tis time. time once again for texas football. college football. saturdays where entire populations point towards their respective stadiums. lots of people describe baseball as America's great national pastime. maybe those people sucked at football.

to say i'm excited is an understatement. our tailgate has been months in the making. there have been at least 150 emails about preparations. we basically bought all the hamburger meat they had at costco. i don't even eat red meat and this excites me. last night i was making bacon to put in a variation of these suckers and was thrilled because i was making something other than lean meat, whole grains, or veggies. it's healthy, i know, blah blah but ermahgerd. boring. our tailgate beer sponsor, MillerCoors, came through again so the triple hops brewed beer will flow like the Guadalupe River. us girls have all of our burnt orange apparel from Longhorn Fashions picked out and coordinated so that we don't show up wearing the same outfit. the HORROR. can you imagine? i need my smelling salts. please know i'm kidding. about the smelling salts. not the outfit coordination. that is very, very serious.

anyway, the point is i couldn't be more excited about the longhorns. the game. the food. the drink. the cowboy boots. the camaraderie. the competition. and certainly not least of all: the tunes.

so this week, i bring you a tailgate edition of friday tunes. many of these are a Texan's version of an Irish drinking ballad. i can guarantee that my friends from school have either hiccuped, sang, or stumbled their way through a two-step to these songs. sometimes all three at the same time! we're multi-talented like that. of course i capped it off with the Texas fight song. if you like what you hear, subscribe to my "tailgate" playlist on spotify.



can't have a friday tunes: tailgate edition without mentioning our very own in-house musician and close friend of mine, John Edward Baumann. he'll be playing most of our tailgates and is an up and coming Texas musician. he is a seriously talented wordsmith, and his songs always make me smile. or cry. I'M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION. i've included some of my faves.








in the spirit of competition...please see my newest favorite quote regarding Austin/UT Football from Drew Magary's 2012 Hater's Lover's Guide to the Top 25.

"All the food in Austin is dirt cheap and impossibly good, and when I went to Franklin BBQ I deliberately tried to give myself a heart attack by stuffing my face with brisket and very small bourbon pies. The women there are not unattractive, and the folks all look extremely content with their lives. Meanwhile, 20 million people voluntarily cram themselves into a New York City subway car every morning wanting either to kill everyone around them or to kill themselves because killing yourself is kind of easier. Austin is better. And I like that the University of Texas has the balls to cause entire conference shifts without actually moving anywhere. They just break apart alliances and leave other schools bankrupt for the sheer joy of it. That's my kind of heartless bureaucracy."

yep. hook 'em!

it's that time of year. the time where you have to peel yourself off your driver's seat every time you exit your vehicle. the time where it's too hot to lay out, and not much better in the pool. the time where other people in far-away lands start talking about cozy sweaters and just the thought of that makes you itch and sweat. when i was little, i used to flip through the back to school copies of lands' end and wonder where in the hell these people lived that would be wearing tights or corduroy on their first day of school. meanwhile, some demented person decided it would be a good idea to make our school uniforms out of some type of 100% unbreathable plastic. i wish i was joking. one time my mother melted my skirt while she was ironing it...

and yet i cling to summer. the long days, the warm nights- i love it. the many hours spent doing nothing around various bodies of water. cold beers that stay cold just long enough to continue to be refreshing. that sense of unrest because summer is so unscheduled. it's the best.


so i'll say a reluctant goodbye to august and to summer with a few pictures of what's been going on this month.

remember the King of Everything from a few posts below? he knows all the best shows. another reason he is the King of Everything. this was a free show (also served free beer...pinch me) featuring Little Dragon, A-Trak, and Big Boi. it was hot, sweaty, and AWESOME. first show i've ever been front row for, which means i could actually see the bands. when you are my height this is very. exciting.
favorite song from each artist below:

Little Dragon- Shuffle A Dream
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (A-Trak remix)- Heads Will Roll
Big Boi- Shutterbug
i could do a whole post on this show. FYI, the King of Everything got me into this show, too. for free. i need to buy him a car or give him my firstborn or something to express my gratitude. this was Lindsey Buckingham playing solo in a very intimate show at Antone's. as Fleetwood Mac is one of my top 3 bands of all time, i was ecstatic to get to see him. we're talking about a guy that has done it all...and he was still so excited to be on stage at this small show. it was incredible. a few of my favorites he played are below.

