Howdy, Fort

The Original Mexican Restaurant

Hello, all you fellow blog lovers out there (Yeah, I'm talking to you). I noticed the last time I posted on here was several months ago--May to be exact. It's time for me to kick my rear into first gear and shower you all with some "CKB" love.

 I took a trip with one of my gal pals to the OTHER Texas city. You know--Fort Worth or "The Fort" as some like to call it. I have to tell you jewels and gems, this is a bad ass place. It's my idea of a "lifestyle" city. It's clean, the buildings sit old and beautifully intricate and oh yeah, its landscape has a few belly rolls (who knew?!).

So here are a few highlights from the impromptu journey. (Thank you, Design Sponge for sharing "The Fort" City Guide...it was put to good use!).

Leddy's boots...Yeehaw!

Kimbell Art Museum-Entry for this museum's permanent collection is free of charge. Peruse through both their artifacts and paintings.

The Original-They're known for their enchiladas...need I say more? Also feel free to grab a jar of their homemade salsa.

Beehive-Originating in Austin, this fashion boutique is fun and fancy free. Shop jewelry and accessories in the front and clothing in the back.

Maven-I stumbled upon this little gem cruising down Camp Bowie Boulevard. Reminiscent of Anthropologie, this fashion and home decor haven sells all sorts of goodies. Sift through racks of colorful clothing, jewelry and even homemade gift cards.

Leddy's-Stepping into this western wear store shifts you into 100% pure Texan mode. Located in the heart of the Fort Worth Stockyards, they sell traditional cowboy boots in all shapes and sizes. (Expect a few hat tips and a "how ya'll doin' " during your stay.)

"ice cream makes you pretty"

Bull Ring-According to this ice cream and snack stop, the cold stuff "makes you pretty." (It also makes you feel good). Grab a $2.00 cup full of delicious cream, an old-fashioned soda pop or a bottle of water to cool you off. (When we went in, they offered us free popcorn...now that's southern hospitality.)

If You Were Observant...Top Five Pre-show Moments

Steppin’ out on the town for a night of good ‘ole theatrical fun, eh? Yeah, you go to the theater for fun times, a few laughs and hopefully just an all around artistic evening.  A venture to Music Theatre of Denton’s production of Fiddler on the Roof this weekend had no different expectation. It was damn good, considering it was a community effort. (No, really. It was good, if you like musical theatre that is.)

But the performance isn’t what’s on this gal’s creative membrane. Have you ever taken a micro step backwards, perked up your ears, wiped your eyes and sat your ass at the front of the house only to notice what goes on in the audience before the show, before all the artsy razzmatazz takes place? If you were observant, you’d use all five senses and take note of all pre-show shenanigans.

Here’s the top five moments from this weekend’s Fiddler 

             1. Musician fumbles with acoustic guitar, drops it, flails arms, mutters a quick profanity and then stops breathing for a millisecond. (House patrons stop breathing too. The guitar is saved.)

2. Lady in second row chows down on some cherry, gooey sugar shit she must’ve shoved in her purse beforehand then slips and falls back into her seat trying to stand up and make room for new patrons. (Must’ve gotten some ‘o that sugar shit on her hands. Looked delectable though, that sugar shit.)  

3. Random conversation with gal pal about college roommate who used to run and rerun  her copy of Fiddler on the Roof every single day. Every day. Every single, ‘fing day. (Why? Who the hell knows?)

4. Sudden realization of how inappropriately close you are to other people and how incredibly uncomfortable seats are in a theater. Man steps on your toes passing by. Said man doesn’t say sorry. Your ass starts to hurt from sitting. (Said ass hurts all the way through the show too.)

5. Neighbor seated next to you finds jet-black ink messages written by previous theatregoers in paper program. Message reads, “Who is that behind us?” (Neighbor wonders if she’s “cray cray.”)

Forget the production. If you were observant, your hurrays and hurrahs would be for the audience pre-show. 

