Mommy-to-be

More kitchen pictures are coming, I promise. My parents are in town and we've been working extra hard. My mom, in particular, is knocking it out. Happy Mother's Day! What? I took her to brunch this morning before I put her back to work. 

Speaking of mom, it seemed like a good time to post pictures from our recent trip down to Houston for Nathan and Kelly's baby shower. The twins are expected to make their appearance next month, so it was time to throw a party. 

First, for the cast of instigators:

My mom, volunteerer of space, and supplier of beer (co-ed baby showers demand beer):

Lesley, party planner, chef, and balloon wrangler extraordinaire:

And Emily, party planner and maker of so many things adorable that you're going to want to hire her for your next party:

Need an example? What do you think of this?

Or maybe these?

Pre-party, Nathan and Peter were drafted into balloon decorating.

Lesley and my mom were laying out the snacks.

I was melting chocolate. But that story comes later. 

It was time to party! There was the normal party mingling, well wishes, and baby terror stories. On a side note, Kelly is about the cutest pregnant woman ever. She carries her weight in her belly the way every woman hopes they will before they inevitably spread out all over. Also keep this in mind: the two teeny twins on this date had a combined weight of a healthy baby ready to be born. She is definitely a champ.

As I was saying, there was much mingling and merry making. Then it was time to gather for some serious business: baby shower games.

These mostly consisted of trivia and sometimes garnered creative responses. 

We also learned a few things. For instance, I learned how many diapers a typical child goes through during the first two years of it's life. I've forgotten the specific number, but let's just say that my guess was off by several thousand. Terrifying.

Presents were gathered up while the group recovered from multiplying that diaper number by two. I think a few people may have shot looks of combined awe and concern at Nathan and Kelly. 

The almost parents got a good haul of baby stuff. Nathan was a huge fan of the collared onesies. I have a feeling the world is about to add some pop-collared kids to its ranks. However, it's hard to compete with the camouflage onesie complete with ruffles and a bow for their daughter that Kelly's parents gifted. This is Texas after all, and Kelly has some hunting trophies of her own.

Rob and I got them this little gem. I'd never heard of a wee block until it showed up on the baby registry, but once I saw it I knew we had to get it for them!

Think about baby boys and the control they must have over certain directional skills. Yep, that's precisely the problem this little gadget solves. 

Remember that chocolate I was melting earlier? Well I was disqualified from the last game of the day due to my insider look (pun fully intended) at the chocolate filled diaper guessing game! The basic gist of this game is simple - melty chocolate looks like poo. Have a glance in each diaper and write down what kind of chocolate you think is the filler. 

I wasn't sure how many people would be into this game. It is pretty gross after all, but it wound up drawing quite a crowd.

The competitive spirit also pulled people into a practical strategy, catch the scent!

Yes, this is my dad nose-deep in a diaper. Looks like grandpa is ready to babysit. 

Of course, there's always one person that takes it a touch too far.

Happy Mother's Day Kelly! I'm sure the twins will be a piece of cake after reeling in my baby brother these past years.

Kitchen Revision

Things have been a little nuts around here lately. In the never ending quest that is updating my late 70s home, we've recently entered the no man's land of kitchen remodeling. Of all the things I've wanted to change in this house, the kitchen has been the one to stare me in the face. 

From the original cabinets, complete with super shiny varnish,

to the faux butcher block counters, complete with burn marks,

to the dropped ceiling complete with the world's ugliest lights (one of which only worked when it felt like it, both of which let off a mind-numbing hum),

to the blue? grey? green? tile adding to the overall cave decor...  

Well, I was ready for a change. Thanks to my mom's love of a good house project, not to mention her willingness to supply funding for this crazy endeavor, we were ready to go.

And done. Let's go get a drink. 

Hmm, I'm not sure the cats approve of the new aesthetic. Thomas is such a perfectionist. 

Did I mention we do our own demo? By which I mean we arm my husband with a sledgehammer and tell him not to break anything he's not supposed to. 

I got into the act a little bit this time. Let's say, hypothetically of course, that you've been a teensy bit frustrated at work lately. A sledgehammer, some safety goggles, and some ceramic tile that's just begging to be busted up is a surprisingly healthy way to deal.

Just don't blame me for your sore arms and back the next day.

As with everything, though, Rob prefers a power tool. He took over the tile removal the next day with this:

As you can see around him, he enjoyed himself in a most productive way.

After that it was time to call in some professionals. Remember that giant mess we made?

