Wakey wakey time for cakey!

   This week has been a very merry birthday week. Birthweek? Yesterday, February 27th, would have been my late Aunt Sandy's 48th birthday. She was my mom's sister and died at the age of 17. I wasn't even born yet. I haven't seen that many pictures of her but she was absolutely gorgeous. I only have one picture of her in my house and it's not even a proper photograph. It's a Kodachrome slide. I had to use a light bulb to get the picture to come through.

   So much cuteness!! My mom and her siblings are sitting on top of the monkey bars. From right to left, Uncle Johnny, my mom and Sandy. The slide says it was developed in 1976 but it was probably taken around 1974. They were army brats, living in Germany at the time. I love this picture. Johnny's face is so funny and I love mom and Sandy's socks. Look at their helmet hair! LOL They had some thick hair back then. 

   Today is my Sweet Baby James and Taylor's birthday. Yay!!! I made Taylor a card with a Summer Heights High quote (one of our favorite shows), a blueberry scone from Starbucks this morning and finally gave her the vintage wooden deer pin I bought for her in Abilene last month.

   I surprised James on Tuesday night with a fancy schmancy 6-course dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, The Noble Pig. They usually only serve breakfast and lunch but they'll have a special dinner once a month that BYOB since they don't have a liquor license. They're food is normally amazing. They've been on the Food Network a few times. Once on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and it was nominated for one of the best sandwiches in the US. The dinner we had was out of this world! It was a Classic Combination with a modern twist. 

"Chicken and Waffles" Fried duck breast, elderberry parmesan waffle, garlic syrup and thyme. 

"Wild Game and Mushrooms" Venison loin, black trumpet mushroom crumbles, brussels and spruce. 

"Milk and Cookies" Chocolate cookie crumbles, horchata panna cotta, beet caramel, pecans and coconuts. This dessert was so goddamn good! The other people we sat with said we picked a good time to try it out because they usually only have 4 courses. I'm so glad we caught a good one!

 Baby James with his dad, Paul, on his 19th birthday.

SO CUTE!!!

OMG that face... :D

He's so handsome. :) Love you baby. 

See ya next year, Febs. It's been real. 

Leah Nobel's music video

   I had so much fun on this film shoot. My director friend Eduardo asked me to do hair and makeup for a music video he was doing last weekend for Leah Nobel's song "Ride the Butterfly". This girl is super talented and absolutely adorable. I just loved this song. I totally didn't mind hearing it over and over throughout the weekend. Her voice is lovely. 

   We filmed at several different locations in Austin and Cedar Park. Eduardo and his producer did a great job finding these places. I know it's going to come out beautifully. I've worked with Eduardo on Please Hang Up and Try Again. His films are gorgeous. Leah definitely chose her director wisely. 

   The coolest part of this shoot, by far, was the Drone Above hexicopter they used to film aerial shots when Leah was riding around on her bike. This thing was badass!

   We were in downtown Austin on Sunday morning with the hexicopter. Right by the new Willie Nelson statue! There was a huge crowd gathering to watch this thing in action. I must have 15 videos of this thing. LOL

 We ended the shoot at the famous Cathedral of Junk. This place was so fucking awesome, it deserves it's own post. Stay tuned!

I'm baaaaaack

  Hello hello! I've taken a mini Blogger break doing makeup jobs and writing some serious snail mail since my plea for new pen pals. Thank you for all the response! I now have pen pals across the globe and I love it! If I contacted you, your letters are already in the mail. Weeeee!!! Minus one person who hasn't sent me their address yet. :)

I have a few things more things I want to blog about so there's going to be a few posts today...

Pen pal anyone?

"Well I can't make love to a bush!"

    I'm so so excited!!! The Alamo Drafthoise had the genius idea of showing Singin' in the Rain on the big screen. This is the greatest movie of all time! Damn, I wish this was a quote-, sing-along. I'll have to be vawy vawy quiet...

Happy Love Day

    No devastatingly romantic plans today. My love and I will probably watch a movie while enjoying a home cooked meal this evening. I think I'm in the mood for tuna steaks... As I get older, I'm realizing these are the best kinds of evenings. I do enjoy going out every once in awhile and dancing the night away. But not tonight. Besides, I didn't want to wait an hour to eat at an overpriced restaurant. We both agreed simplicity is best and that we wouldn't exchange gifts this year. We're planning on taking a vacation very soon so we need to save our pennies.

   I've always been a strong believer that red and pink makes stink so I usually stay away from the usual Valentine's day color scheme. I really couldn't wait to wear my prized ASOS skirt again. It's just too cute! I was digging in my closet to find this giant bow headband I knew I still had. Got me feeling like Minnie Mouse. That chick was always dressed to the nines. 

