Things that I think are awesome (the I just pinned this edition)

I know I haven't been a great blogger lately; but someone (that's a totally cool person, that you'd really want as a boss... :) started me thinking about this little ole' thing.  Some of my favorite posts are just a round up of things I think are awesome (ingeniously titled: things that I think are awesome).  Since I've been working on my new apartment and styling Byron and Scott's house, I have been using Pinterest a lot and I thought I'd show you some of my favorite things of the moment.  (Or you could, I don't know... just follow me on Pinterest, that might be easier.)

I've loved Door Sixteen for forever, but besides gorgeous interiors (brilliantly DIYed), she also posts magic little things like this: Spiced Almond Milk.  Doesn't that look insanely good?

I'm trying this ASAP.

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This is the direction the seester and I are thinking about going in our living room - dark walls, floral seating, lots of gold...  The shot is from Matchbook Mag and I LOVE IT.  We've got no natural light, so dark walls will be cozy; we're both totally up for a floral couch; we both love the craziness of all this.  I'll probably go a little more graphic than ornate with the accessories - I'm definitely thinking a black and white striped rug would be a great cover up for my ugly, ugly brown carpet.  But dude, if you find a mirror like that?  Don't hold back on a sister... (sistah?)

That green is gorgeous.  I've found a really pretty Benjamin Moore color called "Newburg Green" that I like, but you know I'll have to look at a million samples before I decide.

More on the living room later, definitely.

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I love this subtle Harry Potter art.  (Those are words I never thought I'd say.)

$15 on Etsy.  Seller Entropy Trading Company actually has lots of cute typographic prints.

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Obsessed with this colorful Moroccan rug from Rugs USA.  Get it, random website!

You're welcome for the awesomeness.

so close (yet so far)

My friend Amber (who took my favorite photo of all time) gave me a little photography lesson last week before we met up with Loryn for happy hour.  While I don't know if I understand everything she wrote down (there are lots of numbers on that paper), I did figure out how to manually focus and adjust my white balance.  Baby steps, people.

I will always maintain that La Condesa has the best happy hour ever.  Really cheap, really good margaritas, great bar menu, decor that absolutely slays me...  It's a no brainer.

old lady cross stitch + apple products?!?!

As soon as I upgrade my phone, I'm totally getting this cover.  I don't want to buy a cover for the iPhone 4 I have now, because it is dying a slow and painful death, so I'll have to get a new one soon.  (first world problems, I know)

It's the Cross Stitch iPhone Case by Leese Design from Purl Soho.  All I can do is think about all the awesome things I could make with this AND that when you're bored, you just cut the thread out and start all over!  On the Purl Bee, their craft blog, they made up a few with both traditional cross stitch and embroidery stitches.  Spot on.

They suggest trying the "Fancy Stitch" from a handmade clutch they had a tutorial for earlier in the year.  

Oh... this is it.  

texas, our texaaaaaaaas...

I thought with a fancy new camera, I'd be blogging lots more.  For some reason, however, I haven't touched this thing in a while.  This time I've got post graduation and pre move-to-New-York-and-job-hunt-all-day-every-day has been really lazy.  While I love it, I need to get on some serious memory making, 'cause I've got about a month left in this lil' city I love so much.

stoplight instagrams

I spent yesterday afternoon sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops (Jo's), watching the cutest little sparrow eat my muffin,  (Don't worry, I was done with it.  I don't plan on eating after a bird.)  

The littlest sister met up with me for a little adventuring on South Congress.  We sat at Jo's and did a little prep work for one of the projects I talked about in this post.  I'm making a version of Wood & Faulk's wool camera wrap and I found the most gorgeous woven fabric to work with.

After a bit of fabric shopping and pizza (HOME SLICE! - an important part of the list), we walked along the bridge and up Congress to take lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of pictures.  (Don't ask me why Larisa made a to-go bag beard...)

capturing a master instagrammer at work... 

We walked around the Capitol for a bit and I remembered how much I love the building.  It makes me feel so Texan-y.  (Just go with it.)  The guards at the door got a kick out of our sister act and Larisa might have almost sneaked up a closed off staircase.

Nobody got caught.  Don't worry.

Old man loafers and moccasins.  We were meant to be.

i just need a few things to feel content

Red lipstick and my favorite royal blue grandpa cardigan.

Tom Yum from one of Austin's best Thai places and a good book.

Getting to check a place off my list and eating large amounts of peanut sauce? How do you get any better?  

these things I's been readin'

I'm a pretty fast reader, so the bulk of the reading I did during the school year was on my iPhone (yeah, ebooks!)  They were cheaper and it was easier to not carry around anything else with my already giant and heavy schoolbag, but lately I've been missing real live books.  There's nothing like the feel of paper and the heft of a book in your hand.

