{ tied up with string }

birfday

erinholcomb — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:19:22 +0000

I had a fantastic birthday week. Kicked it off on Sunday with banana whole wheat pancakes at Magnolia Cafe with my parents and had dinner at my in-laws, feasting on my father-in-law’s great smoked chicken. On my actual birthday, my cute students (11th graders can be cute) sang to me and Taylor treated me to lunch at Second where I enjoyed a really cool and very savory Black and Blue pizza –decked out with black truffle oil, blue cheese, dates and pork belly confit. It was all sorts of harmonious gloriousness.

My bible study met at my house that night and my dearestinthewholeworld friend Megan surprised me with an awesome fruit pizza. She had no idea I loved fruit pizza but I’d say knows me pretty well to have guessed accurately! We all talked, snacked and drank wine. A great evening.

For Christmas, Taylor had given me a gift certificate for a facial and I decided to capitalize on the spirit of the week’s festivities and book it for Friday afternoon. So I enjoyed a relaxing facial and a walk with Penelope in the glorious, sunny mid-70s January Friday afternoon.

And last night we went to Uchiko and I basked in tempura squid ink shag roll heaven. #blessed

Oh and here’s a little nugget of fun:

Curious?

via

Tagged: birthday, facial, Leandro Erlich, penelope, second bar and kitchen, shag roll, tempura, uchiko

Painting Yao Ming using a basketball. #truestory

erinholcomb — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:31:19 +0000

whoa.

A Happy Hour | a short story.

erinholcomb — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:22:30 +0000

Taylor was out of town this week so I treated myself to a happy hour ~~or two~~ in his absence. On Wednesday, I left the house where I’d been tutoring at about 5:30 and booked it into downtown in hopes of arriving at Eddie V’s with a good chunk of happy hour still remaining. I navigated the traffic and tight streets and by 6:00 found a decent spot for The Behemoth Tahoe I was piloting with deft skill and speed. Satisfied with the ample amount of remaining happy hour time in which I had to luxuriate, I jumped from Bruiser (The Behemoth) to pay the meter. To discover I had no wallet.

#fail.

What do you do? What do I do? I’m not meeting someone who can cover me and let me pay them back. I’m not calling someone to forge their way into downtown at 6pm to deliver my wallet to me.

I laugh at myself. And remount Bruiser my trusty steed. Take me home, Bruiser. Let us together leave downtown at 6pm with everyone else in the greater Austin area. Let us camp in rows alongside our idling friends with the sunset in our eyes. We shall not look at the clock nor into the rear view mirror as the minutes of happy hour slip slowly away from our (growing ever more) hungry grasp and the house of warm bread, tuna tartar and $5 wine fades off beyond the river. We were so close. This is not a happy hour.

Meanwhile, back at home, my wallet, snugly sequestered in my teaching tote, was oblivious to the strength of my desire to summon it with supernatural enchantments. Accio, wallet! I weighed my options and made a mental pro-con list.
Option A: Go home in traffic. Eat somewhere else.
Option B: Go home in traffic. Go back to Eddie V’s. Miss happy hour. Enjoy the ambiance and a $30 dinner
Option C: Go home in traffic. Go back to Eddie V’s. Miraculously not miss happy hour. Enjoy the ambiance and an $18 dinner
Option D: Enter Eddie V’s sans-wallet. Hope to not get carded. Hope to pay for drinks, dinner and parking by ~~flashing bosoms~~ sweet talking the bartender or ~~removing my wedding ring and flirting with the gentlemen~~ rationally explaining the situation ~~shredding my clothes and begging on the corner of 5th street~~.

See, I had to eat dinner, that was conclusive, but for dinner I wanted warm bread, half-price tuna, $5 wine, a jazz band, dim lights and my Nook. (I’m reading My Name is Mary Sutter butthatsirrelevantrightnow) It was determined that if I were to go home, retrieve the wayward wallet and head right back to Eddie V’s, really the worst case scenario would be that I would miss happy hour. If I were to go home, retrieve said wallet and go somewhere else I would waste time, hungry time, trying to both decide where to go and wishing it were Eddie V’s. I decided to count my losses. I will toss out the high-quality-dinner-for-low-quantity-dough triumph of this whole experience, and I will go back. I’m looking at you, wallet.

(Did you know conversation hearts come in Spanish?!)

6:15. Traffic going home was miraculously not horrible. I made excellent time. Small buds of hope blossom. There is faint glimmer of possibility. Wafting wafting is smell of victory over wayward wallet.

Penny was confused by my brief return and rapid departure.

6:17. I rejoined Bruiser and we retraced our steps.

6:35. Friends. I made it back for happy hour. I scored an excellent parking spot, well located and free after 6pm. I entered the bar, or rather, ahem, the “V Lounge,” found a chair (on the pro list of flying solo), and subsequently thoroughly enjoyed my bargain dining experience in a lovely ambiance. It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be and was made even more lovely by the sweet knowledge that, despite the unfavorable odds, I still been triumphant in securing a high quality dinner for low quantity dough.

Then it got better. They charged me full price for my wine and when I said something about it, (you better bet your britches I said something about it; I didn’t pilot Bruiser the Behemoth like a bat out of hell to get charged full price.) the bartender took one of the glasses off the bill.

That wayward wallet sallied out of le “V Lounge” a mere $15 lighter.

Con: husband out of town. Pro: notes. and solo bar chairs during happy hour.

Tagged: #fail, behemoth, conversation hearts, Eddie V's, flying solo, happy hour, notes, penelope, rear view mirror, spanish conversation hearts, trusty steed, warm bread

What a wonderful world.

erinholcomb — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:57:40 +0000

Such beauty. Happy Monday.

