Austin - Little Rock - Fayetteville - Kansas City...and back.

I have to say, I am thrilled to be starting a new week. It couldn't possibly be as hectic or stressful as this past one (right?). Even though my trip to Arkansas/Kansas City was a whirlwind and involved way too much driving in 3 short days (30 hours total in the car), I had a nice time seeing family and friends, which is always worth a little craziness. For now though, I am very happy to be home and back with my boyfriend.

Luckily, I don't have to settle into a too-normal routine just yet, because this week I am doing a play reading with some local playwrights. It's been a little while since I've done a live event, so I'm really excited. I was asked to participate by one of my favorite college professors (back when I was earning my acting degree in Birmingham, Alabama), who is also now living in Austin. We have a rehearsal this evening and the performance in on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, here are some photos from my trip (in no particular order):

 I loved the walls in the building where my cousin's wedding reception was.

 

 Remnants of a wedding...

 Awake at 6am. This had to be documented.

 

 Sunset while driving through Fayetteville, Arkansas. If my camera had worked just a few seconds faster it would have been a much more amazing shot. Trees got int the way.

 A great little dive burger shop...somewhere in Arkansas.

 Looking up at the wedding reception.

 Personalized bottles for the couple. Cabernet Sauvignon - my wine of choice.

 Center pieces. And my mom's husband.

 

 Last night in Little Rock meant dinner and drinks with friends. The awesome manager at Old Chicago gave us a sampler platter on the house.

Best wishes and congratulations to my cousin, Erin and her new husband Greg on their marriage! 

I was a Halloween zombie, but not in a good way

I'm still mourning the fact that I missed Halloween. I rarely get sick, so the fact that it had to happen on one of my favorite days of the year is making it difficult to take.

Luckily, I can still look back on Friday night, when my boyfriend and I attended our friends' annual pumpkin carving party. I didn't carve a pumpkin this year, but it's always good fun to go and hang out with everyone, and enjoy a nice spread of Halloween food and drink. There was no shortage of talent among the pumpkin carvers, as well, and it was fun to see what everyone came up with.

Drink of choice for the night: Snakebites (Guinness and Hard Apple Cider)

 

My cold-weather, casual party wear

I'm still feeling quite under the weather, and aside from that being a real annoyance, I am driving to Arkansas on Thursday morning, and then up to Kansas City with with my family on Friday, for my cousin's wedding! I am really looking forward to it, but being sick during the entire trip is definitely not the goal. My body needs to get in gear!

Leather and lace

I must say, this has felt like a good week. And I'm so ready for the weekend to begin and Halloween festivities to follow. I feel like the fact that it's Halloween-week, plus the fact that Fall weather has made an appearance again, warrants me trying out some more daring stuff, fashion-wise. I love coming up with things to force myself out of a rut.
The other night, the doorman at a bar complimented my outfit. "Thanks", I said.
"Wait, that is an outfit, right?"
"Um, yes?"
I was confused. I later realized he might have meant a costume. Granted, the outfit did look a tad 1920s inspired, but still. I didn't think it looked like a costume...at all. But at least if you're wearing something strange around Halloween, people will just chalk it up to the time of year. Ha. I quite enjoy getting weird looks and double takes from people anyway...to me, it means I've done something right.

Yesterday was basically a day off for me, so I threw on a new combination of clothing and headed out to enjoy the cloudy-cool day. I got some shopping done at Target and even ran into a couple friends while out and about. I also tried my first-ever soy latte, and was happy to find that I really enjoyed it.

Lace top and "leather" (fake) shorts, Forever 21. 

Black hooded sweater, Target. Wedges, Burlington Coat Factory. Tights, Halloween Express. 

Back view: I kinda love when it looks like the sweater is the only thing I'm wearing. Tee hee.

Sitting at the bar in the cafe after shopping. I love that my Target has a Starbucks!!  
Sunglasses, Burlington Coat Factory ($5.00!!)

