Texas Conference for Women 2014 is almost here!

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Lindsay S

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since the last Texas Conference for Women here in Austin. I loved hearing from Rachael Ray and Esmerelda Santiago. Jenny Lawson kept us laughing…oh how she understood our lives! And Leymah Gbowee, the 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate brought tears to our eyes — it’s amazing what one powerful, committed and compassionate woman can do to change so many lives.

As amazing as last year’s event was, I am counting the days until this year’s conference on November 13th. I want to hear Diana Nyad, who will remind us that dreams don’t come with an age limit. Dr. Cynthia Ackrill will be teaching us how to take stress and turn it into accomplishments, and Jenny Bowen who works tireless on behalf of the world’s orphans and other forgotten children will inspire us to make a difference. And then there’s Soledad O’Brien and Debbie Sterling and author John Gray (yes, a few men are on the agenda!)

I don’t know what your plans are for the 13th of November, but if you’re a woman in Texas and you want the tools to change your life or make it better or figure out how to get over that last sticky obstacle, let me suggest this conference. It might just have the answers you need.

I don’t advocate for many events. But this incredible gathering of wisdom and advice and experience is not to be missed. I think tickets might still be available. Do check it out.

The Specs

November 13, 2014

Austin Convention Center
500 East Cesar Chavez
Austin, Texas 78701

http://www.txconferenceforwomen.org/

7:30 am – 5:00 pm

Round Top Antique Heaven on Wordfree Wednesday

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Lindsay S

I had heard about it for several years. I wanted to go last year and the year before, but something always got in the way. This year, finally, was my time to visit Warrenton, Round Top and the rest of antique heaven in Central Texas for Antiques Week(end) — hard to stick to the “weekend” label when it runs for almost three weeks now. And I loved every second of it!

Now it’s time for the pictures to tell the story…

An unfortunate pairing!

Because, yes, that pretty much is what it is!! (More about the Junk Gypsies in another post…too good for just one picture!)

Holi Color Flies at UT

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Lindsay S

I wanted to get this post published before the Holi Festival — so much for plans! But the good news is that now I get to share our great pictures and get everyone excited for next year’s event.

This annual free and open to the public event is sponsored by the UT Hindu Students’ Association on the LBJ lawn on campus. About 6,000 people showed up to celebrate by throwing handfuls of brightly colored power (called “rang”) on their friends and total strangers!

According to the student group,

“Holi is the Hindu festival celebrating the arrival and color of the spring season. Widely recognized as the festival of color, this event involves throwing colored powder and water on friends and family along with playing various games and simply having fun.”

And that it was. We were advised to come in white t-shirts, and be prepared to get “colorful.” And colorful it was! woman with holi powder on face

By the time we and about 5,990 other people finished tossing, dumping, and smearing color on each other, white was the least common color anyone could see.

The live music, beautiful sunshine and big smiles on everyone’s face made it a perfect afternoon. It’s a great event for college students, families, singles…yeah, everyone! I would recommend leaving pups at home, though. All the flying powder could irritate their eyes and the crowds could get stressful.

Since the Festival is an annual spring event, I’ll make sure to let y’all know when the next one is scheduled.

The Specs

Sponsored by the University of Texas Hindu Student Association
http://texashsa.wix.com/longhornhsa

Holi 2015 Event is not yet scheduled, but will be in early March.

SXSW 2014 in Pictures

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Lindsay S

The SXSW experience is a lot of things.

It’s the sounds of music coming out of ten bars, and still being entranced by a busker playing on a street corner. It’s the smell of pizza and tacos and bar-b-que and something sweet right out of the oven as you walk past a row of food trucks. It’s free t-shirts and more can holders than anyone could every need (but you can’t help taking just one more.)

But most of that is impossible to capture on the page of a blog. So I’ll have to settle for sharing pictures.

I’m starting this post today, but I’ll be adding more pictures throughout the week. If you’re here, I hope you’re having a great time. But if you’re not, here’s a glimpse into the insanity that is SXSW.

(Oh, and one more thing…a new mascot is joining A is for Austin. Or rather a few mascots. When I was a kid, I loved trolls. So when a few showed up during a recent trip, I decided to make them a part of my blog for now. So look for Wanda (a pink haired troll) and a few other friends in some of my pictures, at least for awhile. I hope you like the new addition!)

It’s a Mobile Food Throwdown on Taste of Austin Tuesday!

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Lindsay S

You’ve watched them on the Food Channel. You’ve seen it on the Cooking Channel. Now it’s time for the gloves to come off here in Austin.

