pop culture

Relishing these odds & ends

November 16, 2013 by Julie 3 Comments

1. Finally having a good wine bottle opener. No more breaking corks in half & having to pry out the broken cork from the bottle. I got mine from Crate & Barrel.

2. Happy to have renewed my subscription to Entertainment Weekly. How else was I to stay informed about new movies & TV shows? I also find out about some great books here too. And who doesn’t love the Bullseye??

I usually only get an EW subscription when I have enough Coke Rewards points to cash in for it. My subscription runs out before I ever have enough points though. That’s when I drink more Diet Coke. Or I steal my Mom’s Diet Coke codes when I’m back in Kansas. Shhhh, don’t tell.

3. I’m still on a big tea kick. I just bought this sampler and oh yes…the honey vanilla camomile is the best!

4. One of my guilty pleasures is back….The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It’s the only series of the franchise that I still watch. I stopped watching NY after Bethenny left. I only watched one season of Miami. Both Atlanta & NJ were too violent for me. And now that Gretchen won’t be back on the OC one anymore, I doubt I’ll watch that again. I’m still hanging in for Beverly Hills though!!

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Hope that you’re all having a great weekend!!

Listening, Reading, Watching

November 4, 2013 by Julie 4 Comments

1. Listening to recently…

Ben Rector and Tyrone Wells

I’m going Stubb’s on Thursday to see Ben Rector (headliner) and Tyrone Wells (opener) in concert. It will be my 2nd time seeing them both. It’s guaranteed to be a good show, just hoping the weather outside is nice.

2. Reading currently…

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Allegiant is the 3rd book in the Divergent trilogy. I loved the first two books in the trilogy.

I made the mistake of reading the reviews on Amazon before I started the book. They are not kind. So, it hasn’t motivated me to binge read through this book. And coupled with the fact that I read the first two books over a year ago, I’ve forgotten so much and made it confusing at first. But I’m still hopeful and will finish the book.

3. Watching on HBO Go…

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I finally finished watching The West Wing. I had to move on to a new-to-me series. I’d always heard great things about The Wire and wanted something different than The West Wing.

It’s a good show. It’s not my normal cup of tea, which is why I never watched it when it was on. But the story lines and writing are great. (If Bubbles ends up dying, I’m going to be so upset!!!)

One fun thing about watching an older show, I keep seeing the cast members on current shows! Bunk is on The Michael J Fox show. Kima was on The Good Wife two weeks ago. Prez was just on Hostages this week. And 2 guys from the show are currently on The Walking Dead.

Annnnnnd I’m fully aware that I watch too much TV!!!! 🙂

What are you currently listening to, reading, and/or watching???

Do you have a book recommendation for me to read next?

What should I watch after The Wire? I’m thinking Six Feet Under.

Relishing these odds & ends

November 2, 2013 by Julie 4 Comments

1. Pamela Anderson’s new pixie cut. She looks great!! I wish that I could pull that look off.

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Kristin Chenoweth–not so much.

2. The Good Wife This season of The Good Wife is fantastic!! If you’re not watching it, I highly recommend it. It’s trumping Homeland as my favorite show now.

One of the best things about The Good Wife are the recurring guest stars. The show’s casting director is doing a phenomenal job. I’m excited to see that America Ferrara is returning tomorrow. Her chemistry between her character and Eli Gold is so interested.

But of course, the BEST episodes are the ones with Carrie Preston (playing the part of Elsbeth Tascioni). Proven by the fact that Preston just won an Emmy this year for her role. This character made me appreciate Preston as an actress more than from solely thinking of her as Arlene from True Blood.

3. Jane.com

Are you familar with this website? It’s new to me and I’ve went a bit overboard lately. So many cute items at affordable prices!!

One of the items that I got was this lime green necklace. I never would have ordinarily bought it. But since it was less than $10, I went for it. And I’m really liking it!

4. Shark vacuum

My vacuum conked out on me recently. I thought about splurging on a Dyson, but I’d heard good things about the Shark which is much cheaper. After pouring over online reviews, I purchased the Shark last week. Ooopfh, I didn’t realize how little suction my old vacuum had. I got a workout with the Shark, but could immediately tell that it was cleaning my carpet much better.

