what i did on my birthday vacation...

... or my 10 favorite parts of an amazing trip to austin, tx

(now with musical accompaniment if you hit the play button on the "boom box" below)

01. shopping on south congress - the buildings are all interesting to look at, the paint colors are amazing, the shops are jam packed full of  vintage, indie and affordable clothes, shoes, jewelry and every other type of cuteness you can imagine. photo ops abound. already worn in cowboy boots attained. hey cupcake trailer attacked.

02. breakfast/brunch - i won't even go into the super tasty texas pecan coffee kerry got me hooked on, but our breakfast's and brunches were some of the best meals; savory breakfast crepes out of an airstream (apparently lots of scrumptious food in austin comes from an airstream), cheap & yummy breakfast tacos and a special birthday cupcake breakfast.

03. t.c.'s - have i mentioned yet that kerry is a first class tour guide? she showed me some truly amazing places and was always super quick with a suggestion when i told her what i was in the mood for, plus she had no problem taking the reins and planning our days when i was feeling a little undecided. anyway, we went to t.c.'s on monday night and i instantly fell in love. it kind of pops up out of nowhere, a neighborhood gives way to a gravel parking lot filled with all kinds of cars and long haul trucks. it feels a little like a scene out of "crybaby"; real texas road house blues bands, bring your own wine and liquor (they sell the beer  & mixers) and a complete mixed bag of patrons. beyond packed, beyond hot and beyond any sort of explanation that could really do it any justice. maybe my whole experience was colored by the awesomeness of my partners in crime for the evening, but i really think it was the vibe at t.c.'s working a lot of the true magic.

04. movies at the alamo draft house - movies + food + beer. i mean, need i say more? okay, i will anyway. kerry & i went to see "brothers bloom" (which was amazing and snarklarious by the way, watch for the joseph gordon-levitt cameo of hotness) and "up!" (bootleg non-3d version) at the alamo near-ish her house (there are 3 around austin) and it's awesome.  every other row of seats are replaced by low bar tables with lights underneath to ready your menus by, and when you want to order you just write it down, fold it in half, they come get it and 20 minutes later you have your beer, mozzarella sticks, hummus, fried pickles, espresso shake, warm chocolate chip cookies, or whatever else you want (that just happens to be what we got the two times we went.) they also have sing along and quote along movie nights that i would love to hit up next time i go visit!

05. beauty bar on my birthday - rocking the change over to 27 while in austin was really the best way i could do it. cute, plaid skirted party dress, stella's & pbr's all night, outdoor patio, and a dj inside whose playlist may even beat my fave dj at the 7hundred club (yeah yeah yeahs, lykke li, salt n peppa, what?).  it also helps that i had a fabulous dinner in my tummy courtesy of kerry taking me to blue dahlia & awesome company. and, we rocked the party all night since i had to be up at 5:30 for my flight anyway. totally killer!

06. puppies everywhere! - i finally got to meet bacon, kerry's pug, and he is amazing! he slept with us and one night his little pug snores even invaded my dreams! plus, roommate jackie's pup, rigby, and a revolving cast of visiting puppies in the house kept me happy! plus, we got to meet lots of new dogs everywhere we went, including our 4 mile walk around town lake with the pups, followed by avocado margaritas with the pups on the patio.

07. elysium's 80's night - we hit austin's "goth" bar my second night in town for 80's night, had a sparks for old time's sake, moved on to rum & cokes, got hit on by a couple of teddy-bear-like west point dudes, danced for hours upon hours to the best mix 0f 80's & 90's music ever (barring their glaring lack of smiths songs considering the surroundings) and i passed my first pick up moo card, successfully i might add. and when i say dancing, i mean dancing. the kind where you don't care what you look like, sweating like crazy, getting all messy & sticking to the dance floor, but you're lovin' it and killin' it philly style.

