Fall Festivals

So fall officially started on September 22nd but there wasn't the big hoorah or marketing emails that I received way back when Summer started. What I have been getting a lot of are festival emails. I get it, the weather is nicer, which in Texas means, not swealtering hot, so it's the perfect time for outdoor gatherings! Even Watson is loving the cooler weather, as shown by his multiple outdoor petitions (he taps on the door when he wants to go out).

Here are a list of festivals only this weekend, so prepare to not sleep, just eat, drink and be merry this weekend!

• Texas Craft Brewers festival (we're going to this one)
• The Old Pecan Street festival
• AUSTOBERFEST
• Texas Mead fest
• Getting Sauced! BBQ-sauce contest/festival - yum!
• Austin Teen Book festival
• Annual Grape Stomp
• Hairy Man festival - yes, I know!
• Moody Cotton Harvest festival
• Texas Tribune Festival
• Austin County Fair Kick-Off Dance & Shrimp Boil
• Capital City Black Film festival
• Out of Bounds Comedy festival
• Dharma and Yoga fest

 

Ahoy, me mateys!

Well, apparently it's the National Talk like a Pirate Day, and if you're so inclined, a handful of places are actually giving away free stuff if you talk and even dress up as a pirate! See below.

And if you're not sure where to start, get this, there are official pirate translators on the web. And just in case you need it, here are tips for the grown-ups, but this is my absolute favorite of today though.

Question: What letter comes after Q? Scroll down to find out.

 

Answer: Arrrrr!

Love it! 

Don't say cheese!

Taking good photos can be a pain,but at least with the advent of digital cameras, you have the possibility of a second take. Here's a good article from one of my favs (Real Simple) on How to Look Good in Pictures, whether they're planned or action photos! I think Al really needs to read this article.



Grumpy Al

Not Grumpy Al

'got my nails did

Since I scan the internet like a hawk for deals, I found one to try out shellac nails at Nail Geeks. The awesome thing about shellac nail polish is that (1) they're dry as soon as you're ready to leave the nail salon (2) they're supposed to last for at least two weeks; shiny and no chips. I'm normally a red nails kinda girl, but I decided to get hot pink since it's such a fun summer colour and probably one of the few colours I do not have in my arsenal of nail polishes.

So it's 10 days since I got my nails done and they're still going strong, even with lots of scrubbing and cleaning today without any gloves. Of course my nails are growing so you can see a blank space close to the cuticle but other than that I think these will really last a full two weeks!

My middle name should be $$$

This week has been an amazing finds week. I just don't know how people go about in the US without using the savers or loyalty programs and keeping an eye out for discounts. I have a CVS card and along with the coupons, weekly offers and personalized offers for me, I saved almost $24 from a bill total of $40. Yes, I did split my bill into 2, but the first one gave me bonus dollars to use on the second... sneaky, sneaky.

Then I happened to be at Bed, Bath and Beyond and saw these OXO Steel pop top containers in the clearance section. If any one knows me, I'm a huge organizer fan and this was like finding the holy grail (even Amazon.com doesn't discount these babies). I even had this on my Wunderlist as an optional home item, since I have a few and absolutely LOVE them. The original list price was $99.99 but was marked down to $49.98 because one of the lids was missing. Hmm, I looked inside but found all of them so I was wondering what was wrong and found one of the pop tops didn't work. I jiggled it a few times and used my keys and voila, I was able to get it to work! Woohoo! I used my 20% off coupon and got it for $39.98 - talk about a $60 savings, and did I mention I love these containers?  

Err.. welcome summer

Being in Texas makes welcoming summer a joke as it's already been summer for roughly 6 weeks. However, it is officially summer as marked by summer solstice today and it just gives everyone another reason to celebrate something or marketers to have a sale. I've gotten so many offer emails but this has to be my favorite one from Rita's. It's a happy reminder of my adventures at the gelato festival in Firenze- yum!

Neat ideas

Since we moved to our new house, I've been on the lookout for great interior design (or maybe it's just an excuse and I'm always on the lookout). Regardless, I love this idea and not only is it functional but a great way to showoff family and our recent vacation photos.