Bleed to Love Her
Never Going Back Again
Big Love
random Tuesday night at Kung Fu with some friends. it's basically a grown-up arcade...they've got it all. buck hunter happened to be broken that night, so we focused our intellectual and physical efforts on to skeeball, foosball, and giant jenga. what they don't tell you when you're a kid at chuck e. cheese is these games are really easy unless you're playing them one handed because your other hand is holding a beer. so...yah. i blame my lack of skill on that. not too shabby for a Tuesday.
oh yes oh yes oh yes they both oh yes they both oh yes they both reached for...the controller. of the video game. roommate and i finally set up her old nintendo and let me tell you. within an hour we had defeated bowser, saved the princess, and were partying with toad and luigi. not really, we kept dying and only got to world five. still so fun. this reminds me. brother, if you're out there, and remember the cheats, send 'em my way.
saving the best for last...baby sister moved to Austin to start college! that's her little cherub self sitting on my dad's shoulders at the beach. she just finished rush- talk about sweating. christ. the whole thing was a fricking nail biter. for her, sure, but me too. it's over and had a happy ending but GEEZ i'm glad she only has to do that once. she started classes yesterday and my pangs of jealousy and pining for yesteryear started right around the same time. i made her dinner last night, as any good matronly-spinster-older-sister would.

i'm so happy to have her around. what is it about baby sisters. they keep you young. they make you laugh. and then you see a picture like this and they just break your heart with their cuteness. look at her little face. those eyes! those curls!

as you may have noticed, i have been absent from this little blog for a while. i've been busy...and i've been thinking.

i jumped into this blogging thing as a fun hobby for my project-driven self. now that i've been in the real world for a few years, and the post-college dust has settled, i'm finding that i have an abundance of time. i work. i go to the gym. i hang with my friends. i watch tv. i read books. but i don't create, or i didn't, until i started RIC.

part of blogging, for me, is reading other blogs. there is so. much. out there. it has been really fun to get a little peek into other people's lives in this way. to see that this weird need to create something expressive and informative and about oneself is something many of us share. that is the positive.

the negative is that there is this sheen over so many blogs. the sheen of perfection. i like a pretty ethereal bokeh as much as the next guy...but that is not real. i think it would be nice to read a blog entry titled "how to drag your ass out of bed and get to work when you REALLY don't feel like it" instead of "how to perfectly style your nightstand" or "DIY: ombre glitter nail polish tutorial."

so, in the interest of honesty:
i do not have a pet. i do not have a boyfriend. i do not own a home. i will not be starting a business anytime soon. sometimes, on sunday, the only productive thing that i get done is laundry. i probably spend an embarrassing portion of my income on food/drinks/entertainment. i am not sure if my nightstand meets "perfectly styled" qualifications.

and yet...i still lead a very enjoyable life.

i'm twenty five. a college grad. employed (in a field that actually has something to do with my major. finally.) i live in the best city in the U.S. (in my limited worldview opinion.) i have amazing friends. i have a wonderful, supportive family with whom i am very close. i laugh a lot. i consider myself a happy person. i regularly stay up late into the night, surrounded by friends laughing and doing stupid things. i don't apologize for any lingering immaturity because i am too busy drinking. it. in. i know that too soon those 4 a.m. conversations will be gone. and if all i'm left with at that point is ombre glittered nail polish...no, thank you to that.

i'd apologize for sounding negative, but that would contradict my point. just know that my plan is to remove any sheen from this here blog. it's my little corner of the internet, and i plan to give you a peek into my life. honestly.

if you know me even a little bit, you know i love color, prints, and texture. growing up that's just always how our houses were- full of color. i so wish i could do the minimal, stark thing. i appreciate it. but paring things down has never been my strong suit. raccoon : shiny objects : : molly : loud design. on that note, i also like shiny objects.

that being said, i have had white walls in my bedroom in austin since i moved here. three months ago. it's been driving me insane. i know how much time painting a whole room takes, and i did not care to invest that kind of time myself. (been there, done that, lost the deposit, ugh. no thanks.) nor did i have a budget to hire painters. enter: the accent wall.

when i purchased the paint for my DIY stripe curtains, i did it with the accent wall in mind. i knew i wanted my room to be blue-gray, and that turned out to be a great color for the curtains as well. enough to make the stripes on the curtains pop, but light enough to not get too nautical.  the curtains took about half a gallon of paint, and i probably used another quart to paint my accent wall. leaving me with another quart to play with soon. :)

so saturday morning i headed to home depot, got my paint shaken, picked up a few random supplies, and grabbed an iced coffee. i had basically all the supplies i needed...except for one crucial thing. muscles. brawn. that tim "the toolman" grunt. i needed a dude to help me move my bed. enter: the King of Everything (as i have henceforth dubbed him), Dom. The King of Everything volunteered not only to help move my bed, but to paint as well. this is why he is the King of Everything. also, he's a singer/songwriter! ladies- holler atcher boy.

