Wedding Dress Shopping Part 2

Day: 190
High Temp: 73F

Since Tom and I got engaged, I have been fixated on the idea of wearing two dresses, one for the ceremony, and one for the reception. I like the idea of a costume change. Part of it is surely the drama queen in me, but the larger part has to do with practicality. My wedding gown is long, it is full, and although it is light materials, it is a lot of dress. I just cant imagine enjoying a 5 hour reception in such a gown.

So, yesterday my fabulous friend Sara joined me at Unbridaled, a cute little bridal salon here in South Austin, specializing in unique bridal gowns. This boutique is so Austin, catering to brides who are laid back, and looking for something a little different than your standard ball gown. The girl who ran my appointment was sweet as pie, a master with those plastic clips, and really patient with me and Sara as we tried on 10 gowns, pored over the fabric samples and took loads of pics. The dress I chose is sleek, and short and very fun. It is the perfect dress to dance and party the night away in! And, it was part of their Jenny Yoo trunk show, so I got 10% off!

My mom has indulged me in this one splurge on my wedding day, agreeing to pay for two completely separate dresses, alterations and accessories, because she knows it will make me happy. How amazing is that?

Giving It Up

Day: 184

High Temp: 61F

Neither Tom nor I are very religious. We both grew up in Catholic families, and Tom was even an altar boy, but that is about the extent of our religious activities. Despite this fact, most years we do choose to participate in the ritual of sacrifice that typifies Lent. We both like personal challenges, they build character and can sometimes even make you a better person.

I gave up meat as a junior in high school. This, in fact, led to my subsequent decision to stop eating mammals all together. 12 years later, I marvel at how many times I have said no to pork or beef.

Tom and I both gave up alcohol a few years back. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be, and it saved us a ton of money.

I have even given up Chocolate, although I don't think this made me a better person.

I like to try and find a new thing to give up each year, and this year, having exhausted most of the typical Lenten sacrifices, I was hard pressed to find something that made sense. So, instead of thinking what would be hard to give up, I thought about what I could do to make me happier, and less stressful, and cause me to be more kind to my fellow (wo)man. The solution came to me on my daily commute...

For 40 days I will be a better driver. This doesn't just mean that I will curb my Chicago-born aggressive streak. I will also do nice things for other drivers, too. Here is how it works.

Driving related Lent sacrifices/promises.

I will:

-refrain from using my horn (yes, even if you cut over in front of me, without a turn signal, and promptly slow down.)

-leave the best parking space for someone else. I could use the exercise anyhow, and hopefully an expectant mother, or even just someone having a bad day will revel in their parking luck.

-not bitch or complain about Austin drivers, traffic, highway design, traffic lights, etc in any forum. Not when I get home from work, not when I am out with friends, and not on the blog.

-refrain from making any negative comments about how Tom drives (He says I am really hard on him, so I will stop.)

-let people in, even if they are doing something jerky and dangerous, like cutting around a line of drivers and through an intersection in the right turn only lane, just to get a head of those waiting to get through the intersection.

This will be real challenge for me, but my hope is that through conscious effort and repetition that my commute home will be better, not only for me, but for everyone... even the assholes who don't follow the rules.

Remembering Sweetie

Day: 177

High Temp: 64 F

It is with a heavy heart that I report to you all that Sweetie, the beloved beagle owned by my parents for the past 14 years, passed away last night. Sweetie was at home, with my parents, when she started having trouble breathing. Shortly after her labored breathing began, she died quietly and calmly.

If you know my family, you know that for the most part we are very much "dog people". Sweetie was a very important part of my family, and was a constant joy to have around. In honor of one of my most favorite dogs of all times, I thought I would share a few of my favorite Sweetie moments.

-Puppy. Seeing her for the first time in the cage at the humane society downtown. We fell in love with her immediately.

-Hide and seek. Sweetie loved to play hide and seek. I always had to hide, but she would literally play for an hour straight.