Happy Mother's day!

She's obviously put up with a lot, so make sure you treat her to some relaxation, good food and yes, she does want alcohol too. And if you do get her a cake, make sure you don't make any of these booboos, seen on one of my favorite sites/books - Cake Wrecks. Enjoy!

What were they thinking?

So to some of you, it's no surprise that I subscribe to Groupon. But it's really quite surprising to see what people are (1) thinking (2) selling (3) buying? Really!? 

Banana bunkers

This may not seem that ridiculous because no one likes a bruised banana; at least I don't think so. But it's one of those items you add to your kitchen that is exclusive to one purpose and I'm more of a multi-use kinda gal.  Worse than a single use product is all the sexual innuendo you'll have to deal with, when your friends see you using one of these.

 




Finger food utensils 


There is a reason certain foods are called 'finger foods' or 'finger-licking good'. It's to EAT with your FINGERS! Can you imagine using this dinosaur teeth clamp looking thing to pick up your burger or fries?  I don't think so. And if you are you that lazy to go wash your hands after eating,  there is this miraculous invention called wet wipes, that mind you, is multipurpose.

Dog face masks

Seriously, who invented this? Dogs and all canines have been around forever without the need for human beauty products, much less a face mask. Whoever can have their dog sit still while they apply a face mask on them has either tranquilized their dog or their dog doesn't deserve to be called one. Just my POV.

As organic as it comes

This is not only beautiful to look at, but it will do us all good. Green walls are not only good for your health, but can improve your mood. It can help polluted cities counteract smog, reduce noise and even make buildings energy effecient. I would vote for all buildings to literally go 'green'. Just keep in mind bug spray would be mandatory :)

Winner of the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show

Save the drama for yo mama - part 2

So if you've been reading, part 1 was all about the incident and immediate problems. I was hoping that would be it, but no, we had lasting problems which made it impossible to skip a part 2. 

The week after the first warning notice, we received a SECOND notice from Riata, saying that we had to get rid of Watson! Aaaaah! and that wasn't even the bummer, we had to do so in 24 hours, or they would come and take him or charge us per day he stayed on the premises. Now as conflicting as this is from the first notice, we investigated and found out that the upper management heard about it and they sent the eviction notice regardless of the first notice sent by the local management office. URGH! Talk about stress times a million! Also after a lot of calls we were able to board him with the Austin Boxer Rescue that we had got him from, until we decided what we would do next.

Yes, what were we going to do next??!? We still had a lease agreement till end of July, so we worked it out with the local office (who mind you, was on our side) and were able to break out of our lease early without any penalties. Then we decided to move to a house so that Watson would have a yard, but how were we going to find one in such a short time? After trying unsuccessfully to do it ourselves, we reached out to the realtor we met when we first moved to  Austin, Ms. Patti and she was just as motivated as us. We sorted through many listings and looked at houses every day and we were absolutely lucky to find one that we loved. So we put in our application and waited...

Save the drama for yo' mama - part 1

One thing I didn't want to do when I started this blog was be a complainer blogger, but of late, we've been put in a tight corner and I've been incredibly upset, stressed and livid all in the span of days. And since this drama is a part of my adventures in this place called 'life', here's how the story goes.

The incident: 
While I was walking Watson on leash, he was instigated by a neighbor yorkie (who at the time, we didn't even know was intact*) who walked underneath him and Watson ended up sinking his teeth into the smaller dog*. Unfortunate for the yorkie, his owner named him Turbo; had decided not to neuter him; and on top of it all, his owner thought it was adorable that Turbo acted like a big dog, barking at mostly anything that moved. Oh, I almost forgot, she was walking this ticking time bomb on a retractable leash in an apartment complex with practically 99% neutered dogs! You have to be absolutely stupid or naive to think nothing is going to happen.

