A Blog Named Lou

A poem by Wendell Berry

5 whole years

This past weekend I spent Mother's Day with my mom in Waco. It just so happened it was also graduation weekend for Baylor's Class of 2012. I felt this pit in my stomach all weekend because I kept vividly replaying the events of my college graduation just a few years ago (correction: exactly 5 years ago). My family came to celebrate the big achievement and then we feasted over barbecue after the commencement. It was a fun weekend, but also bittersweet. 

I was pretty bummed that "the greatest years of my life" were over. Literally a few days after graduation, I'd be hitting the road and moving to Colorado, away from my nearest and dearest friends. I was sad and scared that life was going to be one big letdown from there on out. On the night of graduation, my closest friends and I reminisced over cheap champagne on Waco's Suspension Bridge. (Picture The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants mixed with Felicity.) We told stories, recalled the good, the bad and ugly and made predictions for what's ahead. It was the perfect little close to those four years. I won't deny that there were tears shed that weekend. To those graduating, life will move on. But it's okay if you don't want to hear that in the moment. I didn't want to believe it on May 12, 2007 either.

{No clue what's happening to my hair in this pic. I suppose it was a little windy outside. In case you're curious who took the pic, that'd be Gaby, our token younger friend.} 

Pleasantries and surprises

Today has been one of those days where I've been pleasantly surprised and aware of some pretty sweet people and settings.

Surprise #1:

The day got off to a good start when I rolled over and saw a hot pink sky peeking through my window. Literally bright pink with shades of orange and yellow - it was gorgeous. I was so struck by the sunrise that I snapped a photo. Unfortunately, the photo didn't really turn out...at all, and I was too groggy to retake, considering that it was 6am.

{Failed pic of the striking sunrise I witnessed - I promise it was beautiful}

Surprise #2:

I walked into Starbucks and the gal greeted me: "Hi Laura, what can I get you today?"

I should feel embarassed by this - but it totally made my morning. Or at least a nice tie between the sunrise and Starbucks' personability. Unfortunately she did inform me that my drink has THE MOST caffeine out of all Starbucks drinks. That's the Espresso Frappucino, in case you were wondering.

Surprise #3:

I returned to Starbucks this afternoon (guilty) and was obviously in line to purchase another beverage. Not a caffeine-packed drink though, just a light, green tea lemonade with half the sweetner. Well, I was up to bat and there was no sign of my purse. I remembered I left it in my car, which wasn't toooo far, but just far enough to where I asked if they took personal checks because obviously I had my checkbook with me. You never know when you're going to need to write a nice personal check. I remember Starbucks taking checks back in the day. I can vividly remember my high school checkbook with the carbon copied checks "Pay to the order of: Starbucks $3.49"

So the older gentleman behind me clearly heard the back and forth between me and Marcus, and before I could even step out of line to go grab my monies, he said "What do you want? Let me get you a cup of coffee. Want a muffin or something, too?"

Of course, I was like "No, no, no. You don't have to do that... I can go grab my money. It's not far from here." He insisted. 

All of this to say - be kind to people, and who knows maybe they'll be kind back. Better yet, maybe you'll make their day and be blogged about.

Two seven

Alright, here's the skinny on my 27th year. I keep telling everyone I have my reservations about turning 27. Well, that's the truth - I was not stoked. I want to go back to 25. I'm on the precipice of real adulthood as I enter my upper twenties. And that's scary.

I'm usually pretty indifferent towards my age, but this year felt scary. I guess it's all about your perspective and what's going on (or not going on) in your life. Whether we admit it or not, I think most of us have expectations of what's accomplished by a certain age. I'm included in this, except I haven't verbalized them. So as I turned 27 just a week ago, I reflected on what happened in my 26th year. My first response 'not much.' But actually a lot. Apparently not what I was expecting would happen. I moved in hopes of finding a great new job that I would love. Instead I moved and am still looking for a job. {insert sigh}  So it's not going according to my plan. But my plan is crap.

It will all sort itself out. I believe that. Here are some snapshots from April 12 and beyond. Warning - they're random. 