-Stormy Sweetie. She was terrified of storms, and if we were gone when a thunderstorm hit, we would inevitably find her wiggling her way out from under my mom and dads bed when she heard us come home. Even if the storm had abated hours before, she would wait for us under the bed.

-Bad Dog. My mom and I took a 6 day trip to San Francisco the summer before my senior year of high school. When I arrived home, I realized that Sweetie had been going into my bedroom to pee on my bed each day. Six distinct spots. We guessed that she was so mad at us for leaving her with the boys that this was her revenge. That, or she thought that if she did something naughty, we would come home sooner to punish her.

-PB&J. Sweetie was an infamous beggar, trained on years of table scraps. Her favorite part of the day was when my mom would come home mid-day after working a morning at the floral shop, and they would share a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I think it was my mom's favorite part of the day too!

-Santa's Little Helper. Sweetie was not only adept at unwrapping presents, but she also became a pro at stepping in just the right place on the paper while I was wrapping to leave a big, decorative wrinkle across one side, and maybe even a little tear, for artistic value.

-Squirrel Chaser. Sweetie definitely had the hunting instinct of her breed, and the famous beagle yowl. No squirrel could enter the back yard without a fierce bark from her, followed by a spirited chase up the hill. Terrorizing the squirrels of West County was her favorite pastime, a hobby that she happily taught Homer over Christmas.

-Sweetie and Bandit. While Sweetie always tolerated bigger dogs, she never really liked other dogs much, especially those smaller than her. However, a few summers ago my sister-in-law's sister Ashley brought her white Pomeranian, Bandit, to the house for a visit. The dogs were instantly best friends, and Bandit soon had Sweetie playing with the vigor of a puppy a decade younger.

I know this isn't the most exciting blog post to read, but it helps me to write it, so I appreciate you all bearing with me. Sweetie was a truly wonderful, and very happy dog and I will miss her terribly.

Long Time, No Blog (I'm sorry!)

Day: 172

High Temp: 47F and Rainy, so rainy!

I feel terrible. It has been so long since my last blog. It's not as though I haven't been thinking of you all! I have. And it's not as though I haven't had anything to write about. For instance, in the past 3 weeks, I should have been writing about:

- My new job

- The whackness of traffic in down town Austin (I commute every day now...)

- The release of the new Spoon album!

- Homer's first day of daycare

- My new love affair with KUT (even as I guiltily stream WBEZ at my desk each day...)

- My first paycheck

- My awesome book club

-The progress of the niece(s) and/or nephew(s)

-The Rusty Cusses, Pig Belmont, and other UT fun-facts

Honestly, the list goes on and on!

So what is up? Well, blame it on Lost.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past month, you will know that the final season of Lost premiered last night. Well, as ambitious as we are, Tom and I decided to re-watch the first 5 seasons. It had been years since we had seen 1-3, and we were feeling rusty on the most recent episodes. Besides, I have been following Jorge Garcia's blog, and the excitement was just getting to me.

We started a little late for such an ambitious project, so we have been marathoning back episodes for weeks now. I have even been watching on my lunch break, which is when I had intended to try and keep up with this little blog project. Lost has taken all of my free time.

But the good news is that we finished, and literally just in time for last night's premiere. And now I am confident that I will understand all the obscure references, get all the little inside jokes and recognize all the minute characters who will undoubtedly show up again on the island (or off...) this season.

And have no fear, I am back to writing on a regular basis. This place is a lot cooler when you have a little money to spend, and I have a lot of fun things to look forward to in the next few weeks, including our first non-family visitors (Cassie and Ben), a very Texas birthday celebration for Tom and tons of fun cultural happenings both at UT and in the greater community.

Wink

Day: 151

High Temp: 60F

My birthday was last Sunday (if you were not one of the legions who wished me a happy happy over Facebook, let it be. I know you love me.) I turned 29. My last year in my 30's, and my last as a "single" lady.

