Poco-Cocoa – Page 53 – Things & Stuff

Letters #14

Dear Bluebonnets,

You’re pretttttty.

Dear Husband,

Thank you for taking me out for walks and picnics and cappuccinos and chili-cheese fries and movies and snow cones and fun. All my base are belong to you.

Dear Family,

Thanks for a wonderful weekend and yummy food and old jewelry and owl presents. You made me feel so welcome, even though I surprised you by showing up at your house out of the blue. Also, I hope you’ve finished the 84 bags of chips I brought you.

Dear God,

Thank you for wildflowers and spring breezes and nice people and courage and safe travels and cacao beans and wonderful husbands and great friends. Also, thank you for only making me have to go to the Drivers License Office once every 10 years or so.

Dear Bed,

Why are you so uncomfortable when I try to fall asleep, and so very comfortable when I try to wake up? Can we reverse this?

Hope you all are having a great week!♥

March 29, 2012

Letters + Moments

Austin, Canon Rebel T1i
Drink.Well.

One of our new favorite spots in town is Drink.Well. It’s a cute little bar on North Loop that serves excellent cocktails and awesome snacks.

Last time we visited, I had the Dead Man’s Party (right) – a tiki-like drink made with three types of whiskey instead of rum. It’s so freakin’ delicious. The Boston Cocktail (left) was a special on St. Patrick’s Day – Justin drank that one, so I don’t remember what was in it, but I do remember it was tasty. 🙂

I like that the bar also serves food – especially little salty bits to go with your drinks. The snack mix, cheese plate, chips and dip have all been yummy.

We’re so proud of Jessica and Mike – congratulations on opening a fantastic new place, guys!♥

March 27, 2012

Food + Drink

Canon Rebel T1i, cocktails, restaurants
SXSW Inspiration

One-man band = courage

So SXSW is over – this year it seemed to go by really quickly! We usually stay away from the crowds for most of the week, but we try to walk downtown at least once during the madness to check things out, and this year we almost missed it. It’s such a different feeling – it feels as though our city has been taken over by another. It’s crowded and everyone is excited and hopeful.

Fabulous hair

I will admit that it’s not fun to try to get to your favorite spots during this time. We stayed away from our downtown office all week – microphone checks, screaming girls, traffic. The crowds also meant all downtown restaurants were off limits.

Embracing St. Patrick's Day

We didn’t see any films this year, which makes me sad. Last year, we bought passes as usual, and couldn’t get into any films. We heard that many badge holders had the same experience. I don’t know what the solution is – sell fewer badges? Have more venues? For now, we’ll save our money for the Austin Film Festival.

Awesome sunglasses

Still, I was inspired! By fashion, by hairstyles, by bravery. There’s a huge wave of hipster-hating at the moment, and I’m not really sure why. Sheesh, I’m a hipster. I think pretty much all of my friends are hipsters. These days, if you have a beard, or use Twitter, or dress creatively, or are into craft cocktails, or listen to Andrew Bird, you’re a hipster. Who cares? I don’t want to be an old, grumpy gal, not willing to embrace change, scowling at the younger crowd and their “fashions” and “music.” I want to be a part of the life happening around me, to be inclusive rather than exclusive. I suppose, as Justin says, “Haters gonna hate.”

I read a great quote from Matthew Odam on Twitter this week:

Positive definition of hipster: one actively engaged with the culture they are consuming. Beats raw consumerism.

Violin monster and gorgeous hair

And so, SXSW is just another opportunity for me to be involved in the world around me and appreciate the culture that is growing in Austin. Until next year!

March 21, 2012

Everyday Life

Austin, Canon Rebel T1i
Weekend Moments #6
Hey guys! It’s time for another weekend video!

Details:
- On Friday, we had a long, lovely dinner at Fabi + Rosi. We visited their chickens, sat on the patio under the chandelier, and chatted with Wolfgang. It was lovely.
- On Saturday, we walked around downtown to check out the SXSW happenings. So many people! So much excitement! Plus, it was St. Patrick’s Day, so there we lots and lots of drunk people wearing green. We stopped by the Squarespace Food Truck to get some free F&D goodies, too. Afterward, we escaped the crowds in a Car2Go and headed north. We had a drink at Drink.Well and chatted with Jessica and Mike, then headed to Vino Vino for a drink with our friend Alex. We got to hang out a bit with Erin and Nat and other pals, too.
- On Sunday, we stayed home and puttered. Justin worked downstairs putting in new shelves and other manly things, and me and the kitties stayed upstairs testing recipes. I attempted to make caramel twice, and ended up with a burned mess both times. Maybe today will be the day!
I hope you have a wonderful week!♥
March 19, 2012

Uncategorized
Randoms
I recently downloaded the Cinemagram app. I was so excited about making animated gifs, and then I kind of forgot about it. So far I just have this one of Roux. I plan to make more gifs soon!

I started a new gig! I’m helping Ned and Jodi at Foreign & Domestic with paperwork, invoices, and all those other nerdy organizing things that I like to do. I’m having a lot of fun with it, but I’m still trying to figure out my schedule. I would love to wake up early (that being 7:30 or 8am), go to yoga or take a walk, plan dinner, go to work, shop for dinner, come home and make dinner, then work on the book. So far my schedule has been: wake up late, eat a small snack, go to work, starve through work, come straight home, pick up Justin, go to a restaurant, come home and watch movies until very late; repeat. This must change, people. For my sake, and for the sake of the book. 🙂

Today I stopped at the farmers’ market on the way home and picked up some gorgeous artichokes, English peas, and a bag of beautiful salad greens. I plan to steam the artichoke and dip the leaves in lemon butter; to steam the peas and toss them with butter; and to eat the salad greens straight out the bag with my hands.

I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately. For the record:
- Drive is horribly violent but seriously amazing, and the soundtrack is the bomb.
- Take Shelter is super creepy but really good.
- I still love Babette’s Feast. Like, a lot. I considered asking one of my chef friends to recreate Babette’s feast for my birthday. I think it’s a bit much to ask. 🙂
Lately I’ve been feeling disconnected. Like my life is just sort of slipping through my fingers, and I can’t grasp onto anything solid. I’ve been trying to explain this to Justin, but I can’t seem to put it into words. I suppose I feel a bit out of control, perhaps that I am too busy living life to plan for and worry about it. Which is probably what is best, but, being an excellent worrier, it worries me.

I was thinking that I need to subscribe to a few magazines, so that I have plenty of reading material. Then I realized that I have (often unread) digital and/or print subscriptions to the NY Times, Remedy Quarterly, Frankie, Lucky, Saveur, Taproot, and Kinfolk. Oops.

To everyone who has asked where to get my iPhone case/wallet/book – you can find it here. (I love BookBook!)

Hope you’re all having a great week!♥
March 14, 2012

Everyday Life

cinemagram

Letters #14

Drink.Well.

SXSW Inspiration

Positive definition of hipster: one actively engaged with the culture they are consuming. Beats raw consumerism.

Weekend Moments #6

Details:

Randoms