08. the harlem shakes & passion pit at emo's - there was definitely some more super sweaty dancing this night as well! first thing kerry booked for us, as soon as i booked my flight, was this show and i'm so glad she's on top of things because it was totally off the chain (for lack of better term.) it was a sold out, outdoor show and therefore totally packed in the best of ways, totally entertaining,  with lots of foot stomping and crazy hot! i can only imagine how great it is to be in austin for sxsw! i'll have to make that a goal.

09. people watching at barton springs - barton springs was something else that kerry enticed me with right away. it's a huge, and i mean monstrous, natural swimming pool, fed by underground springs, that is always at a cool 68. we headed over there with a blanket in tow, planted ourselves up the hill under the shade of a tree and read, listened to music, people watched and kerry even got some of her studying for the bar done. i also shot a not-so-successful roll of diana+ film there, but i'm learning. we did get in the water for a little bit, but i would totally be a nerd and bring water shoes next time, i kept slipping on the rock bottom! haha.

10. the austin wardrobe! - so, i'm not big on my legs, and will usually cover up anything above mid-calf, but kerry pried my leggings away from me pretty early on in the trip and i'm glad she did! it's so hot in austin, and people are so non-scene-y, that all the girls are rocking little dresses and skirts, with no judgement felt! i loved having kerry throw something at me to make up or complete my outfit, and she was always right. kerry was my favorite shopping partner, but she is also now my favorite stylist. i rocked a dress and my new cowboy boots almost every day and night!

there are about a million more people, places and things that i loved about my trip, but i won't go there, my top ten list got long enough as it is! i can't wait to go back and visit kerry a couple more times before she heads back out to the east coast for her grown up job at a firm! austin (or awes-tin) has totally topped san francisco as my favorite city, and i really didn't think any place would ever be able to take over sf's place in my heart! i also can't wait to scrap all my pictures from this trip in the wood veneer album from chatterbox, so yummy!

 MixPod.com

"austin bound"

"austin bound"

01. "sleeping lessons" the shins

02. "dog days are over" florence & the machine

03. "never had nobody like you" m. ward feat. zooey 

04. "something is not right with me" cold war kids

05. "we are beautiful, we are doomed" los campesinos!

06. "daylight" matt & kim

07. "tightrope" yeasayer

08. "sunlight" harlem shakes

09. "borne on the fm waves of the heart" against me! feat. tegan

10. "ballad of bird love" blitzen trapper

11. "wraith pinned to the mist and other games" of montreal

12. "all new friends" dirty on purpose

13. "little bribes" death cab for cutie

14. "don't look away" the helio sequence

15. "hurry up let's go" the shout out louds

16. "rain" bishop allen

17. "eraser" no age

18. "spotlight" mute math

19. "no one does it like you" department of eagles

p.s. i know this is seeming more like a music blog than a crafty blog lately, but that's just how it goes sometimes. i've been up to crafty things, but i'm just now feeling in the mood to blog again. and true, i got back from austin like 2 weeks a go, but i think the next step in my mission to get back into blogging is a top ten favorite moments style re-cap of my vacation, complete with pictures? eventually i'll post something actually crafty, promise!

"house party hopes 2: austin edition"

house party hopes 2: austin edition

01. "see fernando" jenny lewis

02. "nothing to worry about" peter bjorn and john

03. "it's not over yet" the klaxons

04. "sunrise" yeasayer

05. "sleepyhead" passion pit

06. "we are your friends" justice

07. "zero" yeah yeah yeahs

08. "oh my god" ida maria

09. "u. r. a. fever - the kills

10. "like knives" the fashion

11.  "right round" flo rida

12. "flux" bloc party

13. "fa-fa-fa" datarock

14. "dusk till dawn" ladyhawke

15. "pot kettle black" tilly and the wall

... and monsters?