We had an A/C guy replace that duct, a plumber reorganize some pipes, and an electrician rewire almost everything and add some outlets. Then a handyman came in to put up drywall as needed. This is how that process looked:

As you can see, we couldn't get rid of the drop ceiling entirely. We compromised with a 2 inch drop instead of the previous 2 foot drop. My mom has since closed off that opening and floated over it. 

Since we were replacing tile, we carried it out into the hall. 

This is the closet under our stairs that I'm planning to repurpose for larger pantry items.

Time for the first run of new tile. But wait, first I have to tell you about my brilliant idea and why people shouldn't listen to me. I was watching HGTV (this is how it starts) and I saw a kitchen remodel where they found linoleum under the ceramic tile they removed. Rather than rip up the linoleum, they adhered hardiback (concrete boards) to the floor and put new tile over that. Hmmmm, less scraping of linoleum pieces, leftover thinset, and remnant adhesive? Sign me up! The downfall to my plan has been that we, of course, have to cut the hardiback to fit each space. It took my mom and I an entire day to finish the hall. Stupid closets with your corners and small spaces! So here is what the tile looks like after you cover up my brilliant scheme.

I am so repainting the front door. The industrial grey is killing me. Actually, I want to repaint the walls in the hall and living room to coordinate with the new tile, but I'm told I have to finish this project before I plan the next. Do you see how I'm always being held back?

Onward, to the install of cabinets! Here are (dark, taken at night) pics of the first side to go up:

Oh, how I love that cherry color. Plans still to come include install of the granite countertops we ordered, picking and installing a backsplash, picking and installing handles on the cabinets, retexturing the ceiling, finishing the floor, installing the new light fixture, and generally putting things back where they belong. I'll post more pictures soon. In fact, the second half of my cabinets are being installed as we speak. 

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the wonders of eating out, microwave meals, and the convenience (maybe) of having my refrigerator set up in my dining room.

Caffeinating the masses

I saw a sign on S. Lamar the other day that made me gasp loudly. This led to another lecture from Rob on the so-called "obvious heart attack" experienced by drivers when their passengers gasp loudly. Whatever, buzzkill. 

More importantly, the sign brought me news of THIS. Check another one off the list of things I miss in Cali.

The giant South by post

So SXSW has come and gone again. This year was truly, exhaustingly, wonderful. A lot of the credit for my good time can go to these two characters:

Don't look so surprised guys, you're actually a lot of fun and super easy house guests.
Yeah, yeah, I am laying it on awful thick. Anyway, the troublemakers above are my friends Matt and Tyler. Matt and I have been friends forever - over a decade in fact. We're such good friends, in fact, that we almost completely lost touch for eleven years, but lost no time figuring out we still loved each other once we found ourselves in proximity again. Now, I mean love in the totally platonic sense. I mention this because I apparently caused a huge scandal with a couple of the older ladies in my office when they heard that I had a MALE friend coming to stay with me. Was my husband ok with that? The horror! The scandal! I decided not to mention the second male guest coming to stay. The one I hadn't even met yet. Yep, my good friend Tyler (guy on the right up there) made my acquaintance when we picked him up from the airport. Luckily, I can trust Matt's opinion on good people and Tyler was no exception. He may be something like 50 years behind the technology age, but he's still a really sweet guy, and a lot of fun. He even left us a super nice thank you note for letting him stay with us. (That's right Matt, he totally one-upped you on the thanking us routine. What a bastard!)

So back to the festival. Pacing myself became important. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of shows. It also takes some planning when you find yourself sans SXSW wristband or badge, as we did. For the best plans, I recommend my method... although that comes with the assumption that you also have Matt and Tyler to point you in the right direction. We spent a day wandering South Congress into downtown, with a brief stop at Jo's to listen to a free show and snag a picture of this sign to make Lisa and Karla jealous:

On to the big news, the night shows! I only had one show that I was determined to make a try for despite concern that it might be a badge/wristband affair only. (As a short aside, badges are full-blown festival goers and get the first in to the shows. Very 'spensive. Wristbands are a nod to the local crowd - only sold locally and not quite so pricey - and are allowed into shows not fully packed with badges. Next year we'll probably invest in some wristbands.) The show I really wanted to see was The Hold Steady at The Mohawk Friday night. Matt had recommended the band, as well as Kate, my other music guru,  so I knew it was going to be good. Unfortunately, I'd heard a lot of buzz for the show, making it seem like it was going to be a tough ticket to get. And so we decided to try an old strategy - show up super early and beg, if necessary. Twenty dollars and zero begging later, we were in a few bands ahead of the main event. I'm so glad we got there early, since it definitely resulted in some extra perks. 1. We got a really sweet spot upstairs that was literally right over the stage, and 2. we got to hear some other really good bands, including a new favorite of mine, The Ettes. 

