Yarn Bombing?

So my good friend, Sarah, is writing a documentary about a new phenomenon called "yarn bombing." It's basically knit graffiti. BUT she's trying to raise money to do some serious traveling around the world and she really needs help. If you have anything to spare (I only could donate $20), PLEASE go here and donate. Even if you don't have anything to spare, go to the site and check out the preview anyways. It's very cool stuff. If you feel the need to tell all your friends about it, that'd be nice too!

A Star and Some Delicious Burgers

The other day my friend Emily and I decided to try out this new burger joint up the street from where we work. It's called Hopdoddy and everyone I know had been raving about it for weeks. It's turned out to be an excellent little place. The interior is very cool and the food was great. I got a burger with goat cheese, mushrooms and basil pesto. Emily got a ahi tuna burger, which I did not try but looked amazing. The best part about the meal itself was the bloody mary though. When it arrived I mentioned how oddly pink it was. The server said they use a lot of beet juice in the recipe, which automatically made me feel healthier.

Even more exciting than beet juice and goat cheese: Sam Rockwell. You may remember him from such films as Moon, Choke or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I fondly remember him as Guy from Galaxy Quest.

Here is a collection of clips featuring him as Guy from the movie.



Hilarious movie overall, by the way.

Anyways. So Emily and I are searching for a table and keep heading towards open booths that we see. For some reason all of them have 'reserved' signs on them. Eventually we find a table shoved into a corner and backed up very closely to another table at which sits Mr. Sam Rockwell. We sit down (I'm literally 2 feet from him), silently mouth to each other "oh my god Sam Rockwell" and of course both pick up our phones and get on the facebook so the world can know of our good fortune. Of course, neither of us said anything to him (didn't want to disturb his lunch), but it was exciting regardless. Side note: he is super short in real life.

Garden State?

Another celebrity siting at my Cafe! Zach Braff, of Scrubs fame, came in and sat at the bar yesterday. He was quite friendly and dare I mention that he left a pretty fat tip for our bartender? Apparently he's just in town for some sort of Q&A at UT. Anyways, I've never really watched Scrubs but I found this clip on Youtube and it's kind of funny, so enjoy Zach Braff.

Thirsty?

So at work we just added a new beer on tap: Bucket Head IPA from this new brewery, Thirsty Planet. It is delicious and I got a chance to taste their other two beers (Yellow Armadillo Wheat and Thirsty Goat Amber). They are both super tasty. Apparently the brewery is causing quite a buzz...perhaps a visit to their tasting room is in order.

Uncle Rico

Remember this movie:



And who can forget Uncle Rico aka Jon Gries. Well, Uncle Rico himself came into my cafe the other evening. And I spoke to him! As a part of my job I have to stop by all the tables, just to check in and see how everything is. So, I had to drop in on Mr. Gries and his buddy. They were very friendly, made some jokes and told me everything was great. Also, there is some word on the street that Mr. Gries is a vegetarian. I can guarantee that this is not true...since he ate a pork chop. AND he was wearing a Black's BBQ hat.

New Deal At Quacks

Lemme start off with this:





But more importantly, Quacks has a new daily deal. After 6:30pm all pastries are buy 1 get 1 free. I suppose they are trying to get rid of old stock instead of throwing it away at the end of the evening. Very exciting.

Museum of the Weird

Tonight my pal, Amelia Gray, was reading at Bookwoman on Lamar with another author, Mary Miller. She was reading from her new book, Museum of the Weird. I got a sneak peak of the book a few days ago when my friend Sarah and I went to Zilker Park to read and bask in the sunshine. The first story (only about a page and a half) was hilarious, so I was very excited to hear Amelia reading it tonight! The other stories she read from the book were equally hilarious and I'm very excited to start it (I snagged myself a copy in which she drew a nice drawing of a mimosa). You should probably get one also, by the way. I found a copy on Amazon, if you're so inclined.

The MAC Guy

Who remembers these commercials?



Well, apparently the MAC guy (aka Justin Long) has decided that the South Congress area is his new hang out. Also, he enjoys eating at South Congress Cafe...I've seen him in the cafe, walking past and yesterday sitting on our benches and smoking a cigarette. I'm not sure what he's doing in town, but I'll keep you posted if I find out.

Silhouette

Sarah and I decided to surprise our friend, Amelia, at a reading that she was doing at The Hideout tonight. Of course, Sarah and I love to eat, so Sarah took me to a place up the street from The Hideout called Silhouette. Turns out they have a sushi happy hour (which was delicious) that goes all day on Mondays. We also got in with 10 minutes to spare on drink happy hour as well. I got $1 off my glass of Cava (Spain's version of champagne) and we ate more sushi than two people should.

