Supper Club = A Love+Hate Relationship

A few months ago I approached a few of my friends with the idea of Supper Club.  The premise: bring a small group of friends together biweekly for a night of homemade dishes to promote closer friendship and socialization in combination with our favorite things (food, alcohol, music).

Much to my shagrine, what started as a small gathering of friends and family has now grown into a baker's dozen - some close friends, others not so close.  When you live in a 1 bedroom condo, it's hard to provide seating and enough counter space for so many people, so I was a little worried the first time we hosted the larger group at our place.  We are working through the growing pains, however, and I think we're well on our way to a new tradition among friends.  This is a rotating party - with the hosts providing the main dish (or "theme" in some instances), and the others bringing dishes to accompany the main course.   

Lasagne night at our place!

Matt slices up the cucumbers...

...for a yummy salad with homemade dressing.

Chris and Amity brought homemade cheese gnocci with garlic pesto and shredded parmesan.  Amity usually puts her culinary degree to good use on Supper Club night.

Everyone gathered around the coffee table to eat.  We did the best we could with our small space!

Flash forward 2 weeks to the Tex Mex theme, hosted at Blake and Lamanda's new house.  A comfy, 3 bedroom house with a huge backyard, that is quickly becoming a home for our new artsy friends.  They've only lived there a few short months, and the place already feels more lived in than our condo, which has been occupied for over a year now.  I mean this as a compliment.  It was warm, cozy, and lots of fun.  Lamada's green chili enchiladas were to die for!  And, I know I ate more than my fair share of Amity's homemade queso with ground beef, pico, and avocado.

The only snapshot I took was of the sopapilla cheesecake I made the night before (twice, as it turns out).  Jason accidentally dropped the entire dish on to our stove top, where it quickly spilled all over the place - causing us to run to HEB for more ingredients, and a rematch with the new recipe.

Poor cheesecake!

5 second rule!  We decided to sample a bit of the crust, just to make sure it was good.

I'll keep the posts rolling on Supper Club, and maybe start including some recipes, as well!

I Want It Now!

Now that the weather is starting to cool down here in Austin, Texas, the urge to get out on my bicycle has returned!  I'm so excited because I live close to downtown, and many bike adventures are just a hill away. 

I will buy a new bike in the Spring, and have had my eye on a few commuter bikes that I'm now in love with (and I don't know how I'm going to wait another 6 months to buy):

The Trek Belleville WSD - beautiful, simple, makes my heart go pitter patter.

The Gary Fisher Simple City 3 - I'm completely in love with the COLOR!

Question - How will I ever choose?  I have a tough time deciding what to wear in the morning or which color nail polish to buy.  The Trek comes equipped with front and rear racks (which is super cool because I'm always carrying stuff around).  But...the Gary Fisher is such a beautiful color...I'm absolutely in LOVE with it!  They are both in the same price range.  The Gary Fisher is aluminum, while the Trek is steel.  Lighter would definitely be better.  I guess it's all going to come down to the test drive.  Thoughts, suggestions, anyone?

No Place Like Home

I had a thought last night while driving home on a cool Austin evening (windows down, Wilco on the iPod).  For the first time in a long while, I felt at home.  This was a bit strange, considering I was in my car (not on the couch reading a book or enjoying a glass of wine with Jason over dinner).  It made me think about my definition of home.  Those who know me know that I've moved 7 times in the past 7 years, and I finally bought my first place about a year ago.  Most of the time I'm happy and the fact that I'm now a home owner (no more renting!) makes me feel more secure.  Sometimes, however, I feel trapped.  These recurring thoughts come back to me...of grabbing up all my books, music, dog, a bag of clothes, and my favorite boy...loading up the car and breaking free.  Or, I start wondering how quickly I can pay down my mortgage, so I can move somewhere new, somewhere different.  It's weird...I love my little condo, but sometimes...

It brings to mind a comment my father made a few months ago.  We were visiting his hometown of La Prior, TX (the first time, for me).  My Dad drove us past the house he lived in as a young boy, and we visited the cemetery where my Grandfather (whom I never met) is buried.  Dad proceeded to tell us that after they moved from La Prior to Corpus Christi, they moved about once a year after that.  Why?  "Because Mimi (grandma) never could quite seem to get settled in a place.  She was restless."  I didn't say anything at the time, but this really stuck with me...because it's exactly how I feel. 

So, back to last night...I started thinking, maybe "home" for me isn't a place.  Maybe it's a feeling I get when I hear a certain song, or when the air smells like Fall and there's this energy in the air that makes me feel like change is coming.  It's the way my dog's paws smell in the morning, when he's still lounging in bed, or the sound of fingers sliding across the strings of an acoustic guitar.  It's the feeling of a good hug from Jason...my Dad's whistle...the Christmas tree at Mom's house...Matt's contagious laugh, or watching Jeff's eyes welling up at his wedding.  It's a high school marching band practicing down the street early in the morning...a good run on a cool morning...church bells, seagulls, waves.  I can take these with me anywhere I go..and that feels like home.

