Austin Fashion Week- gearing up

At last! It's here... my set up is complete and I can no longer obsess and stress over getting things done and displayed well.

I'm really happy with my display- the lighting in All About Diamonds is perfect for the display, and the shop is nice and spacious. I can't think of a better place to put my purses.

Here, I took a pic:

If any of you locals are reading this, I'd love to see you out Wednesday or Saturday when I'll be at the shop co-hosting some events! Here's a reminder:

Where: All About Diamonds-
3300 Bee Cave Road, Suite 245

Wednesday July 15th
1-5pm
wine, cheese, fruit and purses!

Saturday July 18th
10am-2pm
mimosas, fruit and other goodies

Come say hi, check out my new bags, and have a snack with me!

Henry's cool retreat

Today I made a second attempt at making a video of Henry's tunnel that runs underneath my backyard. I had some success with the video, but it's really too dark to see very far down the tunnel. I need my neighbor's search light. Wonder if she'd let me lower it down in there? I doubt she has the same spastic need to investigate since she has a bomb shelter on her property and isn't one bit excited about it.

First I tried to see what was on the other side of the tunnel- the black abyss that my camera captured yesterday when the camera turned 1/2 way down it's descent. I taped a hand mirror to a tube from a fabric roll and shimmied it in. Not much to see.

To get a video where the camera wouldn't spin, I lowered a canvas curtain down into the pit so the camera would slide along it on it's descent- no swiveling. It worked! Check it out!

Kind of creepy, right?

Henry showed up and was very interested in the goings-on of the tunnel investigation.

He wedged himself on the narrow shelf and I started getting worried he was going to jump. I walked back to the house, calling after him, "Henryyyyyy, don't go down there! Come on, kitty, come inside"- but he only peeked up to see that I was just going back inside to the boring old house before he jumped down into the drain.

I held my camera down to see if I could see him- he looked up and meowed, but only in a "oh hi there" sort of way. No panic. I was the panicked one. Obviously he knows how to get out, and as my man mentioned, he's probably been down there 1,000 times without my knowing it. But still. Kitty in a drain, far far down. Not something I like to think about.

Here he is contemplating jumping over the disgusting, mosquito infested water to the other drain:

He's still down there as I type this. I'm about to take another look and see if I might coax him up. I'm very curious about his ability to jump that high and wedge through the narrow opening. Cats are so cool.

update: Henry just appeared and he's not even wet. How did he jump up without touching the gunk???

A friend just gave me this link and my heart is still in my throat. It's SO EXCITING. Go here and go now: www.mr-lee-catcam.de/cc_index_en.htm

The pages of photos from the cat's outdoor adventures are gorgeous- some are so artsy and cool, they could be printed and hung in a show. But then, that may just be my crazy cat lady coming out! I was surprised at how many other cats Mr. Lee (love the name) encountered.

Check out the gorgeous countryside that these lucky cows get to stroll around in in Switzerland (yes, the cat cam was attached to a cow- I love this website so much). I don't know if Henry would allow a kitty cam strapped to his neck, he's already violently opposed to collars. But it might be worth a little fight. I'm going to look at the order page now!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Any cool place will do

I heard on the radio that the heat index will be 110 degrees tomorrow.

Despite the heat, Henry has decided that it's still more fun to be outside finding a shady spot to hang out than to be inside begging me to play (and only succeeding half the time and for shorter periods than he'd like. Hey, I'm busy).

Earlier today, after letting Henry out, I heard a cat fight and some yelling. It was in my other neighbor's yard- the neighbor who went out and got herself her own little Henry (her kitten is a mini-Henry and I'm convinced she liked Henry so much she wanted the same kitty). I couldn't see what was going on, but she was super freaked out. Yelling "STOP IT!" with a twinge of panic. I stepped out in time to see her grab her sprinkler, which was on, and shoot it in the direction of the yowling. I decided I was too freaked out to help. What was I going to do, jump the fence? I also felt bad that big Henry might be whoopin' little Henry's butt.

About 10 minutes later Henry came back into the yard, but he took a detour by the fence. I have this big slab of concrete about 4 ft x 4 ft that covers a drainage pit. There are bars covering the narrow intake area, but they're far enough apart for all sorts of critters to squeeze through. Peering over the edge, into the drain, I can see that it leads into a huge tunnel. When Henry disappeared behind the slab and didn't pop his head up for awhile, I got worried. I went out, looked down into the depths of the creepy drainage hole and saw him sprawled out in the coolness of the concrete tube. He just looked up at me like, "what, woman?"

