2011 April « the doodle house

Check it out

April 27th, 2011 § 1 Comment

Our filmmaker friend Ranjana put together this cool little video of our East Austin farm tour a few weekends ago.

I love it when people allow me to experiment on them with my photography. My most recent victim was one Brady Beavers, also known as Heath’s soon-to-be-graduated cousin. Here are a few shots I took this weekend to commemorate this fella’s special accomplishment. He was a great sport!

That one seemed very classic of both Mark and Brady.

There’s always time to be silly.

Congratulations Brady. You’ll be awesome.

Kitchen dreams

April 18th, 2011 § 3 Comments

Oh to have a new kitchen…

When we moved into our house a year and half ago, I had big plans for making some updates to the kitchen. “We’ll redo the floors, add new fixtures, install a dishwasher change out the countertops….” the list went on and on until I came to the realization that we are renters and not owners. Blast those technicalities. I love, love, love our house, but when I think of all the things I can’t do to it to make it that much better, it gets me down in the dumps.

All things considered, we have done quite a bit of upgrading considering we are merely renting space in someone else’s home; we installed new floors in the kitchen and updated the cabinets by adding matching fixtures. The kitchen had been added on to before we got there so half of the floor and coutnertops didn’t match the older kitchen. Those improvements have helped immensely, but I still dream of something more—primarily, butcher block counter tops.

Our current countertop (pictured here with old parque tiles before the flooring install) is the worst. It’s this awful faux dark green (and I love green) marble that doesn’t fit anything else in the house. It’s also become a sanitary issue because the laminate is so dark we often forget which parts we’ve cleaned after cooking and which parts still need a rub down. It’s so dated and desperately needs an affordable update, like the aforementioned butcher block design.

It’s a look that can be both contemporary and warm. Since our dining space is in the kitchen, it’s important to me that it doesn’t get too industrial in there. Plus, it’s affordable and matches the style of our 1947 house. Ikea sells a healthy variety for a reasonable price, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to sink more into a rent house that will never be mine. The sensible thing to do is wait until the day we can call ourselves homeowners, but with job situations up in the air, there is just no telling when that day will be. So until then I suppose I have to weigh my options: live another few years with the hideous, or bite the bullet and make a change for the better?

FDP-Live Oak Brewery Turns 14

April 17th, 2011 § 2 Comments

“You’ve got to tour Live Oak Brewery,” our friends Nick and Melissa told us. “It’s the best beer in Austin.”

Seeing as how we take the advice of Nick and Melissa very seriously, we penciled in a tour of Live Oak Brewing Company for Saturday after our farm tour. Because after all, why make promises to indulge in healthy veggies if you aren’t going to follow it up with the consumption of unhealthy beer.

It turns out we picked the perfect time to hit up Live Oak, as it was celebrating its 14th anniversary with free beer, live music and delicious food. But free beer or no, the brewery is still worth checking out and the beer is certainly worth paying for. Their hefeweizen is full of flavor and texture, but doesn’t weigh you down the way other varieties might. And their new chipotle beer left the back of your throat tingling after even a small sip—maybe not great for everyday drinking but certainly a great conversation piece. The staff was friendly, the crowd was grateful, and the beer left me wanting more.

If you’ve never had Live Oak, I highly recommend it.

Who doesn’t love a Boston Terrier in a bicycle basket?

We saw this buggy on our exit from the brewery, which got Ranjana really excited and reminded her of India.

Oh Austin adventures, you never cease to amaze me.

E-I-E-I-O

April 17th, 2011 § 1 Comment

The East Austin urban farms Heath, Ranjana and I visited on a pleasant Saturday morning didn’t have goats or pigs or cows, but they did have colonies of chickens, organic veggies, compost piles larger than our house and a set up worth coveting.

We are a long ways off from having a true urban farm of our own, but Boggy Creek Farm and Springdale Farm have gardens that gives us something to aspire to. Both make great use of only a few acres of space and plant rows upon rows of lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, turnips, carrots and multitudes of other desirous veggies that feed the community. We are only hoping to reach a point to sustain the household, but it’s inspiring to see how the pros take to the soil.

And now for a few from Springdale.

I love the idea of using wine bottles as a garden border. Luckily, we have lots of empty ones…

Springdale had ducks, which I’ve come to realize can be even more bashful than chickens.

Stay tuned to hear about what other events the weekend offered, including a brewery tour, backyard barbeque and masala omelets.

Fruits of labor

April 14th, 2011 § 2 Comments

The garden has been offering up an abundance of leafy greens and broccoli, but recently we’ve seen the first signs of other veggies like sugar snap peas, banana peppers and tomatoes. We’ve even gotten to pick a few strawberries. We’re a ways off from competing with Central Market’s produce section, but when that first little tomato popped up, it sure felt like Christmas at the doodle house.

..and why not throw in a snap of Wyatt too? He’s a good garden helper.

Tavern=not tight

April 11th, 2011 § 4 Comments

There are certain food stuffs you dream about as a child but never really imagine you will have the opportunity to behold unless you befriend an eccentric billionaire. A swimming pool full of jello, a house made out of chocolate, a blanket of cheese perhaps? The Tavern‘s Cheddar Blanket Burger provides the opportunity to partake in a queso quilt—an opportunity that’s better imagined than experienced in 3D.

The laughs produced by this ridiculous cheese to burger ratio was about all the fun The Tavern provided on this particular Friday night.

