campy...

J.

Sunday Lunch and What I Wore

I don't normally wear stripes, but I guess that's because I haven't had anything with stripes for years. (I've been color blocked and solids for a long time...I'm trying to break this habit.) I found the tank for something like $4.99 at Academy and decided that if it didn't work out, I could just wear it at the gym or on laundry day only. But I'm happy with the results.

This is also the first chance I've had to wear my new shoes...I love them!

And since I was just out for a quick Sunday lunch at Freebird's, I decided to have some fun with my accessories.

I found this Subversive fly bracelet at a Target in Wisconsin, which is sort of random. But it's green and funky and unexpected...everything an accessory should be.

J.

Birthday Margaritas and What I Wore

I had a lovely evening last night which was the perfect way to end my day off. Unfortunately, my day had started out with a miserable round of allergies - itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, the works! So I spent a good majority of the day indoors cleaning my room - God knows it needed it. But by the time my second dose of allergy pills kicked in I was ready for the evening. It started out with cocktails and appetizers at The Roaring Fork - a new location just opened up near the house - and the view from the patio is absolutely beautiful...my pictures don't do it justice...


(It over looks a little quarry lake.) The margaritas were just strong enough (or maybe it was the allergy meds...) and the appetizers were yummy! Sometime I'll go back to try an entree.

Afterwards, we went to Trudie's North for Daniela's birthday dinner and I had my favorite Tortilla Soup and another margarita -mmm!

And here I am debuting my dress that I purchased from Strut along with my Steve Madden Luxe heels...

But the back of the dress is even better!

The dress has midnight blue in the pattern, so I wore Goddess, again from Urban Decay. (My favorite brand...can you tell?) For some reason it makes the green in my hazel eyes really pop and dark blue always makes the whites of eyes whiter, which masked the redness from my allergies.

(By the way, I didn't take the above eyeshadow photo.)

It was a happy Thursday after all.

J.