Swag Hag

Last night marked the commencement of the Texas Style Council Conference with a Swapaholics clothing swap. It was so much fun!

We dropped our clothes off at 7pm, and the Swapaholics organized things for our shopping pleasure until 8:30pm. In the meantime, I had a veggie burger at Jo’s.

I hopped back over to the TXSCC headquarters once people started lining up. It was like torture! :) But the good kind.

It was fashion anarchy once we got in. You could tell who were the pros and who were the noobs. Yours truly fits into the latter category. The pros? They went for whatever caught their eye, then sorted out later. Noted. I overheard that Beauty Bar will be holding a monthly clothing swap, so I’ll get a chance to practice my technique.

Then I checked in for the conference and got my badge and swag bag. I do love a swag bag, and this one was full of awesomeness.

Adorbs little cloth bag!

See? So much good stuff.

I love these sunglasses and this new lip gloss. It’s mighty tasty! (Did anyone else have a bf in high school who would eat their lip gloss? I used to have to hide it from him. Well, he would love this!)

Stut gave us an adorable little parrot necklace. LOVE!

And my badge. I’m officially a badger. I think it’s quite pretty :)

…And I’m off to day two!

Happy Friday 3/11

Happy Friday ya’ll! I’m pretty stoked about the TXSCC this weekend, I can’t wait to see all the awesome goodies at the clothing swap tonight! It’s like knowing my wardrobe is about to get a boost :)

On the to-do list today:

• Bake Mexican Hot Chocolate and S’mores cupcakes for my friend’s dinner party tomorrow (I can’t wait to try one!)
• Decide what to wear this weekend — eep!
• Get all packed up for SXSW (the last thing you want is to be without something, driving/parking is a nightmare, so I’ll be bussin’ it from my house.)

What’s on your list today?

Let’s see what’s going on this week:

• New blog love: That is all — Girl’s got style! And right now she’s having a 2-year-bloggversary giveaway.
• This dad has his 4-year-old answering user questions on Reddit = Adorb.
• Jennifer over at Life, Crafts, and Whatever had a great post this week on being real in blog-land.
• Pretty Young Professionals did a how-to on hosting a finger food party. (I love tiny foods!)
• I’ve always wondered about this: Rashida Jones talked to New York about co-stars and short-lived flings. [via Jezebel]
• I have a serious life crush on Erin McKenna, founder of Babycakes! (Q&A)

Have a lovely weekend! I’ll be updating sporadically during the conference. :)

General Laziness

(Be Your Pet | Pretty Photo by Brit Pendleton)

I love my sister’s dreamy photography. It makes me ready for lemonade, and barbecue, and kiddie pools to stick my feet in, perpetual weekend. I’m not ready for mosquitoes, though. (They seem to be really bad around Shoal Creek.)

***

I’m trying my best to get super excited and pumped(!!!) for SXSW, but as a long-time SXSW curmudgeon, it’s hard to get into the spirit. Conditions are perfect: I have the week off from work, the hubby’s going to be busy, and I have some friends in town who I normally don’t see, but … I just feel so lazy. Even RSVP-ing seems like a lot of work.

I think I was born old.

In the past I’ve done SXSW on the fly… only going to shows on the Eastside (because they’re easier to get to, and — bonus! — they’re usually local bands, which is fun.) I always hit up Flatstock and The American Apparel Factory Flea Market.

Here’s what I’m doing/reading to get into the SXSW spirit:

• The Neurotic’s Guide to SXSW

• Free Party RSVP’s

• Austin360′s Database

• Sched.org

• Twitter

• Prefix Mag

Sunday Gardening

B and I spent the day gardening on Sunday, after a lovely Dim Sum brunch my pal Katie and her man. (I love tiny foods, did you know? Especially when they’re brought to my table, and I can order them on the spot!)

B’s been super busy finishing up his dissertation (only three weeks to go! — Right, honey? Right?)  So I requested a day this weekend for 1.) quality time and 2.) a little home maintenance. Plus, I noticed all the responsible Austinites already have their gardens in bloom. We were a little behind it seems.

But! We got some stuff growing, mostly utilitarian: sweet basil, parsley, Texas tarragon, lavender, pineapple mint (yum-ojitos!), sage, oregano, and rosemary. All the basics.

