Three reasons to visit the Habitat for Humanity ReStore
November 14th, 2011 § 2 Comments
This weekend we made our first pilgrimage to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in East Austin. In order to let everyone know the wonders we experienced on our journey, I give you three reasons (I have an affinity for numbering things) why you should also consider visiting the AusTex store or the closest Restore to your hood.
1.) Feel good about yourself. You may not have guessed this from the name, but all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity. Don’t drive a hybrid? Don’t buy produce from local farms or participate in Occupy Wallstreet? That’s OK. Make up for it by shopping at the ReStore where every dime you spend goes to a greater good and not into the wallets of corporate America. Take that, fat cats.
2.) It’s CHEAP! If you don’t care about giving back to the community, that’s OK too. Give back to yourself. Because most of what you find at the ReStore is recycled, used, or leftover from large renovation/construction projects, it’s all ridiculously marked down. What would cost you $5, $10, and $20 at Lowe’s or Home Depot is only $0.50, $1, and $5 at the ReStore. Lumber is especially marked down, but there is also an endless selection of tile, knobs, windows and doors to choose from. It’s a Do-it-Yourselfer’s paradise.
3.) You can spot some gems. Shopping at the ReStore isn’t exactly like a trip to an awesome specialty vintage shop, but you can track down a few treasured pieces (like drawer pulls delicately hand-painted with images of native flowers or antique crystal door knobs) and a few off beat items (like a ceiling fan designed to resemble checkered racing flags). Whatever your style, if you hunt hard enough, you can probably find a piece to work for your space without breaking the bank.
The ReStore has been in town for 15 years, and now that I have occasion to visit it, I’m confident it will be around for 15 more.
Food Heads
November 10th, 2011 § 1 Comment
If I started a restaurant, it would probably be exactly like Austin’s Food Heads; partly because sandwiches and salads are all I would be qualified to make and partly because I’m obsessed with the cozy and eclectic atmosphere they have created both inside the cafe and out. Though, my version probably wouldn’t be as precious or palatable.
It’s not hard to make me love a sandwich. I love bread and most things that accompany bread, but Food Head’s finds a way to make the art of sandwich eating a little more extraordinary—namely by getting wonderfully creative with the fixin’s they pack in between bread slice one and bread slice two. I wouldn’t have thought to combine a portobello mushroom, bleu cheese and blackberry balsamic vinaigrette, for instance, but thank goodness a genius at Food Heads did. And thank goodness, too, for someone behind the counter dreaming up a sandwich made of pork tenderloin, jalapeno relish, swiss cheese and tabasco slaw. That, my friends, is a sandwich.
And why not enjoy your Gypsy Grove Sandwich or Fish Torta in a quirky urban garden–a space where old windows are refurbished and used as porch decor and every piece of accouterment from the tables to the saltshakers are mismatched? The walls are brightly painted, the cacti are bigger than your car and if you choose to dine alone there is always a shelf full of books to keep you company. Food Heads, you might just be my new favorite lunchtime treat.
Austin Place to Love: Buck Moore Feed and Pet Supply
October 14th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Often friends will ask me where it is we get out chickens and I answer with the enthusiasm of a TV game show contestant, “BUCK MOORE FEED STORE!”
Buck Moore Feed and Pet Supply is what happens when an old fashioned Mom and Pop business meets the “weird” Austin culture.
Here’s what I mean by that—the place hasn’t been updated since the family biz first got off the ground in 1972. It’s got basically the same old signage, the same hand-built, no frills wooden shelving and random knick-knack laden walls of its past. But, by design or not, the outdated decor sets a mood for the store that just works. Perfectly. No hoity-toity dog biscuits or cat outfits here, just high-quality animal feed and customer service. REAL customer service. The kind where they ring you up and carry your bag out to your car for you. They keep a small but knowledgable staff who can tell you everything you wanted to know and more about chickens, dogs, livestock and the like.
That’s the old-fashioned, traditional side. Then there’s the quirky side. The side that hosts the city’s annual Funky Chicken Coop Tour and makes sure it stays stocked with local products like John Dromgoole’s Lady Bug garden products. The side that, despite originating in the early 1970s, continues to use technology from far preceding decades: the cash register is from 1923, their feed scale is a 1930 IBM model and the Coke dispenser is possibly one of the first ever built. Quirky indeed.
The marriage between quirky and traditional may seem like an unlikely one, but it’s a relationship that has worked very well for Buck Moore’s store–the only place in town I go to for good [dog] food and good-looking chicks.
CultureMap
October 10th, 2011 § 1 Comment
My mom says I gravitate toward any party where free eats and drinks are abundant, and I can’t necessarily disagree with her. But who really wants to turn down unlimited food, spicy margaritas and free petting zoos anyway? Case in point, the CultureMap launch party last Thursday.
The Eastside fiesta at Pine Street Station (home of favorite SXSW destination Fader Fort and in SXSW off season, Hope Farmer’s Market) celebrated the launch (albiet a little tardy) of the Austin portion of CultureMap, a news/lifestyle website that greets visitors with a clean and trendy interface chock-full of Austin-themed stories on topics spanning music, film, fitness, design, sports and innovation. The party, like the website, was diverse in its attractions.
Like FDPs of the past, this one included live music, a photobooth and refreshments out the wazoo, but unlike others I’ve frequented, it also featured a petting zoo by Tiny Tails to You (complete with hedgehogs, bunnies and baby ducks), and performance by Sky Candy Aerial Arts. If animals and acrobatics become the next trend in party throwing, I should just give up right now.
Check out pics from the event here.
And while you’re at it, maybe give the entire CultureMap website a glance too.
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.