I'm still totally in love with my new wedges. I can't get enough. I'll probably be horribly sick of them in a month from wearing them so much. Haha. But, we should all have at least one fashion love affair per season, don't you think?

Plus, I got a ton of double takes because of them yesterday. Score.

Pick me ups

"Just-a-little-too-far-for-comfort-from-the-weekend-Wednesday" seems like a perfect day to focus on my favorite things to get me through a long work day, when I just can't seem to find the energy or motivation to get anything done.

 A bright new manicure.
I am loving this coral color, "blazed" from Wet n' Wild. I haven't bought any nail polish by them since I was about 17 years old, because it always seemed to chip after just a day or two. This was the exact color I was looking for, so I gave it a try any way. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it stays looking great for 3-4 days, and decent-looking (a.k.a. chips you can get away with) for about 5 days. Yay!

Wearing something fun to "the office".
Ok, so I work from home. But either way, some days it's fun to wear something that makes you feel good, even if you aren't going out. And if you do go to an office everyday, and you tend to wear the same, drab business wear, spice it up a bit! The easiest way is to add some color! You'll feel a little happiness every time you remember how cute you look today. :)

4pm coffee + dark chocolate .
Ok, so I ate my three dark chocolate Hershey's Kisses before I snagged a photo, but I promise you, they were there. They are a great little snack to keep around, and a somewhat healthy alternative to get your chocolate fix. The other day, I was really dragging and not feeling good at about 4pm. With two and a half hours to go until my boyfriend got home, more work to finish, and knowing I had some going-out plans ahead of me that night, I needed a boost. I brewed some coffee, curled up in my "girl-throne" (a.k.a. my big arm chair) for a few minutes and enjoyed my little luxurious snack before getting back on task, feeling much better.

A new atmosphere.
We recently got this great canvas of the Flat Iron building in New York City for the living room (IKEA, $149). It's HUGE, and I'm so glad to have that big wall finally filled with some art. It adds even more of a vintage/urban feel to the place, and I love the way the black and white goes with our green accent wall. We've only had it about a week, so it's definitely providing a pick-me-up everyday to be working in what feels like a brand new room. If you work in an office, try adding something new to decorate your work space! If you work from home as well, see if you can find a cute little piece of art, a flower vase, a new throw blanket for your sofa...whatever! Just a little accent piece to brighten your place and add a touch of "new-ness" can make you a bit more happy to be working in the same space day after day.


What special things do you use to get you through the work week??

Let it be

The weekend seemed to go by quicker than usual, but I managed to squeeze in some workout time (in 110 degree heat. Yay Texas.), a film shoot late Sunday night, and an evening out with Steve on Saturday to one of our favorite sports bars, Bone Daddy's. Despite the name and the Hooter's-like waitstaff (complete with red crop tops and tiny black shorts - way cooler than a Hooter's uniform, if you ask me.), this place has seriously good food and it's close enough to walk to, so I'm a total fan. We had a couple draft beers, shared a couple appetizers, and then walked around the mall for a while with a nice buzz (ok, well I did, at least).

 Two things we always get when we go to Bone Daddy's: "Tailpipes" (southwest eggrolls, not pictured) and a side of their mac and cheese. We also tried their brisket sliders appetizer for the first time, which proved to be a perfect choice.

I have to admit, I feel pretty drained today. I didn't get back from my shoot until about midnight, then I did a little impromptu modeling shoot (this is what happens when you have a wannabe photographer and a wannabe model living together), and heated up the dinner Steve had made earlier before finally collapsing into bed.

How was your weekend??

Fun in the sun...

