Top Five Podcast Episodes of 2016

I love a good podcast, especially one that can change the way you think about the world or let you in on a subculture or niche you never knew existed. In no particular order, these are the podcast episodes that have resonated the most with me this year.

1. Revisionist History's The Lady Vanishes

 “The Lady Vanishes explores the world of art and politics to examine the strange phenomenon of the ‘token’—the outsider whose success serves not to alleviate discrimination but perpetuate it.”

2. 99% Invisible's Holdout: “Whatever her reasons were for doing it, she stood her ground. And she became a symbol, whether she wanted to or not. There’s even a tattoo shop in Seattle that does a special tattoo to honor the legacy of Edith Macefield. It is a picture of her little house, and underneath it—the word Steadfast.”

3. This American Life's Seriously?: “Watching lies become the truth in this year's election. And a few people who try to bridge the gap between the way the two sides see the facts.”

4. Radiolab's The Girl Who Doesn’t Exist: “Alecia Faith Pennington was born at home, homeschooled, and never visited a dentist or a hospital. By both chance and design she is completely invisible in the eyes of the state. We follow Faith as she struggles to free herself from one restrictive world only to find that she is trapped in another. In her journey to prove her American citizenship she attempts to answer the age-old question: who am I?”

5. Invisibilia's Flip the Script: “Usually when someone is hostile to us, we are hostile right back. The psychological term is complementarity. But then in rare cases someone manages to be warm, and what happens as a result can be surprising.”

All podcasts are available for free to download on iTunes as well.

(Image via Revisionist History. All excerpts from respective websites.)

This and That

This made me laugh.

Lemony chicken and orzo soup FTW. (I skipped the leek and the dill, and it was still delicious.)

Marimekko Target collaboration.

Saw this band yesterday night. So pretty/sad.

Quiz: Can we guess your age and income, based solely on the apps on your phone? (This was so wrong about me, but oddly flattering and fun. Under 32?!? Why thank you, Washington Post!)

Such a pretty swimsuit.

(Image via Pinterest)

A Year in Photos: 2015

Hello there! The retrospective photo post is the best kind of post, amiright?

This year will be remembered most awesomely as being the year we bought our first house. (!!!) It has a yellow door and lots of character (ahem, what others would call room for improvement); we love it and it instantaneously felt like home.

And, what an amazing year of travel! Miami, Key West, Naples, Orlando, Marion, Atlanta, and Chicago.

This year was one of the good ones. So many memories to hold on to for the rest of our lives. *insert smiling emoji with the rosy-red cheeks here*

On to the photos! (You can take a look at past years here: 2014, 2013, 2012.)

January (the continuing cuteness of Scout)

February (the Skeehearts getting drinks)

March (A rainy SXSW week didn't hold us back!)

April (at one of many Thinkery21 events we attended this year)

May (We watched Carla and Ned get engaged!)

June (girls' trip to Marion, Illinois)

Also June (Carla gets married!)

July (tour de Florida with Jacquelyn and Arnaud)

August (at a wedding in Atlanta)

September (We bought a house!)

October (We said good-bye to living in east Austin and being so close to these awesome ladies.)

November (housewarming party)

Also November (another girls' trip to Chicago)

Also November (November was on fire, y'all!) (Kristin's bachelorette party)

December (Kristin and Manuel's amazing wedding)

This and That

Consider me intrigued.

It was never a dress.

Crazy about quinoa.

Cute necklace.

Derby weekend always makes me want one of these.

Colorful leggings.

(Image via Pinterest)

This and That

Ceramic macaroni necklace.

A mannequin family.

Some mornings, I really miss these sandwiches.

The Infinite Jukebox.

Anatomy of a scene from While We're Young.

Such a cute save-the-date.

(Photo via Pinterest)

A Year in Photos: 2014

In a year that could be remembered in many drastically different ways, I am going to simply ordain 2014 as: The Year We Got Scout, the Cutest Kitten Ever. Skip to October below to see her sweet mug.

(Here are the photo round-ups from 2013 and 2012.)

January (bowling with the fam)

February (weekend trip to Comfort)

March (SXSW)

April (board gaming it)

May (The Color Run)

June (taking care of Mom)

July (Fourth of July party)

August (at Winedale)

September (b-day group selfie)

October (the arrival of Scout)

November (Thanksgiving weekend)

December (family portrait)

This and That

A parody of Serial.

Free holiday tag download.

Long exposures of firefly trails.

People reading poorly chosen books in public.

Pretty: DIY rosemary wreath gift toppers.

Cool posters.

Cinnamon rose rolls with frosting.

(Photo via Pinterest)

My Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

It's finally cold in Austin! Which means it's time to start planning what'll make the cut for this year's Thanksgiving menu. And also time to put together this year's music playlist.