{my birthday breakfast. coffee + Sprinkles cupcakes.}

 

How is it already April?

The view out my window this morning. This seems to be the general concensus in April - do I rain or do I shine?

In other news, I'm really excited to discover there's a Sunflower Market near me. They carry Noosa yoghurt from Fort Collins, CO. I was equally thrilled when I saw my bill was only $23.65. And I got a lot of produce. Woo!

I've been needing some sweet snacks. Correction: I've been craving some sweet snacks especially in the evening. I must quit justifying froyo as a healthy treat. (Yes, I can think of much worse but...) I had to draw the line and just not let myself buy ice cream at the grocery. I went through a chocolate pudding pack phase. Phase being the operative word considering I'm already sick of them. Thanks to Sunflower Market, I tried their Dark Chocolate Almond Clusters. I highly recommend.

One last thought - I'm watching Felicity on Netflix right now (I'm about 14 years late, I know). Really enjoying Felicty's hair transformations and the love triangle...Ben or Noel, Ben or Noel? I know who I prefer. But besides that, the best character on that show is, without a doubt, Javier! He's so entertaining! 

Such a boring post, y'all. My apologies. And I'm about to turn 27...tomorrow. More thoughts on that...tomorrow.

Sic 'em

 

I've been a Baylor fan for a long time. See?

I just want to say congrats to the Baylor Women's Basketball team. Way to go! 40 straight wins. Undefeated season. National Champs. It's a good time to be a bear.

Reading {The Great Divorce}

I love reading C.S. Lewis, but I typically need true silence to read his work. And I usually have to reread paragraphs so that I can fully process what he's trying to say. So far I'm pretty fascinated by The Great Divorce. I'm almost finished. It's a short one but meaty.

L.A. eats & beyond

Two weekends ago I made a trip out to L.A. to visit a dear friend. It was a perfectly relaxing trip. I'd been before so I really just wanted to hang out and see her digs. We managed to explore lots of different neighborhoods - spent time in Pasadena, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, LA, day trip to Laguna Beach and then Hollywood. Despite the insanity of LA traffic, it didn't feel too daunting to scoot around the city. Except driving to Laguna Beach, we experienced an all-time high of tire kickers. Please stop slowing down to see the pulled over vehicles. Please!

To no surprise, I managed to eat really well in California. That seemed to be what most of our days were based around. So here are some of my favorites from the weekend:

The Luggage Room (Pasadena) - Great pizza! Thanks to our server's recommendation, we ordered the pizza not listed on the menu. I was sold when I heard 'goat cheese' and 'corn.' Basil also sealed the deal considering it rarely disappoints. Also, I had a delicious chopped salad. I mean, it was weirdly good. The dressing was light and flavorful; the mixed greens and spinach were chopped really small. It even included small pepporoni slices, which added a nice punch of flavor. Back to the pizza - the crust was soft and chewy and reminded me of Italy. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Umami Burger (Los Feliz) - Burgers, burgers, burgers. I'm not kidding. My mouth has been watering for this burger ever since I left -- shitake mushrooms, carmelized onions, roasted tomato, Umami ketchup and a parmesan crisp. Yum. Didn't even need french fries with this burger.

Delancey's (Hollywood) - This was our pre-Hunger Games movie meal. Great pizza (yet again). I probably could have eaten the entire pizza on my own because I was starving. Plus it was thin crust pizza, which is basically like eating air. But my all-time favorite part of dinner at Delancey's was the bruschetta - prosciutto, dates, goat cheese, balsamic. The bread was actually really soft and not over toasted. They were generous with the goat cheese, which I always appreciate.

The Cottage (Laguna Beach) - Traditional brunch - nice outside patio. I got the Laguna Scramble, but wished I had ordered the buckwheat pancakes with blueberries. Those were tasty. I sampled my friend's.

LAMILL Coffee (Silver Lake) - One word, posh. This is the place to be seen. Everywhere you look, you think oohh I wonder if they're famous. Everyone is uncomfortably gorgeous or trendy. The coffee itself was really good - pretty strong and bitter, but fresh. I also enjoyed a little homemade coffee cake. But I didn't even care that it wasn't outstanding - I just loved people-watching here at LAMILL. Must go.

