the good news girl
I love Austin always. But especially in the Spring, when the wildflowers are in full bloom. Kate captured a little of the beauty upon seeing a field just around the corner from her parent’s house …
This field always catches my eye.
Especially around this time of year. [Read more...]
I’m so happy it’s here … the weekend.
I plan on soaking in a s-l-o-w Saturday. Maybe hitting a few garage sales and stopping by the barn. The weather here in Austin is simply gorgeous. Happy little blooms are popping up everywhere. So this is the time we get outside and say grace over 70 degree weather. Soon enough, we’ll have the heat.
Yesterday, Kate and I met at a favorite new spot of mine: Epicerie. We met Pete (instagram above). Pete poured us some sunshine ~ and suddenly it was Mimosa Thursday. Isn’t it funny how a small unexpected pleasure can turn an otherwise nice day into ridiculously awesome? (If you get to Epicerie, try their spinach salad w. poached farm egg. Oh my!)
Honest confession: I’m not much of a conference attender even for things I care deeply about. I’m a homebody. A Texas girl. And actually in reading Quiet, I’ve discovered I’m a typical, arty, writer introvert. So imagine my surprise when last year I found myself making airline reservations and booking a hotel in San Diego to attend a conference with a gal I’d never met before in person.
{new friend kristin & me at rewrite 2012 in california}
Looking back, I see why God wanted me at Re:Write 2012. I left deeply encouraged as a writer and creative. (Oh, the stories y’all!) I left full to the brim with writing/publishing information from experts that did not leave me feeling overwhelmed and despondent. (Amazing but true.) And I left San Diego with a new and dear friend plus a super fun collaboration (52 Sunday Suppers).
All this to say, hey all you creative, writer types …
Come to Re:Write 2013 in Austin!!!
5 little reasons why:
1. It’s in AUSTIN. A gorgeous city, full of weird wonderful Texas folks. Music, art, food, food and more food. We’re warm and friendly. We’ve got fantastic weather (in sunny 70′s today ~ don’t hate ~ we can’t help it.) And laid-back. No need to pack more than jeans or shorts and a pair of flip-flops. That’ll get you anywhere you want to go in Austin. Besides all that, Austin is a destination stop for all kinds of arty people. Right now, we’re full up SXSW. Couple months down the road, Austin is home to ACL. Y’all … we love creatives. [Read more...]
A few weeks back we meandered through Austin camera in hand, just listening. What did we find? Everyday miracles and evidence that God speaks e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. He speaks in my hometown and he speaks in yours. If I could, I’d follow you around camera in hand listening in your life. For I know we would see “the fathomless mystery that it is.”
“If God speaks anywhere, it is into our personal lives that he speaks. We sleep and dream. We wake. We work. We remember and forget. We have fun and we are depressed. And in the thick of it, or out of the thick of it, at moments of even the most humdrum of our days, God speaks.
{hearing God in the unexpected from Susie Davis on Vimeo}
Taking your children to school and kissing your wife goodbye. Eating lunch with a friend. Trying to do a decent day’s work. Hearing the rain patter against the window. There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving room to recognize him or not recognize him. [Read more...]
Day 31 of 31 days of enough (and you get free stuff) is today. I learned quite a bit loosening my grip on stuff ~ my life lessons from this month of enough. You can read about it here.
The one thing that kept me from going all out with many items was the necessity of shipping stuff. Some of the stuff is cumbersome. Fragile. Awkward. And I wasn’t sure what to do about it but then I got this email from Jackie ~ presenting an answer:
I love your series on “Enough.” You have me thinking. I am going to do the same…but, I have to do it on a more local level, otherwise the postage would kill me. I’m being reminded of the *many* items I’ve purchased and moved from house to house, from state to state, that I’ve never used. Not even one time. Such as, a sewing machine. And artwork. And….the list is huge. I feel a little bit like a kid on Christmas Eve.
Thanks for the nudge. XOXOJackie
I had an duh-hee moment when I read her email: Local.
I wish I could give you a hug.
Cause maybe you were late to work this morning for the third time this week and it’s only Wednesday. Or maybe you raised your voice at your kids ~ got all squeaky and pitchy because they wouldn’t get out the door to school on time. But since I can’t get thru this screen and hug your neck, I’m sharing a recipe for gingerbread pancakes.
And not just any gingerbread pancakes but a special recipe from Austin’s own: Magnolia Cafe. [Read more...]
This quest ~ to find the best burger in town ~ is born of a girl who grew up on Holiday House hamburgers. Not only did Holiday House have the best ‘flame broiled’ burgers in town ~ they had a real live crocodile (or was Charlie an alligator?) in a ginormous terrarium. It was kinda creepy. And kind of fantastic. And very Austintatious. When Holiday House closed their doors, Austinites literally mourned. (Or maybe that was just me and my family …) Holiday House was an Austin institution.
I am pleased to tell you that Top Notch is still around. 
Order a cheeseburger with shredded cheddar cheese and you’ve got the absolute closest thing to a Holiday House hamburger in town. Not only is Top Notch iconic but it was saved from near death when the good folks of Zocolo / Galaxy Cafe bought it. I want to hug those folks for not changing anything … except maybe adding fried okra which is.the.best.ever! Thank you. Thank you. xoxoxo.
Okay, let’s get to this list of favorites. [Read more...]
For a very long time, I’ve known about a well-kept secret here in Austin. A little something tucked in Casis Village that is worth the drive … and worth the inevitable wait in line.
It’s Food! Food! on Exposition. [Read more...]
I am coaxing my 22 year old to move back to Austin. And that involves serving her homemade cinnamon rolls in bed, shopping and of course … reminding her of why Austin is such a delicious place to live.
This week, we landed on South Congress for a quick visit to Uncommon Objects (loaded with vintage goodies) and Mighty Cone ~ home of the best fried pickle spears in Austin.
Yes, Mighty Cone is a food trailer. No, that does not matter a hill of beans because the food is completely amazing. The folks out at Hudson’s on the Bend created Mighty Cone. Enough said. [Read more...]
I’ll let you in on a little secret … there is a thrift store here in Austin that-I-adore. It’s just over on Burnet Road catty-corner across from Phil’s Icehouse.
It’s called Next-to-New and it’s Austin’s oldest and only non-profit consignment shop. Just look at what I found this week. Darling retro mugs.
And y’all … they’re stackable. [Read more...]
