Archive for ‘Going Out’

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June 15, 2011

ASPEN: Food & Wine Classic

I just got back from an Aspen Business Luncheon with Food & Wine Publisher and Vice President Christina Grdovic. She was an excellent, fast-paced speaker, and her talk really got me jazzed about the upcoming weekend! Even though I don’t have passes to the actual events, there’s plenty for me to do … ASPEN magazine, Aspen Peak, Mario Batali, lots of scotch companies, and countless others are throwing non-official parties (think SXSW ’08, before all the “non-official” parties were too big).

If you’re lucky enough to be attending, you’ve likely already checked out foodandwine.com/classic, but I find the website confusing and not all that interesting. Better to download the free app and follow the hashtag #fwclassic on twitter throughout the weekend for the REAL news. If you’re not attending, no worries, the town is abuzz with crazy energy, and you’re likely to spot some serious starpower … last year I saw Giada de Laurentiis heading up the Gondola and Mario Batali with his fam at Bruno’s. It’s a blast, tickets or no.

Also note that the Saturday Market starts up this Saturday, so there’s tons of local merchants and farmers selling their goods, and it’s a great place to wander enjoying the Aspen sunshine.

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June 2, 2011

Austin: Benevolent Saturday’s Good Karma Bazaar and Poker Tourney

I’m pretty excited about Nectar’s 1st Annual Good Karma Bazaar, A Day of Selfless Spending. Nectar is a unique fair trade thrift boutique that donates 100% of its proceeds help to fund humanitarian service projects in Austin & worldwide (click here for yelp reviews). The Good Karma Bazaar includes the regular shopping plus a fashion show, food from Contigo, and live music from Joel Laviolette from RattleTree Marimba.

Facebook event here /1006 S. 8th Street, Austin, TX 78704 / 4-8pm / $8 suggested donation, kids under 7 free

Or, get rowdy with some charity poker:

poker austin

EVERYONE at the final table receives a prize package. Register here.

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May 24, 2011

Austin & Aspen: Top Ten Party Towns

USA Today names 10 destinations for bar-hopping all over the world. I’m not saying I agree or not (Ohio instead of Monaco??), but it is important to note that, naturally, my two homes are in the top ten:

Aspen, Colorado 

“As far as mountain towns go, Aspen is one of the few that holds up in summer and winter,” Cockrell says. “Of course it has the usual ski-bum haunts, but it also has places like 39 Degrees Lounge, an urban-style oasis with a pool frequented by a chic crowd. In Aspen, you can have any type of night out you want within its few main streets.”

True, Aspen is hoppin’ summer and winter, and there are bars for all types.

Austin, Texas

“So many great bars here, just choose a street — South Congress, East Sixth Street, South Lamar — to get your fix, then end your night at one of the nation’s greatest food carts (download the AustinFoodCarts app to find out where they are),” Cockrell says. New bars on the east side include Yellow Jacket Social Club and Eastside Showroom. “South Lamar is a little more authentic Austin,” Cockrell says. “Don’t miss the laid-back Barton Springs Saloon, a repurposed gas station with a pool table and pinball machines, or the super divey Horseshoe Lounge.”

Also true. Pick a mood, pick a corresponding street, and then go.

The other 8? Listed below.
Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dublin, Ireland
Williamsburg neighborhood, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ohio City neighborhood, Cleveland
Seville, Spain
Portland, Oregon
New Orleans, Louisiana

Yeah, I only see nine too… good work USA Today.

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May 17, 2011

Austin Food & Wine Festival

… just another way Austin and Aspen are uniquely synchronized:

The Austin Food & Wine Festival

C3 Presents with Chef Tyson Cole, Chef Tim Love & Jesse Herman are creating the Austin Food & Wine Festival March 30-April 1, 2012 in locations throughout Austin. It is presenting sponsor Food & Wine (yep, the same as Aspen)’s first festival involvement in Texas.