30 in 30

So, I will turn 30 years old in about 5 months...and it surprises me that I'm not even a little freaked out (not yet, anyway). Part of the reason for this, I think, is that I'm making plans to spend the milestone on the beaches of Oahu, HI...for two weeks in the wintertime. Normally, my birthdays are spent bundled up inside somewhere...house parties, usually; costume parties, occasionally; and drinks with friends/family, most definitely. Yesterday, I started thinking about my 30th year, and what I could do to live life a little differently to celebrate and challenge myself. A friend (who's also turning the big 3-0 in the coming months) had mentioned the idea of running 30 races in our 30th year. Hmmm...

The idea was dismissed pretty quickly initially...but the more I think about it, the more I'm considering it. I live in Austin, and there's definitely no shortage of road races in the city and surrounding area. This would mean spending 58% of my weekends racing...but also celebrating, donating to charities, and being active and healthy. It might be just crazy enough to actually pull off. A "race" for me would be anything from a 5k to a 1/2 marathon (I'm on a break from marathoning for now...at least that's what I'm telling myself).

So to anyone out there who actually reads this...your thoughts? Should I do it? It would make for a pretty interesting blog topic, anyway. And, I do love a good challenge!

The Dip: I'm Hooked

I've only read the first 5 sentences of Seth Godin's book, "The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)", and I'm already hooked (excerpt here):

"I FEEL LIKE GIVING UP.
Almost every day, in fact. Not all day, of course, but there are moments.
My bet is that you have those moments, too. If you're the kind of high-achieving, goal-oriented person who finds herself reading a book like this, you're probably used to running into obstacles. Professional obstacles, personal obstacles, even obstacles related to personal fitness or winning board games."

I have a feeling I will love this book. Full review to come, soon.

Books, Music, Shopping, Oh My!

So, happily, I'm starting my 4 day work week off with a new blog post (finally!). For several weeks, I was thinking of selling my car, to live the car-free, bike commuter life...but after 60+ days of 100+ degree temperatures in Austin, I've decided against it (for now, anyway). What I think I will do, instead, is take a self imposed, car-free challenge (to see if I can live without one for a month). I've decided to begin the challenge in October, when the temps should start cooling off a bit here in Central Texas. So, look for more on this to come soon.

Books.
I started 3 (yes, 3) new books today...two of which I picked up from the Austin Public Library. The Dip, by Seth Godin and The Other Shulman by Alan Zweibel. I also picked one from my bookshelf at home: Run by Ann Patchett. I'm hoping that the combination of the 3 of these books will help me to: 1. decide if I'm ready for a new job; 2. help motivate me to run more (and train for the next 1/2 marathon); and 3. live life more frugally (books from the library are free!) Interested in keeping up with my reading list (who wouldn't!)...become one of my reading buddies on Goodreads.

Music.
I spent yesterday in Luckenbach, Texas at the Pickin' for the Record challenge...where more than 1,800 guitarists (including my brother) broke the world record for largest guitar ensemble. Some photos from that event, here. This was my first trip to Luckenbach, and I must say...it was super fun! Very laid back little town (if you can even call it that), and aside from the heat, it was a perfect day spent outdoors.

Album of the week: A Book Like This (by Angus and Julia Stone). Perfect for a relaxing afternoon. Beautiful male/female vocals and melodies that will stick in your head for days. A must have as we make our way into Fall.

Shopping.
This weekend is Le Garage Sale in Austin, TX. If you're anywhere close to the city, you must stop by for great deals from the city's best fashion boutiques. Sure to find lots of good stuff this weekend! My strategy? Hit up the shops the day before, in hopes of finding mark downs on the merch before they cart off to Le Garage Sale. :)

And, the week just wouldn't be complete without cupcakes. Sugar Mama's is having their 1st birthday party this Saturday, August 29th from 3pm-7pm. Oh My!

Taco Night

So, this is definitely not intended to be a food blog, but I tried out a new recipe tonight, and couldn't help take a few photos of the beautiful food. Thought I would post a few here, to practice my blogging skills. ;)

On the menu: slow cooker pork tacos w/mango salsa and guacamole

Slow cooker full of pork shoulder...ready to cook!

Guacamole construction

Mango salsa (mango, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeno, lime)

Dinner time!
The meal was delicious! I have a feeling this will become a staple. It was super easy, heathly and filling.

xoxo

Change

I need a change...something BIG. Something a little bit crazy. Something NOW. Thinking thinking thinking...and will soon be writing all about it. Stay tuned.