Snow!

Yesterday the high was somewhere between 75 & 81 depending on where you were.  Then around 11pm it was down to 34 & snowing!  Well, what we call snow in TX...in reality it was probably ice.  Still...LOOK!

Happy 1st Anniversary To US!!!

I love you honey! I'm still so excited that I get to spend the rest of my life with you.



If you've got a spare 15 minutes check out our wedding slide show.

Photo & Slide Show by Mark Ridout Photography

Yeah well, that’s just, ya know, like your opinion man

After such an amazing win last week, Jonathan & I decided that we HAD to go to the Missouri game this weekend.  We have a couple friends coming in town and we were somehow able to find someone selling 4 tickets...so not only are we going to be able to all sit together, the price also included a parking pass, score!

Going to a Texas game is always fun.  Tailgating before the game...almost as much fun!  I'm really looking forward to heading out to the pre-game tailgate.  And the game isn't until 7pm.  So, that's a whole day of congregating with old friends I haven't seen since last year's tailgate, eating queso from a giant crock pot, drinking Miller Lite from a keg, hanging out in the shade of the big ole UT themed bus:

Hehe!  I "borrowed" a friends picture on facebook... as you can tell, I'm an expert at Photoshop!

It's gonna be an all out good time!  Texas Texas Yee Haw!

Will you be tailgating this weekend?

We're #1!!

After Texas' big win over OU on Saturday...which OMG, did you see that game? it was the best game EVER!  Texas was seriously worrying me during the first half...and then the first possession of the second half...holy moly I was nervous.  But then...then!  We kicked some major butt!  Shipley with his amazing return...Ogbannaya with his funny name, serious skills.  We just shined!  Texas, Texas Yee Haw!!

So yeah, after the big win...we're ranked #1 in both polls!  Go Texas!  Unfortunately, I was too busy screaming at the TV & high five-ing Jonathan to get really good picks but you can see what our early afternoon consisted of:

A few whiskey & cokes A few delicious mimosas

Seriously we were so happy after the game, we didn't know what to do with ourselves.  I headed over to hang out with some friends & watch some other Big 12 action...Tech vs. Nebraska.  Then Jonathan joined us for some delicious Tex-Mex at our neighborhood Nuevo Leon.  Yuummm... queso...

Since we were so incredibly full from Nuevo Leon, we all decided to burn some calories playing Rock Band 2.  We made an awesome band called Full House.  

Jonathan, aka "Uncle Jesse", was on guitar... he even gave his character a sweet mullet a la late 80s Uncle Jesse.  

My good friend Sal was "Uncle Joey" ... I was "Steph" on the mic & my gal E-Dub was "Deej"!  It was hilarious!  Unfortunately you can only have 4 band members so Danny & Michelle got left out... still, we rocked out.

Not sure I'm as big a fan of Rock Band 2.  I've only done the on tour part & you're limited on what songs you can play.  So far, there are quite a few I'm unfamiliar with.  Jonathan & I have our own band, "Gigga What?", referencing our last name that has a lot of "G"s in it... so hopefully we can keep rockin out & get to play more songs.

It's really the only video game I'll play.  Do you play Rock Band?  Have you tried the new one?  Do you like it more than I do?

Happy Monday!  Hook 'Em!!

Austin City Limits Recap in Pictures

Jonathan & I had a great time at the music festival last weekend. It's taken a while for me to get around to uploading all the photos and videos we took over the three day event... but here ya go... our ACL weekend in pictures:

ACL Barton Springs Entrance





Vampire Weekend, our first show of the weekend




Ezra Koeing, lead singer of Vampire Weekend, getting his groove on with a little soft shoe action




We spend a lot of time standing in line at the BAR




Hot Chip




Our "It's HOOOOOT" face





Mmmmm...BIG ASS Heineken




Mmmm...BIG ASS Bud Light (how white trash is my drink?!...oh well... when in Rome...)




CSS

MGMT "Kids" Kinda shaky but I love how you get a feel for how much the crowd was loving it.




White Denim had a rockin set!




While trying to figure out what settings to use to catch the Austin skyline...I managed to catch a shot of the incredible amount of dust in the air. This was Saturday too...much worse on Sunday!

OK...who else had black boogers?? Don't lie...

ACL | A Quick One...

