Cupcakes & Handbags

So much for making this “blogging thing” a ritual… October has been a busy month it seems.

Here is a quick recap of the last two weeks:

1. The Comedian came in town to do a weekend of shows at Cap City. Though I’ve seen most of his material several times already, I still find it fun that he personalizes jokes for me. I admit, it makes me feel like a celebrity. Briefly. Jason opened for Matt Sadler – which Mr. Smith and I both thought was going to be horrible based on the slow start but he made a quick recovery and I ended up in tears by the end of his set. It was a fun night – despite Mr. Smith being out $40 for two crappy appetizers and three diet cokes. Why are the prices for fried nondescript vegetables at comedy clubs so outrageous? Jezus.
2. Team Money came in town that same weekend for some craptastic jam band concert. When we went out for dinner that Friday, Mrs. Money proceeded to tell inappropriate jokes, tear her very short dress on the wicker dining seat (forcing her to walk out of the restaurant with a tablecloth wrapped around her waist) and disgust Mr. Smith with her intimate digestive details. I mean, for real. We’re friends, but we’re not that good of friends.
3. That Saturday I found myself barreling down the highway to CK’s baby shower and to catch up with friends back in H-town. That was definitely a good day. I cannot believe how much I miss that city and being (physically) close to my friends. I really do think it is the only city I’ll ever consider home. It’s the only city I’ve ever spent more than two years in as an adult since college. Other than the obvious detail of me not wanting to face reality about living here in Austin, I don’t know why I don’t move back.
4. Apple’s customer service kicks ass, takes names and bakes you cupcakes just to say thank you afterward. Swear to god. After months of frustration with a lemon of an iPhone, I walked into the Apple store and walked out with a brand new iPhone – no questions asked – in less than 15 minutes. The Apple Geniuses were fast, friendly, helpful AND spoke perfect English. Try and have that experience with a Dell. Apple has won me over for life.
5. AFF started last week – and ends tonight. The most beautiful documentary ever premiered opening night and I was fortunate enough to meet both the director and the film’s subject. There are just so many reasons why I loved this film – because of it’s stunning visual beauty and how it touched me personally. I cried through the whole thing and when I cry at a movie, you know it is good.
6. I attended a tech conference last week in an attempt to find a new job. And, while the e-marketing sessions were informative and reassured what I already know, the job hunt portion was unsuccessful. I did make a new friend at the happy hour and had several nerds hit on me during the day. Lucky me.
7. I decorated some fun-ass Halloween cookies and am narrowing down the baking options for the upcoming festive holiday.
8. The Downtown website launch party was last night. Hanging out with Mr. Smith’s co-workers makes me feel incredibly old. I was easily the oldest person in the bunch – which included the boss who is married with two kids. Lately – if I allow myself to think about it – I just feel a whole lot of worthless. So, I just try not to think about anything. Incredibly counterproductive.
9. Lastly, I voted for Barack Obama for president this week. Here in Texas, we have two weeks of early voting because of the long lines expected November 4th. I took advantage of all this excess free time and headed over to the Courthouse yesterday so my vote could be erased from the official Electoral count. Let’s face it – Texas will never turn blue so my vote is pretty much non-existent as long as I live in a Red State. I’ll admit, I still felt like I was doing something historic. When I voted for Kerry in 2004 it felt like any other day. Maybe after all the shit we have endured with Bush for the last 8 years, Americans are so desperate for something better that it feels like we can accomplish anything in this election. Obama epitomizes hope for this country. It is something we so desperately need right now. God knows I could.
   

   My vote for President Obama

These four five B&Bs/boutique hotels have been added to my “places to stay at on my next trip to Paris” list.

1. La Bateau Johanna
2. Chez Sabrina
3. Chambre D’Hotes Bastille
4. Les Petits Apparts D’Yvon
5. The Five (*added to the list after reading about it in the April ‘09 issue of Saveur.)

And that trip can’t come soon enough…

In an effort to motivate my ass and start running again, I picked up a new pair of runners from my favorite local running shop today.

After over ten faithful years in Adidas running shoes, I got sold on a pair of Asics Gel Nimbus VIIs a few years back and have praised the shoe gods at Asics ever since. I remember testing the VIIs in the store and freaking out about how comfy they were. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I felt like I was running on down pillows.  I loved them so much, I bought two pairs and have rotated between them in an effort to prolong their lives. When I finally decided to update my kicks this week, the world wide interwebs broke my heart after I found out the VIIs were discontinued many, many years ago. Asics is selling version #10 now so I guess its been a while since I actually logged any serious miles in my shoes.

I looked at the Nimbus 10’s today but decided to pick up a pair of Landreths partly due to the color combination and my preference for anything green. (Yes, I am that vain.) The Landreths are ridiculously light and cushy. And now that the weather here has finally broken and is almost tolerable, I’m pretty sure I’ll be making good use of these shoes on a routine basis. At least one would hope….

The Big Picture.

Do I have a mission statement? I’m not even sure anymore.

Rowan and I just got back from seeing ‘N&N.’

It was “cute.” That’s really the only word I can use to describe it.

Cute.

I admit, I have a mad crush on Michael Cera. The kind of crush that if I ever met him I would run up to him, hug him and ask him to be my BFF. He epitomizes “geek chic.” Cute fits him.

Overall, I think the movie was worth the $6.50 (+$1 service charge) matinee price. The movie’s score is pretty kick-ass and the famous musician/comedian cameos are plentiful.  But I’m beginning to wonder how Michael is going to break out of his “awkward nerd” typecast that he currently finds himself in. Rowan said it best: he’ll always look 14 to me.

Anyway, I’m about to login to my iTunes account and pick up a copy of the soundtrack.

And then I’m calling my plastic surgeon to order a pair of lips exactly like Kat Dennings’.

Overall, the debate went as I expected. Clearly someone in the McCain camp spoon-fed and reprogrammed Failin’ to throw out her canned phrases and turn on her Miss Alaska “small-town-girl” charm. At one point, I remember thinking Rove must’ve changed her memory chip but, as always, she couldn’t answer a single question. Par for the course I suppose.

God help this country come November 4th.

Palin was a big Journey fan back in college.

For me, surviving ACL always feels like an immense accomplishment – like climbing K2 or finishing graduate school.

Though Day 2 and 3 were lovely, I still went away with the sense that I probably won’t buy a pass for ACL’09. While this year was less hectic than years past, I’m just kinda “over” this festival. Bumbershoot in all it’s perfectness might have ruined my festival-going for life. The only likely way I’ll attend ACL next year is via press pass. I’m not ashamed to admit having access to abundant shade, free food & drink, palatial portapotties (with running water) and celebrity watching is in direct correlation with my festival enjoyment levels. That’s just how I roll.

Highlights from Day 2 & 3 include shooting Stars and Band of Horses (of course) but White Denim and City & Colour were also big bonuses.  The sound for Beck was awesome but the overall set was a bit of a disappointment. And though I purposely didn’t watch a lot of performances this year, I have heard that David Byrne, Sharon Jones, Erykah Badu and Robert Plant/Alison Krauss were the shows to be at.

Oh well, maybe next year.

The legendary Chicken Cone

Backstage for Dallas

White Denim

Torquil Campbell of Stars

What life looks like from the pit.