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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DIY Halloween Goodies

If you’re like me, you’ve been pretty damn busy during this time of year. Between graduate school, work, and oh yeah, just taking care of me, there hasn’t been much time for mellowing out like a marshmallow (Ok, marshmallows don’t really “mellow out”). But hey now, being busy isn’t going to stop me from celebrating The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. (Some like to call it All Hallow’s Eve. I call it Halloween.)

I love my staff so I decided I wanted to do something easy but fun for them to celebrate the holiday. Here’s my little DIY for Halloween gifts, goodies and greetings.

Enjoy!

Arts and crafts supplies:

Cardboard gift boxes

Wooden clothes pins

Your own Halloween Photo

Photoshop

Baking Supplies:

Muffin tin

Cupcake liners

Mixer

Mixing bowls

Ingredients for chocolate cupcakes:

Cupcake batter:

2 cups all-purpose flower

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp.

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate melted and cooled

1½ cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream cheese frosting:

1 package cream cheese (I use fat free Weight Watchers)

¾ stick of unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

(This cupcake recipe is from the best bake sale ever cookbook by Barbara Grunes)

The How To:

1.       Find out how many staff members you are baking for (This seems like a logical step, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to miscount)

2.        Pick out the type of gift box you want to put your fall goodies (I went to Michaels and found these cute, little Peanuts boxes. Good for recycling later on, right?)

3.       Make sure you have wooden clothespins (You’ll be using these later on.)

4.       Pick out a cool, vintage or retro image you’ve taken (I found a photo I took of a Halloween sign way back in the day.)

5.       Use your Photoshop program to add your staff members names onto the photos. (You’ll need to save each one as a separate image. You’re creating a Halloween tag for their gift box. You can add whatever greeting or message you want.)

6.       Print out the personalized photos and cut them out to make them look like a tag

7.       Attach the “tags”, using the clothespins, to the gift boxes

(How ya doin’? You’re almost there. Now comes the baking part)

8.       It’s time to bake the goodies.

Prepare the cake:

·         Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your muffin pan with the cupcake liners (Thank you, Martha for “loaning” me some of yours)

·         Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside

·         In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the cooled chocolate. Add the flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating until smooth and well blended. Mix in the vanilla.

·         Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way. Bake in center of oven for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool.

Prepare frosting:

·         Cream the cream cheese and butter with the vanilla.

·         On low speed, slowly add the confectioners’ sugar, beating until creamy

·         Once cupcakes have cooled frost them and add sprinkles, if desired

9.       Place cupcakes in the fridge for safe keeping. When you’re ready to take your goodies into work, put the cupcakes and any other treats you wish to give out in their individual gift boxes and attach the Halloween tag

Happy Halloween!

Awww Yeah...It's the VERY GREEN SOCIAL

Are you an Organivore, Locavore, or even a Vintage Whore? Check out luri and wilma's VERY GREEN SOCIAL July 21.

Manic Monday

 You're probably thinking I'm going to be posting "Manic Monday" right about now.
PSYCHE. I didn't really feel much like reminding everyone the weekend is over. So instead of grunting about the week to come, watch the vid and remember no matter what, you always have a VOICE.

AND by the way..Happy Manic Monday!

Things We're Diggin'

It's been a whirlwind of artsy, orgasmic pleasure the past two weeks. Here's a list of what we can't live without:

 Breakfast at Tiffany's
I just recently rummaged through that cruddy basket at the back of Wal-Mart, you know the one with all the cheap movies you've never heard of, and found this classic film for $5. Since I honestly didn't like watching Casablanca, I was a little afraid of this one putting me in a similar situation. (It's disappointing to watch something so infamous only to feel like it's not worth all the hype.) However, I must say that I was far from disappointed in this movie. Not only did it keep me guessing but Miss GoLightly's wardrobe was enough to make me drool all over the television. That pink dress! And that orange coat! Maybe I should walk around with a cigarette in my hand while I call everyone "Darling". And the overhead shot of Audrey Hepburn lying on the bed amongst all the flying feathers and broken glass? Just simply beautiful.

Randy Blair's "Little Bit of Nonsense"

Events 
Fair Park's CityArts Festival
Despite melting like the Wicked Witch of the West in the 99 degree heat, I was captivated by the art cars. I could have stood there for hours trying to find new detail on those things. Here's the link to my Dallas Observer blog post on the event: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/mixmaster/2011/05/cityarts_was_one_hot_fest.php
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
luri & wilma Very Green Social                                          
Don't miss the chance to do some hobnobbing and social networking at luri & wilma magazine's pre-launch celebration. We'll provide the wining and dining. You just have to provide the schmoozing. Help us celebrate the launch of something green, something smart and something fabulously indie. The event is June 24 at 8 p.m. at Lure Salon. Be on the lookout for more info.