Many years ago, when I first started celebrating my birthdays in Chicago with the Foxes, we started a tradition: Birthday girl chooses the location of celebration dinner, friends pay. This led to many amazing and memorable dinners in Chicago, including one evening when 4 of us managed to eat and drink over $500 worth of the goods from MK. This tradition also introduced me to one of my favorite restaurants in the known (to Lindsey) world, Green Zebra. I can't recall whose pick that was... Camilla?

Anyhow, Tom and I now carry on that tradition, and last Saturday night we had our first Austin birthday dinner at Wink. As well known to Austin foodies as any of the Tramonto restaurants are known to Chicago food lovers, Wink is a mecca to the slow-food enthusiasts in the city, and owned/operated by two truly gifted chefs.

We had an amazing meal, a nice bottle of wine, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. And to top that all off, we were greeted by first name by a really nice host, there were menus specially printed for us that said "Happy Birthday Lindsey" AND our waiter had the chefs in back sign my copy of the menu. One of the best, most special restaurant experiences I have ever had, anywhere!

For the curious, here is what I ate:

First Course

Seared Foie Gras with apple upside down cake and local honey

Main Course

Roasted duck breast served atop toasted bulgar, winter greens and shiitake mushrooms

Dessert (shared by Tom and I)

The Wink Trio: Lemon Meringue "egg" (a crispy meringue orb filled with amazing lemon curd)

Mini Creme Brule

El Rey Cake (Dense Chocolate cake served with port cherry sauce)

Everything was to die for! And we ate every bite. I hope each one of you will come visit me soon so that I have many reasons to go back!

We REALLY Love Football

Day: 145
High Temp: 39F (unfortunately, its only 30F right now)

The love of football by Texans is a cliche of epic proportions. While I am not saying every cliche is true, this one most definitely is. Here in Austin, the state capital of the second largest state in the land, we have no professional athletic teams. That's okay, though. We content ourselves with athletic teams of the collegiate variety, especially of the college football variety. Literally the entire city, and surrounding areas, root for the Longhorns. Add to that the fact that UT graduates somewhere in the realm of 10,000 students every year and you gotta figure that UT fans number well into the millions.

As you may have heard, the Longhorns are playing in the BCS Championship tonight, and as I have already established, college football is a BIG deal here. Just how big? Well the dean of the nursing school (a brilliant woman who has a PhD and is a Fellow of the American Association of Nursing - an elite group) was wearing her burnt orange today. They are selling burnt orange sourdough boules and baguettes at the local HEB. The anchor woman on News 8 Austin last night was wearing a burnt orange blazer AND had one of those little metal long horn charms hanging from her necklace. Not to mention the Burger King special featuring "Burnt Orange Sauce"...

I like football, a lot. And am this year, for the first time ever, starting to appreciate how fun it is to root for a college football team (I have, of course, for years understood the joy of being a Chicago Bears fan). I am happy to have a chance to witness the end of bowl season mayhem. It scares me a little, but it's fun to get into the spirit of things. And I know that a season like this one might not come around again for the Longhorns while I am here. Hook 'em horns!

New Year, New Outlook

Day: 142
High Temp: 47F

If should be no shock to any of you that much of last year was hard for me. I was out of work for five months, and that itself tested my patience, relationship and bank account. On top of that, I found myself in a strange city where I didn't know anyone but Tom. I am happy to say that today represented a huge milestone in my time here in Texas: I started my new job!

Yes, today was my first official day as a longhorn, and I have to say I am thrilled at the possibilities. I have a parking permit, a photo id, and a handy longhorn post-it cube. No offense to the non-profits of Chicago, but the benefits are amazing. Among the best perks are the tuition reimbursement that will allow me to take on class a semester for free (in any degree program that I can get accepted to!) and the free health insurance is pretty nice too. And it seems as though I am going to have my very own office. This is a first for me, and I am excited at the possibility.

I am sure I will have a lot more to say on this topic as I settle into the new position, but for now, I am sleepy from my brutally early wake-up call. Here's hoping I am able to quickly readjust to the alarm!