Austin Food and Wine

“Our passion for food is integrated into each of our festivals—with the influence of culinary ambassadors Graham Elliot at Lollapalooza and chef Tim Love at Austin City Limits helping keep the local flavor of each event on par with the entire festival experience,” said Charlie Jones, founding partner of C3 Presents. “It seemed only natural that we expand this passion to host a culinary destination festival in Austin, Texas dedicated solely to food and wine, where the food scene continues to surprise and delight us.”

The popular Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival will turn into a 501 C (3) nonprofit organization called the Austin Food & Wine Foundation and be the designated beneficiary of the Austin Food & Wine Festival.

www.austinfoodandwinefestival.com / facebook.com/austinfoodwine / twitter.com/austinfoodwine

*Aspen just released its one-day Food & Wine tickets for $395.

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May 16, 2011

Austin’s Neighbor’s CINCO Vodka

Austin has become a hotbed for craft booze. How many breweries have opened this year alone? Perhaps it started with Tito’s Vodka and Live Oak Brewery, but the local libations scene has expanded to include Treaty Oak Rum, Graham’s Texas Tea, Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Balcones Baby Blue Whiskey, Dripping Springs Vodka, to name a few, and not to mention the breweries like the new Twisted X, (512) Brewing, Black Star, or Jester King …

Point is, we love our booze, we love local, and we LOVE local booze. Even if it’s from an hour down the road in San Antonio.

Cue Cinco Vodka.

Cinco vodka austin ad

Here it is on my shelf:

CINCO vodka Austin

This vodka is ridiculously smooth. Perhaps that’s why they bill it as “the martini lover’s vodka”??

Besides the fact that I simply love stars and you can pretty much get me to love any product featuring stars on its packaging, Cinco Vodka is made from amber wheat from Idaho and Edwards Aquifer water naturally filtered through the Cordova Creme limestone underneath San Antonio. A super-premium, totally stateside vodka? Europeans everywhere are turning up their noses, but they shouldn’t. This vodka is worthy of its five-star theme.

Produced at the Cinco Ranch, where they recycle all their wastewater, Cinco Vodka is available at Twin Liquors and costs $26.99 for 750 milliliters, $32.99 for 1 liter, and $44.99 for 1.75 liter.

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May 5, 2011

Austin: Giveaway! Tix to Advance Screening of Forks Over Knives

“The answer is so simple it’s criminal: people starting to take responsibility for their health.”

This trailer is for FORKS OVER KNIVES, a film examining the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods*.

*You know that I am a meat-eatin’, raw milk-drinkin’, cheese-lovin’ omnivore. I don’t eat a lot of grains or sugar or corn or soy. I am very interested in health and wellness and firmly believe in the premise of the film: that diet, what you eat, can and WILL affect your health. When I first heard about this film, I loved the idea, but didn’t necessarily agree with the vegetarian/vegan message. That’s A-OK. What’s important here is the notion that processed foods are killing us, and we need to eat more whole foods, plant or animal based.

Back to the synopsis of the film … The major storyline traces the personal journeys of Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a nutritional biochemist from Cornell University (and yes, the controversial author of The China Study), and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a former top surgeon at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic. Inspired by remarkable discoveries in their young careers, these men conducted several groundbreaking studies.

Their separate research led them to the same startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented—and in many cases reversed—by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet. Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public. Bringing these scientific concepts to life, cameras follow “reality patients” who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes, and are taught by their doctors to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments. The film features leading experts on health and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years.

*GIVEAWAY* WIN one of FIVE pairs of tickets to an advanced screening on Monday, May 9th at The Regal Arbor in Austin. Just leave a comment below or email me at thisislifeinaustin@gmail.com BEFORE Sunday, May 8th, at 6PM CST.

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May 4, 2011

Austin: Cinco de Mayo Festivities

Street de Mayo:

cinco de mayo austin

Bonus: Tikkr watches will be sponsoring a VIP party at Malverde during the festivities.  Guests can purchase a Tikkr watch at the event and receive free admission to the party with open bar from 6-9pm.