We headed to The Hideout, which I'd never been to before, and spent a good 10 minutes wandering around looking for this 'reading.' There were people on a small stage reading poetry, but it appeared to be an open-mic night. Amelia's reading was supposed to be an official reading with a few other authors. We found a back staircase and made our way halfway up it before discovering that it was an improv class...which neither of us wanted to be a part of. The barista behind the counter just shrugged his shoulders and claimed he had no idea what was going on that evening except that whatever event was happening on the stage was going till 10pm. So Sarah and I plopped down into some chairs and consulted the all-knowing cell phones with internet. Amelia's facebook page put an end to our confusion by confirming that her reading was indeed at 7:30pm on August 30th at The Hideout. The Hideout in Chicago, that is...

In Search of Fresh Groceries...

I've been hearing all this new hype about Sprouts Farmers Market (technically it's not actually a farmer's market but a grocery store). I had the day off today so I decided to check it out. The closest location in Austin is up on 183


View Larger Map

Not that close.

It turned out to be quite worth it though. Everything they had seemed fresh and looked good plus they didn't have normal brands like Coca Cola. Instead they had all-organic or all-natural stuff like Blue Sky Soda. I ended up getting a weird mixture of random stuff (Greek yogurt, some plums, juice, a bottle of wine and some pasta salad). I enjoyed it though and am thinking about going back on Wednesday to prepare for the paella I'm making that night. The prices didn't seem too bad...


In other news, remember this? Well I had to drive by on my way home and it looks like they're finally doing some construction on it (after only 6 months).

Horseback Riding?

There's a website that provides deals and coupons to places around Austin called LivingSocial. My friend, Jenn, found a coupon for 2 riding lessons at Bel Canto Farms for $49! Trust me, that's a steal. So we signed up. Not sure how it will go, but I'm excited. Looks like the farm is in Dripping Springs so it should be a beautiful area. I'll keep you posted!

Winnebago Man Is Here!

Winnebago Man is showing at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and the Ritz now! Very exciting.

Winnebago Man

Remember this guy:




Well a film professor from UT that I happen to know made a documentary about this man, Jack Rebney, and apparently it has exploded. He was on Jay Leno the other day along with Jack. Anyways, you should probably go see it if it comes to a theater near you; I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Prince Sing-A-Long

Awesome. That's all I can say about the Prince Sing-A-Long.

Not true...I can say so much more.

So Nyla and I arrive at the Ritz downtown and the line is outside the door and down the street. We pick up our tickets and stand in line with the rest of the women and gay men who make up the crowd. As packed as it was, we ended up getting pretty good seats and were joined by a nice fellow named Tom who had come by himself (apparently he just moved from Michigan and hadn't met any new friends who also happened to be Prince fans yet). The host of the show hops up on stage for a brief intro to the event and is wearing a lovely purple suit and a fake Prince wig. He warns us that it is required that we drink, sing and dance and anyone being quiet will be asked to leave.
And so it begins.....a collection of Prince videos accompanied by lyrics so we can all pretend we know all the words. Every once in awhile the music is interrupted so that props can be passed out to the audience (ie purple balloons to blow up and throw around the theater, bubbles to accompany one of the videos and purple streamers to throw around to act as 'purple rain'). It was a grand ol' time. I was even briefly entertained when I realized I could torment the people in front of me by snatching balloons out of the air and popping them....it wasn't the popping sound that was annoying to them though. The people in front of us were just spending entirely way to much time and effort playing with balloons and were completely ignoring Prince. As we were at the Prince sing-a-long I decided that the balloons were not a priority and thus I entered into a brief war with the lame balloon people. My heeled boots proved to be excellent balloon poppers and the people seemed generally put out every time I grabbed a balloon from out of the air near them. It was marvelous.

Anyways, the night ended epically with Purple Rain. What more needs to be said??

Forever?

It has truly been forever since I last posted. But I am still alive and still finding adventures in Austin. I swear to try and keep you updated more often!!! In today's news: I'm getting ready to go to a Prince sing-a-long at the Alamo Drafthouse. Choosing an outfit for this is crucial.....something covered in sequins or lace?? To be like Prince? I'm not sure. I'll let you know how it goes.

Lavaca St

Last night I was introduced to The Lavaca St Bar on guess what street? That's right, Lavaca. It's a pretty cool place in the middle of the warehouse district that I'd walked by a million times before without ever giving the time of day. A few friends of mine had gathered there for a little thing called Tecate Tuesday and invited me to join after I got off work. Tecate Tuesday is a magical time when a can of Tecate costs $1. The bar was pretty chill and surprisingly uncrowded for such an amazing deal (I suppose it was a Tuesday). They also boast a backroom with ping-pong, skeeball, shuffle board and some arcade games, which is pretty neat. But the real reason this place will always have a spot in my heart requires a bit of a story:

So I arrive and sit down with my buddies and they point out to me this couple that has been making out inappropriately (to say the least) since they got there. The entire bar is casually watching them, in fact. As we watch we discuss how likely it is that the girl's hair is going to catch on fire due to the fact that they are leaning over a tall bar table that unfortunately has a candle on it. Time goes by, we move on to other bigger and better topics when suddenly a commotion occurs near everyone's favorite couple. Lo and behold......guess whose hair caught on fire????? She was fine, we all cheered, more Tecate was had and I stored it away as a story that I had to share with you. The one downside to all of this: having to smell burnt hair for awhile. It's not pleasant.

