This and That

Life has been moving at a steady pace this past week, with plenty of fun things to keep us busy, and never enough rest. I figured it would be easier to post a smorgasbord of recent happenings rather than trying to blog each one individually.


Alabama Shakes!

Hank and I scored tickets to one of the first ALC "late" shows at Stubbs. We've been avid listeners of this band since we first saw their ACL taping, and have been so excited to see them again. Tons of other people have jumped on the bandwagon, and it's great to see this young, talented band get the recognition they deserve. We met up with my friends Erin and Katherine for some pre-show grub at Easy Tiger. Our last few visits left much to be desired, but after a friendly reminder to our server that we were ready for her to start serving, the rest of the meal was overall enjoyable.

Then we headed over to Stubb's just in time to catch the tail end of the opening act- Lee Fields & the Expressions. Good old fashioned soul music- I loved them!!! They were the perfect opening act. Then Alabama Shakes took the stage and put on a most fantastic show. It's just unfortunate that so much of the crowd felt the need to talk instead of listening. The constant loud murmur was more than annoying. Sing along, get into the show. But if you come to just socialize friends- go do that elsewhere!

It's mid-October, and STILL hot in Austin! (hence the shiny face)

TX/OU

I know live in a house divided. Hank grew up in Oklahoma and has been a OU fan most of his life. I grew up in Austin, always cheering for the Longhorns on Saturdays. So there's been much anticipation over this long-standing rivalry, and I really thought TX had a chance to claim the title. I thought wrong. Oh so wrong. The game was over in the first quarter, and I went to the kitchen to work on a practice cake instead of watching the slaughter. Hank was a good sport though and really didn't rub it in at all. Next year, Longhorns....next year! I might have to surprise him with something in the yard to battle the OU flag flying on the house.



The Bake Shop

After years of struggling with a hand mixer for all of my baking, I finally went out and treated myself to a long desired KitchenAid Stand Mixer. It is a thing of beauty, and I put it to good use on Saturday. I'm making a Tinkerbell cake for my niece Georgia for her upcoming birthday and had some new elements (and cake recipe) that I wanted to try out ahead of time. Making buttercream with a hand mixer is no fun at all, so I completely enjoyed the experience of getting to do it with two free hands. I'm glad I decided to practice as there are a few tweaks that I need to make, but I think the final product will be adorable.

I had to go with classic metallic. It already has a home on our counter, and looks stunning.

Fondant flowers for bottom tier of the cake.

Tinkerbell (with a few more tweaks) will stand on the top tier of the cake.