• A husband who listens, and holds me and tells me everything will be okay, and then takes me to get oysters and champagne.
• A mama and sister who are traveling all the way to Austin for a girls’ weekend in the Hill Country.
• A supervisor who is so understanding, so supportive, and so freakin’ nice.
• The song, “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer,” performed by Amos Milburn.
• Weezer.
• Two silly cats who chase each other and generally make me laugh.
• Dancing.
• Football on TV. I don’t watch it, but I like to hear it in the background when Justin watches it.
• My parents.
• The internets.
• Rum.

26 Words I love:

1. Amulet
2. Brazen
3. Croissant
4. Dram
5. Elixir
6. Feint
7. Grenache
8. Haberdashery
9. Ivy
10. Jewel
11. Kolache
12. Lathe
13. Marigold
14. Namaste
15. Opulence
16. Potion
17. Quill
18. Radiant
19. Sepia
20. Tokay
21. Urban
22. Voluptuous
23. Wellfleet
24. Xochitl
25. Yodel
26. Zabaglione

Of course, you all know me, so if I change my mind and completely ditch this idea next week, you won’t be surprised, right?

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I’m dreaming of travel right now, so this song seems appropriate: Angus and Julia Stone – Big Jet Plane

Angus And Julia Stone – “Big Jet Plane” (Official Video) from Quenelle_culturelle on Vimeo.

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I’m also feelin’ funky. So, a little Wyclef Jean – We Trying to Stay Alive.

We started out with just one rule: we could only take one bite of each dish, so that we didn’t get full too early in the game. Yeah, that didn’t work. One bite?! Of a hot and tasty migas taco? Of a fresh piece of sake nigiri? Of a cool coconut snow cone?

It was a lot of food! We didn’t eat it all, or even half of it, but it was still a looooong day of eating. We took our little Zumi camera and my Canon Rebel along for the ride, and I put together this video of our day. It’s a good 7 minutes long, so I understand if you don’t have time/desire to watch it.

For those who do watch it, lemme know what you think!

Happy Monday, everybody!

Weekend Warriors from Crystal Esquivel on Vimeo.

I did notice one recurring theme in all these photos, which I have dubbed Justin in the Corner. Apparently I like to photograph Justin framed in the corner of the photo, with the restaurant background behind him.

At Nau’s Enfield Drug…

At Rockin’ Tomato…

At The County Line…

At Asia Cafe…

At Musashino…

At Chez Nous…

Thanks, babylove, for letting me take and post your photos, and for making every meal a bajillion times better with your presence.

So a few weeks back, I trekked out to Cuvee Coffee Roasting Company for their barista training. It was so much fun! We got to tour the place, then learned all about how coffee beans are processed, then learned how to pull espresso, then learned how to make milk-based drinks. So now when I get coffee anywhere, I’m watching their methods and scoping out their machines and appreciating their latte art.

Here are a bajillion photos from that day.

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One of their growers painted these bags for them with the Cuvee logo! They’re so pretty.

More coffee bag art:

Evidence of the morning’s tastings:

The ginormous coffee roaster:

Basic steps for making an espresso drink, as demonstrated by my classmate:

1. Grind the beans

2. Tamp them down

3. Brew

4. Steam the milk

5. Pour the milk into the espresso

If you’re cool, your drinks might look like this:

If you’re me, your drinks might look like this:

So yeah, I need a lot more practice with latte art.

Still, it was so much fun, and it really helped me understand and appreciate coffee more.

I am a ball of light. I am my own radiant energy, my own source of happiness and peace. I do not rely on anyone else’s light to make me happy. I want to be positive, I want to be happy, I want to be bright. All negativity that’s directed at me will be deflected away by my ball of light – it will not be absorbed. And when other people encounter my ball of light, it will undoubtedly shine on them and only do good.

I don’t know why this ball of light thing seems to make sense to me… basically, I want to be happy, and not bogged down by my own negativity and that of others. I feel that if I just work on my own inner light, it will radiate out and positively affect others, while still being a constant source of energy and happiness for me. I can’t rely on others to make me happy, and I can’t try to make them happy… I can just feed my ball of light, and shine through my life in that way. Does this make any sense at all?

In theory, it works. Yesterday I was able to maintain my focus on that ball of light until about mid-afternoon, and then I lost it. I once again became annoyed, frustrated, grumpy. But today is a new day, and my ball of light is in my hands.