How was your weekend?
Steve and I had plenty to do, but we still managed to squeeze in a nice amount of down time together. We attended a pool party/cookout on Saturday; sort of an end-of-the-season party for Steve's flag football team. On Sunday, we woke up bright and early to head down to the San Marcos river for a friend's birthday party. Both events were great, and I never get tired of grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and other picnic-like foods. How about you? Our new drink obsession is Mike's Hard Black Cherry Lemonade. It tastes so much like black cherry soda, which growing up, I used to get with my mom at a great bagel shop in D.C.
We left the river just early enough to get our usual weekend grocery shopping done, and then settled down with some beef tamales (I had actually never tried them before! I'm a new fan.) and a movie ("Miracle").

It's amazing how being in the sun even just two afternoons in a row can drain you so much. I was able to fall asleep by midnight last night, and honestly, that was just what I needed. Maybe I've finally gotten off this schedule of staying up until 3am and finding it hard to drag myself out of bed before 11am. I woke up at 9:30 today and felt great.

Wishing you a fabulous week! xx

Let's chat

 I do so much better when I'm keeping busy. Lately, while seeing friends more often, auditioning, and just knowing I have a couple modeling and acting projects coming up soon, I feel a bit rejuvenated.

I've never been one of those people to use "daily planners" and jot down appointments and such in some calendar book, but yesterday I actually took the initiative to program some upcoming meetings/shoots/rehearsals in the calendar on my smart phone (or dumbass phone, as I more commonly call it. I'm sorry, but I hate Droids with a passion). This is something I would never normally do, but it was getting really hard to keep all the dates straight while trying to book further auditions. But, I got very confused when I heard it beeping some sound at me that I'd never heard before. It took Steve and I a few times to figure out where the sound was even coming from, but when I looked at the phone, it was reminding me of one of my upcoming calendar events. Um, no thank you. I don't need you beeping at me every time you think I've forgotten an appointment. I just want the dates stored, so I can refer to them and make sure I don't double book an audition or something. Yeah, um, "Cancel". This is why I don't usually waste my time with this stuff. I might be doomed to never be organized and keep way too much information swirling around in the front of my brain. I guess it's worked for me so far. I always have my trusty handwritten to-do lists to fall back on.

Ok, that was a total rambling rant. Moving on...

Anyway, yesterday was a busy day. Well, not exactly "busy", but I was out of the house all day, came home for about an hour, and then was out again until about 11:30pm. That always kind of drains me, even though I love having no risk of becoming stir crazy around the apartment. I had fun over at my friend Sally's, discussing some of her new business ventures (possible opportunities for me) and enjoying some of her all-organic homemade treats like chai lattes, and split pea soup for lunch. We squeezed in a little gossip and bad-reality-TV viewing, too.

Steve and I decided to grab dinner and a beer at Black Star Pub, a local co-op brewery. In addition to a unique selection of beers, they have a really interesting food menu, with lots of local ingredients. Just about every time I'm there I have to get the Circle Blur Texas hefeweizen. It is so good. I got the chicken salad sandwich to eat (I added avocado. Yum.). Quite good, but I still think my favorite is the grilled cheese with cheddar and gouda or the fried egg sandwich with tomato and arugula. Next time, I've sworn to myself that I'll get their snack plate with choices of different meats and Texas cheeses.
I actually felt like I didn't completely overeat as we walked out of Black Star (I'm always proud when that happens), but then Steve sneakily took me to Amy's Ice cream where I had a scoop of coffee ice cream and a scoop of "White Lightening" (white chocolate/rum). So, you can imagine how I felt after that. I already had it planned out: if some stranger asks what I'm expecting, "a boy or a girl?", I'll say "an ice cream cone".

On totally random (and happy) note, I somehow managed to wear both my diamond-ish tiara and my brand new black blazer (yay for cold restaurants) at one time or another yesterday evening. :)

So how did everyone fare this week? I hope you have fun plans for the weekend, even if that means just vegging on the couch and not doing anything. Steve and I are planning on taking it easy tonight and just watching a couple movies, because we'll be out and about a lot this weekend for various parties and BBQs.

Also, how do you keep everything balanced when you have tons going on??