Rob downloaded everything they have out the day after the show. Also, aside from having a really great sound, their drummer was insanely hot. Yes, she's a girl. Yes, she's also beautiful enough that I think rocks would find her attractive. As Matt put it, "she's the type of girl you'd see on the street and be intimidated. And that's before you watch her beat the hell out of those drums". Sadly my picture doesn't do her, or the rest of the band, justice. South by shows can be a little militant about cameras so you have to settle for my iPhone's nighttime capabilities.

By the time the Hold Steady came on, I was already very pleased with the turn our evening had taken. This show, though, was worth all of the buzz and then some. 

These guys have so much energy, and what can only be described as a cult following. Seeing them in such a small venue was an amazing experience.

After the show, we slowly wandered back toward 6th street and stopped to roll our eyes at the Guitar Hero show at Stubbs featuring Metallica. Seriously, it's like they want a personal apology for my loathing. Well, sorry guys. I've heard the new stuff and it's not good either. We snagged some "only good this late at night" pizza from a street vendor and trekked it back to the car. Finally went home happy and ready to sleep.

Saturday, we decided to pace ourselves and didn't head downtown until late afternoon. By "we", I mean Rob and I. Matt and Tyler weren't letting silly things like mental and physical exhaustion come between them and more shows. So "we" picked up Brook and headed downtown with a blanket under my arm and plans to hit the free show at Auditorium Shores. It was a gorgeous day.

We stopped at Jo's for a quick bite and more time to play with my camera.

This is Rob's rocker look. Isn't he hardcore?

So we met up briefly with Matt and Tyler, but split up again so they could go make one last bid to see Ed Harcourt, and we headed over to grab some lawn space at Auditorium Shores. Partway across the bridge I got a text from Matt - the Ed Harcourt set was being filmed and they needed more people for the crowd. We were suddenly looking at a free show + air conditioning. Hard to argue with that. So we ran over to the Convention Center to meet the guys and our free tickets before we got shut out. I sustained a minor injury on the way (I run into things when I hurry, it's a hazard), but still got there in time to see a really great performance. 

After that, it was back to the Auditorium Shores plan. This was good since I was starting to feel kind of stupid carrying a blanket around by that point. We got over to the park and through the gates just before the band featuring Erykah Badu went on. That band may have been ok, but I think being high would have helped the overall enjoyment of them. Instead we enjoyed each other's company, and of course the view.

We scooted up close and grabbed some ground space in time for the main event, local band Explosions in the Sky. Ah, how I love them. They even played my favorite song "Your hand in mine". If you haven't heard it, go find it! I'm not sure whether it was the SXSW producers or the City of Austin that decided to spring with the literal approach, but the show ended with, well, explosions in the sky.

Now this would have been a great cap to the evening, but we were just getting started. We headed back across the river into downtown and decided to try our luck getting into La Zona Rosa to see Crystal Method. They were allowing in the unwashed masses when we got there, but for $20 a pop. We had a streetside conference and decided we'd skip that show to try and catch a few others instead. Crystal Method actually seems to come to Austin a lot, so we knew we'd have other opportunities for them. We decided to make a run to the Hilton to see The Proclaimers. Thirty minutes and one wrong hotel later (who knew there were two Hiltons downtown?) we found the show. This one turned out to be my most bizarre experience of the festival. We were in essentially a small ballroom standing about 10 feet from this amazing band. And yes, I sang out loud to "(I'm gonna be) 500 miles". 

From there we tried to see ... wow, I really can't remember, but who cares because that show was not allowing entry to the little people. Instead, we decided to walk by Stubbs and have a laugh at our chances to get in to see Third Eye Blind. Lo and behold, they were selling tickets! We very quickly snagged ours and headed inside laughing somewhat deliriously at our ridiculous luck. Third Eye Blind was good and they played their entire new album (much to the disgust of some of the drunks nearby, but whatevs, I liked it). [Insert rant about SXSW being all about supporting NEW music here.] 

