ya vote!

After a narrow escape from work, I voted.  And for a small-town-in-the-city moment, I bumped into someone I knew.  Then I headed out for my favorite mac & cheese in San Francisco (pepper jack cheese, jalepenos, and truffle oil ~ mmm) to celebrate.

Ya Vote!

i *heart* austin

These are a few of the things I did on my weekend in Austin (first time!):

Watched the world’s largest bat colony take flight on Halloween night from Congress Ave Bridge ~ Danced in a room crowded with zombies (east 6th street) ~ Tried the “best potato salad ever” from a food truck ~ Walked quickly along the dirty six (west 6th street) ~ Tailgated at a UT game ~ Rooted on UT at a game they lost against Baylor :( (Colt McCoy day!) ~ Consumed a beverage from Jo’s in SoCo ~ Ate mexican vanilla ice cream with pecans from Amy’s ~ Rode around in a Car2Go (beep beep!) ~ Shopped the quirky shops along SoCo (love this hood) ~ Drank a beverage while swatting mosquitoes at the Hotel San Jose ~ Ate guacamole tacos (on the menu!!) at Guero’s while cheering on the Giants (in hushed, reverent tones) in the World Series ~ Was tour guided along railroad tracks, through scrap yards and down abandoned roads in high heat (yay, heat!) ~ Drank my first Michelada at Bar 96 ~ Ate a delicious, hot, made-to-order doughnut from Gourdough’s (mmm) ~ Drove up Mount Bonnell for a view of Lake Austin and Downtown ~ Walked along Lake Austin ~ Danced at a bar in four-inch red heels on Halloween ~ Brunch outside at Garrido’s ~ Pie at The Woodland ~ Etc., Etc. :)

Weekend whirlwind complete.  (Thanks to D for the tour, A & C for the hospitality, and R & J for the tips!)

inception

Last night I dreamed that I woke up in Paris.  Then I woke up in San Francisco.  Wondering if I’m really awake yet…?

simple amusement

As we walked along the Embarcadero back to the office from having lunch at La Mar, we found amusement in the movement of earth.

i *heart* fun window displays

London.

Paris.

And London again. (I want to go to London again…)

deliciousness in london & paris

I *heart* delicious goodies in London and Paris.  And apparently I love to photograph them (then eat/drink them).

La maison du chocolat, Paris.

Eclairs that we devoured in Place des Vosges, Paris. (No, not all of them.)

Bubbly from Barlotti, Paris.

Crusty bread from Le Pain Quotidien, Paris.

Morning cappuccino, Paris.

High tea at Harvey Nichols, London.

And for the big finish…
Amazing wedding dessert of “chocolate souffle rippled with turkish delight, vanilla pod ice cream, and a little pot of dark chocolate sauce.” (Well, actually this is T’s dessert as I had already begun eating mine. Oops.)

my morning commute

Last Friday, a friend suggested I draw something to see my perspective from a different viewpoint.  And like any good student who procrastinates until Monday morning to do their homework, I fulfilled my assignment (though opted to take iPhone pics instead of draw) during my commute.  This is my perspective on a Monday morning.

playing with your food

Bananas + art + crowd-sourced design = new Chiquita stickers in November. Fun!

(Read more on Good.)

technocraftiness

Anything with a title of “TechnoCRAFT: Design in the age of individuality” is a to-be-experienced in my book.  Visiting the exhibit at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in SF was like visiting an intersection of art, technology, craftiness, bold color, quirky design, mod imagination, and hipster hackiness.  While the experience encouraged interaction (one is to visit various stations to create their art card in alignment with the intention of particular pieces on display), unfortunately they discouraged us when asked if we could create our own Do-Hit-Yourself chair.  Oh well. Perhaps I’ll be inspired to go home and start hacking it up. Who knows?

What I do know is that curation by designer Yves Behar (whose focus on fusing technology with human needs/emotions is evident in the development of the the world’s first $100 “XO” laptop for Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop Per Child organization) created the landscape for a fun trip to an interesting intersection.

toy planes & pixel peeps

Really enjoying the concept of iPhone art… and I couldn’t be more excited that PixelsAtAnExhibition.com featured one of my iPhone pics on their site ~ this image of a fun little toy plane I found in a cabin in Tahoe.

Woo! Thanks, Pixel People!