Weekend Highlights

Steve took me out for an official date night on Friday, which was really sweet. I love an excuse to get dolled up! We go out a good amount and always have a great time together, but it's nice when he just says "I'm taking you out Friday night" and has a whole bunch of great ideas of what we're going to do. Ladies, don't forget to do this for your man occasionally, too! Just make sure your plans are full of stuff they like to do. :)

We started the evening with dinner at NoRTH, a modern Italian restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing, plus we had wonderful service. We'll definitely be going back sometime.
I had their seared scallops, with corn risotto and braised leeks with a "white truffle essence" (very "mah-ve-lous, dah-ling", don't you think?). I wanted to try something a little out of my comfort zone, and I'm so glad I did. Steve got the "Bucatini" pasta dish with red sauce and braised, boneless short ribs. The meat was so tender and had a great flavor. For an appetizer, we ordered their bruschetta. It had Crescenza cheese (totally a new favorite of mine, but apparently very hard to find), prosciutto (my first time!), and asparagus on Ciabatta bread (LOVE!). Our server described the dish as "Heaven on a plate". I can't think of a better way to say it.

NoRTH also had a great cocktail menu. I'd love to go back even for just a happy hour drink sometime. The ones Steve and I chose were just delicious. I got the Botanical (gin and tonic with fresh terragon and cucumber). He tried the Blackberry Fix (rum and crushed blackberries over crushed ice). It was hard to decide which was better, and they looked gorgeous!

 "Hmm...what should I order tonight?"....."OH MY GOSH, I CAN'T DECIDE!!!!" 

(Haha, actually, I have no idea what I was doing here. I do take ages to order 

whenever I'm at a restaurant though. It's a problem.)

 After dinner, we headed downtown to see a show at Esther's Follies, a musical comedy club. I was pleasantly surprised how funny it was, and I liked the fact that it wasn't too over-the-top and full of inappropriate over acting, as sometimes these kind of shows tend to be. The comedy was pretty clever, much of it poignant to current events, and some of the skits involving magic tricks were almost good enough to impress Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman (if you don't get that, Google it. Then rent the movie immediately). ;) All in all, it was really enjoyable. I'd love to take some family members next time they come in for a visit.

 Sitting in the lobby at intermission. The whole place is decorated like a vintage aquarium. Really beautiful!

After the show, we walked down to Halcyon, an eclectic, yet laid back coffee shop/bar. I had every intention of getting another cocktail, but when I walked in, the smell of espresso completely took me over. Steve suggested I make things easy and get a chocolate espresso martini, which I did. Completely hit the spot. 

We got comfy on one of the couches (I'd changed into flats by this point!) and enjoyed chatting and people watching. A lovely way to end the night. Although, technically, our night continued a bit longer with a stop at our usual karaoke bar on the way home. No wonder I'm exhausted today. And this was just Friday.

Other weekend activities included attending a surprise engagement brunch for two friends and a usual wandering session around stores like Target...

 An ice cream sandwich pillow!!

Trying on the leopard print heels again that I can't get out of my mind....annnd, I finally bought 'em!

However, the biggest thing we accomplished this weekend was buying supplies and painting a colorful accent wall in the living room! I am really loving it. I will be doing a separate post on that whole adventure, so stay tuned!

 

 Weekend: 1 

Jennifer: 0

I'm doing my best to get myself kicked into gear this Monday. How is yours going? Any weekend stories? Hope you have a lovely week! xx

"Pop" Some Champagne

 

Photo credit: CognacandCoffee

How's this for a summer cocktail idea? Brilliant!

Weekend to-do list

My goals for this weekend:

- Rum + Grapefruit juice (I've been missing it since Vegas!)

- Lounging at the pool (hopefully with friends stopping by)


Need I say more?
What's your weekend list? Post it below...maybe it will give me some ideas to add to mine, in case I get bored with that whole fresh, fruit drinks and relaxing in the sun thing.

Have a great day! xx