Perfect Weather

This is Austin's second day of cloudless skies and 75F temperatures. This is Austin at its finest. Who is jealous??

If only everyone in this city didn't drive so badly.

Greenpeace & Chickens......

Today's biggest complaint: Greenpeace.
Now I know that Greenpeace does good things (actually....I don't know this. They say they do, but who knows if they actually are). But with Austin being green/environmentalist friendly, the Greenpeace people are EVERYWHERE. When I was at UT I was constantly dodging them on campus; when I walk around downtown they're everywhere; and on my way to work on South Congress I have to make up the excuse that I'm late for work and just cannot stop to talk. Sorry that I can't afford to have you take a lump sum out of my back account every month just to save the koalas, people! Today they reached a new low though. They invaded a space that is just unfair. I had just finished doing my 4-mile run on Town Lake and was looking forward to a paper-cup full of the delicious water that RunTex so graciously supplies when SUDDENLY there two Greenpeace people appear! The two of them were camping out in front of the water jugs just waiting for unsuspecting exercisers to fall into their trap! Thank GOD for my headphones and my uncanny ability to tell people to 'Fuck Off!' using only my facial expressions otherwise I would have become their next victim. Annoying weekend shoppers and UT students is one thing, but how DARE they come around and try and bother people at Town Lake? What makes them think that someone who just ran the 10-mile loop is going to want some punkass hippie bothering them? They should try running that loop and then see how they feel about talking to people.


In other news: I was just taking out my recycling to my recycle bin (as you do) and I ran into four chickens. They were just chilling in my yard, scratching at crap and pooping all over the place. They made sure to give me the stank eye as I walked by, as if I were interrupting their day out. I'm pretty sure they escaped from the house that looks like an old school. They have all sorts of animals running around all crazy over there. They used to have a white rabbit that they also let roam free in the neighborhood; not too long ago there were signs up because it was missing. Go figure, a domesticated rabbit is let free.....what a surprised that something ate it. Regardless, it's not everyday you happen upon a hen party in your own yard.

2010...Off To A Good Start

Welcome to the first post of 2010. Very exciting new post for a new decade!

A quick note on a couple of bands that I have seen at Hole In The Wall since the new year began.

1. Jenny and the Corn Ponies! Ok, so technically I saw them on the 30th, but they are definitely worth bringing up. I have long been an advocate for hating country music, but this is different. They're old school country, the kind you two-step to. There was even an old couple at the show wearing their cowboy boots and hats and their denim button down shirts that was putting the young dancing folk to shame.
2. Legs Against Arms. I'm biased towards them because I happen to know the guys in the band. But they have a fun pop-rocky sound that is irresistible.


In other news......
Yesterday I had a day off so my good buddy Sarah and I turned the day into a 'girl's day out.' It began with an amazing lunch at this tiny hidden place called Thai Fresh. It's squeezed into a tiny, hip shopping strip in the middle of one of the South Austin neighborhoods. They have a small selection of fresh Thai dishes (all made with local fresh ingredients) that the girl at the counter heats up in a microwave. I got a spicy noodle shrimp dish. It was delightfully spicy, one of those slow burn sort of things. I actually felt healthy eating it too because the ingredients were so light. The place is also a small Thai market AND they offer COOKING CLASSES. Yours truly is actually quite tempted to check those classes out.

After eating we decided to wander around South First. We stopped at a free-trade coffee place called Fair Bean where I got a disappointingly tiny cup of coffee. I guess I got all excited about the Cafe BonBon, as it was called, and didn't notice that it was espresso. $3 for basically a dixie cup.

We walked around a bit more, hit up a couple places on South Congress, and then made our way to the South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse to see Up In The Air. It was delightful, I recommend it.



Well, I think I've got everything down that I've been meaning to talk about. Have a most excellent New Year and I hope 2010 is good to you!

Update on Mr. Grace!

I did a bit of research and turns out that Mr. Grace is in Austin filming this new movie called Predators. Parts of the capitol building were closed off because of it today. This leads me to my next question: if Topher Grace is in town filming, does that mean Adrien Brody is also? Because I could possibly love him even more than Topher Grace.