Casual&Preppy: Fashion Spread

Getting Inspired.

It's easy to lose sight of your dreams and goals, when you get boggled with everyday things and everyday tasks. Even more so when you've become consumed with comfort. I get in these phases where I feel as though maybe my dreams aren't attainable, or maybe that "I'm doing just fine" where I am. But stagnancy is never truly satisfying. It's never change, but the lack of change that is the real culprit to some of our biggest dissatisfactions.

Sometimes I notice myself falling into these patterns and other days it's not until I stumble upon a great piece of work. The kind of work I'd like to be participating in. The kind of work that makes me feel inspired and revived. Suddenly the dreams, ambitions and goals become much more clear. The everyday fog disperses and I become more driven than ever. There are an array of incredible projects that have inspired me, this is the one that inspired me today.

Incredible work from the folks at Struck Agency.

Keep working and keep striving. And always be inspired.

When in Anaheim.

Good Eats: Barley Swine

Barley Swine. A small plate restaurant just off Lamar in Austin, Texas. I've been several times and every experience has been incredibly memorable and enjoyable. This small plate restaurant is located in the heart of Austin. Creative with an ever changing menu, Barley Swine only uses the freshest, local ingredients in each of their dishes. Not to mention, each dish is carefully crafted with fine detail and love. Great on the plate and even better for your pallet. And if you're really happy, buy the kitchen a beer, it's only $1. Here are just a few of the great plates I had during my December visit. 

Take your next food adventure to Barley Swine. It'll be worth it. A genuine Austin gem. 

Excerpt: Tiny Vessels

I started writing a memoir several years ago.  There are significant moments in my life that have been too haunting not to write down.  I write about them periodically, collecting them. Referring to them when I need inspiration. This is an excerpt.    

things. songs. albums. bands. artwork. books. movies. inanimate objects. places. restaurants. pieces of clothing. tv shows. almost everything --- they remind me of people. certain thing, certain person. they have memories attached to them. i’m that kind of person. there are some inanimate objects that have become to painful to look it at, because they take me back to place that i would rather not be. memories i would rather not remember. some things are nostalgic and innocent. but they’re all a bit melancholic. 

death cab for cutie creates distinct moments in our time together. i listen to the songs now and remember. not the bad things, but the good. when things felt easy. i don’t miss the whole thing, not at all. but i do miss specific moments. so specific i could write pages and pages about them. the breathing, the touches, the colors, the feelings that ran through my finger tips. 

the songs used to cause twinges of brokenness. but i don’t feel those things anymore. i find myself captivated me by specific moments now. those that for a short time, made my world colorful. only things worth remembering. 

Photo taken on my Droid Incredible
Life before the iPhone.

Good Eats: Mighty Fine

I'm sorry, guys. My blogging habits have not improved. I think about you all the time, but seriously, where does all the time in the day go?! Anyways, here we are now, 2013! I spent my New Years (and Christmas) in Austin, TX. And it was glorious. My waistline doesn't think so, but that's another sad debacle for another time (yay, New Year's Resolutions!).

I'm not sure how to cover all my (mostly food) adventures, so I will do them bit-by-bit. There's just too much to cover and one entry isn't enough!

So first up? Mighty Fine! I've been here several times and it never, ever disappoints. For lack of a better term, it's just that, Mighty Fine. This is a local, born in Austin, burger joint. There are three locations in the area, the one off Mopac is my favorite. Remember those Carl's Jr. commercials about their  Restaurant Six Dollar Burgers? Well, for $5.24, I can almost guarantee that you'll be happier with this 1/2lb burger then you will with what you pick-up at Carl's. There's also a 1/3lb burger for a couple dollars less. You really can't go wrong.

This has to be my favorite place (in the world, thus far!) to get a burger. Order is all pretty basic. Choose your meat (1/3lb or 1/2lb). Decided if you want cheese, pickles, lettuce, and/or tomatoes. Pick your condiments: red, yeller (that's right, yeller), and white. They'll ask if you want to add fries? Just do it. Ignore the other voice in your head.  

Look at the beautiful burger. Delicious toasted bun on a 1/2 lb of succulent Texas beef with melted cheese. Piled on a bed of lettuce and a fresh cut onions. Mayo, mustard, ketchup, perfection! I usually get the 1/3 lb... but was so hungry (and ambitious) that I went ahead with a 1/2 lb. And it was glorious. 

Notice how there's no tomato. While it makes the burger prettier, I never get the tomatoes on my sandwiches/burgers. But only sandwiches/burgers. Unless I forget and then its just really sad for me. I'll eat them anywhere else but placed between bread. Why? Texture. Same reason people can't raw oysters or tripe. Ha ha, okay, not that extreme. But my burger texture is important and the tomato just doesn't add to that for me. Am I crazy? What's up this rant? Maybe and I don't know. Moving on! 

My mouth is watering now. This is too much to handle. I want this burger back in my life right now. 

Crispy, delicious, fresh made fries. The tables have Lawry's seasoned salt to decorate these delicious fries even more! Trust me, you'll need to get the fries. Don't skip out on this! 

This takes me back to the Best Burger in NY episode on How I Met Your Mother. THIS is the burger that I've been looking for to match the one in that episode. *Sigh. I want one now. If you are ever in the Austin area, folks. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a Mighty Fine burger. Don't skip out on this perfection. You won't regret it! 

Photo taken with my Nikon D5100.

No one wants to die.

When I woke up this morning, I thought to myself, today I begin again. New opportunities. A day to start over, clean slate. To reapply myself, my passions and hopefully find much happiness in my newest endeavor. Despite everything, I still felt heavy, flooded with fears and doubts.

And then, this happened.

I was rear ended. Quite severely. The impact sent me spinning into four lanes of traffic and almost off a cliff at the point of the mountain. 

In his 2005 commencement speech at Standford University, Steve Jobs said, "No one wants to die. Not even the people who want to go heaven, want to die to get there." I considered what he said, but hadn't had much of an account for it until this moment. 

I would like to think myself brave in the face of death. To accept it openly when "my time has come." Of course I didn't want to die, like Jobs said, but I felt that I would be accepting of my fate had the time came. 

As I was spinning uncontrollable in my car, the moment people note as "your life flashing before your eyes", I really thought that I could spin off this cliff and not make it. I felt a great deal of fear and panic. And in that moment, more so than any moment in my life, I realized how it truly felt to not want to die. I was scared. I wasn't ready. 

And then the car stopped. I was frozen. The tears streamed uncontrollably down my cheeks. 

"No one wants to die, yet it's destination that we all share," said Jobs. I count my blessings that it's a destination I have yet to reach. Because life, no matter the difficulties, is a gift. And I am incredible grateful that I still have time to enjoy this gift. 

Today was everything I felt it would be. A new beginning. I feel more awake than ever.