I had to leave to meet a friend for a business-related lunch, so I crossed my fingers that Henry would use his smart little brain and his brawn to get himself out. When I got home, he loped up to the back door, so I now know the ditch is not to be feared. Maybe it's a good spot for him to cool out during the hot summer days.

Thinking about the concrete tunnel made my mind go crazy with ways of trying to see where it leads. I feel like I'm 10 years old again. The concrete slab is not something I could lift without heavy machinery, so that's out. I thought about making some sort of periscope to see if I could look down the tube. I might rig something up. I also thought about trying the car jack to lift the slab, but all I need is to trap myself down there with the raccoons and other varmints, ready to give me rabies. I'm not sure the cops and/or fire fighters who would have to rescue me would understand that I just wanted to see where my cat was going when he went down into his cool pit.

Sorry no pics. I was a little too startled to see Henry actually down there and I was also running late to meet my friend. I'm sure this wont be the only time I can spot him in his cool, damp lair. It's pretty funny to see.

Austin Fashion Week is coming- and I'm in it!

This news is so late... I'm a bad blogger and bad PR person for my business!!! I need a spokes model.

Here's the official website: www.fashionweekaustin.com
And here's the link directly to me: ¡Bolsa Bonita!

I was paired with a swanky (gorgeously decorated) diamond shop in South West Austin- West Lake Hills area. All About Diamonds. The husband/wife team who own it are so nice and enthusiastic about hosting my business in their boutique.

If you're local, come on out and see me during one of (or both!) of our events:
location: All About Diamonds: 3300 Bee Cave Road, Suite 245

Wednesday July 15th 1pm-5pm "Afternoon Delight"
wine, cheese, and fruit will be served and you can check out a bunch of my new bags and gaze at the dazzling diamonds!

Saturday July 18th 10am-2pm (possibly later)
mimosas and light foods (I'm supplying that part- so it's probably going to be fruit and croissants)

I'll take photos, of course, so if you miss it or are from out of town, you'll get a peek at some of my new bags soon!

I have news, but I need to work

There's a lot going on!
I need to sew tonight instead of blog, so I'm leaving you with a funny picture of Henry. It's been too hot for him to roam around outside lately, so he lounges a lot. Unfortunately he makes me suffer because of his cabin fever- I'm forced to play or pay. Pay meaning that he'll continue to meow or scratch on the boards holding my mattress up until I get out of bed to play with him. I try to wait him out, but he's persistent! Seven a.m. is not my favorite time of the day. Sometimes I hang off the side of the bed, eyes half open, swishing the flashlight around, hoping he'll be satisfied with that so I can get some more zzz's!

End of the week check in

Liz: 2nd grade in her "stop sign" glasses... later known as "octagon face"


I know it's the weekend and blog reading/writing tends to fall to the wayside as people do real life things, but I need to procrastinate just a wee bit more before sewing! So this entry may just be for myself.

This past week almost did me in. I felt over-scheduled, over-stimulated, and over-stressed. I had a flood of things happen socially (I'm usually quite reclusive) and then had a bunch of deadline oriented tasks to figure out... stuff for my business that made me nervous and anxious. Today, Friday, I feel like I've tidied up my life and can get back to normal again, but the past week took such a toll on me.

I can't help but feel that I'm becoming more sensitive to things. I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Since I now work at home and can control my environment (ie: peaceful and alone!), I've become more sensitive to commotion, sound, and the general busyness of the world. Same with food. Even before I recently started eating a more reasonable diet, I ate much better quality foods than I had earlier in my life. I started to note the difference in how "bad" food affected me. Now that I'm eating a more healthy diet, I'm really sensitive! I don't know if I can claim the iron stomach I used to have!

I know it's good to recognize what makes me feel good, but at the same time it seems like such a chore to be so sensitive. I'm cultivating a real weenie lifestyle!

Maybe I'm just aging!
ahhh!!!

Speaking of getting old, today I had my eyes examined since in the past year I've suddenly had to start holding restaurant menus at arm's length to read them. I've always worn glasses or contacts, but this far-sightedness is a new vision situation. I loved the doctor, though she was freakishly young, and the office was really nice. But I got the quick-talking shuffle that happens to me sometimes- you know, the innocent doctor's appt with a low co-pay of $30 that ends up being $330. I'm not kidding. I freaked out. I looked at my receipt when I went home and found some $60 fee for??? WHO KNOWS! I did pay extra for a fancy schmancy test that would allow me to not have my eyes dilated (and really, it's pretty cool to have a photo of your retina), but that seemed reasonable at $35. The contacts were super expensive. I nervously asked for a prescription to the 3 other glasses I need (hello, calling granny Liz) so I could maybe take them elsewhere (as in, not a swanky doc's office with frames that are more than I can afford).