... and monsters?

a miss morgan mix

01. "fake palindromes" by andrew bird

02. "furr" by blitzen trappers

03. "no one does it like you" by department of eagles

04. "fine" by james

05. "creature fear" by bon iver

06. "is there a ghost" by band of horses

07. "wolf like me" by tv on the radio

08. "through the roof 'n' underground" by gogol bordello

09. "icky thump" by the white stripes

10. "ghost in the trees" by three oh sees

11. "the man of metropolis steals our hearts" 

                by sufjan stevens

12. "the w.a.n.d." by the flaming lips

13. "cartoon music for superheroes" 

                by albert hammond jr.

this whole mix came into being because i love that line in the andrew bird song, "... and monsters?" and i started noticing all these songs that i love that are about creepy and/or pretend things. so, obvs they all had to go into one mix.

current crushes.

current crushes

a miss morgan mix

01. "hard to live in the city" albert hammond jr.

02. "politics, music and drugs" slowreader

03. "live your life" t.i. featuring rihanna

04. "fans" kings of leon

05. "liar, liar" a fine frenzy

06. "maps" rogue wave

07. "never had nobody like you" m. ward

08. "i'm yours" jason mraz

09. "foundations" kate nash

10. "the comeback" the shout out louds

11. "thing's i'll do" northern state

12. "a pillar of salt" the thermals

13. "noi boi" the velvet teen

14. "tightrope" yeasayer

15. "cick, click, click, click" bishop allen

update: i brought my mom home from the hospital yesterday, and things are looking better.  still stressing, but trying not to. why do the little things love to pile on when there's a big stress? what's that about?

plaid at <3

plaid at heart

a.k.a. morgan hearts mountain men

a miss morgan mix

01. "portland oregon" by loretta lynn & jack white

02. "oh my sweet carolina" by ryan adams

03. "acid tongue" by jenny lewis

04. "ballad of bird love" by blitzen trapper

05. "red and purple" by the dodos

06. "plans" by band of horses

07. "mykonos" by fleet foxes

08. "to go home" by m. ward

09. "the ballad of sean foley" by maria taylor

10. "blood bank" by bon iver

11. "one big holiday" by my morning jacket

12. "sausalito" by conor oberst

p.s. today morgan is thankful for post queues because without them, there would be no post today!

please send out any prayers, happy thoughts, or whatever else you believe in, out into the world for my mom today. things are looking better, but we're still here at the hospital.

is it spring yet?

 

is it spring yet?

a miss morgan mix

01. "my girls" by animal collective

02. "teen angst" by m83

03. "feel. love. thinking. of." by faunts

04. "each year" by ra ra riot

05. "hanging marionette" by the appleseed cast

06.  "hurry up let's go" by the shout out louds

07. "daylight" by matt & kim

08. "no one will know" by bella

09. "night majestic" by au revoir simone

10.  "we're from barcelona" by i'm from barcelona

11. "rain" by bishop allen

12. "for the price of a cup of tea" by belle & sebastian

13. "in the morning" by the coral

14. "shine a light" by wolf parade

15. "use somebody" by kings of leon

16. "don't look away" by the helio sequence

on & on

+ loving tumblr! the stuff that people share is just completely stellar. i have to stop myself from heart-ing just about every post because there is just so much inspiration out there in the collective creative community! this mosaic is a little me and a lot collected from some of my favorite tumblr ladies;  jasmine , eyeswideopen and others. i am a bit confused about how to use it. i don't feel like i completely get it yet. sometimes i really wish i could just comment on someones post instead of re-blogging it, but it's fine. i'll get there.

+ the colors in that "close your eyes, clear your heart, let it go" piece up there are so what i am loving right now and i'm lucky enough to have an awesomely talented dude friend in my life who i could just ichat and say, "i want this text square re-done with my blog title and while you're at it can you figure out the hexadecimal colors for me so i can rock out my blog" and like 5 minutes later, done. now i want to live in my blog. steve, thanks for totes killin' it!