all in all, counting the trip to home depot, moving all my furniture out of my room, painting, and moving everything back in, this project probably took two hours. max. the actually painting took MAYBE thirty minutes? such a great, easy way to liven up the space. best part: SUPER CHEAP, too. because i had the paint and most of my supplies already, i think i spent a total of $8 on an edger and a roller handle. moral of the story: plan out your paint projects and see if one gallon can have multiple uses. and save your painting supplies!

another small project i took care of was a bit of clean-up/organization in the utility room. i was tired of looking at all the crap on our shelves (we use the utility room not only for laundry storage, but cookie cutters, light-bulbs, koozies, and shot glasses. you know. the staples.) i just needed some plastic bins to store everything, but didn't want to spend an arm and a leg.


i wouldn't have thought of this, but thankfully now i have pinterest to do all that pesky thinking for me. dollar store to the rescue, yall! grand total of $6. BOOM.

lastly, i went to half-price books to find some coffee-table books for chizzeap. i found some great deals on four coffee table books (two of which are Edward Gorey, which makes me very happy!) also, i picked up a copy of David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. i've read it before, but his books get funnier every time. came home and opened it up to find this:


a signed hardback copy for $5? seriously, Half-Price Books should call themselves We Will Pay You To Read, Basically.

HOORAY DEALS!

time for a little friday tune time! today, i have put together ten songs that keep my butt moving on the elliptical. warning: the playlist is heavy on the beats, yall. and the base. it's a pretty specific taste, but hey- i like it. can't help it. and you might find something that will help you power through your next workout. as my mama would say, "can't hurt. might help."

on that note, if you find that you like what i'm listening to, please find me on spotify. my workout playlist is called "pump. you. up." new to spotify? that's fine. it's free if you don't mind ads. if you'd prefer no ads, they have a couple options, the most expensive being $10/month. it is also super easy to use, with the radio benefits of pandora and the added benefit of being able to make your own playlists. there are about a million other cool features- trust me on this one!

i'll end this short post with a plea: please share your favorite workout tunes with me! doesn't matter what genre. if it keeps you moving, i am dying to hear it. i'm always in search of new music. you can tweet your songs to me @mollyer, facebook them here, respond in the comments, or send them to me right through spotify.

TGIF-Tunes!

hope yall got all of that cheesy, carb-y, delicious mexican food from last week out of your system, because it is time for a super healthy and super delicious recipe. two recipes- one side and one protein. as usual, i'm more interested in the side. so i'll save that for last.

first up: tilapia. i had never (ever) cooked any kind of fish before, so i was kind of nerval. seemed like the easiest and most foolproof way to go about it was baking. i think i was right. (pipe up in the comments if you have an easier and more foolproof way!) i made skinnytaste's baked garlic lemon tilapia. loved it! i bought my tilapia frozen (it was significantly cheaper) and defrosted under running water. the fish defrosted extremely quickly, so i'm glad i went the frozen route.

Baked Garlic Lemon Tilapia

Ingredients: 

• 6 (6 oz each) tilapia filets 
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed 
• 2 tbsp butter 
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
• 4 tsp fresh parsley 
• salt and pepper 
• cooking spray 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400°. Melt butter on a low flame in a small sauce pan. Add garlic and saute on low for about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and shut off flame. Spray the bottom of a baking dish lightly with cooking spray. Place the fish on top and season with salt and pepper. Pour the lemon butter mixture on the fish and top with fresh parsley. Bake at 400° until cooked, about 15 minutes.


the fish came out flaky and with just the right hint of the butter/lemon/garlic flavor. because i've never cooked fish before, i wasn't sure how to check if it was done. Praise be to Google, i figured it out. it passed the flake-test (does the fish flake when you cut into it?) and the opaque-test (is it opaque in the middle of the thickest piece? it shouldn't be. it should be white). please share if you have any other fish done-ness tests.

the other dish, which i have given a sexy little preview of in the above photo, is balsamic roasted brussel sprouts. ::salivates:: when i first moved to austin, i went to an "american pub" here called drink.well. they had the most fabulous, decadent balsamic roasted brussel sprouts with little chunks of bacon. sadly, i don't see them on the menu anymore. happily, they inspired this dish. less decadent and still delicious.

Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 2- 3 cups brussels sprouts, sliced in half
• dash salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil

 

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the vinegar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate the olive oil until a dressing is formed. Place the brussels sprouts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle the oil and vinegar over the sprouts and gently toss to coat. Bake for 25 minutes, turning once. Sprouts are done when they are lightly browned.





little green balls of heaven. went great with the fish. i paired the meal with my fave, pinot grigio. what label, you ask? the cheapest one. now you probably feel awkward for asking. your fault.


*title refers to rick bragg's book, all over but the shoutin'. great read if you're looking for something southern-like.