That’s right. We’re pitting food truck against food truck. Acknowledged food truck masters The Peached Tortilla and Chi’Lantro BBQ will go head to head in a no-holds-barred competition right here in Austin on February 22, 2014 at Draught House Pub & Brewery to determine the king of Asian fusion street food in Austin.

The event starts at 2 pm, and runs until 5. You’ll be able to watch the cookoff, and rock out to the sounds of Jambulance ERuption. Advance tickets are available online, and include tasting and other goodies to make the event super-special. You can also check out the event Facebook page for more info.

Of course, you’ll have to be 21 plus to indulge in the beer offerings, and yes, they will be checking IDs.

This awesome foodie knockdown is a production of FoodTrailersAustin.com, a food trailer owners and food trailer fans group started back in 2010 to “provide a hub for Austin’s burgeoning mobile food scene.” The group is promising even more events for foodie fans in the coming year, so keep an eye out and I’ll share them as they’re announced.

See you at the Throwdown!

Eat chili, hang out at Jo’s, help people: what’s not to love?

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Lindsay S

Jo’s is one of the coolest spots on South Congress. Yummy meat, dessert and vegetarian menu choices, all kinds of coffees and teas, and a chance to people watch from a shady spot. It’s also close to the Pets Alive trailer, so I can get some puppy visits in (but that’s a story for another post!)

And now there’s another reason to love Jo’s. I just found out that Sunday January 26 it’s going to be the site for the 8th Annual Chili Cook-Off, sponsored by Shiner. The cook-off benefits the Sustainable Food Center, a wonderful local Austin charity working hard to make it possible for more people to have access to nutritious, affordable food through education, access to gardens and more.

So all in all, that means South Congress, Jo’s Coffee Shop, chili, music (live music will be provided by Jeff Hughes & Chapparal, the Jo’s House Band and DJ Ben Nuhn), beer for those who love it (and I know a LOT of Austin folks do!) and a chance to do something really good for people who are struggling to put healthy food on their family dinner table.

The festivities (including chili tasting!) start at noon and run until 3. And there are even prizes! Yes, some of those chili chefs will walk away with great prizes, so not only do you get to eat, you get to vote and help your fave cooks win some good stuff!

It’s $20 to join in the event, and that includes samples of all 14 chili entries, plus all the great music and atmosphere you want to enjoy. Beer and other drinks will be for sale, so you can safely go ahead and take a bite or two of that habanero-spiked chili, then put out the fire.

Jo’s is located at 1300 South Congress in Austin.

Austin Food and Wine Festival frenzy begins early

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Lindsay S

It’s no secret that the annual Austin Food and Wine Festival has quickly become one of the highlights of the culinary year here in the Capital city. But I had no idea the fight for tickets to the coveted event started so early!

This year’s Festival will be April 25th-27th at Butler Park and Republic Square Park in Austin. The strictly 21 and over event attracts foodies and chefs from around the globe, who come together to sample amazing creations, show off their masterpieces and gather inspiration for feasts they’ll just have to make in the coming year.

Tickets for this year’s fest go on sale January 21st…that’s next week! That’s also when you can find out who’s going to be featured, and get a first peek at the schedule.

It’s gonna be a yummy weekend in Austin! See y’all there!

(This Taste of Austin Tuesday is making me hungry! Come on, April!)

Vegetarian Chili Rules on Taste of Austin Tuesday

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Lindsay S

It’s this Sunday, it’s in Austin and it promises to once again take Texas chili traditions to a higher, vegan level.

What is it? It’s the 25th Annual Lone Star Vegetarian Chili Cook-off. Yup, here in the land of ribs and brisket, you’ll find the longest running vegetarian chili cook-off in the U.S.

The annual celebration of all things vegan and spicy includes chili tasting, music, kids activities and more. Whole Foods is hosting beer sales on site, so you even can grab a cold one to wash down your favorite chili (or put out the fire on a particularly hot one!)

Teams of chili chefs come from all over Texas to compete for the title of best vegetarian chili in one of two categories. Chili masters can also take home a People’s Choice Award for the crowd’s favourite bowl of spicy goodness.

The cook-off started in 1989 as the brainchild of Shirley Wilkes-Johnson, with help from the founders of the San Antonio Vegetarian Society, the South Texas Vegetarian Society (in Brazoria County, 60 miles south of Houston), the Austin Vegetarian Society, and the Vegetarian Society of Houston. For years, the event traveled around Texas, with cook-offs attracting vegetarians and open-minded omnivores from all over the Lone Star State. Finally, the annual cookoff settled in Austin, where it has grown and flourished, attracting up to a 1,000 hungry chili-lovers for the one-day event.