After a rousing debate of Which Sports Bar Can Host Heath and Kelsey’s Pretend Anniversary/Ranger’s Watching Party The Tavern, for one reason or another, came out on top. We arrived on a Friday around 6 p.m. and despite it being the optimum time for end-of-week drinks, the place was pretty barren. I don’t usually like to give bad reviews of restaurants, as I believe it’s better karma to not put those negative vibes out into the universe, but The Tavern was pretty terrible. It met all of the “don’t eat at this restaurant” requirements:
• The wait staff was MIA. We waited 20 minutes for a waitress to acknowledge us at our table, despite other people arriving in our vicinity and being tended to, and by the time she did arrive we had already ordered at the bar.
• The wait staff was rude. After other friends arrived to join the party and were directed by the server to order from the bar because the restaurant was “busy,” the table was then chastised for having some drink tickets at the bar and some at the table. “Well that’s confusing,” she said without first consulting the brain-to-mouth filter.
• The wait staff was incompetent and slow. They couldn’t split tickets, they couldn’t remember drink orders and they couldn’t ring up the credit cards and adjust the bill without error (causing a delightful double charge on the trusty Visa). That being said, the former waitress in me still tipped a commendable 20 percent, so servers of the world hath no fear.
• The food was excessive and mediocre (see cheddar blanket above). In actuality I don’t have super high expectations of bar food, but when everything else is terrible, you want something stupendous from the menu to perhaps make up for it. My fried egg BLT was on par with something I could have made at home (with fresh eggs nonetheless), and Heath’s burger was, despite the entrée’s title, unexpectedly saturated in cheese. Come now, who orders a cheddar burger and expects to be drowning in cheese? Not until last Friday did I come to realize there is such a thing as too much cheddar.

Perhaps my sour recollection of The Tavern is partly rooted in the fact that, through no fault of the Tavern, The Ranger’s game was rained out, which put a pun-intended damper on the evening. Or perhaps I’m being blind to the difficult serving circumstances that can arise with a large dinning party. Perhaps the server was in training, or had some severe personal issues that prevented optimum attention to the table. Whatever the circumstance, the long-standing Austin grill and bar was a severe disappointment. The Tavern did, however, deliver on one promise—it was air conditioned.

[At least we had the company of friends to bring a much-needed silver lining to the evening.]

Eastbound and Down

April 10th, 2011 § 3 Comments

This weekend we headed to Nacogdoches, home of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, to support Heath’s sister Megan as she performed in her senior recital. A skilled flautist, Megan put on quite a show for Heath, myself and more than a dozen other friends and family members that had us tapping our toes in rhythm and sighing in disbelief at both her stamina and melody making abilities. Job well done, Megan.

After being thoroughly entertained and blown away by Nacogdoches’ most skilled musician, we took a walk around campus to experience a day in the life of a Lumberjack.

Heath really liked the trees.

It turns out there is no such thing as too much purple at SFA.

After the recital comes the heart of any family gathering—in this case, a hearty dinner at Clear Springs Cafe.

…Followed the next day by a stroll with Gramps and Elouise at The Azalea Gardens.

The walk included a requisite tree ring counting, obviously. (This is Heath and Gramps we are talking about.)

As all adventures tend to do, this one ended too soon but was filled with fun and family and afforded us a much needed change of pace from our usual Austin antics.

Four Year’s Later

April 8th, 2011 § 2 Comments

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

It’s been four cool years of getting to know Heath and I’m excited for the next four, and the four after that. To put it as Heath said this morning, “SENIORS, YEAH!” Eloquent.

A photo from our first date.

Seeing Red

April 7th, 2011 § 1 Comment

I never thought I would be so happy to not eat free tacos.

Yesterday, I had a simple goal: get free tacos from Torchy’s. The local business was celebrating the opening of a new South Side location with free tacos and beer, so I had made it my mission to enjoy both as a sort of mid-week treat. After work Heath, myself and some former colleagues jumped in the car, braved rush hour traffic and headed down South Lamar Boulevard with tacos on our mind. But as we approached it became clear tacos would be a no go. The queue for quality queso wrapped around the parking lot and nearly out into the busy street. Our stomach’s rumbling, it looked like it would be at least an hour or two before any taco consumption would take place. Alright, I guess we will have to pay for our dinner tonight. What’s nearby? RED’S Porch. OK. Why not?

RED’S Porch is the second restaurant by the creators of Austin’s North by Northwest. Like it’s sister restaurant, it features dozens of draft beers, signature drinks and a great happy hour (which we were fortunate enough to take advantage of). The food is great, too; a unique blend of cajun, Tex-Mex and Southern specialties that are moderately priced and great reflection of the region. But the best selling point of RED’S was the view. Typically, tourists and Austin local’s alike head to The Oasis for great patio dining and scenic views, but RED’S offers a comparable atmosphere at a third of the distance, wait time and cost as the lakeside eatery. One covered and two open patios make up the outdoor dinning spaces while the inside bar and lounge areas still receive a healthy dose of fresh air and have a breezeway-like feel provided by several huge open windows and doors surrounding the space. The second floor of the relatively new restaurant offers spectacular views of Austin’s greenbelt that catches first-time visitors by complete surprise. One minute the rush hour traffic of South Lamar was whizzing past at the speed of light, the next we were surrounded by a Central Texas paradise.