There will also be an after party open to the public at Malverde featuring additional DJ sets by Ocote Soul Sounds and DJ Chicken George until 2am.

Classy de Mayo:

In honor and celebration of Cinco de Mayo, Fonda San Miguel will feature a special menu of traditional Mexican dishes inspired by the colors of the Mexican flag, and highlight a one-of-a-kind festive cocktailcreated by tequila expert and author Lucinda Hutson.

Fonda San Miguel’s special Cinco de Mayo menu includes Tamales in Mole Poblano, made with Fonda’s own fresh-ground masa and served with the traditional mole of Puebla. Fonda San Miguel celebrates the flag of Mexico with its special La Bandera Enchiladas, featuring handmade enchiladas topped with verde sauce, rojo sauce and suiza blanco. Fonda’s tri-colored Chiles en Nogada – stuffed poblano chiles topped a walnut-based cream sauce and pomegranate seeds – are as beautiful as they are delicious.

To commemorate Cinco de Mayo, Fonda San Miguel will also feature a specialty cocktail created by Lucinda Hutson, author of “Tequila Cantina de Lucinda” and “Tequila! The Spirit of Mexico in a Bottle!” Hutson’s ruby bougainvillea-colored Prickly Pear Margarita is prepared with a splash of homemade jalapeno syrup and served in a glass rimmed with red chile-seasoned salt – the perfect contemporary accompaniment to Fonda’s classic Cinco de Mayo meal.

Also the author of “The Herb Garden Cookbook” and a renowned organic gardener and garden designer, Hutson has redesigned Fonda San Miguel’s landscape to include a magnificent tiered stone fountain discovered by Hutson and Fonda owner Tom Gilliland, which will be lit with changing colors and enhance the restaurant’s already flourishing grounds. Additionally, Hutson added a colorfulcourtyard garden, succulent troughs, a beautiful desert garden and lush planted pots, including three oversized green pots that surround the statue of San Miguel, a Mexican patron saint and the restaurant’s namesake. Hutson’s gardening project will change with the seasons, and act as a serene welcome into the beauty found within the doors of Fonda San Miguel.

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April 29, 2011

Austin: MUST GO! Blondes vs. Brunettes

This will be my first year NOT playing, but I’m confident the brunettes can still dominate! This event is AWESOME to watch and be a part of, so DO IT! (it’s in just 2 weeks, get your tix now!!)

BvB Austin blondes brunettes football powderpuff

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April 22, 2011

Austin: Sophomore Fashion Show

My sophomore year in college, I might have been considered a bit of an overachiever. But the email I got recently might top even myself: It was from a sophomore at Texas State who is hosting a fashion show. For her line. That she sells on her website BeAllos.com. And the show benefits Love Is Respect!, a foundation for young adults and teenagers dealing with violence within their relationships.

Basically, this chick is an all-star. Check out her spring fashion show April 23rd at 7pm at the Beauty Bar. Here’s the flyer:

Austin Fashion Show FLuyer

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April 8, 2011

Aspen & Austin: New Deal Site MooLaLa

Yeah, they’re a dime a dozen these days. But MooLaLa has two major things going for it:

1) MooLaLa has a High Rockies, CO section. I’m guessing most of these deals will be online. But it IS exciting that Aspenites could potentially see some deals!

2) MooLaLa is a pyramid scheme. And by scheme I mean most excellent for everyone involved, who gets 2% of all deals purchased (even your own) back to spend … five levels down. So that means when a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend who you referred buys a deal, you still get 2% back. For life. For awesome!

The deals are similar to others: $8 for $20 to El Greco in Austin; $15 for $30 to spend online on jewelry for Aspen. But with rewards that really add up, you could be getting those deals for free in NO TIME!

So sign up … using my MooLaLa link, of course. :-)

Posted in Going Out, Good people/services | 1 Comment »

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