And with that, I’m off! I’m heading down to New Braunfels for Wurstfest!!! If you need me, I’ll be drinking beer & eating meat on a stick!

What I Ate Wednesday #WIAW

August 14, 2013 by Julie 2 Comments

It’s been a while since I did a What I Ate Wednesday post!

Before my eats, can we talk about The West Wing for a minute? I’m loving The Newsroom on HBO currently, so decided to catch up on the The West Wing (another Aaron Sorkin) show via Netflix. I’m still on season 1, but rocking through it steadily. But I have a question about Charlie…the President’s personal aide. So he comes to the White House to apply for a job because his Mom was killed and he needs to help take care of his sister who’s still in high school.

Okay, I get it. However, Charlie’s got to NEVER be at home!! Those people work crazy long hours! And he’s gone on 3 out of town trips with the President this season already. Who the heck is watching out for Charlie’s sister? Is she just living it up alone??

You know how I live it up alone? I splurge and have Grape Nuts for breakfast! Booyah…stellar segue I did there. Grape Nuts isn’t the lowest calorie cereal out there, but sometimes I just crave that crunch.

My recent guilt-free splurge…the light coffee frappuccino from SB, only 110 calories for a grande. It helps me beat the heat on the hot Austin mornings.

PS…a tip if you live in South Austin near Southpark Meadows like I do…it’s WAY faster just to run into the Super Target Starbucks then to wait in the long ass line at the real Starbucks in the shopping center.

Lunch was a quick combo of grapes, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, and pretzels. I had a banana later on too.

For dinner, I went to Torchy’s Tacos! I didn’t take a photo, but it was delish as always.

I’m off to watch another episode of The West Wing!! Please tell me that Josh & Donna end up getting together. Oh oh oh and CJ & Danny have to get together too!

Weekend Ramblings

August 11, 2013 by Julie 3 Comments

1. Who’s excited about Breaking Bad coming back tonight?!?! Here’s my plan for tonight…Big Brother, Breaking Bad, The Newsroom, wine & pizza.

2. Last night, I went to the Stateside for a Q&A with Tony Hale aka Buster Bluth from Arrested Development aka Gary Walsh from Veep. It was a benefit for Blood:Water Mission.

It was a great Q&A! He spoke about AD, of course…favorite scenes, the writing & callbacks that are done so well on the show, the characters he loved like Mrs. Featherbottom & Bob Loblaw, how even he was unaware that he was going to lose his hand on the show until he read that script, etc etc.

He also shared some insight that he’s learned along the way about contentment. He shared several stories that he referred to as kind of his own Oprah a-ha moments.

Tony telling a story about Liza Minnelli.

3. After the event, my friend, Sylvia & I got some food at the Llama’s trailer. Then we met up with Mary Helen and checked out the Russian House.

They have a large selection of infused vodkas there, of course. I sipped on some apple cinnamon vodka. It was tasty, but I would have preferred it in the fall versus summer.

Mary with a Russian bear that attacked her.

4. We ended the night at the Iron Cactus.

Thank goodness for misting fans & frozen margaritas.

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

Weekend Recap: Rewind to last weekend

August 5, 2013 by Julie 1 Comment

Today at work, I started writing out that today was Friday. Wow, I’m really getting ahead of myself. What a bummer to think that a Monday is a Friday!

I didn’t do much this past weekend. I had to finally take advantage of the quiet in my apartment building.

So I’ll recap last weekend instead!

1. I had a blog date with Denise & Corrin at Noble Sandwiches. We had a good conversation & I can’t wait to do it again. Book club, Corrin, book club. 🙂

2. I went to Linda’s 30th birthday party. (Linda’s in the middle.) Linda is always so happy and her spirit is infectious. Her party theme was BALLS. Kind of like….oh balls, I’m turning 30. It was so fun. All the food was ball themed. I went the easy route & just brought cherries & grapes…and also peanut M&M’s and lemon drops.

My fellow Julie, me, and Amy

3. On Sunday night, I went over to Mary Helen’s for burger party. Her nephew is in town, so she invited everyone over. This picture was an afterthought. I was too busy chowing down…nom nom nom.

4. I binged watched Orange is the New Black last weekend on Netflix. After 4 people on my Twitter feed were raving about it, I knew that I had to watch. I immediately started reading the book once I finished season 1. I’d actually bought the book a few years ago and hadn’t read it. I’m almost done already!