Etsy Artists
Carlynn Field and her CreekyMonkey jewelry: http://www.wix.com/carlynnfield/about#!resume

Sarah Zamora's mixed media work: http://originalyouth.com/

Sarah Zamora's work

Darien Orr's Out and About in Denton card collection:http://www.etsy.com/shop/DesignCoDenton

Yup, It's All Good at AllGood Cafe

Food. Food is delicious, delectable, yummy, scrumptious and just plain 'ole fing good.

I started doing food reviews when I was a junior in college. I guess you could call me a food snob. (In fact, please do. I consider it a compliment and not an insult. Afterall, that's what the column at the newspaper was called: Food Snobs.)

I'm always thinking about trying new places to eat. I love food, I love taking pictures of food and I like writing about food because if you think about it, food represents a hell of a lot more than just taste buds, tongues and happy stomachs. It is often an art form and food from different cultures tastes like, looks like and smells like its very own personality. (I'm partial to Thai and Sushi...oh, and I have an addiction to the Mexican drink Horchata..mmmm.)

It is also a social symbol. I mean think about it. When you and your friends are sitting around bored or want to plan some kind of event or party, what do you usually do? You probably end up going to eat at your fave local dive or grabbing some yummy cocktails at the downtown bar during Happy Hour. (It's OK if you've memorized their drink specials. No one is going to judge you. You like what you like, and there's nothing wrong with local loyalty. )

So with this love for what I like to call "Comida Culture", I decided this past weekend that I wanted to try a place in Deep Ellum called AllGood.

Now OK, I want to be completely honest with anyone who might be reading this and say I had never been to the Deep Ellum area and because I have no sense of direction, I had to turn around a few times before I found the cafe off the corner of Walton and Main. ( In my defense there are way too many one way streets and merges. It's not the most obvious location if you've never been to that part of the city.)

But if you're like me and you totally appreciate Mom and Pop type businesses, AllGood is the place to go. It's very quaint and ornate. A bunch of paper origami hangs from the ceiling. There's a candle at each table (Ours had Jesus on it.), a bunch of Christmas lights twinkle in the front window and a 90s CD player stacked with old CDs sits on top of the dessert display case towards the back of the place. (Although I think my favorite part of the decor was the stage area that had a shelf full of random tea cups and trinkets. If you look closely you can see a Winnie the Pooh on the shelf some where. How very A.A. Milne of them!)

 It was around 11 a.m. when we got there so I decided to go for their short stack of blueberry pancakes, which was absolutely delicious and extremely filling. (I can't even imagine how big the tall stack would've been) It's a decently priced place, and the staff seems to be hip and young. (Our waitress even confessed to accidentally walking in on someone while they were in the bathroom because she didn't think anyone was in there. Hey, it happens and makes you human. Maybe whoever was in there should've locked the door!)

AllGood, you are delicious all day everyday. This Food Snob wishes she lived close by because if she did, she'd be all good all the time.

Link to their webpage: http://www.allgoodcafe.com/index.php

Bridesmaids And A Breakfast

You know what movies do for me? They not only occupy my time and keep me busy, but I watch them for the same reason everyone else does: they make me feel good. I went and saw the new Bridesmaids movie yesterday afternoon. ($3 matinee because no one goes to a movie on a Wednesday in the middle of the day? Priceless) Not only did I fall in love with the hunky cop (It must have been the uniform and the accent), but I laughed. I laughed really really hard. Some of it was a little too gross for my taste (showing vomiting women in a bathroom together is a little too much for me), but I think over all it was just one of those feel good things to see.

Needless to say I went ahead and continued my film obsession this week by purchasing Breakfast at Tiffany's, She's All That, The King's Speech and Fried Green Tomatoes (What?! I like chick flicks. Sue me!)

Hopefully they'll all make me feel good too. Afterall, $5 a movie is enough to make you pee your pants with happiness.

Cheers!

Today's Word of Mouth:

Check out the Dallas CityArts Fest this weekend: http://www.dallasobserver.com/2011-05-26/calendar/cityarts-is-the-best-in-sensory-overload/ (Looks like they like to have breakfast at Tiffany's too)