AT&T always has a big presence at ACL.  This year the AT&T blue room will have webcasts available, so you can check out all the festivities online if you can't be there in person.  More info here.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Austin City Limits Festival | Weather, Fashion & Food

As we're less than 48 hours away from the start of ACL 2008, there's more to think about than just what bands I'm going to see.  Today, I started thinking about what I was going to wear.  First thing to consider... It's going to be HOT this weekend.  Last week Austin & most of Texas experienced a wonderful cold front that followed Ike.  We had highs in the 80s and lows in the upper 50s.  It was glorious.  Unfortunately it was not meant to last & this weekend we're expecting highs in the mid 90s & lows in the upper 60s.  

I'm sure it won't be as bad as it was back in 2005 when ACL = Giant Dust Bowl & 100+ degree miserableness. The picture here in the upper right is me & Jonathan at ACL 2005.  We look happy, but the flash is masking the layer of dirt that covered EVERYTHING (clothes, camera, hair, nostrils...yeah GROSS!! I had black snot for 3 days afterwards...sorry, I know TMI)  What made it worse was that it was seriously over 100 degrees outside so everyone was all sweaty & the dirt just stuck to the sweat...yuck!  Check out this picture taken on during Coldplay's set the last night of the last day.  If you'll focus on the upper portion of the photo (ignoring my horrible picture taking skills), you'll see the massive amounts of dust floating around in the air.

Things should be much better this year.  They've improved the irrigation system at the park & the heat isn't supposed to be near as bad...  Still, I'm planning on packing sunscreen & my allowed two bottles of factory sealed water.

Now what to wear.. These girls, are so good at using Polyvore, and I've been looking for a good excuse to create my own collage.  So here we go! If you happen to see me at Zilker park this weekend, I'll look very much like what you see here.  

Besides thinking about what to wear & bring with me, I browsed the awesome selection of food that will be available at the Food Court.  So many of the best restaurants in Austin will be there.  As long as the lines are insanely massive, I'm hoping to check out the Hot & Crunchy Chicken Cone from Hudson's on the Bend, a Grilled Sausage Sandwich from The Best Wurst, and a slice of Pepperoni Pizza from Austin's Pizza.  Yummy greasy goodness!!  Is it bad that I'm just as excited about the food as seeing the bands?!  Even though I can go to these places anytime I want, there's something different about enjoying it at the festival.

Do any of you frequent festivals?  What kind of gear to you bring?  What's your favorite festival food?

Austin City Limits Festival Day 3

Now that I've been cataloging all the bands I intend to see at ACL, I'm starting to remember just how exhausting this event can be.  Assuming I make it to Sunday, here's where you can find me:

1:30pm - The Kills

In all honesty, we may not get to the festival grounds this early.  In the past it's been hard for us to get up & going on the last day of ACL.  But, if we do I'd like to check out The Kills.  They are another band that I found by listening to Pandora.  

5:30pm - Okkervil River

There's not really anyone I'm dying to see between The Kills & Okkervil River.  So, either we'll skip the first half of the day or we'll leave for a bit & head over to Chuy's for an afternoon margarita.  On to Okkervil River...I've yet to see this Austin band.  I hear wonderful things & this seems like an excellent opportunity to burst my Okkervil River cherry :)

6:30pm - White Denim

I love White Denim!  Yeah, I've seen them several times before, but I'd at least like to check out the first half of their set.  I may not stay for the whole thing because I'm pretty pumped about the 7:30 band...more about them in a minute.  Check out the awesomeness that is White Denim (the song doesn't really get started until about 40 sec into it):

7:30pm - Band of Horses

This may be the band I'm MOST excited about at ACL!!  There have been many a day at work where I just put both Band of Horses albums on repeat & that's all I listen to....I think it's just great music.  

8:30pm - Foo Fighters

I'm kind of ambivalent about this.  I know I shouldn't be, because like dude...it's the Foo Fighters!  I like the Foo Fighters alright & it's pretty cool that we're seeing them before they take a break.  But, I'm kinda "eh" about this.  I have a feeling I'm going to watch a song or two and then we'll head home to recoup before we have to return to the working world.  I will admit this acoustic version of "Everlong" is amazing:

Whew!  ACL 2008.  

Austin City Limits Festival Day 2

ACL's Saturday line-up has lots of different options.  This is definitely the most jam-packed day for me.  Let's get started:

12:30pm - Old 97's

I haven't really listened to these guys much since my senior year of high school/freshman year of college.  I think getting my old groove back will be a good way to start the day.  