A quarter of a century after its founding, the cook-off is still going strong. And this year’s event promises to be one of the best. The new location in the green space adjacent to the Whole Foods on West William Cannon in South Austin offers easy access, free parking and lots of space for the cook-off, vendors, the kids’ area and the live music stage. Admission to the event is $10 for adults or teens, $7 for children age 6-12, seniors, veterans and college students (with current college ID), and includes lots of delicious chili.

They’re also offering Family Packs for $25, good for a family of up to four (one of which must be a child age 12 or under).

If you’d like to help this all-volunteer event to be an even bigger success, you can volunteer and earn free admission and other goodies. The volunteer deadline is Friday, Nov. 8th, so be sure to sign up to lend your support to this Texas tradition.

(And yes, I do know this “Taste of Austin Tuesday” didn’t show up until Wednesday. Just blame it on The Doctor….time can be slippery sometimes!)

Zilker Botanical Gardens invite you to build a Faerie House and Garden

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Lindsay S

Calling all lovers of imagination and whimsy! Zilker Botanical Gardens is inviting you to design and build your very own Faerie House and Garden, in Zilker Park!

That’s what I discovered when I was playing around online, looking for cool images to pin to my Secret Garden Pinterest board. So of course, we had to head over on Sunday to check this out. Could it be? Could we really indulge our creativity and my love of all things Faerie and magical and build an actual space in the garden for everyone to see? (Okay, so I’m an overgrown kid…everyone who knows me already knows that!)

Yes! It’s true! It turns out that I had stumbled on the very First Annual Faerie Home and Garden competition in Austin. We went to the free workshop on Sunday, and learned some Faerie lore (for instance, did you know that every time a flower blooms, a Faerie is born? News to me!) We also got a chance to talk to the people in charge of the whole series of Faerie-focused events at Zilker Botanical Garden now through May. (The poster for the events is below, or you can download the Fairy poster PDF to print yourself.)

Anyone can enter the competition to build their very own fairy house and garden (and yes, our family is already registered!). The fee is $25 for families and $45 for designers and architects. In return, you get a 4′ by 4′ space to construct your own vision of a fairy dwelling.

The rules are simple. You’ll be assigned a space in the garden. You have to construct the dwelling using natural materials gathered from the designated area of the garden, or from your own home or favorite natural spots. You can build a home, add furniture (made of twigs and other natural materials faeries are likely to find, or you can create an entire faerie wonderland with multiple buildings. The choice is up to you and your family!

The masterpieces go on display in March (with setup the weekend of March 9th) , and will be in the garden until May. The deadline for registering is February 9th. Download the forms from the Zilker site, then mail or fax in your registration and fee.

I was so excited, I’ve already gone to Michael’s to buy a little fairy figure to use as the scale for our creation! And it’s not just me. My daughter started her sketches for the furnishings, and my husband has been brainstorming design ideas to keep our creation true to fairy-lore. This is going to be fun!

UPCOMING: Austin Kosher Chili Cookoff comes back for 8th year

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Lindsay S

Yes, Texas is known for its chili…but with the pork that’s so often a part local cook-off recipes, people who choose to skip out on that particular beast for religious or health reasons have been kind of left out of the fun. The pork meant Jews, Muslims and others couldn’t sample cook-off chili offerings.

Not so at the annual JCC Kosher Chili Cookoff! February 10th of this year will be the 8th year for the pork-free zone in Texas chili, held at Austin’s JCC campus.

Contestants can choose to enter the meat or the vegetarian division. And to keep everything truly Kosher, the meat division entry fee includes certified Kosher meat, as well as access to all needed cooking utensils.

According to Amy Kritzer, The Austin Jewish Outlook’s food writer, the event was started by the grandfather of this year’s event chair Jerrod Kogut. This year’s cook-off also includes arts and crafts, kids activities, and great food, and promises to be a full day of fun for families.

The competition and the event are open to the public. Entry fees for a meat-chili team of 4 are $250, with meat provided. Vegetarian teams have an entry fee of $125 (and yes, I will be there sampling those veggie chilis!)

Not ready to cook? Admission the event for everyone else is $12 for adults, $10 for students and free for kids under 4 (or over 65, for the young at heart!)

Sign your team up at the event website, or contact Jerrod for more information at KosherChiliAustin@gmail.com . Registration closes February 1st.