            

There Are No Odd Balls, Only OddFellows

Remember my addiction to breakfast? It's not waning, but I promise to get off the brunch bid after this post. (I swear.)

Photo by Karyna Michaela

I went down to the Urban Street Bazaar in the Bishop Arts District on Saturday, and I was tickled to death to take some fun photos of all the vendors selling their homemade goods. 

As I walked down the sidewalk towards Oddfellows, the "fresh and local" place I was supposed to meet mi amiga at before taking my artistic sneak peek, I dived into my ruby-red, shoulder pouch to pull out my camera. 

It was at this moment I realized I had left my memory card floating around on my laptop (insert face palm here). Yeah, it happened. You know, that moment where you are so pissed off at yourself no words can be uttered. Needless to say I couldn't take any pictures. Bummer, and I mean big bummer. (Thanks to Karyna for lending me a photograph of our eats. Aesthetics are super important, this she knows.)

 Despite my error, I decided to bask in a little "me" time with a mimosa while we waited for a table inside. (There's a window by the patio that opens up into a bar.)

My advice? Get there early. Oddfellows isn't a huge joint, and it fills up fast on the weekends. (We had to wait about 3o minutes to be seated) And although the food is good, it's a bit on the pricy side (I'm assuming it has to do with the whole fresh and local thing, or maybe they're just so good, they charge that much just because they can. Hey, I would too.) The Migas and Buffalo Mac & Cheese (Voted Dallas Observer's Best Mac & Cheese of 2011) are delicious. I repeat the Migas and Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese are delicious.

But I wasn't too thrilled with the service. Our waiter took about 10 minutes to take our order then never really came back until the end of our meal, only to ask if we were ready for our checks. (I give props to the girl who stepped in towards the end to finish up with us. I hope the tip went to you, lady.)

I guess it comes down to one simple question: would I go back despite minor discrepancies?

Oddly enough, I would.

Run A Mile...Or Seven...To Breakfast

Ok, I admit it: I never liked breakfast as a kid. I prefered to sleep 10 more glorious minutes instead of dragging my little butt down to the kitchen to put food in my stomach. (I could do that later in the day so why bother, right?)  I did, however, occasionally scarf down my grandmother’s traditional homemade breakfast: two eggs, one slice of American cheese warm, gooey and melted just the right way. (Eight-six and still alive and kickin’. Go Nana Go!)

But you know, here I am 15 years later and suddenly always up for devouring some delicious morning goods: juicy fruit, yogurt, large, thick and crumbling muffins filled with lumps of gooey, chocolate chips and  stuffed, dripping omelettes that would make even the most snobbish of food connoisseurs drool. So what happened? Did my taste buds magically grow a new preference? Well, the way I see it now, food is food and no matter what kind, it’s always good. Must be that whole growing up thing (They say your pallet changes as you get older. That’s gotta be it.)

So way back (And when I say way back I only mean two weeks ago...not two decades) during Spring Break when I had time off from work and school, I was hungry, starving, famished, etc. etc. and decided to take my taste buds over to Seven Mile Cafe off Congress St.

This place, simply put, is "The Shiz." Hooking up locals with fine, downhome cooking, the one story home painted to perfection in gray blue paint, serves breakfast and lunch everyday from 7am-3pm. Their outside as well as their inside will give you that warm, fuzzy feeling (Yes, all over and everywhere. Feel the tingle.) and remind you of some general store your grandparents used to walk a mile and a half to in order to scarf down some of that penny candy that's now $2 in 2012. Although, the guitar collection mounted high above the tables is more modern than retro. (I still dig it.)

 It is a bit on the pricy side, but I believe in sticking by that whole "you get what you pay for" mentality. (It's pricy but not unreasonable considering they offer vegan and vegetarian options to diners.) I suggest trying one of their signature scrambles, (Particularly the avocado, mushroom and cheese scramble. Hello, Happiness!) which comes complete with a larger than life side of hash browns and your choice of wheat or sourdough toast, a cinnamon roll or rasberry breakfast cake. (I opted to switch this out for fruit. It's .75 cents extra btdubs.)