Anyway, after that show we regrouped and headed back toward the car. It was about this point that things started to go awry. Post-2am on 6th street is a little odd on any night, but we were witnessing the full effect of hipster drunkenness. It was a long walk, but definitely full of images I won't be forgetting soon - no matter how hard I try. Once we escaped downtown, we headed to Magnolia Cafe for some late night food. This was a popular decision so we finally got in a booth and food ordered around 3:20am. Which was when we looked at our watch. Which was when we realized that we were running very short on time to get Matt and Tyler back to the friend's house where their stuff was waiting to be packed and where Tyler had an airport shuttle set to pick him up at 4:15am. (Ok, small aside. Matt and Tyler split their overnights between our house and this other friend.  We'd gone along with handing over custody without a fuss when the other friend picked them up, feeling somewhat like divorced parents, but in the future I'm keeping them for myself. I'm also keeping them in South Austin so as not be fricking far from the airport.) We got our food to go and booked it out of there. We arrived at the friend's house just before 4am. Whew! Um, not so fast. Said friend had gone to stay with her boyfriend that night and her roommate had misunderstood the "don't lock the door" edict. Needless to say, we were standing in the driveway with no access to their stuff. By the time Matt got the friend on the phone and she came home to let them in, the shuttle had come and gone. What can a friend do at this point but offer to make an airport run? We rushed Tyler to the airport, and thankfully got him there in plenty of time. We were now pushing 5:30am. Brook won my favorite quote of the evening/morning with "Have you ever seen the sun rise out the window of a Jetta? Because you're about to." Brook finally got to go home after the airport. Matt was referring to her as kidnapped by this point. Rob, Matt and I headed back to the house to get some sleep before it was time for Matt to catch his flight. I crawled into bed at 6am and crawled back out 4 hours later for one final airport trip. After that it was time for recovery mode.

SXSW was amazing this year. As much as I can complain about the lame hipsters overrunning my beloved town, there's something to be said for a time when you just can't go anywhere without hearing good music. It literally permeates the air as though every corner has its own soundtrack. Having good friends to share it with was the very best part. Especially since they also helped me prove that I'm not yet too old to stay out all night.

First things first

Remember when I said that I went to the Zilker Kite Festival?

I wasn't even lying!

It was a gorgeous day. We met up with Brook and Michelle and enjoyed some picnic and kite watching. Here's some proof of the relaxing nature of the day:

Rob and I were both on our guard, given that we were surrounded by little people all afternoon. Luckily, we seemed to stay below the radar. No full-scale offensive was launched on our group of childless adults. My only moment of concern came from seeing a tent selling hula hoops. I've heard about "hooping" as a fitness craze. It certainly sounds crazy enough to catch on here. I am personally reminded me of my childhood days jumping rope for hours on end. Compare that to my adult attempt to try the same thing (very painful results ensued) and you'll understand my reticence to give hooping a go. It did look fun, though...

 

So so much

We went from Rob's sister and fiance in town straight to out of town friends and SXSW madness. I will post soon I promise. Today I am still just tired and dreading the stack of work awaiting me tomorrow.

ps- Someone please tell Metallica to stop stalking me. More on that later.

Five Favorite: Coffee shops

I went to the Zilker Kite Festival last weekend. It was a lot of fun and garnered many pictures on my camera. Sadly, the pictures are still on my camera. Need magic cable to make pretty pictures appear on my computer. (I make my IT hubby so proud sometimes)

In the meantime, here's a look at some of my favorite places to caffeinate.

1. Mozart's - Ah Mozart's, my darling favorite place to while away any amount of time. Tasty coffee, excellent desserts, and a Lake Austin view that makes me smile every time.

2. Green Muse Cafe - Kind of a weird location, but talk about a hidden gem. The back patio feels like it's own secluded garden. Also, they have damn good snickerdoodles. Unfortunately, they can't be my favorite because their cash register proclaims a loathing of Apple, and my marriage won't stand for that kind of talk.

3. The Hideout - The best downtown. Tasty drinks, eclectic art, and a great little theatre round back for improv shows and small stage productions.

4. Jo's (South Congress) - This coffee stand / patio provides some of the best people watching in Austin. Most of the seating faces the street in a heavy pedestrian area. It's also in an area popular with the celebrities that have "discovered" Austin over the last few years.

5. Texspresso - I wouldn't even know this place existed if I hadn't been super early for a movie at the Village Drafthouse. Try the Alamocha. It's so amazingly good that I don't even mind venturing toward North Austin to get it.

Honorable mentions (also known as "how can I possibly pick only 5 coffee shops?"):
Genuine Joe
Flightpath
Progress Coffee

Places I haven't been yet, but will soon:
Clementine
Emerald City Press