{via}

Tagged: dancing, global, Takayuki Akachi, work, world

Resolved.

erinholcomb — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:03:35 +0000

Here’s to baking more bread, reading more old books and wishing I had some smoked salmon lying about to make this my breakfast atop my bagels.

“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.” — C.S. Lewis

Happy 2012!

Tagged: books, bread, food, holidays, links, musings, new years, resolutions, the bookshelf, vittles

new years eve 2k11

erinholcomb — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:25:00 +0000

The world wide web is now abuzz with best of 2011 lists. Just when I thought I was safe from the gift guide lists! In keeping with the year’s end trends, here are 20 Tips to help with your New Year’s Resolutions. From Rose, age 99, via Advanced Style.

1.Find your perfect perfume, people will remember you by your scent. Rose is known for her Pauline Trigere fragrance.She tells her granddaughter “I’ll give you anything in the world, but I won’t give you my perfume.”
2.Belts and Beads. Rose believes that a belt or unique strand of beads can really make an outfit and they don’t have to cost a fortune.
3.Take care of your feet and wear good shoes, but when you are going out for a night on the town “Fashion comes before comfort” At 98, Rose goes out every single night!
4.”Walking is a must, its better than doctors or medicine”
5.No need to use expensive moisturizers, Rose swears by Oil of Olay which she has been using for decades.
6.”Inexpensive lipstick is as good as expensive, only better!” Rose has tried every brand from Chanel to Lauder and has recently been turned on to Revlon.

7.Be Unique: “If Everyone is wearing it, then its not for me”
8.”Be smart enough to know what you don’t know”
9.If you have trouble reading the dinner menu, Lorgnettes are a fashionable and elegant alternative to reading glasses.
10.”Be Happy, enjoy what you have at every moment!”
11.Stay Organized “If you take a toothpick out,or a pair of pantyhose, or a hundred dollar bill,always put it back where you found it, because if you add up the the time you spent looking for it later, that’s a waste of time.”
12.”Always tell the truth because if you don’t you’ll have to think of another lie.”
13.”Be More, appear Less.”

14.”Always take the phone off the hook when you’re in the bath.”
15.”Make friends with the maitre de’”
16.”Never loan, Never borrow.”
17.”Never keep anyone waiting. Always be 15 minutes early.”
18.”Never look back. always look forward.”19.”Don’t be afraid to tell your age, that’s silly. Be proud of your age.”
20.”Don’t frequent a restaurant where they don’t crumb the table.”

Happy New Year!

Tagged: advanced style, advice, fashion, friends, holidays, new year, resolutions, self help, vacations, winter

christmas eve

erinholcomb — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:57:16 +0000

We enjoyed waffles this morning from John Besh’s My Family Table. (THANKS Granaghans!) And will probably be lounging around the fire today, staying clear of the cold, wet weather. Although Taylor did unexpectedly inform me over the waffles this morning that his plans for the day include color coordinating his closet. I’ve always admired his ambition.

I just enjoyed a girl’s trip to New York! Not only was it a fun time with family but I got to see some great shows and see two of my best friends while I was there!

Making some time for traditional Christmas treat decorating was a must.

Merry Christmas!

Tagged: big apple, christmas, christmas cookies, gingerbread house, john besh, my family table, new york city, September 11, waffles

fire+cocoa+book

erinholcomb — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:18:27 +0000

Happy Sunday.

Tagged: fire, hot chocolate, mobile

battening down the hatches

erinholcomb — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:16:18 +0000

I love the goodies, the fires, the warm, snuggly socks and cozy blankets this time of year. I love the music, the advent traditions, finding gifts for loved ones and sipping warm drinks.

I do not, however, love the cold.

This is our tree. I got a slim one for our apartment and in this larger space it looks a little, well, slim. But it will do and it even has presents!

Can’t beat big weekend breakfasts. This morning we had waffles from the old school waffle iron and after only the second attempt at learning how to use this thing, I’m proud to announce that they were perfect. I’m also proud to announce, again, that I’m a huge fan of cast iron. This thing was 20 bucks, makes killer waffles and doesn’t take up loads of space like a clunky machine would. Plus I can take it with us next time we go native. Winning.

First fire! We need more firewood and a screen (Hi, Dad, yes, I’ll get one to be safe:)

Big nativity on the big table! This thing is so sweet and intricate, and I was thrilled to finally set it up after we got it last year, or maybe even the year before? But had no space in our yurt of an apartment.

Who says we need children to do a kid-friendly advent calendar? Apparently the little drummer boy and palm trees were present at the manger scene.

…And by children I meant human children, of course. Sorry PennyGirl, don’t be offended. We will make it a good Christmas for you, too even though you can’t help with the Advent calendar. You can help leave treats for Santa’s reindeer and your Christmas present waiting for you under the tree will be {because your parents got impatient} the only gift opened in our house on Christmas morning!

Tagged: advent, advent calendar, christmas, christmas tree, fireplace, pets, waffles

advanced style

erinholcomb — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:04:32 +0000

I know. I’ve been M.I.A.

Forgive. Hope to post some more life updates and better pics soon. I’ve decorated for Christmas, made some holiday goodies, sent off our Christmas cards, been keeping up with my advent calendar and even wrapped a few gifts!

I just had to share this fabulous video from Advanced Style. Watch it and you won’t be sorry. I hope I’m half as awesome as Ms. Dell by the time I’m 78. Check out the videos and pics on their site. All a hoot and well worth it.

To help you cope with the cold: soup basics for soup invention!

Getting in the true spirit with these really greats idea for 10 Experiences to Give and Twelve Dates of Christmas.

Tagged: fashion, gifts, holidays, soup