Jagged

1:30pm - José González or The Fratellis

Both of these bands are awesome.  José González is actually Swedish! His music is great, but it might be a little too low key for a festival environment.  So, I have a feeling that Jonathan would rather see The Fratellis who are much more upbeat & more his style of music.  I'll be happy either way.  

3:00pm - MGMT & The Fratellis autograph signing

The custom schedule creator that ACL is using even shows you when bands are doing autograph signings.  I'm curious how this works at big festivals like this, so I kind of want to check it out.

3:30pm - CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy)

This group looks like so much fun!  They are an electro/pop/punk band from Sao Paulo, Brazil...  Check out this live performance of "Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex" ...

5:30pm - MGMT

A group I know Jonathan will agree is a must see.  You know when a band gets to tour with Beck you're bound to see a great show...Excited about this one!!

6:30pm - John Fogerty

Not sure if we'll make it to see John Fogerty.  I think we'll be heading to a different stage to get a place for the 8:30 band.  Although I have always been a fan of CCR, so it would be awesome to see him...I can't fully commit to it because this stage (AMD) is all the way across the park from the AT&T stage where the 8:30 band will be playing... And as with all festivals, you've got to get there early if you want to get somewhat close to the stage.

8:30pm - Beck!!

Don't need to say much about this one...it's just going to be awesome!

All these great bands & there's still one whole day to go.  If you're not sick to death of me forcing my music taste down your throat, I'll be posting Sunday's schedule very soon!

Austin City Limits Festival Day 1

So excited about the upcoming ACL festival!  Of course I've yet to ask off of work, but eh, a minor detail.  Here's some of the fabulous goodness I'll be enjoying on Friday, the first day of ACL:

2:30pm - Vampire Weekend

I saw Vampire Weekend a while back at Mohawk.  But they played indoors and I loathe the inside stage at Mohawk so I listened from afar & didn't really think much of the whole experience. But, their self titled debut album has been on my playlist since it came out!  With their swingy afro-beats, it was perfect for the summer time.  According to a recent post on Rockouts, VW has a new song on the soundtrack for the new flick "Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist".  Check it on Rockouts or just view the classic "Oxford Comma" here:

5:15 pm - Mates of State or 5:30pm - Hot Chip

I'm torn between which of these I should go to.  Due to the wonderfulness that is Pandora & Last.fm, I have recently become familiar with Mates of State.  I dig 'em.  Of course it's hard to pass up jamming out to Hot Chip live.  I'm guessing I'll end up seeing whoever Jonathan wants to see...which is fine b/c I HATE making decisions when I'm trying to have fun.  I'm going to post the Mates of State video because I kind of like them a smidge better right now:

6:30pm - N.E.R.D.

6:30 was kind of tough.  I saw N.E.R.D. when I saw Kanye earlier this year.  It was a good show, but since I wasn't that familiar with them, I kind of got bored (yeah I know that's bad).  But, I think for a festival they would be really fun, especially as its going to be cooling off about that time as it gets closer to dusk.  The other option I considered was David Byrne who I also have heard via Pandora, but eh, I'm even less familiar with him than N.E.R.D.  Kind of a silly way to make a decision...but there are so many bands to see that you've got to decide somehow, you know?!  Check 'em:

8:15pm - The Mars Volta  or 8:30pm - Manu Chao

Again, another tough decision.  I'm fairly new to both of these.  I think it would be cool to see Manu Chao since he has such an international following, even though I barely know any of his work.  The Mars Volta is likely to be Jonathan's choice.  Of course, after being at the park all day, who knows, we may end up heading home before we see all of either. Check it:

There ya have it!  A lot of after shows are going on so hopefully we'll do some of those as well.  That or we'll collapse from exhaustion & sun burn at the casa & prepare for a fun filled Saturday.

Live Music Capital of the World

Austin is such a great place to see live music.  Although to be honest, I've never lived in another major city, so my basis of comparison is by reputation alone....but,  I love that there are so many small venues around town where you can pop in almost any night and catch a great show. 

Mohawk was our venue of choice last night. Jonathan & I went with one of our friends, Kyle, to see Peel, White Denim & Brazos.  These are three really great local bands.  I was familiar with the first two and completely new to Brazos.

As with last time, Peel was almost done with their set when we arrived.  The two songs we did see where great.  The crowd was really into it last night and there was even an impromptu dance floor in front of the stage which was kinda crazy and oddly enough, seemed appropriate.

