Saturday, May 29, 2010

Two Great VHS Finds

 

Santo Contra la Hija de Frankenstein and Santo y Blue Demon Contra Dracula y el Hombre Lobo. They're part of "La Collecion de el Santo". I don't know how many more VHS there are, but I hope to find more. I mean, what could be better than Mexican wrestlers battling classic horror movie monsters? I can't wait to watch them!

I'm Going to Summer Camp!


Well, I'm not really going anywhere, but I am participating in the Red Velvet Art Summer Camp online. I'm really looking forward to it. I love summer-camp-like crafts, which is possibly inspired by the fact that I never went to summer camp as a child. If you, too, would like to make up for a lack of summer camp experiences (or relive them), sign up!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Satuday, May 15: Day Three


Another good 5 hours of sleep before check out, with Jason waking up in the middle for (even worse) continental breakfast. And no coffee. So the first order of business was to find coffee. We stopped at French Press Coffee House and were pleasantly surprised. Jason and I drank cafe au lait and Brian got a banana bubble tea. Yes, the place served coffee and bubbletea. It's the coffee house of my dreams.

This was another day of drifting in an out of sleep during our six hour drive. Jason spotted an awesome thrift store beside the interstate, so we got our shop on. It was amazing. We found this lady with a booth of records in really good condition, for really good prices.


Once we got into Houston, we went to see this awesome giant saxophone made of car parts.



We spent a lot of time in this record store beside the venue. It was pretty sweet.



We ate super-extra-tasty tacos at Tacos A Go-Go.



They played and we got on out of there and to Austin.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Friday, May 14: Day Two (Part Two)

We had a hell of a time finding Spellcaster Lodge because it's not marked at all since it's Quintron & Miss Pussycat's house. Also, and more importantly, we somehow wrote the address dyslexically. We met Quintron & Miss Pussycat (though Brian & Jason met Quintron before) and they fed us yummy red beans and rice. I couldn't stop yawning so Miss Pussycat gave me some super tasty coffee. They let us chill in their house and we all watched part of Tropic Thunder. They were totally rad and the show was a hit. We stayed at a dirty hotel we found off of 10 on the way out of town.


Brian was stoked about playing with the Drum Buddy island.

I was stoked about their backyard...
I mean, look at that pony! And this fountain:



& of course, the boys:


Sunday, May 23, 2010

Friday, May 14: Day Two (Part One)


We got a whopping 5 hours of sleep before we had to check out. Jason was determined to get continental breakfast, so he woke up at 8am to score us some muffins and bagels. Luckily, the room had it's own coffeemaker, which really couldn't have made me happier (unless the coffee wasn't as awful as it was - it tasted like chomping on Folgers instant coffee). I spent a good deal of the drive to New Orleans drifting in and out of sleep in the backseat of the van. We took some detours in Florida to stop at some thrift stores, including some in Chipley that Brian and I stopped at a few months ago. It was pretty much a bust.

We also stopped along the way at the first place on the list I compiled from Roadside America - the Derailed Diner in Robertsdale, Alabama. That place was awesome! I read a little about it online before we went and the woman who opened it spent four years planning it out. You can tell; there are awesome details everywhere. There are tables-for-two made out of tailgates with TV's in front of the seats. There are bucket seats from various vehicles on many of the booths. Plus, the counter faces the school bus that houses the kitchen. The food was also pretty rad. I had a "Veggie Hobo" which was mixed veggies roasted in a bag of aluminum foil. They also had bottomless coffee, of which Jason and I took full advantage.


(Coincidentally, I have the blue Columbia Roadster hanging from the ceiling.)









We went to some indoor flea market in Mississippi that was super sketchy and not exciting at all. The best thing about Mississippi was this giant rocking chair...




We also hit up a couple of thrift stores there, but had to book it to New Orleans. To be continued...

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Thursday, May 13: Day One

(Better late than never?)
I woke up at 5:45am for work at 8. I worked until 4pm, trying to get as much done as humanly possible before my mini-vacation. I think went home to pack, check my list, and then check my list a few more times. We drove to Jacksonville, and the venue (Lomax Lodge) ended up being in a nice part of town that I never knew about. There were a few antique stores and even a Hovan across the street. We had tasty dinner and then sat around for hours. Jason played Jenga with Jung from All Leather, and we all tried to not get beheaded by the people playing pool in a way-too-cramped place. There was a dog at the show, which was a first for me.
(The club had all kinds of crazy animal paintings on the wall.)


(Jason & Jung playing Jenga in close quarters.)


(Brian playing in Jacksonville.)


Just before the show, we found a decent-looking hotel to stay at in Tallahasse, so we could at least cut out a bit of the nine hour drive to New Orleans. We got to the hotel around 4:30 and basically flew up the stairs and into beds.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Almost Home...

It's been a long day, but we're finally a few hours from home. We left San Antonio after saying bye to All Leather around 2am. We've been driving ever since. I'm very thankful for this rental van with Sirius radio- I wouldn't have been able to drive the 3-6am shift without cheesy 90's alternative radio.

It's been really fun, but I'm happy to be nearing home. I'm tore up: I have 20+ gnarly mosquito bites that I've scratched to hell, I'm getting sick, and my nails are about 20 feet long.