A few weeks ago, I spent a glorious hour at Book People, (the best book store in the whole world, y'all) and picked up an old favorite, a present for a friend, and something new.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides is one of my favorite books of all time.  I let someone borrow it a few years ago and never got it back, so I figured I needed another copy.  Read it, people

A Practical Wedding by Meg Keene is a fresh, sane look at wedding planning.  Now, don't get all excited... I'm still very single, but my friend Angie is getting married and I think she'll love it.  I've been reading this website for a few years (why I read a wedding blog, I dunno...) and it has a great take on feminism and weddings.  Getting married?  Check out the site or buy the book, trust me.

How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran is (according to the New York Times) "a glorious, timely stand against sexism so ingrained we barely even notice it."  I didn't agree with every single word on the page, but it all made me think.  Love, love, love.

The prettiest book I've been toting around, however, is this notebook Evane gave me for Christmas.  It's got pretty (unlined! - which is important) paper and a sweet ikat cover.  I've been keeping it close for those moments when I need to jot down a brilliant idea.

Trust me, I've got lots of brilliant ideas.

things I think are awesome (the nature is freaky edition)

So, the other day, during a I'm-feeling-crappy-so-I'll-lay-in-bed-all-day internet romp, I started looking at weird animal videos and photos.  This went on for hours...

Guys, nature is amazing.

Seriously.

Look at this video of a goblin shark, (Melissa!  DO. NOT. WATCH. THIS. Or anyone else that is as scared of sharks as my dear, sweet best friend...) it has these amazing retractable jaws.  At around :30, you get a great slow-mo shot of them in action.  I've seen this a dozen times at least.

What about this creepycreepycreepycreepy fish?  It's the sloane's viperfish and it holds the world record for teeth to head size in a fish.  Sorry for the nightmares.

I meant it about the nightmares... via zoochat 

Creepo fish aside, we live in a world full of amazing animals.  Moonwalking bird?  Got it. (at 2:44)

How about gorgeous caterpillars that are pretty much made of Jello? I could go on all day with pictures of caterpillars.  It gets cray cray.

via Scientific American

Crazy fish that looks like a person?  Here.  Spotted unicornfish.  Even cooler, the thing can change it's color at will.  I'm kind of obsessed with this fish.  I feel like we could be friends.

via Stefan Koeder

How about another little bird mating dance?  Sweet moves, rifebird of paradise...

You're welcome.  

I wanna throw a dinner party...

I just need to find someone to cook... Any takers?

s

Apartment Therapy recently featured The Cream Event by design company Glitter + Rye and I'm super in love.  Now, I know, this is a lot.  A lot of patterns and colors and textures and finishes...  But, the black and white color scheme helps to keep all the patterns cohesive.  The wood and white boxes all serve as a neutral background for the colorful flowers and dinnerware.  I'm totally digging this. Fur-hur-shure.  (Won't my spell check just learn that word already?)

So, how could you do this yourself?  Well, besides the $25 Anthro plates (which for more than a few guests starts to add up) the rest of it is pretty doable with a few yards of cheap fabric, a piece of wood or two from the hardware store and some vintage/thrift store finds.

This polka dot, buffalo check, chevron fabrics are pretty much exact matches and I found them in five seconds on the internet.  I'm almost positive your local fabric store will have a version of every single one.  Next, go to the hardware store, buy one 4X4 and get them to cut it into blocks of various lengths.  A sheet of plywood (that they also) cut to 14 by 20 inches is all you need for the rest.  I'd buy a sanding block and make sure the edges are smooth and non-splintery.

Like I said, these Anthro plates will get pricey (compared to rest of it) but they're not the only floral plates in town.  They're beautiful though, aren't they?

Gold confetti?  Party City.  Cut glass tumblers?  Thrift store. Gold-rimmed wine glasses... Well, they aren't going to be as easy to find as the tumblers or the candlesticks below, but you should be able to get a set on etsy or eBay (61 and 204 listings, respectively...)  The gold flatware will also be a little harder to find for super cheap, but they are pretty common at antique stores and the table would also look just as pretty with an old ornate set in silver.

Brass candlesticks?  $1.99 at every thrift store in the history of the world.  Gold tassels, white tapers, and pillar candles?  Dollar store.  Bam!  These ceramic square vases are only $3 a piece and I know I've seen them everywhere.  Flowers this simple can totally be arranged yourself.  Keep a little inspiration close by, like this photo by Jemma Keech via The Sweetest Occasion. (I have this saved in my "someday wedding bouquet" folder)

So... who's cooking for me?

all I dreamed it would be.