So my far-away friend Wei-Wei tagged me for a little meme, in which I share seven random things about myself. Here we go:

Seven Things

1. I treat myself every weekday morning to a tall soy no whip mocha from Starbucks. I used to feel bad about buying my coffee from a chain shop, and about spending the money. But my friend Lindsay helped me realize that it’s something I like, something I look forward to, and so it’s OKAY. My barista knows my name and my order.
2. I have a girl crush on Giovanna Battaglia. She makes me want to wear Prada and smoke.
3. I am addicted to Pinterest. When I actually have time to read blogs, I pin and pin and pin.
4. I’ve always wanted to dye crazy colors in my hair. So I added pink and blue strips. But meh. I’m dying it back to dark brown. (At least I tried, right?)
5. I have a new-found adoration for bi bim bap and banchan thanks to my friend Sandra. And I learned how to say “thank you” in Korean. (Kamsahamnida!)
6. I seriously need some new clothes, but shopping just doesn’t sound fun, which is very weird for me. I don’t even feel like going shoe shopping. Maybe if it wasn’t 106 degrees outside, I’d feel like trying on fall clothes.
7. I maybe think I need 10 hours of sleep a night. Probably.

Hope you’re all having a great week!

It’s teeny tiny.

There are only four tables inside. And they use huge vegetable cans as pizza stands.

The cheese steak rocks.

The pizza is awesome, hand-tossed with lots of oregano in the sauce.

We love Little Deli!

I find a spot and head inside, and I’m greeted right away by a sweet waitress who remembers me from my last visit. “Sit wherever you’d like, hon!” And so I do. I snag a seat at the counter and listen to the ruckus of a room full of people having lunchtime conversations.

The counter waitress asks what I’d like to drink.

“Water, please. And do you still have chicken and dumplings?” (I’m really worried that they sold out.)

“We sure do. Would you like some?”

I would. I would like some, with coleslaw and scalloped potatoes and turnip greens. I don’t have to wait long until my plate is in front of me, piping hot. The waitress brings over a dinner roll and a corn muffin. It’s a ton of food. I eat.

An older man sits next to me and notes that I’m eating chicken and dumplings. He approves. He orders pork roast with beans, potatoes and greens. He says his name is Deaf Ed.

Deaf Ed spent the morning on a tractor, but the heat was too much, and so he’s done for the day. He likes just about everything they serve at Arkie’s, but his favorite is meatloaf on Mondays.

He’s ready to do some traveling. He wants to see Vietnam again, this time without anyone shooting at him. He wants to visit Thailand and the Holy Land.

Deaf Ed is completely deaf in his left ear and mostly deaf in his right ear as a result of a tumor that grew in his brain. His doctor says the tumor was related to Agent Orange exposure. He had the tumor removed, but as a result, he had to give up SCUBA diving, which he misses dearly. He tells me about his top-quality gear, his underwater cameras and lights, and the islands that he’s visited. He says that diving lets you see the other 90% of the ocean that you miss when you’re just snorkeling. He says the best time to dive is at night, because a whole new host of creatures comes out to hunt – he particularly loved to watch the octopi.

Deaf Ed talks about how the quality of food went downhill when convenience became a priority. He tells me about his grandmother, who used flour, lard, butter, sugar and salt to make some of the best food he’s ever tasted. He says that the chicken and dumplings at Arkie’s are almost as good as his grandmother’s, and that’s saying a lot.

He says he’s probably the only person in the room who knows how to wring a chicken’s neck. He says the only eggs worth eating come from hens you raise yourself.

It’s time for me to head back to work, so I say goodbye to Deaf Ed and pay my bill (which comes to about $7.00). I leave a big tip and head back out into the heat, smiling. Life is good. As stressful as it is to write this book, it has led me to Arkie’s and Deaf Ed and an appreciation for food that lies beyond sushi and pork belly and microgreens. And for that, I’m grateful.

This weekend my parents came to visit, which was great… they got a little taste of what our lives are like now that I’m researching the book. We ate and ate and ate, and took notes and photos and talked and laughed. I think by the end of the weekend they were probably tired of eating.

On Saturday night, Justin and I had anniversary drinks at FINO with our friend Bill… it was his last night behind the bar there. It was bittersweet… sad to see the end of Bill’s time there, excited about his new venture coming this winter, and excited to see Josh behind the bar, ready to take over.

On Sunday we went to see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It was seriously funny and just plain fun, though it did start to drag a bit in the middle. I loved the silliness of it all, with comic book and video game styling and over-the-top characters.

Tonight we walked to Whole Foods to pick up fruits and veggies for our morning juice. Mine’s going to have apple, ginger, celery, kale, and maybe some carrot. We’ll see if it’s a good mixture.

On to the food! These photos are from a recent dinner at Jack Allen’s Kitchen, which was mmm, mmm, good.

A bit of pimiento cheese with house-made crackers…

Blue crab gratin with artichoke hearts and spinach…

Green chile cheeseburger with fries…

Chicken-fried chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and creamy corn…

Banana toffee pie…

It’s a bit of a drive, but we’ll definitely be back.

Eleven years ago, I said that I would love him forever and a day, and he said he’d love me, too.

Eleven years ago, I had no idea that we would move to Austin, that we would live in Boston for a while, that we would decide not to have children, that we would blossom into the people we are now, together.

Eleven years ago, I married my best friend. And every day since then I have thanked my lucky stars that I found him so early in my life, and that I am still able to spend every day with him.