+ umm.... i've been reading in the woods by tana french for like EVER now! it's not that it's bad, because it's definitely good, it's just a little too creepy at time to be read before sleepy times, which is when i do most of my reading. anyway, i thought it might help if i have a new book that's next up to bat, y'know? so, i went to borders the other day to find one and that place looks like a ghost town of book. there is like nothing on the shelves, it's a little scary! so, all i ended up buying was wreck this journal  and some owl stickers, haha. any book suggestions for me? make them good!

+ the time has come for me to start saving money like a crazy lady to pay for the major tattoo itch i've got growing right now. i've been wanting a full on 3/4 sleeve full of julie west loveliness for a while now, but it has always seemed pretty daunting as a whole. but i have just discovered the perfect piece to start with and so now i'm dieing to make it happen! i think i might be able to pull off an early april appointment if i save my money from teaching this month. nevertheless, i want it now!

+ also majorly craving some items that i have neither the energy nor funds to procure such as the sweet granita bag & the movement of waves bag from anthropologie. anyone care to be my benefactor? i also would still like my helicopter pilots liscense and now also want to go to stunt driver school, if for no other reason than to see what happens when you do crazy things while driving, but without the pesky dieing part! anyone? anyone? no? fine.

nerd alert!

so you all know i'm a bit of an organization nerd, but i think i've reached a new level. i've been going a little crazy trying to find the perfect storage method for all my "dew drop" sized ink pads. i originally had them in flat plastic containers organized by ink types, but i was running out of room and finding it annoying to get them out from under each other and all that business. plus, they took up too much space on the table. so, i've been looking for a container with a handle that could easily sit on the table, without taking up too much space, and display them in such a way that i can actually see all the colors i have. 

so, during a trip to target to stalk the orla kiely goodies i found these guys. they actually come in sets of 4, but are totally stackable. this set up is 3 sets (the bottom layer of each set is a divided compartment that i put aside and made into a separate stack for all my staz on ink pads). this holds all 80ish of the versamagic, brilliance & memento dew drop sized ink pads, and the bottom layer houses my basic black full sized ink pads. it's footprint is about 6 inches square and the handle is clutch for traveling purposes. plus, each set of containers was $4.99, i think? so, to sum it up, i'm totally in love! i am a happy inky girl!

p.s. if you are looking for another adorable storage method, the orla kiely cd holder boxes totally work perfectly to store your card packs in! i'm not saying, i'm just saying!

anyway, i just got done making a bunch of mix cd's for a friend so i'll start sharing those and their track lists tomorrow. promise!

i'm in the o.c. but where's seth cohen?

so, i've arrived at cha all safe and sound! man is that 6 hour flight more than a little boring! i got into the hotel around 9ish and unpacked right away, i totally have to like move in to a hotel room, i hate that living out of a suitcase feeling! the "closet" is full, the bathroom counter is covered and my work station is all good to go. and yes, i am a total nerd. i had a killer quesadilla, a sierra nevada and went to bed early, well early for west coast time, and had an odd time with the feeling of this huge king size bed. at one point i woke up sleeping on it sideways, there's something really disconcerting about sleeping on a perfect square!

my slow morning consisted of  watching "jumper", doing a little preemptive class planning so that i know what to order extras of and going over my notes for the show via text message with dawn. then i headed over to the convention center, making a quick stop at the starbucks in the hilton on my way. much to my excitement they had the hot cup sleeves i need for my class next month, and the barista was nice enough to give me a bunch of them! anyway, i got my pass printed, it's best to beat the rush there will be tomorrow morning, grabbed some of the catalogs that were out on the literature spinny thing and then sat outside enjoying the palm trees for a little while. you just can't beat some palm tree shade in january, it does my state of mind good!

so, right now i'm trying to decide where to have dinner before i head over to the s.e.i. presentation party and then it's time for some more notes and resting up for the first day of the show tomorrow! i should have some way more exciting posts after tomorrow!