After seeing the Austin episode of No Reservations, I was determined to visit Franklin BBQ.  It's been on my to do list forever and seeing Anthony Bourdain rave about it finally made it all happen.  The second my friends Amanda and Will heard about it, they were up for the adventure.  Adventure?  Well, Franklin isn't a normal restaurant.  It opens at 11:00 Tuesday through Sunday and closes when it runs out of food.  If you want a meal, better show up early and get in line.  So we did.

We got there around 9:00 AM, so we were pretty far up in line - luckily, because the line stretched out waaay behind us.  People were geniuses and brought camp chairs and coolers.  We thought we were so prepared with our Baileys and hot chocolate, but we learned our lesson for next time.  (In related news, I'm a homemade dark hot chocolate making master!)  We made do with sitting on the ground (right in the handicap parking spot, so luckily, no cars pulled up) and counted down the hours.

Will put his sweet doodling skills to use personalizing our cups.  (That's Stephanie, Amanda, and Will in  brisket, ribs, and sausage, respectively.)  As it got closer to 11, someone walked down the line and asked us what we were planning on ordering.  When the numbers added up (to whatever amount they'd made that morning) those people in line got the "Sorry, by the time you order, we'll be out of ribs/brisket/everything" speech.

Once they opened the doors at 11, it was only 30 minutes until we got to the counter.  Those 30 minutes were torture.  We were so excited and inching up the line while seeing and smelling the BBQ was just too much.

The walls were lined with awards like this... I agree Austin Chronicle voters: this is the best brisket in the history of the world.  Seriously.

Aaron Franklin, the owner, is the one you order from and he cuts and serves every piece of meat you eat.  He was super friendly and so kind about how much we were geeking out over the food.  It was kind of embarrassing, but he was sweet about it.  We ordered So. Much. Food.  5 or 6 people would have been stuffed if they'd eaten all we ordered.  Of course, we ordered it all: brisket, ribs, pulled pork, turkey and sausage.

Example of our over ordering?  As we were figuring out how much of each item we wanted, Aaron suggested 3 ribs.  Our answer? 7.  (Duh! 2 for each of us and one I'd promised to bring to my dad...)  That's how we approached everything - err on the edge of too much, stay way away from too little.

See what I mean?  Notice the BBQ for 10 and the single serving size beans and potato salad.

I was a vegetarian for years and haven't been eating meat for that long, so I don't have a lot to compare this BBQ to.  Nevertheless, this was the best thing I'd ever eaten.  I don't really have words to describe how delicious it was.  We devoured it, stopping only to repeat, "THIS IS AMAZING!" or "THIS IS THE BEST THING I'VE EVER EATEN!"  

The carnage.

All I can say is, you have to try this.  If you like BBQ, you'll love it.  It's not over hyped; it's so worth waiting in line; it's all I dreamed it would be.

so long, farewell...

I'm spending my New Year's Eve on the couch, cuddled up in blankets, surrounded by snotty tissues.  Hot, right?  Despite the crappy end of the year, it was a really good Christmas.  I got to hang out with these kids and spend hours on that giant sectional in my grandmother's living room.  That sectional saw a lot of my behind this Christmas, but we finally turned off Gator Boys and Cajun Pawn Stars (quality television programming) to play a hotly contested round of Balderdash.

We take board games very seriously at Granny's.

That's my sad little purple piece way in last place.  I'm normally much better at these games.  Kristi and I even beat the venerable team of Dad and Granny last year at Password.  (It was really big deal, trust me.)

Even without a Balderdash victory, it's been a really good year.  I graduated from college (Hook 'Em!); I made plans to start my career and move to the big apple.  I spent time with the very best friends in the world.  I loved; I lived; and I laughed.  I designed some pretty rooms and watched some funny movies and ate some yummy foods and listened to some gorgeous songs and made some beautiful music and read some perfect books and laughed and laughed and laughed.

2013 is going to be a big scary year of change.  Some of the plans are still brewing in my pretty little brain and a few have the wheels rolling already.  I know New Year's resolutions are a trite and pretty meaningless thing, but for an all-or-nothing person like me, the idea of starting the year fresh and on track is an appealing one.

We'll see where this year leads, but I'm sure it'll be genius... obviously.

So Long, Farewell from Iain Gall on Vimeo.

I got a brand new camera!

It was totally meant to take pictures like these.  Ok, maybe not...  Though my siblings are pretty good gloves-scarves-and-hats-that-we-get-every-year-from-granny models.  Is this a viable career option for them?

