Naughty Pine
September 28th, 2011 § 3 Comments
I didn’t think I would ever perform a google search for the term “knotty pine,” or as I more commonly think of it, naughty pine, but certain recent developments, which shall reveal themselves in greater detail later, have had me on a mission to figure out how to make knotty pine look not so naughty.
Normally I love all design components from the 1950s-60s, but knotty pine is one element I would be happy to leave in the midcentury. Don’t get me wrong, in a log cabin or other woodland retreat, I would welcome the rustic look no questions asked. But for some reason it is just not a look that says, “Hello, an urban Austinite lives here.”
The knotty pine kitchen from Mad Men
The knotty pine kitchen on Mad Men is probably the only room from the show I didn’t want to emulate. But I guess when you embrace the midcentury look you must embrace it all.
Fortunately, the great beast we call Internet had a few suggestions that gave me hope for a knotty pine kitchen.
Knotty pine brought up to date
Bright colors lighten up a knotty pine pallet
A midcentury kitchen
And that will pretty much do it for the knotty pine spaces I can aspire to. I haven’t written it off yet, but let’s consider knotty pine on probation.
Rachel getting married
September 25th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Rachel and Jared, two roommates who turned lovahs, got married this weekend and celebrated with a charming backyard wedding in East Austin. The decked out dance hall, hand-built pergolas and Whole Foods catering acted as the perfect backdrop for the tandem bike riding couple who wanted to celebrate intimately with close friends but in classic Austin style.
ACL Wrapped Up
September 19th, 2011 § 1 Comment
It’s difficult to write about an event that is so widely reported on it’s almost cliche. Austin City Limits Music Festival. Yes it’s a good time. Yes there is a wonderfully diverse selection of bands that will tickle your ear drums (think everything from Kanye West, Stevie Wonder, Randy Newman and Coldplay). Yes there are massive crowds, expensive beer and weather woes. Despite those shared sentiments, at the end of those three days, the 75,000 festival attendees leave the park feeling as though they’ve each just had a completely unique experience. Such is the beauty of 46 acres, 130 bands and 8 stages.
So, rather than giving a vague, surface level review of the festival as a whole (after all, I’m not a music snob and can’t single out a skilled guitar riff or a sick bass line), I shall opt for an honest recollection of my fourth ACL experience.
In year one I made it my goal to hit the front row of every show. Year two I hung back in the shade. Year three was my first go at festival attending at legal drinking age and year four allowed me to mix my favorite elements of the other three fests together to create one awesome festival cocktail. For the bands I loved I wiggled my way through the crowd to get as close to the front as decency would allow (there is strict crowd etiquette when it comes to getting front and center) and for the more mellow, less familiar bands I hung back with a beer and an umbrella (which, this go ’round, offered protection from sun and rain).
The final menu looked something like this:
Friday–Fool’s Gold, Foster the People, Kanye West
Saturday–Fitz and the Tantrums, Cut Copy, Chromeo, Stevie Wonder, My Morning Jacket
Sunday–Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses, Fleet Foxes, Empire of the Sun
Foster the People, of Pumped up Kicks fame, put on an invigorating show that had 12,000 bystanders singing, dancing, clapping and writhing along with lead singer Mark Foster who was having as good or better a time than the crowd he was performing for. * Having seen Coldplay perform twice before, we opted to rap along side Kanye West for the Friday finale. The rapper put on a show typical of Kanye fashion…that is, it was flashy and self-indulgent. The 1 1/2 hour performance was presented in three acts. Acts one and two were packed with the hit maker’s most famous tunes like Good Life, Gold Digger and Through the Wire. The crowd ate it up, and had the opportunity to behold a fantastic troupe of professional ballerinas in the process. (As a former ballerina myself, I applaud Kanye for exposing his fans to one of the more under appreciated arts, but I couldn’t help but wonder if his desire to hire dozens of professional dancers was rooted less in some deep appreciation for the art of ballet and more in fear of sharing the stage with musical contemporaries who could potentially steal his thunder.) The last act was tired and momentum killing. Instead of turning out his most bass thumping hits, the rapper went off into a slow parade of one auto-tuned memoir after another. Fans who left before the last 20 minutes did themselves a favor. * The Saturday Chromeo performance had people dancing against their will AND included Robert Palmer-esque back up dancers who helped keep the crowd in a constant sway. * Stevie Wonder would have been fantastic if the show was only audible. A failed speaker made it nearly impossible for fans hundreds of yards out to hear hits like How Sweet It Is and Signed, Sealed Delivered. * So we headed to My Morning Jacket across the park to hear a show that at times was peaceable and serene and at others headbangingly wonderful. * Sunday’s performance by Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses was so alluring it got Heath to abandon his post at the TV tent where the Dallas Cowboys game was being broadcasted. I wouldn’t have thought Bingham’s voice could outshine his good looks, but I was pleasantly pleased to see that, even live, it did. * Fleet Foxes sounded eerily, but delightfully, similar to Simon and Garfunkle and provided the perfect wind-down/wrap-up to the festival.
So there you have it folks, the extremely novice and naive opinion of two unprofessional festival goers.
Cheers to next year’s fest. I am already saving up for tickets.
ACL: Day 2
September 18th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Day 2 of the festival turned out to be one of the better festival days I’ve experienced. Sure there was rain, but that just meant cooler temperatures. And in addition to the much needed precipitation, there were dance parties, an FDP, two celebrity sightings and, of course, epic musical performances.
Again, more details will come at festival’s end, but in the meantime enjoy photos from Day 2.