I’m most excited about the lavender and pineapple mint!

We went to The Natural Gardener on Old Beecaves road, and were super impressed. We got 8 different herbs, two verbana bushes, and four snapdragons for less than $40. A deal! Of course, we had to head to the dreaded Home Depot for some forgotten supplies, but it was a successful — and mostly local! — day overall.

This is what $37 and a lot of determination on the sunniest Sunday of the spring so far will buy you.

What a gorgeous weekend! This warm weather has me looking forward to throwing a barbecue during the summer. Sounds like a project.

Happy Friday 3/4!

Woo-hoo!

I am very excited that my Ugly Floral Dress post is being featured today on My Re-purposed Life’s Catch as Catch Can! Thank you Gail!

What a week! Yesterday just flew by. I didn’t wake up until 11am (thanks, Melatonin…) and then got to work on “springing” my closet — taking out the winter gear, putting in the spring/summer wear, and bagging up anything that needs to go. I’m ready for the swap next Friday!

Maybe This Door wrote a post this week about what to pack for a blogger conference, and reminded me I needed to look at the Texas Style Council Conference as not only a learning experience, but a networking opportunity as well. So, today I’m off to Capital Rubber Stamp to pick up stamps I designed for my business cards!

This week in noteable:

• Livia Firth (Colin Firth’s gorgeous wife) wrote an interesting op-ed this week on HuffPo about wearing an up-cycled dress to the Oscars. I’m honestly surprised no one else has done this yet!

• Sweet Paul’s Spring 2011 issue came out and is amazzzzing.

• Jenn at Be Irreplaceable threw away $500 worth of beauty products after discovering they were toxic and hazardous to her health. I’ll be joining her soon, which I will document, but in the meantime, read about her experience and how she did it.

• Jezebel did a piece on Why 50s Vintage Clothing Never Fits, so now that mystery is solved.

• I found some blogs that week that I just couldn’t not post:

— WobiSobi – I love her classic style and tutorials!

— Crafts and Crap – How can I not love it with a name like that?

— A Daily Dose of Daisy – I’m totes copying her “crispy chicken dinner” for tomorrow night!

Have a great weekend!

Saturday’s Walk for Choice

It was strange to feel the power of a group firsthand.

I don’t think we’ll make a dent in the crazy Texas political world, but it was a special moment when our voices were reverberating through the Congress business district, demanding our rights. It feels good to take action!

Here are some of the photos I took, along with a couple of videos. (I sound far less effeminate than I think I do!)

And a photo of me in action, taken by Aundrea King. (I’m on the left, with the sunglasses … and that’s a camera in my pocket.)

Springtime in Austin: Etsy Finds

Springtime in Austin is a short, two-to-three-week period where it’s warmer than freezing, but hasn’t quite gotten into the hundred-degree weather yet. It’s a time for cardigans and tights, jeans and tank tops, and, ultimately, a short time period when we Austinites are actually in tune with the rest of the country, weather/fashion-wise.

After that, it’s pretty difficult to get by in anything other than jorts and a tank top, or worse: a bikini top and jorts. (guilty!)

There’s not much you can do when it’s 109 and your have to leave your house.

In honor of the first signs of this short, beautiful time period in Austin, I’ve put together an Etsy wish list, a dream of sorts, on how springtime should look.

[1.) Avocado Green Tweed bag by Mojos PA Style, 2.) Pink Lace Tunic by Lirola, 3.) Carina Deep Red Peony Flower Headband by Funny People Co., 4.) Vintage Blue Applique Flower Necklace by Mozella Designs, 5.) The Wayfarer Purse in Red by Pesky Cat Designs, 6.) Teal Cotton Babydoll Dress by Kimberly Noland]

I especially love the Babydoll dress by Kimberly Noland, it reminded me of this super cute photo of a very pregnant Natalie Portman at the Film Independent Spirit Awards I saw over the weekend. She is just the cutest. And so are those nude shoes.

The Versatile Blogger Award

I’m very excited to accept my first blog award, from Emily over at Domestic Deadline, thank you! I was awarded a couple of weeks ago, but it’s taken some time to get to the stipulations part…
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