Posts tagged ‘texas’

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December 5, 2011

Austin: Skate It Up

Austin’s lakes and ponds will probably never freeze in order to get that whole wintery skating thing going on (in contrast to Aspen, where it is TEN degrees as I type this), so we have to build rinks specifically for that purpose. The downtown Whole Foods started the trend a few years ago (and has updated it for 2011, read on), but the famous Oasis Restaurant with its brand new Oasis Texas village is upping the ante with a 1,760 square foot ice skating rink against the sunsets and Lake Travis views for which it is famous.

oasis skating rink

Oasis Texas now consists of five restaurants, four retail shops, entertainment, and office space. The rink is open through January 1. Admission to the rink is $10, which includes skate rental. Bring a new, unwrapped toy for the Marine Foundation’s Toys for Tots annual holiday campaign and get $1 off skate ticket. Oasis Texas is located at 6550 Comanche Trail. For more info: oasistx.com

Skating rink hours: Monday through Thursday 4-10p; Friday and Saturday 11a-11p; Sunday 11a-8p.
Christmas Eve: 11a-7p; Christmas Day: 1-10p; New Year’s Eve: 11a-10p; New Year’s Day: 11a-10p

Meanwhile, Whole Foods is introducing Disco Karaoke on Ice! Wednesday Nights Through January 15th from 7-9p . Disco Karaoke on Ice will include free hot chocolate, courtesy of Capital One Bank, to the first 50 guests. Plus, all karaoke guests will be entered into a chance to win a $250 gift card. Admission: $10/hour includes skates.

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November 16, 2011

Austin: how to give a good blo

TBD perfect blowoutWhen you get an email with that subject line, you know it’s gonna be good. I know my life has changed since reading The Beauty Department Tutorial on doing your own blowout (truth: that nozzle attachment IS the difference), so I can enthusiastically recommend getting yourself to a session to learn how to do a blowout!

Luckily, blowout salon blo is hosting a night of complimentary hair consults, unit testers (limited), and raffle with 15% off select tools and products. Nibbles, bevvies, and catwalk-quality hair guaranteed.

Check it out Thursday, November 17 from 6-8pm. 1611 west fifth street, suite 145

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November 11, 2011

Feel Good Friday 111111

Feel Good Friday is a roundup of the things that made me feel good or that I’m grateful for all week. Join me and leave your Feel Goods in the comments!

It’s a lucky day, right? 11-11-11!

QT with my Houston cousins

Suede protector! I tweeted asking for recs and found out there are suede brushes AND sealants! Now all of my suede shoes are protected from the intense weather that is an Aspen winter.

suede shoes

who knew I had so many suede shoes??

Kale, dried cherries, and parmesan cheese

Pickup basketball is back in swing! I’ve missed playing :-)

A stellar surprise phone call leading to an impromptu visit from a bestie next week! So excited.

This monkey is asking the same questions as me: How does this thing work??

monkey

See last week’s Feel Goods here.

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November 9, 2011

Knitta Shades

I once had a badass pair of red sunglasses. I privately considered them my Stunna Shades. One sunny day while I was living in LA, I parked my little red Hyundai Tiburon by the Santa Monica pier, got outta the car in my red Stunna Shades, and began to walk to the beach. A man hollered at me: “Hey Stunna Shades! What are you up to?”

… it was a fabulous moment.

Unfortunately, the man was not attractive and we did not continue the conversation.

Less awesome but still pretty sweet, the Austin-based Knit Graffiti Artist Magda Sayeg (you know you’ve seen her knit columns, as she’s credited with spawning the international phenomenon known as yarn bombing) has designed/knit a capsule collection of sunglasses at Sunglass Hut. I call them Knitta Shades.

knitta shades
Her limited edition sunglass collection will be available exclusively online at Sunglass Hut for their 4th annual Sunglass Hut Artist Series Collection. The sunglasses are priced at $130/pair and Sunglass Hut will donate $30 of each sale to their charity OneSight, which provides charitable vision care and education.

She also has a company called Knitta, at KnittaPlease.com …

 

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November 8, 2011

Austin: Olive & June to Fill El Arbol Void

With the sad news of El Arbol‘s closing, everyone wondered what would happen to the new Brykerwoods hotspot … well, wait no longer! Acclaimed Chef Shawn Cirkiel of parkside and backspace will open a Southern Italian restaurant called Olive & June next spring.

olive & june

Olive & June is named for Chef Shawn Cirkiel’s grandmother and his wife’s grandmother and will offer dishes influenced by the fun-loving family dinners Chef Cirkiel enjoyed as a child in the Italian-American neighborhood of the South Bronx, where his father grew up. Olive & June will highlight local, seasonal ingredients and will feature handmade pasta dishes, an updated traditional meatball made with roasted eggplant and breadcrumbs, and a variety of piccoli piatti, small plates.