A short wait later and White Denim came on stage.  These guys had a packed show playing one song after another with little to no down time in between.  We were trying to decide how to best explain the style of White Denim.  We're reminded of bands like The Doors and Rolling Stones but then again not really.  Check out this Austinist article for a great description. Each one of the band members seems like they are amazing on their own & together they really put on a great energetic show.  

We took some amateur video at the concert last night...check it!

That was pretty much the highlight of the evening.  For some reason we missed the memo that Brazos was playing inside.  By the time we figured it out, the band was half way through and it was uber crowded.  The a/c inside Mohawk was having a hard time keeping up with the crowd.  The boys inched their way to the front near the stage and I stayed back by the bar & hung out under and air vent....I'm such a weenie.  On the plus side, I only got hit on once by a random dude who was smart enough to hit the road once I mentioned my husband in the other room.

All in all, it was a great night out in Austin!

Austin City Limits Music Festival

As I've mentioned on here several times before, Jonathan & I like to go to concerts together... it's our "thing".  Festivals are even better!  We went to the 2005 & 2006 Austin City Limits Festival (ACL) together.  Then last year, I had a work event in Chicago and I couldn't go.  It was torture for me to not be there.  I would talk to him every night and it would be hard to hear each other because some awesome band was about to start. And well, can he call me later?  It was not pleasant and I was determined that I was going to go to this year's event no matter what!

So, as soon as 3 day passes went on sale in early March, Jonathan and I scooped up a pair.  Not two days later and while talking to my boss about a possible tradeshow he tells me that not only will our company be exhibiting at this tradeshow but I HAVE to go... no ifs, ands, or buts.  And the tradeshow... it's the weekend of ACL.  ARG!  Devastation.

Jonathan tells one of his buddies, Scott, that he'll sell my ticket to him at face value.  Nice for our friend...bummer for me.

So...while at the grocery store on Tuesday, my day off, I got a text from one of my coworkers.  

"Dude! Buy your acl ticket...(insert tradeshow name) has been canceled!!!! Omg! Crazy!"

I was shocked...stopped dead in my tracks in the middle of the H-E-B Bakery.  I quickly check my blackberry for any emails I may have missed from this particular tradeshow... I find nothing.

I text my coworker back to tell her that it's not nice to toy with my emotions like that and if she's lying to me I will beat her up when I get back to the office.  She confirms that it is in fact true.  The most poorly timed tradeshow EVER is canceled!!

Hells-to-the-yeah! 

I call Jonathan...still standing in the Bakery section of H-E-B & let him know that Scott is going to have to find his own damn ACL ticket because oh my goodness I get to go!!

I'm super pumped that I get to go! I've even made my schedule.  Check it: http://acl08.sched.org/zeldaray  Of course it's all subject to change depending on Jiggity's preferences, but should be some sweet shows.

"I love the smell of commerce in the morning!"

I'm not much of a fashionista or trendsetter.  I mean I love clothing, design, even shopping, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly skilled at it.  

I saw Wishcake's post the other day and commented on how I never think to go to Old Navy to check out some affordable clothes.  So, I stopped by the local mall on my lunch break today and cruised on over to Old Navy.  

There is something about that store that inhibits my ability to think outside the box.  In stores that big, I feel more comfortable if the mannequins show me what to wear.  You know, give me some ideas.  I've been shopping in mostly smaller boutiques for the past year or two, with the exception of Anthropologie...I LOVE that store more than any other store I've been to.  Seriously...Anthropologie is AWESOME. So you know at boutiques you can cruise through the store and there are lots of unique items.  You have to be careful when you're looking so that you don't miss some hidden gem.  

At chain stores...even though the store is bigger, there are fewer things to choose from.  There will be one dress, but it's in 5 different colors and two of every size.  I used to work in retail...at the evil Abercrombie & Fitch...so I know these chain retailers put the best of the best of what they've got on the mannequins.  

Everything the mannequins had on was not cute or too obviously Old Navy (no offense Old Navy, I'd just rather give the illusion that I spent a lot of money on my clothes).  I probably didn't stay long enough, but when I couldn't find the pants Wishcake was wearing, I bolted.

Since my search for affordable pants at ON was over, I thought I'd go ahead and look around for a dress to wear to a wedding I'm going to to this weekend.  So, next stop was Banana Republic.  Ugh, frustrating.  The a/c wasn't working in the store & they were setting up for a sale, so the staff was moving stuff around while I was browsing making the whole experience unpleasant.