When my sister and I both lived in Brooklyn, we made a habit of listening to Dolly Parton every Thanksgiving. Because it seemed appropriate? Actually, I'm not sure why. But I do know there's nothing like standing in a tiny, warm kitchen with a spatula-mic in your hand singing along to “Jolene” with your sister with the smells of a turkey roasting and pumpkin desserts cooling swirling all around you.

So what I'm saying is that, this year, I'll be most thankful for Dolly. Obviously. And also maybe these pretty great recipes that I've turned to more than once during the holiday season.

Two-hour turkey and gravy.

Sausage and apple stuffing.

Martha's macaroni and cheese.

Roasted Brussels sprouts.

Pancetta crisps with goat cheese and pear.

Pumpkin cheesecake with caramel swirl.

(Image via Pinterest)

This and That (Featuring Peggy Olson and a Secret Bookstore)

The evolution of Peggy Olson.

Love this: Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space.

A secret bookstore in NYC.

Cute dress.

Craving mushroom bourguignon and butternut squash lasagna.

A little llama costume.

(Image via Pinterest)

Cats on My Mind by Marc Johns

This is basically an illustration of what is in my head an embarrassingly large percentage of each day:

Print available here.

(Illustration via Marc Johns)

Hot Honey: The Next Sriracha?

Honey on your pizza, anyone?

According to Grub Street, hot honey is supposed to be the next Sriracha. And you know I love me some Sriracha. (I even put it in tomato sauce once on a lark and it was amazing! That is the power that Sriracha has over my mouthfeels.)

So basically, I'm not afraid to jump on the hot condiment bandwagon. And the fact that this HuffPo article mentions using hot honey on ice cream, chicken wings, ribs, a breakfast sandwich, and various roasted veggies without even making you click to the next page is enticing and horrifying to me all at once.

Bees Knees Spicy Honey

Mike's Hot Honey

Whole Foods will start carrying two varieties soon: Mike's Hot Honey (the OG) and Bees Knees Spicy Honey (from MixedMade).

Will you be picking up a bottle? I definitely will. Now I only need to decide if I should try it first on a giant rack of ribs or a bowl of Americone Dream ice cream...

(Images via here and here)

This and That (Featuring a Cute Kid and Tom Hiddleston)

Two and a half blocks in two and a half years.

Beautiful stone walls.

A floating library on the Hudson River.

Lovely desk set.

Three-ingredient natural fix for frizzy hair.

NikeEames.

Tom Hiddleston coloring book!

(Photo via Pinterest)

First Look: Dai Due (with a Special Shout-out to Bending Branch Winery)

Another new edition to the neighborhood! As a resident of Cherrywood for almost five years now, it has been so exciting to see this area of Austin grow and evolve.

I had only tried Dai Due's offerings once before: at Oktoberfest last year at the Real Ale Brewery in Blanco.

First impressions of the brick-and-mortar restaurant? Charming and delicious. We sat at the bar and ordered a la carte, but the supper club menu (see below) did look fantastic. I was also excited to find an offering from Bending Branch on their drink list, a winery Chris and I discovered in Comfort in February (and now adore).

(And for the Texas-wine-naysayers out there: I was once one of you! Try Bending Branch and you might just come back from the dark side. You know, the dark side, that special place where all Texas wine haters exist in vast numbers. Just kidding. That was a Star Wars reference. I actually used to copyedit a large amount of licensed Star Wars books, so I could probably Star-Wars-reference most people under a table. Just try me! I will Asajj Ventress you until the Wine Wars are over. PS. I won't really do that. And I know, it's the Clone Wars, not the Wine Wars. Honestly, I would probably want to be a female version of Obi-Wan, not Asajj. Although she is awesome in an evil way. Okay, I'll stop now.)

Pictures!

Dai Due

Dai Due Menu from Thursday

 Waiting patiently for delicious treats

Queso Flameado with 

Boar Chorizo, Mushrooms, 

Chilies, and Homemade Tortillas

 Grilled Blood Sausage with Butter Bean Stew (fave dish of the night)

Mesquite Sourdough Bread 

with Honey Whipped Lard

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Five Inspiring Ideas for Labor Day Weekend

The end of the summer is upon us! I don't know about you all, but I'm excited for the prospect of cooler weather and have been eyeing my long skirts and sweaters with anticipation. I've missed them. They are ready to be released from the confines of my closet.

But in celebration of the impending last hurrah of the hottest of seasons, here are a few ideas to liven up these final sweet gasps of summer.

End-of-summer sangria.

And put that sangria in a portable wine cup.

Maybe add some fancy ice cubes.

Drink it in the river while listening to tunes from your waterproof speakers.

And don't forget your summery temporary tattoos!

(Photos via respective linked websites)