yearly planner doubling as art

anyone who attended my wedding is 100% aware that i'm into polka dots. so when i saw this 2010 yearly planner by miriam bereson for $15, i instantly had to have it. it looks like an artsy way to organize our weekend plans, birthdays, anniversaries, doctors appointments, dates to expect visitors to austin and most importantly, free time. i'm already trying to figure out where i'm going to put it in our new apartment. and as they say on their website, it could also be a cool christmas gift for your favorite type A friend or family member.

inaugural trip to austin: the highlights

i won't bore you all with every single detail (ok maybe i will) of our very first weekend trip to check out our new city, austin. i hope you enjoy the photos even though we have a regular old camera and not a fancypants DSLR.

food
apparently there's a huge food-out-of-a-trailer thing happening in austin. so fun. we didn't try any (yet) except for hey cupcake! in the trailer park on south congress. the line was redonk and the vanilla dream cupcake was quite good. i have to stay true to my nyc roots and still vote for magnolia and billy's, but hey cupcake! definitely gave them a run for the money.



shopping
there are so many boutiques and vintage shops and i barely even scratched the surface this past weekend. i did spend a few minutes in emeralds on n. lamar and picked up a boyfriend blazer (which i'm wearing today) for a mere $58, and i'll definitely be frequenting places like uncommon objects for one-of-a-kind home decor items.

parks
the outdoor culture in austin is pretty awesome, not to mention it was a steamy 80+ degrees (on average) while we were there. we went for a run on the river trails and there were loads and loads of people out running.


music
being that this past weekend was ACL, the live music options were endless. we were Losers with a capital L and didn't see any (unless you count having to navigate our way around the massive line outside stubbs for thievery corporation...we were on our way back to our hotel). we're saving it up for when we're legit austinites and not tourists.


apartments
we toured practically every single apartment building within a three mile radius of downtown austin. i think we found one! we're waiting to hear from the leasing company so it's not official yet. i'm still blown away that we can get twice the square footage, twice the bathrooms and twice the bedrooms in a brand new building with a balcony, parking and a pool for LESS than what we pay here in ny/nj. now all i need is a job so i can have fun furnishing it.



bats
who knew austin has the largest bat colony in north america? there are about 1.5 million bats that spend their summers in austin living under the congress avenue bridge. every night at sundown they come out all at once for their nightly feeding. it's pretty awesome to see.


fire ants
i have a WOUND on my foot from where i was attacked by fire ants while watching the bats. it hurt like a mo-fo and i am now so scarred i don't plan on ever sitting down in texas grass or walking through it with flip flops again. ever.

miscellaneous random things a non-resident would notice
1. the fire hydrants are painted silver.


2. all of their traffic lights are horizontal instead of vertical. i've seen horizontal ones before but usually at large intersections or on bridges or something. but every single one in austin is horizontal.


3. i found a moontower! "party at the moontower." - dazed and confused


4. practically every building has a sign on the door specifying that no firearms are permitted. this one was on the door of a residential building's leasing office. amazing.


5. there's a pizza place called hoboken pie that's jersey inspired. chuckle chuckle.

traveling with a laptop

traveling back and forth to austin with my laptop this past weekend reminded me what a huge pain in the ass it can be to lug that thing around. in my haste to get to the airport, i shoved my laptop in my purse and left my sumdex laptop sleeve sitting cold and alone under my desk.

i've been through a couple of laptop sleeves and was never fully satisfied until i found this blue sumdex sleeve for about $16 on ebags about two years ago. NOT a standard issue black nerdy ginormous heinous shoulder strap situation that will ruin my reputation for being the least bit stylish? check. slim yet sturdy case? check. cute color options? check. perfectly sized? check. and most importantly, handles (just in case i can't jam it in my purse with all the rest of my crap)? check. sold!

yep, i did go to austin for the weekend

yep, nick and i did go to austin for the weekend. and yep, we loved it. we had an awesome weekend and we're very excited for our "new life" there. it's about 11pm sunday night and we just got back to the jerz from JFK - so my sincerest apologies for not posting all of the lovely details about the trip first thing. i promise i will post the highlights as soon as i can tomorrow. athough we sadly didn't make it to ACL while we were there, i'd say we did do a good job of keeping austin weird as we drove around in our bright white rented toyota matrix with kentucky plates. will post more soon, i promise!!

above: me with the kentucky matrix

above: you can barely see my head but that's me pointing up at the "annie st." sign

above: the view of ACL from one of the apartment buildings we toured

cold weather recipe - baked pasta e fagioli

i found this recipe for baked pasta e fagioli in good housekeeping (i have no recollection of why in the world i was reading it) last winter and both nick and i die for it. it makes for a fab meal now that the weather is turning chilly. the original recipe is meatless so i added chicken to give it a little more sustenance. i swear it's even more delicious as leftovers. oh, and the best part is that i get to use my le creuset french oven. obsessed.


shopping list:

• 1 box mini penne or elbow pasta
• 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes in puree
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed with press
• 2 cans (15 to 19 ounces) navy or other small white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 or 3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes/bite sized pieces
  
• ground black pepper
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
• 1 loaf crusty french bread

cooking instructions (i made a few tiny tweaks to the original recipe to save a step here and there):

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees F. heat large covered saucepot of water to boiling over high heat. add pasta and cook 2 minutes less than label directs. drain pasta, return to saucepot.
2. meanwhile, drain tomatoes, reserving puree. coarsely chop tomatoes.
3. in 4-quart saucepan (or french oven), heat oil over medium heat until hot. add chicken cubes, onion and celery and cook 9 to 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. add garlic; cook 1 minute.
4. stir in tomatoes with their puree, beans, broth, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; heat to boiling over high heat. reduce heat to medium; stir in spinach.
5. add bean mixture and 1/4 cup romano to pasta in saucepot and toss until well mixed. if not already in french oven, transfer pasta mixture to 3-quart glass or ceramic baking dish. sprinkle with remaining romano. bake 30 minutes or until center is hot and top is golden.

serve hot with slices of rusty french bread.

monthly mood board: october

introducing another assignment i've given myself for the blog. on the first of every month i'll be posting a mood board with what inspires me this month. for the month of october i am loving all things black, white and orangey gold. i also believe that clothing design and interior design are 100% intertwined (duh) and so i decided to include both. hope you like.

oh, and i couldn't get the quote high enough resolution to be legible. it says "a line is a dot that went for a walk." - paul klee. i heart it.


clockwise from top left:

• french connection dazzi dress, $328
• j.crew belstaff leather bomber jacket, $1,195
• j.crew campo bag, $298
• joie caravan over-the-knee boots, $545
• topshop sequin cropped cardi, $70
• ethan allen rand wing chair, $1249-$1549
• j.crew donegal shawl cardigan, $148
• nina garcia's the little black book of style style, $19.99
• alex and ani cermalus expandable wire bangle set, $298
• anthropologie gardener's choice dress, $298
• pumpkins, pick your own
• pottery barn black and white canisters, pottery barn outlet
  

gorjana one day sale - 25% off

just got this email and you all know how much i love gorjana's jewelry (see how much i love it here). use promo code "fall09" today only (oct 1) for 25% off site wide. if you buy something, let me know what you got!