Sitting Pretty

I got a new chair!

  



I'm sort of enjoying how it has that British library thing going on.  But then it's a cool blue/white stripe (like seersucker without the puckers) that gives it a little laid-back vibe.

Two of My Favorite Initials: W. E.

Can you even stand it?  My love for West Elm has been rather well documented at this point, but this picture that landed in my inbox almost put me in the (way-too-early) holiday spirit.  I love the mix of materials and colors but with the unified font.

Oh, and I went ahead and tagged this as an ad, mostly because it makes me want to buy, buy, buy.  Who doesn't need a monogrammed ice bucket?

John's DVD pick of the week (November 8th 2011)

Well it's Tuesday. This week my favorite film of the year so far and the only one to get four stars from me comes out Friday it's

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

That's right the finale of this film series is my pick this week. The other film that I recommend is The comedy The Change Up.

My vintiage pick is, In honor of this weeks release of J. Edgar, I'm recommending a pair of Clint Eastwood films, they are Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby, the latter was #5 on my best of 2004 list.

Review: Puncture (**1/2)

Puncture is proudly "Based on a True Story." As is so often the case, this means an indifference to "true" human relationships in favor of crusading self-righteousness. In this instance, the cause is life-saving no-stick syringes, which, despite saving lives, are not beloved by Big Pharm. The upstart personal injury firm of Weiss and Danziger (Chris Evans and co-director Mark Kassen) is approached by Vicky (Vinessa Shaw), a nurse who was infected with AIDS by an accidental needle stick and wants them to get the "Safety Point" syringes invented by her friend Jeffrey (Marshall Bell) into hospitals, an attempt heretofore blocked by conspiracy between hospital buyers and group-purchasing organizations, in violation of the trust act.

Overall the movie is inspiring,and the plot is good but Chris Evans does a mediocre job. 

Austin!

Let me just say that I had a great weekend in Austin.  My pals Melanie and Joe were wonderful hosts, and we had a brief but enormously fun tour around the Texan capital.  Our first stop was South Congress (locally called SoCo) at the store Uncommon Objects.



I don't know what it is about taxidermy that alternately fascinates and terrifies me, but this baboon definitely fit the bill. 

Along those lines: doll parts.

Now we come to what was arguably my favorite part of the trip.  Hey Cupcake! is a company of Airstream trailers that have been turned into mobile cupcakeries.  Yum.  I ate four.

Here we have a red velvet and "the standard," which is a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  I also got another standard and a Michael Jackson.  That would be a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting.

Parts & Labour was a recommendation from my pal Dawn.  It's a really neat shop where you can find things like Burt Reynolds pillows, complete with felt mustache, and hilarious postcards (see below).

One of our last hoorahs was a trip to The Oasis at Lake Travis.  It's a nice restaurant overlooking the lake, where we were able to snag a balcony table and eat some delicious TexMex as the sun set over the Lonestar State.

One night we also went to Esther's Follies, which is a wholly unique experience.  It's a show that combines music, magic, and political satire--almost like a scaled-down (funny) version of Saturday Night Live.  If you're ever in Austin, I recommend all of the above.  I think it makes a great destination for a long weekend, and we didn't even go to a concert, which is the heart of the city.  The mind reels at such prospects.

I am already planning a return trip next year.

21 JUMP STREET - Official Red Band Trailer - In Theaters 3/16/12!

Definitely Late 20s Now. And Austin?

Well, my 20s are almost officially over.  My birthday happened over the weekend, and I'm now 29.

My twin bro and I met up at our older sister's house, and along with her family and our mom, we had a big lunch.  If it wasn't a simple carb, we weren't eating it.  For dessert we had cupcakes.  They were most delicious.

The picture above shows my placecard for the meal, handmade by my younger niece.  She did one for everybody and then thought it would be hilarious to turn them around so that we all had to guess where we were sitting.  Isn't little kids' handwriting the best?!

I'm going on a weekend trip to Austin to visit some friends, so I'm extra excited about that, too.  Does anyone have any must-sees?!