Good news: I have contacts and can now see.
Bad news: I can now see every wrinkle and sun spot on my face crystal clear
Good news: I found out that over-the-counter reading glasses are fine for me and won't hurt my eyes
Bad news: How sad is it to wear drugstore reading glasses?
Good news: They now call bi-focals transition lenses
Bad news: I need them

The long doctor's visit made my eyeballs feel like they had been sucked out and popped back in. I had serious eye strain and a headache for most of the day. No yoga practice today. Then stress from no practice and a promise to myself I'll get one in tomorrow. I took Monday off for moon day (traditional Ashtanga yoga thing), had a bionic practice Tuesday, had a melt down on Wed and had to nap instead of practice, then had a very hard practice yesterday. Not my greatest yoga week.

I guess there's still the rest of my life to catch up!

Hope everyone had a great week and has a nice weekend planned!

I can breathe again...

I just got notified of my acceptance into the Austin City Music Festival - my 6th year!

More info later.
whew!

Guilty, guilty pleasure

I'm hopelessly addicted to the Sookie Stackhouse book series... you know, HBO's True Blood... based on the first book in the series, Dead Until Dawn.

My long time friend and fellow enthusiast for fun and ridiculous things, recommended I borrow her copy to take for the plane rides to and from Boston. I read until my eyeballs almost fell out, it's a very entertaining read. And quick. Plus, she's a prolific writer, so you can read the last page of one book and crack open the next, so there's no let down that the story ends until after the 8th book! whoo hoo!

The best part of reading the first book was looking at the inside back cover and seeing the author, Charlaine Harris:

I LOVE that these racy, sexy, lurid tales are coming from this sweet, chubby cheeked lady, and that she's enjoying a burst of success now that her story is a well done HBO mini-series. Go Charlaine! Just another example of someone following her passion.

Anyway, I devoured the first, bought the second immediately and was done too quick- I wasn't prepared with the third book in hand. I'm now in withdrawal. But first, let me brief you on what I'm talking about.

The Sookie Stackhouse books are about a Louisiana mind reader named Sookie. She falls in love with a vampire who "died" right after the civil war. He's hot, of course, and she's fiery and funny. There's a shape shifter too. Oh, and a Viking vampire- you know I'm loving that! It all takes place in a small town with all the usual characters that environment produces. There's lots of adventure, romance, and sex whirling around the main mystery. I'm beside myself with these books.

HBO picked up the story and is on to their 2nd season. The maker of Six Feet Under is producing it, which is heavenly. I adored Six Feet Under (watched the all the seasons in one summer with a weekly get together with a friend- hours of episodes, sodas, and snacking). I don't have cable, but my friend recently loaned me the first two episodes of the first season of True Blood. They were pretty good! The opening credits have a David Lynch feel, heavy on Southern gothic- which, in my opinion, makes everything better!

Back to my withdrawal. After meeting friends for dinner tonight, I popped over to our local bookstore, planning on getting the third book and rewarding myself with a good read after doing some work tonight. They were out. By this time, I was determined to get it, so I drove to Barnes and Noble. Out. Shoot! That's what I get for jumping on the pop culture train! Everyone is eating these books up! I even drove to a third bookstore, at 10pm at night, but they were long closed (as in, no longer in business closed!).

I'm on the list at Barnes and Noble, so when the shipment comes in, I'll be notified. God, I hope it's tomorrow.

I should have gone ahead and ordered the whole box set of books, but I decided that if I'm going to indulge in this sort of "literature" then I need to pay penance. That being, going to the book store for each new book and having the guy behind the counter, who probably has multiple degrees but can't find a job elsewhere, look at my vampire book and think I'm a dufus. ha! My smart man is the one who reads the meaty stuff, though, I need to be honest with myself. I'm a lit dufus. Well, now I am. I used to read real books, but now I read vampire books! While he plows through books as big as the phone book on MLK, history of jazz, and other subject worth educating yourself on, his girlfriend is reading about a guy who sleeps in the dirt and a bar waitress who's a modern day, and super sexified Nancy Drew.

There. I just figured it out. This is Nancy Drew for 40 year olds. yes! No wonder I can't put them down.