Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Friday Favorites, East Texas family edition
This weekend, Nathan and I are visiting my family in East Texas. It's always wonderful to visit everyone out here, where the pace is slow and the agenda includes eating at the little pizzeria that's two blocks from the house, playing games, grilling, chatting and laughing. Here are a few other things related to our trips out here:
1. thrift stores
My mom is the queen of thrifting, so I learned from the best.
Besides being able to find unique things at affordable prices, thrifting also supports charity and is good for the environment (because it's like recycling).
There are some incredible thrift shops in and around my parents' town, so my mom, my sister and I always hit the shops.
2. hammocks
My parents have a hammock in their yard under the trees. There's nothing better than lazing in the hammock with a good book, or your sweetie to cuddle with. (The hammock does accommodate two.)
3. Apples to Apples
My current favorite board game, which we JUST played tonight. This game is easy to learn and hilarious to play.
4. bocce
One of the best outdoor games-- and trust me, you don't have to be athletic to play. It's also somewhat luck-based, because it's a moving target.
And look, even the Pope plays.
5. family!
A couple family members I don't normally get to see are my amazing sister (who has been teaching for the past year in Istanbul!),
my fabulous grandma (who lives all the way up in Illinois), my talented brother and wonderful sis-in-law and their new little baby, Mikayla, who is our one and only niece. Mikayla's not only completely beautiful, she's the most serious little baby, always taking everything in with her big, blue eyes.
Here she is, during dinner. I don't know if you can tell from her eyes, but they are saying, "You all get pizza and I get strained carrots? what gives?"
We of course brought our cammies, so I promise more (non-Hipstamatic) photos very soon.
Happy weekend!
1. thrift stores
My mom is the queen of thrifting, so I learned from the best.
Besides being able to find unique things at affordable prices, thrifting also supports charity and is good for the environment (because it's like recycling).
There are some incredible thrift shops in and around my parents' town, so my mom, my sister and I always hit the shops.
2. hammocks
My parents have a hammock in their yard under the trees. There's nothing better than lazing in the hammock with a good book, or your sweetie to cuddle with. (The hammock does accommodate two.)
3. Apples to Apples
My current favorite board game, which we JUST played tonight. This game is easy to learn and hilarious to play.
4. bocce
One of the best outdoor games-- and trust me, you don't have to be athletic to play. It's also somewhat luck-based, because it's a moving target.
And look, even the Pope plays.
5. family!
A couple family members I don't normally get to see are my amazing sister (who has been teaching for the past year in Istanbul!),
my fabulous grandma (who lives all the way up in Illinois), my talented brother and wonderful sis-in-law and their new little baby, Mikayla, who is our one and only niece. Mikayla's not only completely beautiful, she's the most serious little baby, always taking everything in with her big, blue eyes.
Here she is, during dinner. I don't know if you can tell from her eyes, but they are saying, "You all get pizza and I get strained carrots? what gives?"
We of course brought our cammies, so I promise more (non-Hipstamatic) photos very soon.
Happy weekend!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Am I allowed to use the word "networking"?
Because that's totally what I did today. My new friend Grechen, who I met at a fashion brunch last Saturday invited me to join the ATX Ladies Who Lunch, and today we met at Mandola's for some delicious Italian food and fabulous company!
I had so much fun talking about all things blogging with these ladies (and OK, we did chat a bit about boys, etc.) I think the stars might have aligned because Sandhya said she's been thinking about starting an Austin street style blog as well-- which meeeaaans that with our powers combined, we'll come up with something that much more fantastic! Anyway, I'll definitely keep you updated.
Thanks to Sandhya for bringing her cammie (and thanks to a couple of ladies who were totally Anslee fans who helped take the photo)
(left to right)
Grechen of Grechen's Closet, Megan of SewSister, Michelle of Wicked Whimsy, Sandhya of Livin' Wide, moi, Diya of In Her Stilettos, Joanna of Keep Austin Stylish, Anslee of Savannah Red Designs.
It was also Joanna's birthday. Happy Birthday, sweetie! Hope it was fabulous!
Unfortunately, my afternoon wasn't quite as fun because (really long story short-- trust me, I tried the story out on Nathan and it didn't go over well), I had to case the neighborhood searching for our UPS guy and a very important package that I'd missed while I was at lunch, being all networky.