Happy Anniversary, my handsome prince. I love you more than my luggage.

Yesterday President Obama came to the University to give a speech. I didn’t get to see it, but it was all hullaballoo around campus and in our office. We had a drawing for the three tickets our office was given, and the people who won were stoked! My friend was at the airport during the speech, and sent me a photo of Air Force One out on the tarmac. It was an all around exciting day for Austin.

It’s been over 100 degrees every day for about a week. I know I should feel grateful that we’ve had a mild summer so far (if you can call upper 90s mild), but instead I scowl at the heat and wish for autumn days.

A photo: late night eats at Kebabalicious – seriously one of the best wraps I’ve ever tasted, with lamb and beef and tzatziki and spice.

This weekend has been pretty chill… we tried lots of restaurants, and we went the the theater to watch The Other Guys, which was… not good. Justin promised me that if I sat through it, and if it was bad (because I KNEW it was going to be bad), he would sit with me through Eclipse (again). And so it was bad, and so sometime this week we’re going to watch Eclipse (again). I’m like an Edward junkie, I swear.

But! We did see some previews that were great… I’m really looking forward to seeing The Social Network (written by Aaron Sorkin!), and I’m hopeful about Due Date, which has Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, and could possibly be funny. But truth be told, I am waiting most impatiently for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Tron: Legacy and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Anyway, we trekked up north to try Pho Dan, a seriously good Vietnamese restaurant. Here’s what we ate.

Tofu spring rolls…

Pho tai (with super-delicious broth)…

And broken rice with seared beef. This was sooo good. The beef was all caramelized and charred and perfect.

The rice was “broken rice,” which is cooked rice from fractured grains. The rice grains are smaller and all broken up, making the texture more like couscous, which is a very good thing. See the little rice grains? Cute!

We’d definitely go back here for more of the same.

So! Hopefully you can all read this again, and we can move forward with our poco-cocoa-ness.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

It seems there’s a virus attacking WordPress on our server, Mediatemple, and it’s giving browser errors saying that the site might be harmful to your computer. Justin has been working on it nonstop, and is still working on it, trying to figure out how to fix it. It seems that a lot of other blogs on the same platforms are having this problem, and are getting varying degrees of help from WordPress and MediaTemple.

Sadness… hopefully this will all be fixed soon. I know it’s just a random internet thing, but I can’t help but feel personally attacked by it. My poor little happy space! Everyone, cross your fingers and send good thoughts our way.

Back soon (hopefully).

I’m all about quick keys now. At work I have a PC, and I’ve taken to using the Windows + Tab to see the 3D view of all my open windows. At home I have a Mac, and today I learned a few quick keys in Photoshop that made editing photos soooo much faster. Justin’s been trying to get me to use quick keys forever… and somehow that purse-selling trainer yesterday is the one who finally sold me on it.

We had drinks with our friend James at Townhouse last weekend. Their menu is kind of out there for a downtown bar… fresh juices, in-house infusions, big fat ice. I tried a honey-gin-lemon drink, and it was tasty, but there was so much pulp and bits of herb that I wish it had been strained (I don’t like pulp in stuff). Justin’s Old Fashioned was good, and James had a nice martini. I guess it was hit or miss. And then, magically at some point in the evening, they pumped the music WAY UP and it suddenly became a college kid hangout. I’ve never seen such teeny tiny skirts. I wonder if they all ordered vodka tonics.

Still, I did get to have lunch at Enoteca, and a buttermilk pie from Cutie Pie, so it wasn’t a totally bad day.

Here are some photos from a recent dinner at Chez Nous.

The specials board outside…

Is it me, or is he, like, extremely gorgeous?

I love the pastis vases…

Escargot (always makes me think of Pretty Woman – “slippery little suckers”)…

Pate maison…

Potato leek soup (but not vichyssoisse… it was hot)…

Steak Maitre’d…

Truite Estragon…

Mousse au chocolat and creme caramel…

Three amazing courses, $26.50. Craziness.

I just realized that it’s August 3 and I haven’t posted new tunes for the month on 8Tracks. Oh well, maybe September. Or October. Or November.

A few ph0tos from a dinner a while back at El Naranjo, a Oaxacan food cart on Rainey Street:

Molotes stuffed with chorizo…

Empanadas…

Cochinita pibil tacos…

Chicken tinga tacos…

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We tried Matt’s El Rancho again a few nights back. We had been there before a few years ago, but I don’t remember anything about the food because while we were there, this older couple sat at a table across from us, and were quite distracting… there was much groping (he grabbed her boob! in front of everyone!) and flirting and lewd conversation. I was pretty much scarred for life. But! Matt’s has been around for a bajillion years, and we decided to go back and try it again.

Bob Armstrong Dip… queso with a dollop of guacamole and a spoonful of taco meat.

Brisket tacos.

Combo fajitas (and a Mexican martini in the background).