I headed over to White House | Black Market to browse.  Lots of cute stuff.  Not cute enough to spend $200 though.  

I left the mall frustrated.  

Does shopping in the mall frustrate you?  How do you handle the blah-ness & find cute stuff?

On the bright side...Back at the office I had an email from a friend that had a link to join this cute website, called gotidbits.  It's specific to Austin and Houston (Austinites check it!).  Cute website & good info so I signed up.

Look what I found!

This laptop bag is adorable...and it comes in other colors & patterns.  This one is out of stock until mid-August...I may go ahead an splurge for a different one...maybe the green or red one?  Oh and what am I saying, it's not splurge, these adorable bags are only $69.99 on the Kailo Chic website.  There are retailers around the country too...so you may be able to find a shop that carries Kailo Chic near you!  

After my experience today, I think I'm going to stick to my boutiques & Anthropologie.  The mall has left me feeling jaded  But at least I found an über cute new website to follow!

"On the bat's back I do fly | After summer merrily." - Shakespeare

This past weekend, I had a great visit with the family.  We took a trip out to The Oasis which is always a guaranteed crowd pleaser.  The view is great and I hear it's even better at sunset.  The food is good, not great...but the experience more than makes up for that.

After the great lunch we headed back to my house for a little R&R before going to see the bats on the Congress Ave bridge.  As a resident of Austin for going on 8 years, it's amazing that I've never been to see one of Austin's most famous tourist attractions.  If you don't know, Austin is home to the world's largest urban bat colony.  1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats... just hanging out under the Congress bridge from March to October.  

I had not idea what to expect going to the bridge... but what I saw was truly amazing. The bats came out right at sundown... around 8:30pm.  I took lots of pictures, but none really do the event justice...check out the links below which have some good shots.  I had this vision of a huge mass of bats flying out at once and sort of swarming then dispersing.  It looked more like a constant trail of smoke flying out from under the bridge.  The bats spiraled through the air and stayed in this amazing sort of formation until they were no longer visible in the distance.  

I'm so glad my family came in town and got to participate in this very Austin activity with me.  

If you want to read more about the Austin bats you can at these sites:

Bat Conservation International

Austin 360

Lonestar Riverboat 

Rockin' Out

Yesterday I added a video of She & Him performing at SXSW to the sidebar.  I'm really digging them right now.  I only got to go to one day of shows at this year's SXSW because of a business trip.  So, I had to live vicariously through Joanthan...because he never misses a good concert.  

Jonathan & I try to go to concerts often.  It's an activity that both of us enjoy and usually we can agree on what bands to see.  Before Jonathan & started dating I rarely attended live music events.  Since then I've had some really great concert experiences.  Here are my top 5 concerts so far (b/c I fully expect to see many more in the future!) and in no particular order:

1. Guster - Jonathan & I went to see Guster at a smallish club in Houston in 2005.  I've seen them since then, but it was never as good as that first concert.  I was so amazed by drummer, Brian Rosenworcel, and his ability to play not only the bongos but regular drums with just his hands...no drumsticks!  Adam & Ryan's vocals were just amazing & I've been such a huge fan ever since.
   
2. Kanye West - I've seen Kanye twice.  Once in Feb. 2006 in Birmingham, England & then in April 2008 here in Austin.  Both concerts were absolutely amazing.  He is a master performer.  Sure he's arrogant as all get out, but he'll definitely make you feel like you got more than your money's worth every time.
   
   
   
3. Coldplay - At ACL 2005, Coldplay was the headliner.  This was in the era of the X&Y album.  This band put on an amazing concert.  I fell in love with Chris Martin during that show.  So jealous of Gwyneth!
   
   
   
   
4. Bloc Party - Another act we saw at ACL 2005.  These guys rocked my face off!  We managed to fight our way towards the front of the stage so we could see Kele up close.  It was an amazing concert all around.
   
   
   
5. Albert Hammond Jr. - If his name sounds strangely familiar and your now sure why, it's because AHJ is a part of another awesome band, The Strokes.  We saw him about a year ago at The Parish here in Austin.  It was a great show and the first time I ever attended a concert of someone I had never heard of and wanted to immediately go buy the CD.  

Living in the Live Music Capital of the World has it's perks.  What are your favorite concerts of all time?