5. A few weeks ago, I bought these notebooks (Target impulse buy). I wanted to start a personal journal. I remember after my grandma passed away finding some notebooks of hers. It wasn’t deep thoughts…it was more like, went for a walk today. But I was still fascinated. Although mundane details, it was compelling to me. So, I’ve started my own journaling. Maybe I’ll stick with it for years (hopefully) and maybe not. But in the hopes that I will…I returned to Target to buy out the remaining notebooks. My journals have to match!

Okay, I’m off to ~~watch the season finale of RHOC~~….er I mean to write in my journal.

Two Months of Eats…and other happenings

June 4, 2013 by Julie 6 Comments

Since I hadn’t blogged 2 months, I figured that I’d do a recap/what’s Julie been up to lately post.

Let’s take a walk down recent memory lane.

1. I tried ramen for the first time!! I went to Daruma Ramen with some lovely ladies. It was very good, although I have no comparison! I doubt that I’ll try it again anytime soon due to the Austin heat.

2. I met Fabio of Top Chef fame! He came to Book People on his cookbook tour and met with local food bloggers early for a meet & greet. Very personable guy!

3. I’ve been back a few times to my favorite bar, Easy Tiger.

4. I tried fried fish bones at Kenichi. Crispy suckers.

5. I’ve been to Trailer Tuesdays at the Long Center for the past 3 months. Last week, my favorite truck, Llama’s, was there. Love their pork belly sandwich!

Lobster sliders from Dock and Roll

Yeti Frozen Custard

6. I went to the Bon Jovi concert with some friends. How does he still have the energy?!

7. My pupster, Haley, has arthritis. 🙁 She’s on some pain meds now and seems to be feeling better.

8. I recently finished reading Honeymoon by James Patterson. I’d been in a book slump and hadn’t liked the last 3 books that I started to read. My Dad recommended Honeymoon. Really enjoyed it…a fast read.

9. Did you watch Behind the Candelabra on HBO about Liberace?? Crazy train wreck! I couldn’t stop watching!

10. I went a happy hour event at Freedman’s to celebrate the release of the AFBA Cookbook. If you’re in the market for an awesome cookbook, buy it!

11. I went to Kansas City for my friend, Alison’s wedding. The chapel was so beautiful! I loved the design and how the light at sunset came through.

12. I went on the Up & Down Tour at Casa Brasil & South Austin Brewery. An afternoon learning about coffee and beer….what more can you ask for?!

13. I attended the media tasting for Umami Mia Pizzeria in Austin. I wasn’t a fan of the pizza, but I was a big fan of their cocktails. My favorites were the Tuscan Sipper & the Blackberry Caipirinha.

14. I did try some awesome pizza though….at Via 313. Yummmmmmm!

15. I attended my first 2 crawfish boils recently. Such a fun time! I’m more into the corn & potatoes though. 🙂 But crawfish boils make for good pictures.

16. Brunch at the Clay Pit! It was so good!! Glad that I finally tried it.

17. I binge watched Season 4 of Arrested Development in only 3 days. Has anyone else watched it?? Are they going to make more episodes? Because that last episode…what??

Annnnd I’m done!

Weekend Ramblings

March 24, 2013 by Julie 2 Comments

I had another music filled weekend!

1. It started out right with margaritas at Mary Helen’s!

2. Then I headed over to the Belmont to see Ben Rector in concert. The opening band was Alpha Rev, a new to me Austin band that I really liked!

After a good set from Alpha Rev, it was time for Ben Rector. I was an immediate fan of his after I learned of him from my friend, Sarah. Sarah is my music guru!

Here’s a small sample that I recorded during the show from his song, Hide Away.

3. On Saturday, I went to Rodeo Austin. It was my first rodeo! I’m a real Texan now. 😉 The most important thing on the agenda was…

Best washed down with 2 cans of Bud Light! You can’t drink craft beer at the rodeo, right?!

Am I too old to get involved in mutton bustin’?? Also, I’m sure I would have been terrified as a 5 year to try this!! The girl that won was adorable!

We were really there for the Gary Allan concert. I don’t listen to country much, but he was really good!!