The immediate repercussions:
Of course Turbo was in pretty bad shape as Watson showed him who was boss, all 10 times his weight, and from the vet report, crushed his shoulder, but as sorry as I feel for the little guy, I'm still quite angry with his owner. Not neutering is irresponsible and a recipe for disaster. Really, was she planning to breed him in an apartment complex? Really?!
And because the other dog was in such bad shape, we got a visit from Austin animal services and we had to put Watson under a 10 day house quarantine, which meant he was not to be off leash or meet any new people or dogs. Bummer, when his favorite past time is running. Next, we got a first strike notice from our apartment complex and if it happened again, we'd have to get rid of Watson. Yikes! we just adopted him and added him to our lease as 'our pet'.

*I was quite the mess as I couldn't understand why Watson would have done such a thing. We've taken him to dog parks, pet stores, farmer's markets and many restaurants and bars with nary an incident. Practically everyone who has met him knows him to be a docile, teddy-bear faced and lovable dog.  

Easter Eggtravaganza

I love decorating and yet, I've never had the opportunity to decorate Easter eggs as several kids do this time in America. I'm always tempted to pick up the PAAS egg dyes from the supermarket and make a set each Easter but never do. However, I found a more adult style this year online and might actually try these out. Check out Holy Man-Crafts Batman's easy and hilarious moustachio eggs and these other great ideas.

Spring forward

Last weekend marked the change in daylight savings. I never had to deal with this when I grew up in the middle east, but ever since I've been in the US, we move the clocks behind during autumn and ahead for spring. We lost an hour but we gained more light that means we save energy in our house. This made sense when  it was started in World War I, but why the US still follows this strange practice when we have so many 'energy effecient' appliances today? The only smart places on the US mainland are the state of Arizona and Indian reservations. It does get confusing for me though, because I work with clients in Phoenix, and before last weekend, I was only 1 hour ahead. Now, I'm two hours ahead of them... hmmm.


Watson checking out the scenery

This time of the year also marks the onset of spring and it's more obvious in Texas than it ever was in the northeast. You can hear the birds tweeting, see the grass growing extra green and buds and flowers blooming. I really don't like winter, but it always brings on one of the most beautiful seasons of the year, so you learn to deal. Some of you can't be here with me to see it, but hope you can enjoy it through my photos :) 


The Texas longhorns loving the warmer weather

Spring blossoms

What's up, marshmallow?

I read today that they're making a movie of the TV series, Veronica Mars. I never watched the show when it was on the telly, but when I watched it on DVD, I really, really loved it! It's like watching a real-life Nancy Drew, minus any fluff --- no yummy sandwiches and picnics like in Hardy Boys or Secret Seven. Kristen Bell portrays a very angry, pessimistic Veronica while she traverses through high school and college as a super sleuth, uncovering scandals and other drama. I'm so excited and thankful for all those 'marshmallows' aka fans who donated to making the movie. I can't wait to watch it next year, and Kristen Bell is pretty awesome too!

Happy Hearts Day

I’m a lover but I do hate the way people celebrate Valentine’s Day. It’s one of those overly commercial holidays, probably only second to Christmas. The amusing part is no one could even tell you why today is so-called. For those that don’t know, it’s because of Saint Valentine; yes, an actual person and not because Hallmark said so. Instead you find most people caught up with what to buy their special someone or where to get dinner reservations. And don’t you just love the stores and restaurants that mark-up prices on roses, gifts and meals just for today? In my opinion, people who fall for these gimmicks are suckers! I personally think that you should celebrate your love for someone all through the year and not make one day the be-all and end-all for any relationship. Not only can you get majorly disappointed because you are expecting the world, but your guy will be overwraught with anxiety on what to get you. Wouldn't you rather get many, smaller suprises during the year, especially when you're not expecting it?

With that being said, here are a few cute things I’ve come across this V-day that I love and you should do ALL YEAR LONG - heart-shaped breakfast! I absolutely loved the heart shaped boiled egg (on the left) and it's so easy to do.

And this is a great page with many ideas on how to use a heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Hard-boiled hearts

Mini-heart pan for pancakes

Heart Waffles

 

Welcome 2013!

I never thought of myself as a blogger, but with this new year, I've decided to use this blog as a journal of sorts to share my adventures with the world. I hope whoever reads it, finds it somewhat interesting but mostly entertaining. I'd love to hear from you so don't feel shy and drop me a line or two.

Cheers!