We took a ton of pictures, so I'll start posting those when I'm back to "normal" life.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Thrift Store Find of the Day

Hamburglar, from 1987. Found at a Savers in Austin, TX. Great.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Tour of Nice Cats

This is turning into a tour of meeting nice cats everywhere we go. I hung out with Quintron & Miss Pussycat's indoor cat last night, and I tried to befriend an outdoor cat as well. Then, today we stopped at a random flea market in Louisianna and this awesome black cat was wandering around inside. We hung out for a few minutes & she even licked my hand. One of these days I'm going to end up getting rabies from trying to love all these random cats.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Spellcaster Lodge

Yip-Yip & All Leather are playing at the Spellcaster Lodge in New Orleans tonight. It's basically Quintron & Miss Pussycat's above-ground basement & it's rad. It helps that they're both supernice & have two awesome cats.

We stopped at a couple of ridiculous places on the way here today. I'll share pictures once I'm back to non-phone internet .access.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

First Day of Tour

Today I worked until 4 and then hit the road with Brian and Jason. Their show tonight is in Jacksonville. We've been waiting around forever, but part of me wishes we'd have gotten here earlier to hit up some rad antique stores down the street. One has a pretty large window display full of awesomeness. Like the creepy glass clown & swell bowling pin plaque.

Hopefully we'll find some equally awesome places that are actually open along the way.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

ReicheRu spells Rachel!

One of my coworkers came into my office this morning and said she had a present for me.


It's my name...in Japanese! And although it's lovely, it's sad that this is the first thing I've hung up in my new office, and by "new", I mean I've been there four months. It's time to locate the bag-full-o' former-cubicle decorations I have hanging around here some place.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Growing Up.

Perhaps you know you're a "grown up" when, for your belated birthday present, you forgo this:



...for money towards one of these:

But I guess you also know you're getting older when you wake up with an incredibly sore back just from sleeping.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Bring it on, Summer!


Perhaps cutting your own hair is like riding a bike - you never forget how! My hair desperately needed a cut, and I couldn't get ahold of my hairdresser. I'll be out of town next weekend, so that meant I'd have to wait at least two weeks before getting it chopped. So I took matters into my own hands...literally! Now I'm at least a little more prepared for the months-long 90-degree heat wave.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Alicia Silverstone Strikes Again!


Ok. I swear I'm not getting any kind of kickback from sales of The Kind Diet (maybe I should be?), but it's definitely one of the best cookbooks I own. For most people, that might not be saying a lot, but I have at least 40 cookbooks.

The picture above is from dinner tonight: Quorn naked cutlets with Cuban-Style Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Four thumbs up!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Rainy Days

Is it odd to love the smell of the rain on a hot Florida afternoon? Maybe, but I do anyway. The only way I would enjoy it more is if I had this umbrella.


Or maybe one of these cuties from Fred Flare:




You know, I'd even settle for these (very expensive) rain boots.


Perhaps I should find some cheery protection from the rain as the rainy season is upon us. Any suggestions?

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Twosday!


For today, two pictures of tonight's dinner (+ a "recipe")...




Vegetarian pot pie! I made pot pie for the first time on Pi Day earlier this year. That one turned out pretty well, but was based on a recipe and wasn't much like "real" pot pie. Brian has already said a few times that this may be the best thing I've ever made.

Here's an approximation of how it was done:

Ingredients
  • 2 pie crusts (I used one frozen for the base and one refrigerated for the top)
  • 2 medium potatoes, diced
  • 1/2 cup sliced carrots (I used baby carrots)
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
  • 1 vegan bouillon cube
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup water
  • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar (optional)


Preheat oven to 400degees

1. Thaw frozen pie crust (if using - I allowed mine to thaw while cooking the veggies). Place on cookie sheet.
2.  Add potatoes and carrots to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil. Add broccoli. Cook until vegetables are just tender.
3. Drain most of the water from the pot, reserving about two cups.
4. Add oil to pan on medium heat. Add sliced onions and cook until translucent. Add mushroom and cook until they start releasing liquid. Set aside.
5. Add bouillon cube to cooking liquid over medium heat. Stir to dissolve. To this mixture, add slurry of cornstarch and water. Cook until thickened.
6. Add mushroom/onion mixture to other veggies and stir to combine.
7. Add half of the cheese to the bottom pie crust. Pour in vegetable mixture. Top with remaining cheese. Add the second pie crust, trim sides, crimp edges with fork, and cut a few vent holes in top crust. (As you can see, I added vents in the shape of a heart.)
8. Cook for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown.
9. Enjoy:

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Arbor Day Movie Night

Last night, I had my second annual Arbor Day Movie Night. This year's special feature was Seed People. It's such a good bad movie. 

I think I outdid myself this year with my themed food creations. Mainly because I made this awesome tree out of cupcakes...



It also helps that the cupcakes are super-tasty. They're made from a recipe I found on VegWeb a year or so ago:

1-1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup icy cold water
1/2 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8" or 9" cake pan. (Or about 18 muffin tins - I just put cupcake liners in mine.)

2. In a bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt until very light and airy..about 3 times.

3. In a small bowl combine cold water, oil, and vanilla.

4. Add liquid ingredients (except lemon juice) to dry and combine. Once the batter is combined add the lemon juice and stir quickly then pour into prepared pan.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tests done with toothpick.