4. I finally watched Rock of Ages today. I loved the music. I’m having to force myself not to buy all the songs on iTunes. My favorite 80’s rock song is Here I Go Again by Whitesnake!

What’s your favorite 80’s hair band song???

5. I have to give a shout out to my alma mater, Wichita State Shockers for upsetting Gonzaga last night! Woot! #marchmadness

Slice of Life: SXSW 2013 Recap 1

March 21, 2013 by Julie Leave a Comment

I’ve recovered from my first SXSW in Austin! If you’re not familiar with SXSW, it’s a 10 day interactive, film, and music festival that invades Austin every year. It’s overwhelming, but awesome! I’m going to share a few posts with you about my experiences. I didn’t buy a badge for SXSW, but there are plenty and I mean PLENTY of free events to get into!

One of my first ventures out was for the Food Crawl organized by Jane.

It was a drizzly day, but that wasn’t going to stop people looking for cheap eats! After helping hand out wristbands at the Long Center, Mary Helen, Meredith & I (and our new friends) headed over to Kenichi for sushi.

I had the Maguro “Yakiniku”-Zuke (Korean style BBQ marinated tuna, avocado, crispy garlic, asian pear) and the Pork Belly Kushiyaki (sesame mizuna, teriyaki).

Soon after, it was time to move the party of to Hickory Street for Hormel’s Bacon Takedown!

I’d heard about this event from other bloggers. Christy & Elizabeth are two of my blogging friends who were also judges! There were 15 entries with creative & tasty uses of bacon. The contestants had to make ample amounts for the crowd to try too! I mean, I wasn’t there just to look & smell bacon….I need to EAT some bacon!!

Slaw P Bacon entry

An array of bacon samples that I devoured….including bacon gumbo & cabbage bacon rolls.

Drunken Crusty Pigdough….what??! Cookie dough & bacon….the judges were a fan of this entry.

Bacon Scotch Eggs…loved the look of this one and the flavor of the mustard.

My overall favorite was the Bleu Bacodilla entry. You can find pictures and recipes here.

After the Bacon Takedown, I convinced Mary Helen & Meredith to come with me to the Intercontinental Hotel bar for a drink. It’s right next to the Paramount Theatre where Paul Rudd was screening his new movie. I thought that maybe we’d eye spy a celeb in the hotel bar. No such luck…but it gave me a chance to charge up my cell phone.

SXSW tip: you MUST bring your cell phone charger with you! SXSW is tech overload and you will be on Twitter constantly checking for updates on free events, etc. So, you’ll want that charger on hand!

While on the hotel balcony, the girls saw the Jeni’s ice cream truck and flipped out! I mean, seriously, they were excited! And thanks to Twitter, we learned that they were going to the Royal Blue Grocery store that was less than a block from us.

I opted for the salty caramel!

We finally decided to make our way back to our cars. But along the way, we learned that there was free food and an open bar at the Bing lounge. Hey, might as well stop by….:) It was PACKED in there. People love free food & alcohol. We made our way up to the 3rd floor, fought through the crowd…and got a free Coolhaus ice cream sandwich! Yay for more ice cream! It was my first Coolhaus experience and it was worth making my way through drunk people! But it wasn’t worth trying to capture a photo in a crowd like that!

We devoured our ice cream sandwiches and were outta there!! So it was a solid first day of SXSW’ing—-bacon & ice cream!

More to come with my other adventures!!

Jalapeno Peanut Butter Hummus

March 5, 2013 by Julie 5 Comments

Have you seen the before & after pictures of ~~Bert Macklin~~ Chris Pratt?

The “before” is when he had to get in great shape for Zero Dark Thirty. But then he immediately had to pack on the pounds for another movie, hence the “after” photo.

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Yeah, those kind of “afters” are a lot easier to attain!!

Whether you’re in before or after shape, hummus is always a yummus choice!

Jalapeno Peanut Butter Hummus

Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light–Dec 2012

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons creamy jalapeno peanut butter hummus**
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons EVOO
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 15.5 ounce can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 minced garlic clove
7 tablespoons water

Instructions:

Microwave the peanut on high for 20 seconds. Combine the peanut and all the ingredients (except the water) into a food processor. While the food processor is running, drizzle in the water slowly. Process until smooth.