Brand new store on Second Street

In my real life I'm a freelance graphic designer. Back in November I got an email from Sarah, who was starting up a clothing store and needed a logo & business cards.  Fast-forward 4 months, and Plain Ivey Jane is open for business!

It's down on Second Street, which is Austin's downtown shopping district.  I think her store is going to kick ass, because according to the Austin Business Journal, "Austin’s retail sectors have significantly outperformed much of the nation and are projected to continue doing so."

Plus she has really cute clothes at amazing prices. Think Nordstrom Rack, or Filene's, but in a way cuter setting.

She had a grand opening party last Friday and it was a blast. If you haven't yet, stop by Plain Ivey Jane at 408 W. 2nd St to marvel at the gorgeous clothes (and the logo that I did). Or see the ad in February and March's Tribeza.

I'm trying to interview Sarah, who just moved here from New York, for an upcoming blog post but she understandably is a little crazed right now with the opening. Stay tuned.

Breakfast Tacos

Austin's in the New York Times.  About breakfast tacos.  Because they rule.

There's a big photo of a place I used to frequent a lot, Tamale House.  It was 2 blocks from my old house, and it was a very easy Saturday breakfast.  On Saturdays they make Brisket Tacos, and my husband is addicted to them.  I must admit they are not my favorite place in town, because by golly I need CORN TORTILLAS and Tamale House doesn't have them (nor do they have tamales, something that amuses me to no end). But when you can bike somewhere AND get breakfast for your whole family for like $5.00, you can forgive a few things. I have them on speed dial on my cell phone. 

Now that we live a little further away, we get breakfast tacos from my favorite hole in the wall, Chekos.

We even had Cheko's last night for dinner, because the leftover Quinoa with Broccoli Pesto sitting in the fridge just wasn't calling me. Chekos is also on speed dial.  Can you tell I love to order out?  Or maybe I'm a busy mama who has a hard time cooking every night.

South By South What? and wildflowers

It's South By Southwest (SXSW) time again, and once again my family is planning a camping trip instead of staying for the festivities.  This blog does a great job of reporting on all the free parties in town.  She even has a spreadsheet of all the parties.  I highly recommend it.

We haven't yet booked our camping trip yet, because every time I try the website isn't working.  I really want to go to Enchanted Rock, but it looked like they were booked.  Why Enchanted Rock?  Well, my friends, let me tell you a little bit about the AMAZING WILDFLOWERS THAT WILL APPEAR THIS YEAR.  I can feel it in my bones.  Ok, I've also read about how our wet & cold winter made for excellent conditions this coming spring.  And, I've already started spotting some.

A few years ago we went to Enchanted Rock during a great wildflower season and were blown away by the beauty of it.  There's this little drive you can do called Willow City Loop Road on the way to Enchanted Rock. Unbelievable. Here's another site with lots of photos.  I went back through my photos from 2007 and all I have is this aerial shot taken from an overlook in this photo montage:

That greyish blue area is solid bluebonnets.  It was like that for 22 miles.  I would have gotten more photos but I was just stunned into submission over the beauty of it all.  I think I have some video tape of it, but I am not yet skilled to figure out how to post that.  Plus you'd hear my awful nasally voice, so I won't do that.

If you are at all able to, you must drive out and see this, even for a day trip, when the wildflowers are out.  I just read an article that got oddly specific: go around April 10th on a good year. 

My mother-in-law (a flower enthusiast) is coming to town around this time, so a day trip is in order.  We'll probably head to Fredericksburg afterward for some tasty German food and shopping.

Anyway, like I said, we can't get a spot at Enchanted Rock (see in the photos, top right and bottom) so we are thinking about camping around Bandera at
Hill Country State Natural Area. We've never been, but it looks great. 

Star Struck

Back in my Hollywood days I regularly was around movie and TV stars. (Bragging Alert!) I've gone to a private screening of Apocalypse Now thrown by Martin Sheen, and went (invited) to an awesome party at Joss Whedon's house where I saw my doppelganger, Alyson Hannigan, but never got up the nerve to talk to her. Once on the Warner Bros lot I saw half the cast of Friends get into a minor golf cart accident.  I laughed out loud before I realized I wasn't watching them on TV and they could hear me.  Ross, who was driving, shot me the meanest look. I don't think he's so lovable in real life.

Minus the loud laugh I managed to maintain my cool around everyone I've seen.  That is until last Saturday night in Austin.  Aimee and I went to eat at a new hot spot in town called Justine's and I spotted....JESSE PLEMONS.  You know, Landry Clarke on Friday Night Lights. OMG.  My husband and I are big fans of the show, and Landry is our favorite character on it.  His comedic timing is impeccable - he can deliver the smallest little throw-away line but it will CRACK ME UP. 

I should mention here that the meal Aimee and I had was fantastic.  I wasn't very hungry so I had the french onion soup and the endive salad. Aimee is my fellow vegetable lover and had the artichoke and the ratatouille. I would wax on more about the meal but quite honestly I have a sinus infection and my tastebuds are on strike, so I don't think I could do it justice.  I'll have to return when I can taste again.  I did however have 2 kir royales, just enough to melt down my actor-coolness and give me the nerve to go up to Jesse and tell him that I was a big fan.  He was very gracious about it and hopefully I didn't bother him too much.

If you move to Austin, please watch Friday Night Lights. It's filmed around town and is a fantastic show, even for non-football lovers like myself. And you'll get to go ga-ga like me when you run into one of the stars.

I want to work on True Grit

The Coen Brothers are coming to town next month to film a remake of True Grit. I can't tell you how crazed this has made me. Ever since I saw the movie The Hudsucker Proxy (and its awesome sets, like Paul Newman's office above) I have been a rabid Coen Bros fan, and have made it my life's goal to someday work with them. Back in the day I worked as an art department coordinator in Hollywood, before moving to Austin to be a graphic designer.

Last weekend they were doing a casting call for True Grit in Austin. It's a period piece and they were looking for extras with long hair.  I would have totally tried out for it, except for the fact that I freeze up in front of cameras and look like a robot. With short hair.

Pardon my use of the blog for personal gain for a sec - if True Grit crew is out there and needs a graphic designer or art department lackey, I'm your gal. I can even dust off my old union card if need be.

Merci.

buy a downtown condo, cheap(er)

Now's your chance to get in on buying a downtown condo. There's an auction scheduled for the remaining units of Sabine on Fifth, a former office building that was converted into "luxury condos." They were priced 200 - 550k, and now they're starting at 85k for a one bedroom, 195k for a two bedroom.  Head to the Hilton Austin Downtown Hotel on February 28, 2010 for your piece of the a[u]ction.

Want to read the glowing press release about it?  Go here.

Want to read about the near-foreclosure of the Sabine on Fifth?  Go here.

austin rules, plus modern homes tour

I've got some time to write while I wait for my dearly beloved to bring me back a reuben sandwich from Little Deli. I am STARVING.

Someone just sent me a link to their blog with links to articles about how much Austin rules. Austin appears on so many top ten lists it's hard to keep track, but that's a good compilation of them.

Also, if you are interested in drooling over houses this weekend, check out the Austin Modern Home Tour.

This hunger is making me very concise in my descriptions, so you're just going to have to click on the links to read more. 

Cheers!