The Eveleigh (West Hollywood) - Romantic, beautiful, rustic and just so aesthetically pleasing. Plus delicious. We enjoyed Sunday brunch here on the back patio. It was a rainy day in LA so the patio was covered while surprisingly feeling open and airy. I ordered the Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich, which sounds like something to pick up from your New York deli counter as opposed to... the Eveleigh. Just its name sounds exactly what you probably picture. The avocado toast was also quite good, but not enough if you're starved. I enjoyed a coffee with my schnitzel and then a really tasty Pimm's Cup (Pimm's, cucumber, mint, lemon, seasonal fruit and soda). 

Also, from the time I arrived on Thursday until leaving Sunday afternoon, I managed to drink LOTS of cappucinos. Here's proof:

Thankful for the good eats in California. Can't wait to return. 

 

Friday Night Lights

No excuse, folks. I'm sorry I've been MIA since... March 13. Whoops!

So I was southbound-35 this past weekend for a family wedding. The weekend before that, I was in southern California visiting a dear friend. I'm working on gathering some fun photos from the past few weeks. All in all, I've eaten like a queen and spent alot of time in the car. I'll share my photos shortly.

Most recently though, I stumbled upon the field and fieldhouse where Friday Night Lights (the tv show) was filmed. It's right near the Austin Airport (Del Valle). I was weirdly giddy with this discovery. Makes me wish I lived in {fictional} Dillon, Texas where I could hang out with Coach and Tammy Taylor ...and Riggins.

Dallas & Fort Worth discoveries

As a returning Dallasite, I'd say I'm in the "rediscovery phase" of my move back to Texas. I'm scouting out old and new restaurants, shops, even neighborhoods. So this past weekend I did some serious scouting, with respect to my bank account.

Dolly Python Vintage

My friend was on the hunt for cowboy boots, and we struck gold here at the Dolly Python, a thrift shop located off Haskell and I-75. I loved this shop. It's just the right size - not too big and overwhelming, and a nice balance and variety of apparel, furniture and everything else that falls in between. Oddly enough, I spotted a couple of things that I used to have. I can't be that old. Stop calling yourself vintage, Dolly. The cowboy boot assortment was pretty strong and well priced. Some affordable ones then some higher priced ones. A nice selection of Annie Oakley-esque boots, if you're into that. I found this awesome globe that's on a stand. All in all - plenty of treasures mixed with junk. Or maybe it's the other way around. 

Cousins Bar-B-Q in Fort Worth

Great chopped beef sandwich. Shiner Bock. Casual. Very Texas.

Bishop Arts District

Sunday I strolled around the Bishop Arts District with a friend. I fell in love. My gosh, this area is ridiculously charming.  It was overcast and perfect. I'm not kidding you, the quaintness was overwhelming. I couldn't stop oohh-ing and ahh-ing as I walked into shops like Dirt and Dude Sweet. Highly recommend all the chocolate at Dude Sweet. They were very generous with the samples. Picked up a little birthday gift for my brother here as well.

Then on top of that, I discovered my favorite new brunch spot. Drumroll...

Oddfellows

Of all the places I went to this weekend, Oddfellows hit the mark. Like I've mentioned before, I love breakfast and brunch.

The atmosphere here was comforting and just... idyllic. It reminded me of a restaurant nestled into a little seaside village. Maybe the cloudiness gave it that effect. The exterior was white paneling and brick with big windows and a double-sided bar so you can order a cappuccino or Bloody Mary while you wait. The inside was also white and tastefully decorated. Felt clean without being cold. We spotted Monkey Bread on the menu, which they were unfortunately out of that morning. (Real big bummer.) I ordered the Oddfellows Benedict, and my friend had the Duck Hash, upon our waiter's recommendation. The food was scrumptious.

I can't wait to go back and try...

everything.

If you're going and want a new friend, I'll go! Great service, too. All in all - loved my experience. I'd give it lots of stars if I had a rating system. How about a gold star!? It was a gold star in Lou's book.