Daily Blossom

No flowers today folks, I’ve got something yummy instead…French Macarons! These sweet treats are quite different from those coconutty macaroons, though I enjoy them too. These are light, meringe-y sandwich cookies with luscious fillings, and are nigh-impossible to find in the US.  I’ve recently discovered a local bakery that serves up authentic French Macarons in some incredible flavors – Luxe Sweets!  They ship all over the US, so you can indulge even if you’re not here in Austin. They have other yummy treats too.  I just discovered these and thought I’d share, because who doesn’t love yummy stuff!

Daily Blossom

I have to admit, I’m a little relunctant to let go of my weekend today…I had such a great time this past weekend! As the last bit of birthday celebration some friends and I rocked out to the Eighties One-Hit-Wonder Sing-a-Long at the Alamo Drafthouse downtown.  I absolutely love their sing-a-longs – the most fun ever – and I have to say, this one was my favorite so far. We sang and danced all night! Saturday morning I took off with my husband and mom on a little drive through the hill country, hitting some garage sales and vintage stores, and the home of weird plants, Spicewood Spines. My favorite purchases of the day are the great vintage Echo scarves and enamel flower pins above, and the tiny little succulents below. In a few days I’ll have the succulents planted in some pretty pots and arranged in my windowsill to show you. Ok, I’m giving in, off to work and onward into the week…

Daily Blossom

cacti, originally uploaded by richietown.

All I can say is, Wow! What a fantastic shot of a beautiful spot. Enchanted Rock, about an hour away from me in Austin, was the first place that helped me really appreciate the beauty of cacti and sparse vegetation. It’s a far cry from what I grew up with, but so beautiful in it’s own way!

The List Continues

The updated list:

* make brownies – I’m trying to come close to the recipe for these (I’ll be posting my favorite recipe soon!)
* laundry, laundry, and more laundry
* serious spring cleaning (still have the serious part to do…)
* organize my pantry
* rearrange my office/guest room
* read a book (Keeping it Real)
* garage sales
* Star Trek
* make a cute skirt (on hold – my mom borrowed my sewing machine because hers is broken)
* cookout with friends here (rained out, but we still had dinner)
* dye my hair I couldn’t decide on a color. I think I’ll let the taunting grays hang out for a while.

So what’s left is the cleaning and organizing. I almost got started on the pantry on Sunday, but decided to nap instead. I stand by my decision. But I do have cute jars to put my dry goods in, so I guess I’d better get to it!  Stay tuned for the brownie recipe and some pictures of my fabulous pantry and office/guest room (cross your fingers!).

Yardsale Treasures

yardsale finds, originally uploaded by blossomdaily.

Although we had originally planned to spend Saturday morning at the movies, when I wandered onto Craigslist and saw all of the garage sales going on, I proposed a change of plans. My husband and sister were more than happy to postpone Star Trek till Sunday, and we set out Saturday morning around 8am, armed with kolaches and little money, to see what we could find. For five hours we drove around southwest Austin, going from one neighborhood sale to the next (seriously, there were more than 10 neighborhood sales just in our part of town, despite the threat of rain). I am so tickled with my finds. In addition to all of the goodies in the picture above (I finally got on flickr, and I’ve added tags to this photo – click on it for more information!) I found a sewing desk for $20, and my husband found a leather footstool for $10. He also found his favorite childhood toy, a Micronauts play set, brand new, still in the package, for a quarter. He was completely beside himself! All in all it was a fabulous day! At our last neighborhood the impending storm finally broke, and we had to call it quits. We were meeting some friends for a cookout at a park, but the rain sent us indoors, for Mexican food (of course). All in all it was a great day!