for my favorite ladies

when i started thinking about how i would ask seven of my nearest and dearest to become my personal slaves for the next 11 months (y'all knew that when you said yes, right?:), the first thing i did was scour etsy, paper source, and bhldn, and hit up every stationery store i could find here in new orleans. i couldn't find anything that really suited my taste (i fear that is going to be a common theme - although these cuties from rifle paper co. were contenders for a while), so i decided to make the cards myself. based on this diy stationery set from a beautiful mess, i "embroidered" (i'm using quotes because my amateur technique can hardly be called embroidery) cotton squares with "will you be my bridesmaid?", sewed them onto blank greeting cards and wrote messages inside. i lined the kraft envelopes with pretty chevron paper and sent my creations off to my favorite people. and they all said yes :) 

san antonio

last weekend i went to a conference in san antonio and dragged marty along (which is quickly becoming a conference trend) since neither one of us had ever stepped foot in texas. now i can't speak to the rest of the state but i think san antonio was a pretty great place for us first-timers. it is an intense tourist destination and but still offers enough in the way of neighborhood gems to not get overwhelming. 

for our inaugural tex-mex meal, we headed to rosario's in southtown, where we cooled off with huge beers and margaritas, and shared ceviche and queso. this is also where we ate the best fire-roasted tomato salsa in the universe. no, seriously. 

 after over-indulging at rosario's, we spent the rest of our first afternoon walking off our food comas and ducking into the shops in la villita, a historic arts village in downtown san antonio. it took a lot of convincing (3 days worth, in fact) to dissuade marty from buying the below-pictured poncho.

 it's true what they say: everything, including these tchotchke jelly beans, is bigger in texas.

 of course we had to go see the alamo, which provided the some of the best people watching i've ever experienced. we cooled off in the shade in alamo square with a pina colada snow cone.

 after wandering around the city the rest of the day, we ended up at our hotel for room service and overpriced cocktails.

our second day began with a leisurely stroll on the riverwalk, where we found another tex-mex fix at acenar. this is where i developed a pretty serious obsession with mole sauce, and got to enjoy more fire-roasted salsa, which, inexplicably, is served in clear glass vases that must come in bulk from ikea because every restaurant in san antonio uses them (see below:).

 after braving the riverwalk crowds, we rented cruisers from a san antonio bike share kiosk for a midday ride through southtown to the blue star arts complex, a contemporary art venue built out of old warehouses that also includes apartments, a bike shop, and a brewery. since it was sunday, the only business in the complex that was open was the brewery. we were so sad. 

that's marty looking sad that all of the sculpture and jewelry stores were closed.

our second hotel featured a pretty great view of downtown san antonio.

 on our third night, after i finished with the first day of my conference, we walked to southtown (again!) and hit up the friendly spot icehouse for happy hour. this place reminded me most of new orleans: it was dog-, kid- and bike-friendly, everyone seemed to know each other, and it had a super rad vibe. afterward we walked over to rosario's again. i'm telling you, that salsa.

of course, no trip with marty would be complete without him doing his pole trick somewhere in town.

a frame solution

recently (ok, fine, in early january) marty and i stumbled into an amazing gallery in the quarter and acquired two lithographs: one of a dachshund i'd been admiring since marty moved to the quarter in 2008, and another of a 1938 promotional poster for zion national park in utah (some info about this series of posters, commissioned during the great depression to assist struggling artists, here). seeing as i'd visited zion last may, and almost climbed to the very top of angel's landing (only to be bested by the positively terrifying half-mile summit push consisting of sharp drop offs, narrow paths and one tiny little chain to grip), clearly i needed to own this vintage poster, if not for any other reason than to be reminded every day that i'd cheated death.

anyway, like any self-respecting thrifty diy couple, marty and i naturally declined the print shop's offer to professionally frame our rare print, knowing that we could do it ourselves. eventually a trip to michael's frame section followed, wherein i learned that our rare print was, naturally, not standard sized, which meant that framing it would cost roughly the same as one month's rent. so, as tends to happen around here when diy projects have come to an inevitably expensive standstill, i placed our rare print under the futon to gather dust while i mulled over a solution. and by mulled, i of course mean scoured the internet for other people's solutions. eventually an ork posters purchase led me to this brilliant idea. and so, like any self-respecting thrifty diy'er, i STOLE said idea. but, i'm giving credit where credit is due, so there's that. total cost: 4.69 (4-pack of hangers from target) + .39 (1 package of black embroidery thread for hanging).

oh. right. during my blog hiatus i acquired a new 50mm f/1.8D lens i have yet to thoroughly play with. therefore, forgive me these slightly narcissistic and terribly awkward shots.

ring: also newly acquired and not properly photographed.

pizza rolls! or, blogging is like riding a bike, right?

 oh. hey there. remember me? before i begin, let me wish y'all a happy thanksgiving, merry christmas, happy holidays, happy birthday to myself, happy new year (and thanks for reading in 2011) AND happy birthday to marty (!!!), since it is customary to do these things on one's blog and i apparently like to disregard these blog rules. well, lots has happened since my last post, namely, approximately 12 national holidays AND marty and i decided to get married! but, more on that later. for now, i think i'll stick to what i'm good at. and as of late, what i've become very good at is roasting vegetables, rolling them up in pizza dough and baking them into savory cinnabons a la the geniuses at pizza delicious. the steps couldn't be easier:

1. roast vegetable of your choice. i tend to stick w/ cauliflower although anything would work (broccoli, brussels sprouts, mushrooms). i usually roast veggies with olive oil, kosher salt, and red pepper flakes at 450 until soft on the inside and crispy on the outside

2. let vegetables cool slightly and chop 

3. with a rolling pin, roll out pizza dough (i use pillsbury) into a 12'' x 24'' sheet

4. sprinkle chopped vegetables all over the dough, leaving approx. 1 inch uncovered at the top. sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese. 

5. tightly roll up the dough, creating a 24 in log of deliciousness. cut into equal-sized pieces. 

6. prepare cupcake tin by pouring 1/2 tsp or so olive oil into each well. place one roll into each well. sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. bake at 425 for 12-15 min, until the rolls are golden. 

7. DEVOUR. with pizza sauce for dipping, if desired.