Oh, and don't think I'm a horrible sister for putting a picture like that of my brother on the internet.  He poses, he deals with the consequences.

I have been wanting a new camera for forever and my stepdad and mama generously graduation/christmas gifted me the perfect one.  Now, I don't know what I'm talking about, but my research showed it had everything I was wanting in a dslr, with the tiny size and portability I needed in a point and shoot.  It's beautiful.  Even though I've only had it for one day, I've had so much fun taking photos of the fam (and the new baby second cousins!)

My father would like you to know that there is a very high chance he'd just said something quite profound to Hannah in this photo.  He's very profound.

It's been a fantastic couple of days.  That hottie in the photo above suprised everyone with a last minute trip home for Christmas.  I got sweet and thoughtful presents (that were exactly what I wanted) and have spent every minute of it with family.  I got to show off my stick horse making skills to Granny and lay around on the giant sectional with everyone and show her our favorite apps.  (My grandmother is quite the techie.  There is nothing she likes more than a cool new app for her ipad.) We facetimed cousins in Arkansas, watched babies play with their new toys, and napped.

(Arkansas cousins have the best accents!)

Willis and Silas (Kristi and Cliff make cute babies.)

I miss her.

Now, these were all taken in a dark living room from the same spot on the couch on my first day of owning the camera, so hopefully it'll go up from here.

it's a wrap!

(I meant to post this on Friday, but I didn't actually do it... Just pretend it's before Christmas and still timely)

Well, in the sense that I wrapped some presents, not in the sense of being done with anything.

One of my happiest college memories (the first time) was when my student organization raised money by wrapping presents at Barnes and Noble for donations. It. Was. So. Much. Fun.  (I know that's weird.)  I don't think I've bought traditional wrapping paper or "Christmas" ribbon in years, but I always have fun looking for substitutes.  This year's wrapping is a favorite, though it did take a little finagling, especially on the kid's presents.  It's all super cheap - my favorite kraft paper is actually at the dollar store in their mailing supplies section (though I got the wrapping presents bug late Wednesday after the dollar store was closed - such bad timing!) and the embroidery thread I used is only $.30 a piece if you don't have a few spare skeins lying around like I did.  (If you want kraft paper and you can't find any, try the back of wrapping paper.  Most are printed on that shiny white paper, but I found 3 at my grocery store printed on kraft paper, so I just used the wrong side!)

A note about doing this style (a string wrapped round and round and round): it's a lot harder to get 50 pieces of thread off a present than 2 or 3.  Memories of Christmases past: "I can't unwrap this, Stephanie!" So, I devised a plan - ok, maybe it can't exactly be called a "plan," (whatever... semantics) but this is how I did it.

1. I like to start with the primary colors; it's good to have a full range of colors, but I start with the ones I like the least.  They'll be mostly covered up by the "good ones."  I pretty much only try to keep the front looking straight and even - the back is a lost cause.
2. When you're wrapping the threads make sure to secure them with tape only in the middle, like so.  (It'll make sense in a second, I promise!)
3 & 4. Continue with the rest of your colors, keeping white and black towards the end (I did them 3rd and 4th to last) so that they're prominent.  Black and white really make colors seem more colorful.  (And keep that tape in the middle!)

5. Leaving yourself a little gap, securely tape two more lines on either side of the tape you've already laid down.  You're about to cut the loops of thread, so make sure these are tight and secure since they'll be the only thing holding it all together.
6. Carefully cut in the two gaps you left yourself on either side of the original tape.  (Sharp scissors are useful, unlike the ancient pair of Fiskars I used)
7. Once you've cut away the middle part, you've got two piece of tape securing the thread on both ends.  Reinforce those and they'll stay when you want them too but shouldn't be too hard to rip off on Christmas morning... (I said "shouldn't."  Don't hold me responsible for any present entrapment casualties.)

I only did a few small ones like this, but I still used the floss for the bigger presents - just with a couple of colors.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

how crafty can I get in the next 5 days?

A few DIY projects I'm obsessed with right now...

This wooden pencil block from Design Sponge is calling my name.  Look at those tiny gold and silver nails!

I've been going cray-cray on the nephew/baby cousin/best friend's kid presents this Christmas.  Everyone else in my life, sucks to be you.  These stick horses from A Beautiful Mess are spot on (as is every other project they post...)

From Wood & Faulk we have this gorgeous wool camera bag.  Once I get that graduation/Christmas present fancy camera I've been dreaming about, I'm all over this.

So, the question is, will I actually do any of this?  Let's see...