Follow that truck!
I had so much fun talking about all things blogging with these ladies (and OK, we did chat a bit about boys, etc.) I think the stars might have aligned because Sandhya said she's been thinking about starting an Austin street style blog as well-- which meeeaaans that with our powers combined, we'll come up with something that much more fantastic! Anyway, I'll definitely keep you updated.
Thanks to Sandhya for bringing her cammie (and thanks to a couple of ladies who were totally Anslee fans who helped take the photo)
(left to right)
Grechen of Grechen's Closet, Megan of SewSister, Michelle of Wicked Whimsy, Sandhya of Livin' Wide, moi, Diya of In Her Stilettos, Joanna of Keep Austin Stylish, Anslee of Savannah Red Designs.
It was also Joanna's birthday. Happy Birthday, sweetie! Hope it was fabulous!
Unfortunately, my afternoon wasn't quite as fun because (really long story short-- trust me, I tried the story out on Nathan and it didn't go over well), I had to case the neighborhood searching for our UPS guy and a very important package that I'd missed while I was at lunch, being all networky.
Follow that truck!
To submit to Lamebook, or not to submit?
Do you all know about Lamebook? A friend from work first told me about it when we were internet deprived at a training this summer, and while it's often raunchy and completely offensive, it's also sort of shocking in a trainwreck way. Like that Housewives of New Jersey show.
(Don't you get the distinct impression that they photographed them one by one and them shopped them together, because they'd never actually stand that close to each other without ripping each other's hair out? But I digress.)
Today, an old friend posted a Facebook status about her children's poo. It included information from not just one of her children's poo, but both of their poo. It was gross. It was shocking. It was borderline-fecophiliac. And sure, it was an overview of events that actually took place, but does that make it OK to post on FB?
Now I'm torn because the post itself is perfect for Lamebook. And if she's willing to share her story, shouldn't others out there benefit from its foulness? This is really a philosophical question for the social media age.
In the meantime, I'd like to propose
A couple recommended guidelines in regard to Facebook status posting:
1. Save the stories about children's (or adult) bodily functions for the doctor. We've all seen the book Everybody Poops, and it works best as a generalization, not a detailed account.
2. After more than two alcoholic beverages, refrain from posting anything to FB, period. Your inner concept of what is funny and what is depressing may be askew. Wait until the morning. While we're at it, step away from any phone, texting device, or camera.
3. Unless the goal is to stir things up, avoid the topics your mama said to avoid on a first date: money, politics, religion.
4. Read the entire status update out loud-- can it be read without gasping for breath? If not, it's probably too long.
5. Save the "LOL"s for an IM conversation.
I'm sure there are other good rules for writing FB status updates. Please comment, if you want, so we can add to them. For everyone's sake!
P.S. As of now, I haven't submitted my old friend's horrific status to Lamebook. What do you think? Would you submit it, if you were in my place?
(Don't you get the distinct impression that they photographed them one by one and them shopped them together, because they'd never actually stand that close to each other without ripping each other's hair out? But I digress.)
Today, an old friend posted a Facebook status about her children's poo. It included information from not just one of her children's poo, but both of their poo. It was gross. It was shocking. It was borderline-fecophiliac. And sure, it was an overview of events that actually took place, but does that make it OK to post on FB?
Now I'm torn because the post itself is perfect for Lamebook. And if she's willing to share her story, shouldn't others out there benefit from its foulness? This is really a philosophical question for the social media age.
In the meantime, I'd like to propose
A couple recommended guidelines in regard to Facebook status posting:
1. Save the stories about children's (or adult) bodily functions for the doctor. We've all seen the book Everybody Poops, and it works best as a generalization, not a detailed account.
2. After more than two alcoholic beverages, refrain from posting anything to FB, period. Your inner concept of what is funny and what is depressing may be askew. Wait until the morning. While we're at it, step away from any phone, texting device, or camera.
3. Unless the goal is to stir things up, avoid the topics your mama said to avoid on a first date: money, politics, religion.
4. Read the entire status update out loud-- can it be read without gasping for breath? If not, it's probably too long.
5. Save the "LOL"s for an IM conversation.
I'm sure there are other good rules for writing FB status updates. Please comment, if you want, so we can add to them. For everyone's sake!
P.S. As of now, I haven't submitted my old friend's horrific status to Lamebook. What do you think? Would you submit it, if you were in my place?