May your evening be filled with lots of kisses and rich dark chocolate.

BLT Pasta

  

 Somehow, I was pulled into this Rachael Ray show dedicated to bacon. She made so many wonderful bacon things and even had Kevin Bacon on. That was pretty cool. At the very end she said she had an easy and excellent recipe for a Bacon Leek and Tomato Pasta. I'm so glad I caught this episode because this stuff is amazing! I made it the same night. This would be a great dinner to make for your love. :)

 Ingredients:

Penne pasta

1 cup dry white wine

2 tsp EVOO

two big handfuls of fresh cherry tomatoes

2 or 3 leeks

1/2 lb bacon

1 tsp thyme
1/2 cup of parmesan

salt

pepper

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

I completely forgot to add the garlic the first time I made it. It was still pretty good but was way better with garlic the next time around. 

   I started boiling the pasta water first. According to Ray, I salted it "like the sea", tossed the penne in and started the sauce. I cut the bacon into bite size pieces. About a 1/2 inch. Then started to sautee that in a large skillet. Make sure your skillet has a cover.

    While the bacon cooks and gets crispy start chopping the leeks. Be careful not to use the bitter dark green leaves. Stick with the whiter parts.

  Fill a large bowl with cool water and toss the chopped leeks in as you cut them. They need to be thoroughly rinsed before eating. Those suckers get real dirty as they grow.

 When your bacon is done, you may want to drain off some of the fat. You want to leave a little for the leeks to cook but not much. When you leeks are squeaky clean, dry them with some paper towels and toss them in the skillet with the bacon. Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Let this cook for about 5 minutes or until the leeks start to sweat.

  Now the fun part! Add the wine and tomatoes at the same time and cover. Put the temp down to med-low. Don't worry about chopping the tomatoes because eventually they will burst and make your delicious sauce. If you have too much sauce, take the lid off and let it evaporate. If you want more sauce, add some of the pasta water before straining your penne. Toss in the penne and parmesan and enjoy!

This recipe is so good! Let me know if you try it and what you think. :)

Photos by James. 

eBay All Day

   I can't stop browsing on eBay today. I started off looking for unique jewelry. Maybe a couple of interesting vintage rings. I have been meaning to wear more jewelry this year. Somehow I always gravitate towards sheer vintage dresses. I seriously looked through hundreds of dresses. Wheel on the mouse is becoming worn, eyes straining to keep up.
   Wait....What's this? *click* OOoooOOoo! *click* *click* OMG this is gorgeous! *click* GASP! Look at this print!!! *scroll* Please be my size please be my size..... I think this might work! Oh, who the hell cares? If it doesn't fit I'll make it work. Or I'll get a smaller friend to model it for me and sell it for way more. Or I could....Whatever.

It's mine.

   The description reads, "Adam & Eve vintage 50's sheer dress...." I definitely did not waste any time thinking about this purchase. This was too good to pass up. I can't stop looking at this dress. And I seriously can't wait to get it in the mail. Sorry I'm only giving you a teaser of the fabric. Like me, you'll just have to wait till it's sitting on these hips. 

February Photo Diary

I went to a girly craft night at a friend's house and made coasters using tile, Modge Podge and an old Art Deco calendar.

The many faces of Howie. Ollie and I went to Zilker Park with Dominique and Howie on Friday.  The weather has been spectacular lately. Lovin' it!

I love this picture! I was at the salon and this little boy ran up and proudly showed me his Super Mario Bros manicure. I've seen him and his mother in there before. Spending quality time together, getting their nails done. It's so cute!! Last time, they were getting pedicures and he had his toes painted to match his Spider Man outfit. I just love his face. Here's to not giving a fuck.

My git up for a night on the town. I love my new Jeffrey Campbell wedges!

James playing pinball at East Side King. Top Chef winner Paul Qui's new restaurant near UT.

I don't remember April O'Neil being so well endowed. Daaaaaaamn girl!

I spent most of Sunday having fun with stamps and making Valentine's cards. 

My makeup bag for work.

This is pretty much what I find in my bed every morning. How does he pull on those covers?

I met up with my lovely bombshell friend Leslie at Whole Foods this weekend. She asked me to come help her pick out some mineral makeup and she'd buy me lunch. How could I refuse? We got stuck in the bulk section for quite some time. We went a little crazy buying spices. I just read about "true cinnamon" and picked some up. It's delicious!! And so much better for you. I highly recommend checking it out. It's called Ceylon cinnamon. 

The Whole Foods downtown is also the corporate HQ and it's fucking massive. I'm pretty sure this is what heaven looks like. Delicious, healthy food as far as the eye can see. I wish I lived downtown just so I could eat there every day. *sigh* I love food.