Don't forget about their pancake options too: pineapple upside down, red velvet, chocolate and peanut butter and cinnamon roll.

Why in the hell did I ever pass up breakfast? With age comes wisdom.

Run. Don't Walk to Seven Mile Cafe.

Benson's Bliss

Photo by Art Giraldo

The word bliss is defined as “supreme happiness, utter joy and contentment.” (At least that’s what it says at dictionary.com…I’ll take its word for it.) So if it means happiness, heaven and all that sparkly jazz, what would be considered the ultimate symbol of sweet, sweet bliss?

All hail the queen of contentment, the cream of the sugar crop for nothing utters “bliss” quite like a cute cupcake from Carolyn Benson and her bouncing business: Bliss Cupcakes.

Benson bakes her sweet treats right at home in Spring, TX, offering up countless flavors including vanilla bean, strawberry, mocha madness and carrot cake. First time customers pay $15 for a dozen.

Ah, what sweet, sweet bliss.

A is for Atomic

It has been a whirlwind of a week, folks. The question is: Where oh where do I begin? Let's start at "A" shall we? And when I say "A," I mean A is for Atomic Candy. This retro candy "mom and pop" stop just recently opened their location in Denton's Historic Downtown Square. And I kid you not, when I found out about this place, I showed up three times in one week. (Ok, so I was working on an eat and shop guide and needed to take photos on more than one occasion, but every time I went back, they hadsome cool, new sweet treat to try. It was so addicting.)
Original soda pop, vintage wrapped Hershey bars, Swedish Fish, taffy, and my Mom's all time favorite: the chewy Mary Jane, are just a few examples of all the sugary delights on display.

I'd like to say thank you to the owners as well for not shooing me away for taking so many photos of their new digs. (And to be fair to myself, I did bring a new person with me every time I went in. Yes, I'm seriously that excited about it. I kid you not.

There's nothing wrong with sharing some sweet, sweet wealth.)

Just go see for yourself...I dare you.

(You can also find Atomic Candy listed in the Denton, TX City Guide that I wrote for Design Sponge this past week. Design Sponge, you rock my freakin' socks. Thank you again for the amazing opportunity.)

Happy Monday, Friends.

My eye is on the blackbird

I took a trip to Austin a few weeks ago.

Outside of Blackbird Austin

There's something about this city that ignites an excitement in me. It could be its "mom and pop" type of feel (People own businesses everywhere there. And according to local sources, the best places to eat are right in the middle of the city where people sell scrumptious goodies out of mobile trailors. Ever heard of the saying, "the shadiest looking dives are always the best places to eat?" It's true, people.)

 While I was there, I wanted to check out a few of these locally own places.

And so with my fabulous, female sidekick and her handy, dandy copy of Eat.Shop.Austin, I headed to Blackbird, a fairly new clothing and jewelry boutique, to scope out the scene.

The doll photographs are for sale and often sell out quickly

Located on the North Loop, Blackbird Austin has an artistic yet Gothic feeling. The upstairs windows make for a beautiful and mysterious photograph. They call you inside, beckoning your curiosity, and the design on the outside of the building was crafted by the owners themselves.( Nothing says "we can do it" and "we can do it creatively" quite like a DIY project.)

It's not a big place but definitely has a personality to it. Steampunk hats, handmade jewelry, and a cabinet completely refurnished for display decorate the inside.  And yes, the doll portraits are creepy but not in a bad way. It's hard to take your eyes off them, a sign that interesting art was definitely created.

The $20 fab find

My favorite things about this place?
1. Its affordability (My necklace I bought only cost $20)
2. Its owners.(Juliana had no problem with me taking photos inside of her store,)
3. The store won the Best of Austin 2011 Reader's Poll (When I was there, they had just reached 500 "likes" on Facebook.)

Yes, my eye is on Blackbird Austin.
Maybe yours should be too.



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