Sunday evenings at Olive & June are family nights, and the menu will solely feature piccoli piatti and family-style entrées. Saturday and Sunday brunch will come shortly after the opening.

Olive & June is located at 3411 Glenview Ave. in Central Austin (my nabe, Brykerwoods!).

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November 4, 2011

Feel Good Friday 110411

Feel Good Friday is a roundup of the things that made me feel good or that I’m grateful for all week. Join me and leave your Feel Goods in the comments!

Another week in which I get to wear both my gold leather pants AND flyaway cheerleader skirt? Can’t be beat!

Spicy margaritas, jorts, pre- and after-parties, all in one night, and all forced on me by a new girl friend.

Hand-me-down Canon EOS 10D + loaned lens = new obsession. Can’t wait to learn more!

canon

Down. Jacket. Wool. Socks.

New cool site for young professional women The Daily Muse.

The wedding of one of my college roommates and favorite people in the whole wide world, all in the fabulous 70-degree weather characteristic of steamy Houston, Texas.

Rice university

My lovely alma mater

Texans.

See last week’s Feel Goods here.

Posted in Feel Good Friday | 2 Comments »

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October 27, 2011

Teaser: Get Lost in Loudoun

I mentioned in Feel Good Friday that I went off on a press trip, to Loudoun County, Virginia. While I work on compiling all the photos and notes from the trip, you can check out the fun new web show Loudoun produced called Get Lost in Loudoun.

It’s funny, the majority of the cast is from Austin. They did a nationwide casting call but the most talent came from our fair city, so the actors are really experiencing what you might!

For the rest of the eps, click here.

Posted in travel | 2 Comments »

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October 24, 2011

Connecther

Like the shopping sites I’ve mentioned before, new Austin-based non-profit Connecther.org is focused on making life better for global women and children. Only Connecther.org provides collective giving and increased visibility to smaller scale 501c3 projects.

By aggregating and consolidating hundreds of women and children focused non-profit projects, Connecther provides a platform for a single donor or a donor group, such as a corporation looking for a philanthropic cause, to see over 91% of their donated dollars go directly to those in underdeveloped communities that are willing and driven to work for self-reliance. Think kiva but without loans and local.

The Connecther platform was specifically developed to use social networks to maximize giving and to create the greatest social impact for women and children in need. Local award-winning graphic and web design studio Creative Suite helped create the initiative. Rachel Clemens of Creative Suitcase says, “As a woman-owned business, and explorers of this wondrous world, we were thrilled to help bring Connecther.org to life. The opportunity for women entrepreneurs in impoverished countries to make a better life for themselves and their families is something we’re very proud to have contributed to.”

Connecther will begin with a pilot phase including non-profit partners such as:  DiscoverHope, Vanavevhu, Meca For Peace, GiveLight and Well Aware, as well as many others. Check out connecther.org to give and share!

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October 14, 2011

Feel Good Friday 101411

Feel Good Friday is a roundup of the things that made me feel good or that I’m grateful for all week. Join me and leave your Feel Goods in the comments!

Video Skype for business. Somehow hilarious and totally professional at the same time.

Sweet potato eggplant lasagna with ground beef. Recipe here.

This text:

text

My Texan heritage. Only a Texan who has lived in Aspen for over a year and a half could STILL go on a fall hike after it snowed this weekend that goes to 11,000 feet, wearing this:

texan in snow

A new start

Friends with big feet … gifted/hand-me-down blue suede shoes!

blue suede shoes

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October 13, 2011

Austin: Target Downtown Cook-Off

Target, which btw donated $60,000 to Texas Wildfire Relief, is hosting a cook-off and grocery giveaway downtown. In celebration of the fresh food additions to Target stores in the Austin area, celebrity food critic Gail Simmons (judge and critic on Top Chef, host on Top Chef Desserts, and Food & Wine special projects manager) will host a cooking competition between local acclaimed chefs Shawn Cirkiel (parkside and the backspace) and Paul Petersen (Vivo Lake Creek). Target will also offer giveaways and sampling throughout the day while supplies last.

Friday Oct 14 / Congress Avenue and Fourth Street / 8:30a–5p / Cook-off 12:30–1:30p / Parking lot opposite Frost Bank Tower

… sometimes I miss working downtown. Perfect lunch break!

Posted in Eating, free | 1 Comment »

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