The day began with a Free Drink Party at the American Legion across the street from the park.
Free drinks and free video games…for people who were less into music and more into Gears of War.
Fitz and the Tantrums
Fitz and the Tantrums
Fitz and the Tantrums
Cut Copy
Mac and Whitney at Cut Copy
Dance party at Cut Copy
Cut Copy
- Chromeo
ACL: Day 1
September 17th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Austin City Limits music festival is back in town, which means we are in for 3 days packed full of tremendous people watching, $5 beers, and sinfully sweet live music performances by our favorite artists.
Enjoy photos from day one, which featured performances by Fools Gold, Foster the People (my pick for best Friday performance) and Kanye West.
With two days left of the festival to enjoy, a more detailed account of the experience will have to wait until later.
Day 2, see ya soon.
Banned, Burned, Seized and Censored
September 13th, 2011 § 3 Comments
I must be the most cultured, talented and sophisticated woman in America because friend Christine approached me to act as the photographer of record for the opening of a new exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center, Banned, Burned, Seized and Censored, a look into the art of censorship in America.
Maybe she asked me because I hold the previously stated qualities, or maybe because she knows I’m a closet dork and love the whole censorship study. But more realistically, maybe she knew I am a sucker who will do anything so long as I can bring a camera and there is gratis food and drink. Whatever. I heard the words “photography” and “censorship” and immediately, I was in.
If the pictures didn’t convince you, take my word for it. It’s an exhibition worth seeing.
Banned, Burned, Seized and Censored
Now through January 22
Harry Ransom Center
Married @ the Mohawk
September 12th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Check out these amazing photos by Jake Holt from Eric and Lisa’s wedding two weeks ago at The Mohawk. Definitely an unforgettable evening.
Austin place to love: Birds Barbershop
September 8th, 2011 § 2 Comments
It’s been more than a year now that I’ve been blogging via La casa de doodle, so in an effort to mix things up I am introducing a regular feature to this enchanting piece of internet.
Name of said feature: Austin place to love
Purpose: Share the primary reasons why some local gems are worth your precious moneys.
This week’s place: Birds Barbershop.
Don’t be fooled by the name, while entitled a “barbershop,” this haircuttery is for the ladies too. Basically, Kelsey + Birds = Love because:
1.) The haircuts are reasonably priced and, in my humble opinion, pretty swell. I’ve never walked out of Birds with a haircut I didn’t love. I’ll drop $39 for what they call a “lady bird” (basic shampoo/cut/style) and be perfectly happy with the results. Not too shabby considering I’ve spent $60, $70 and $80 at other ritzy places and felt less-than-optimistic about the outcome of my do.
2.) ‘Tis local. I love doing business local when at all possible. So Birds gets points for being born here. Yay.
3.) Ambiance. Birds has crazy-cool retro decor that feels distinctly similar to a Fun House, albeit a less creepy, less nauseating version. My regular locale features awesome murals of Space Invaders AND free video games while you wait. Classy.
4.) Convenience (aka they take walk-ins). I don’t usually think I need a haircut until I wake up and realize that this mop of dead skin cells on top of my head needs professional attention. By the time I make that realization, I’m usually 2-3 weeks past the point where I SHOULD have received a trim. So I love that Birds takes me in on those terrible days, no questions asked. I don’t have to wait 2, 3, 4 weeks for an appointment AND with multiple locations around town, I can bet there is probably a Birds close by.
5.) Terrific Tats. And by “tats” I, of course, mean tattoos. The most ridiculously awesome tattoos in Austin live on the arms of some of the Birds’ employees. I’m not joking. Once I saw a nearly life-sized tattoo of a beloved (yet deceased) childhood cat on one stylist’s shoulder. If the free video games didn’t get you, surely pet tattoos will.
6.) Free Shiner. Yes, I saved the best for last. Free Shiner Bock or Shiner Blonde while you wait.
There you have it, folks. Six reasons to love a place called Birds Barbershop.
Fighting Fires
September 7th, 2011 § 1 Comment
On Labor Day, Austin was blessed with its first day of non triple digit temperatures in more than 3 months. A chilling breeze blew through town forcing people to wear peculiar faces as they stepped outdoors. Smiles? Is that what those are? Are people actually happy to be outside? Yes. Yes they were.
Happiness was short-lived, however; along with cool air the breeze also brought hot fires. Lots and lots of devastating, torturous, life-destroying fires.
Today the smoke is infiltrating the Austin air and making the entire city smell eerily similar to a camp site. The sky is a faded grayish blue and every 30 minutes the radio interrupts, advising affected-area residents on whether or not they can return to their homes, announcing which school districts have closed for the week, and informing people on which churches are taking in evacuees. Some county websites have even started posting listings of houses and properties confirmed burned, and the news sites remind Austin residents to stay indoors and avoid breathing the smoky air when possible.
It’s odd being so close to a “danger zone.” To hear about the chaos on the news is one thing, but to see the smoke move slowly across the skyline is completely surreal and haunting. News at work trickles in slowly about someone’s cousin who’s house was burned, or so-and-so’s coworker who lost their dogs in the blaze. Dreadful.
Just when you think the weather in Texas is looking up, everything turns to hellfire and brimstone.
Chilling
September 7th, 2011 § 3 Comments
I didn’t know you could lust after refrigerators, but it turns out you can. Especially when it’s one of these Big Chill puppies. Mark my words, when we buy a house, I’m gettin’ one. And I will serve each and everyone of you so many popsicles, jello cups and other chilled treats, you won’t know what to do with yourselves.