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
These signs made me giggle.
How is it only Wednesday?
This week has been really long, and I can't put my finger on why. Hope you're surviving...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
"If you have love,
you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have."
J. M. Barrie
Just had to share one of the sweetest shots from Nathan's most recent photo adventures. I'm not playing favorites, though, because there are just SO many wonderful shots from the day.
Tonight I have my photography class, and I couldn't be more excited! Isn't it so nice (and supportive) of Nathan to go through the class with me? The next thing I want to try is some street style photography. I'm thinking 60% Urban Weeds and 40% The Sartorialist.
Will definitely post the photos here-- so stay tuned.
J. M. Barrie
Just had to share one of the sweetest shots from Nathan's most recent photo adventures. I'm not playing favorites, though, because there are just SO many wonderful shots from the day.
Tonight I have my photography class, and I couldn't be more excited! Isn't it so nice (and supportive) of Nathan to go through the class with me? The next thing I want to try is some street style photography. I'm thinking 60% Urban Weeds and 40% The Sartorialist.
Will definitely post the photos here-- so stay tuned.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Monday Dose of Cuteness, coming right up!
I can't say I know very much about what a Danbo is (this little robot made from what looks like Amazon cardboard boxes) or where to buy one (surprisingly not Amazon.com), but I CAN tell you that they're awfully cute. I mean, who could resist this little fella?
Sunday, July 11, 2010
This weekend,
our besties, Kendi and Bryan came to visit. As long as the Skeens and Russells live in different cities, we have an established rule that we visit each other once a month. We have more fun than should be allowed.
On Friday night, we all met up with Kathryn and Rami at Chuy's. Fun, friends, creamy jalapeno-- everything you could hope for on a Friday night.
P.S. Do you know about the Chuy's on North Lamar? It's kind of in the hood, but never so crowded that there's much of a wait-- even on the weekend.
On Saturday, Kendi and I attended a Fashion Brunch at Sagra sponsored by Plain Ivey Jane that benefitted Austin Pets Alive. We got to see some gorgeous clothes and meet some other fabulous bloggers, including but not limited to Indiana, Grechen, Sydney and Bianca. So nice to meet you, lovely ladies!
Saturday night, we all went to the Alamo Drafthouse to watch Toy Story 3, which was just as wonderful as all the rumors you've heard. Oh, how we love Pixar....
"Well, thank ya, Big Baby!"
Today, we went to El Chile for brunch before Kendi and Bryan had to head home. If you haven't eaten brunch at El Chile, I highly recommend it. Their chilango ritas are so freakin good, that when we got home, I looked up recipes online, and TA DA! I totally found the EXACT recipe that El Chile uses. Yay!
We intend to make some more of these ritas a little later today with some delicious black bean veggie fajitas, to help take the edge off the end of a fabulous weekend.
Bonus:
Kendi told us about some little hidden Easter Eggs that Pixar uses in all their films. How clever!
On Friday night, we all met up with Kathryn and Rami at Chuy's. Fun, friends, creamy jalapeno-- everything you could hope for on a Friday night.
P.S. Do you know about the Chuy's on North Lamar? It's kind of in the hood, but never so crowded that there's much of a wait-- even on the weekend.
On Saturday, Kendi and I attended a Fashion Brunch at Sagra sponsored by Plain Ivey Jane that benefitted Austin Pets Alive. We got to see some gorgeous clothes and meet some other fabulous bloggers, including but not limited to Indiana, Grechen, Sydney and Bianca. So nice to meet you, lovely ladies!
Saturday night, we all went to the Alamo Drafthouse to watch Toy Story 3, which was just as wonderful as all the rumors you've heard. Oh, how we love Pixar....
"Well, thank ya, Big Baby!"
Today, we went to El Chile for brunch before Kendi and Bryan had to head home. If you haven't eaten brunch at El Chile, I highly recommend it. Their chilango ritas are so freakin good, that when we got home, I looked up recipes online, and TA DA! I totally found the EXACT recipe that El Chile uses. Yay!
We intend to make some more of these ritas a little later today with some delicious black bean veggie fajitas, to help take the edge off the end of a fabulous weekend.
Bonus:
Kendi told us about some little hidden Easter Eggs that Pixar uses in all their films. How clever!
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