daily adventures: pecan street festival

I take back what I said in my last post about the seasons changing & all that jazz. It's hot, and it was even hotter yesterday at the annual Pecan Street Festival in downtown Austin.




That didn't stop Tom, my friend Dani & I from sweating it out on 6th street. We cruised the craft booths, munched on fair food, signed up for free Shakespeare tickets, drank street beer & sweat. A lot.


AAND I had fried alligator! It was actually pretty delicious... kinda like chicken with fish overtones. Fried.



I did end up picking out a set of handmade peppers... you know the kind that grace the kitchen of all Texans & soccer moms alike?

Yes, those.



How could I resist them when they came in Texas flag print?



I also loved their simple lunch sack & twine packaging.

DIY: reclaimed polo halter

Summer may be over in some areas of the world, but I totally forgot to link to this great DIY project I did over on PaperDolls Mag where I turned an old polo shirt into a super cute halter... sooo I'm linking to it now. I still wear mine with a high-waisted skirt & cardigan. Cute & super simple!


(obviously this photo is from the summer, hence the short shorts! and straight bangs. for you savvy readers.)

Nerdlike.com Give-away!

Attention all Pommes Frites fans! I am currently partnering with nerdlike.com for a give-away of one very awesome flask safe. The book is an old Abraham Lincoln tome, and although honest abe may not smile down on deceitful drinking, it is a great gift for those history buffs/drinkers if your life!

Click here for more contest details & your chance to win! And thanks to the kind folks of Nerdlike for sponsoring this contest!

daily adventures: lockhart, tx & birthday bonanza

My birthday was full of bbq, small TX towns, karaoke & matching dress/bow combos. Although we went to both Kreuz's & Black's in Lockhart, I was totally in love with Black's small diner feel, complete with family pictures, american flags & gingham table tops everywhere. And I think I'm just a bbq sauce kinda girl!

Big News & Sunday Summary

Two days ago, I quit my day job. I use the term day job loosely here: technically I was a hostess at night, and I only worked part time. Also, up until a week ago I was working two part time jobs plus Pommes Frites. My other part time job (a gallery attendant at Art House) came to an end as the gallery closed for a year long renovation. I have been long dreaming on doing Pommes Frites full time, but wasn't certain when the time would be right.

But on Friday night, I decided the time was right. This wasn't just solely related to wanting to just do PF; there were other motives that lead to me to this decision... but I can't really discuss those motives here (however, if you ever catch me at a craft fair I will be more than happy to gossip with you.)

so I put in my two weeks and immediately had the sensation of falling off a cliff. I wasn't really expecting that; of course I'm excited, but it really dawns on you that your income is now largely dependent on how the internet is feeling about you. There's not a net to catch me in case people suddenly no longer have a use for flask safes or pins. (note to self: must make contingency plan)

In addition to feeling terrified, I've also felt incredibly motivated. I've churned out more books in the past couple of days (getting ready for another shop update + consigning some books at Frank in downtown Austin) than I am normally capable of. My fingers are permanently blistered and my legs are covered in glue, but on the flip side I've gotten to wear the same cut-off short shorts every day.

In other big news? I'm turning 24 tomorrow. For my birthday, Tom and I are day-trippin' it to Lockhart, TX to go on a BBQ crawl and then we're renting a private room for karaoke at night.

here are some more things I liked this week: drinking white wine spritzers; putting up shelving in my work room (thanks Tom!); the Rachel Zoe Project; getting wind of some exciting possibilities in the gift-guide season; getting my bangs cut - it's the annual bang direction change - so that they swoop instead of fall straight; pasta with peanut butter sauce; steak with tomato salad; six straight days of rain which rejuvenated our lawn & plants.


SWOOOOOOOOP!!!

See you soon... next time I'll have more pictures!

Etsy Finds: Narwal Tote from SquidInkKollective

This past weekend at the Handmade Nation Craft Bazaar I picked up this little pearl of a tote bag. You may not know this (unless you're Tom) but I am most decidedly not a tote person. This goes hand in hand with my no-sympathy outlook on traveling in style, but I typically use a vintage leather purse. Well, the current one I'm using (my Mom's old coach purse) is on it's last leg and when I saw this Narwhal tote I knew I had to have it.

I had to have it more than any handmade item I've ever wanted. I mean, a Narwhal on a segway? I had been dreaming about this bag ever since I saw it on the vendor's list for HNCB.

The Narwal named gob tote (from Austin's own SquidInkKollective!!) is made with organic cotton and at $14 is definitely a steal.

Ah! I love it. It's so cute. It's huge - I can fit packages in there! My only worry? The pretty natural color. By the end of the day when I'd gotten it home it already had strange black smudges on it (I think caused by rubbing against chalkboard paint), and while I'm consciously trying to keep it off all floors & dirty surfaces, I think it's due for a scotch guarding. Can you scotch guard totes? Anyone have any experience?

I love all of SquidInkKollective's hand screened creations - check out the rest of the shop (oh btw I think I also must have this shirt. I am not a huge crew-neck person, but obviously SquidInkKollective already has me changing my ways!)

daily adventures: labor day picnic

I didn't take Labor Day off. First of all, it's not really a holiday I've ever celebrated, save for two years ago when I had an office job and got it off. Mostly it's always meant the end of summer, return of school, the looming of my birthday (September 15th) & fall weather, the latter of which I enjoy immensely. It's no 4th of July, that's for certain.

Instead, I used Labor Day to clean the house, watch old episodes of Sex & the City & leisurely list my large stock of flask books. However, I did finish it up with a cute little picnic with Tom.



We got this picnic basket on sale at Target, but it's been way too hot to use it. I know summertime is supposed to be the era of picnics, bbq's and general outdoors-y-ness, but it's way too steamy for my tastes. Yesterday, the temps were in the 90s and while we napped and read on the picnic blanket, I even felt a cool breeze blowing through the air. It was glorious.





And, since the leaves on the trees here in Austin are parched and subsequently a fried yellow color, it almost looked like it was fall in Virginia. Almost.

Handmade Nation Recap & Booth Set up

Alright, I'm back in action. The craft bazaar was awesome! Lots of awesome people, amazing crafts, hot texas sun.

I fell off the face of the planet these past two weeks, both on the internet and IRL, permanently attached to my x-acto. I was also working steadily on re-habbing my booth set up and am pretty stoked with the results. Take a look...


I got a new banner for the back of my booth from Vista Print. I had to cut it down a little because for some reason I thought 6' would be a good length. It's taller than me!


My loose magnets & pins were displayed on the chalkboard frames I made last fair, a cheap little tray from Hobby Lobby and spilling out of jars & tins.


I made this pinboard display for my little pinpacks using a crappy old painting I found at Savers, some chalkboard paint & rows of hot glued clothes pins. Cute!



I also started making tags for my books & candles. Let me just say this: I love manila tags! I printed out little pieces of paper with the pertinent product info (the font is a free font called Mom's Typewriter from dafont.com) and glued them to the tags.



For book display, I got a new shelf & painted it white. Then, to tie in all of my shelves & crates, I lined the back with black and white gingham paper.


Cute little frame with matching gingham paper!

Thanks to all who came out, and many thanks to Tom who helped me so much this week!