5 thing Friday - Texas Exits, yogurt, cell phone tool, the den, art

Last time I was in Bertram I found a new-to-me winery, called Texas Exits Winery. 

The co-owner and her mother were pouring and both very friendly ladies. The other visitors were very friendly, too, as in small towns people often are. I enjoyed a tasting (first time in a loooong time) and bought their sparkling rose to enjoy this week.

Exit 1431 - do you know where that leads?*

I have a hard time eating yogurt, even though I need the probiotics.  I think its mostly a texture thing, although Greek yogurt is kind of tart as well.  But if I swirl in some chunky peanut butter, and top with granola, its like eating a dessert.  Supposedly, full fat Greek yogurt is better for you. (less sugar, higher in nutrients, healthy fats)

I was telling someone else on their blog that I use my phone as a tool more often lately.  Case in point is documenting things round the house that I want to address - like low spots in the yard that need some filler dirt. (I notice it when it rains!) I go through my photos fairly often and come across the photo and its a great reminder.  Do you use your phone like that, too?

The art that was hanging in here was huge, dated, kind of ugly.

(you'll see it in a minute)

On a whim I went over to Hob Lob while I was doing errands and as their art was 40% off, I grabbed these three framed prints.  If nothing else, they keep it from being a giant expanse of just wall. (and I promise, this shade of green-blue is the same on both walls!)

They are companion art to the one a friend gave me.  I'm not going to decorate the whole house with Hobby Lobby, pinky swear.  But anything is better than this:

Very dated and not my taste.  I think I paid $20 for the large one about 15 years or so ago.  Both of these canvases are up for grabs if any of my peeps want them for their apartment.  Maybe they will do something artsy with them.

Speaking of art, I am still slowly gathering mostly thrift store art for the mini gallery in the front room.  This is an actual oldie I am re-purposing - I might have paid $2 for it at Salvation Army years ago.  It used to live in my laundry room.

I picked it up and couldn't bear to set it back down.  Esther was born in 1896 in Missouri, and outlived her parents and 3 siblings.  She died at 92 years old; 16 years after her husband Ralph.  And I own something she stitched as a child.  As my mother would say, "I wouldn't take a nickel for it!".

Gina

*Marble Falls, Texas!

What the week holds and wall art

It sounds silly to say, but I ran out of ooomph with the corner gallery project.  For one thing, I need more art to fill in the spaces, but I want to curate it slowly.  I stopped into Hob Lob on Friday and found this 16x20 canvas art piece for $12 and thought it would pass the vibe check.  But I have other things I need to be working on, so after hanging it, I am moving on.  For now.

This week I am:

*working the evening shift on Monday

*on call two evenings

*going to make more headway on that photo project

*going to shop for a rug for the front room

*scheduled for a Wednesday appointment

*as well as a Thursday appointment

*walking at least 4 of the mornings

*going to Bertram on Friday for a pedicure and winery visit

*working my normal weekend hours

I also have a new book to read, a bit of yardwork to do, and a plan to make some breakfast tacos for the freezer.  Hooray for June!

What does your week look like?

Gina

Breakfast tacos - I make these like I would be eating them right away, but instead I wrap them in those lightweight foil sheets and store them in a big ziploc in the freezer.  I usually do eggs with a protein, and some grated cheese on bakery tortillas from HEB.  I set one (in foil) in a low oven while I get ready for work, then place the warm taco in my tote bag and head out.  It stays warm about half an hour, then I eat it while I check my email.  (:

5 thing Friday - beer shack, rainy days, easy meals, gallery wall, walking

Way back when, Mark and I used to drive up the road 2 minutes to have a beer at the Whole Foods beer shack and bop around the grocery store. We brought our growler and used to fill it up, then sit on their patio.

The other day I did an Amazon return there (didn't know they had an Amazon desk!) and stopped by the middle of the store to see if the shack was still there.  Lo and behold.  I think I might have found a great place to sip a beer and journal in the middle of the day.

The rain here makes for moody afternoons.

Its nice to have the covered patio while a storm moves in, but I have really been struggling with cloudy day blues.  I am ready for summer and sun and not having 86% humidity every day!  While I was sitting here, small birdies were hopping in and out, looking for shelter.  That's enough rain for now, thanks.

Grocery shopping has been minimal and cooking has been, too.  One night I enjoyed some blackened tilapia, mushroom rice, and corn on the cob.  I had my labs drawn earlier in the week and things look good, so eating at home definitely has health advantages for me.  Still, I am picking very easy things to cook.

The corner gallery is moving along. I shopped my house and found a couple of things to add.

I traced around each one on some kraft paper so I could play with the placement.  Its going to be a process - finding the art I want to add and figuring how to arrange it.

The bunny art got a bit of gold paint, I added a lace heart to the small carved frame, and the MCM frame still needs art. All of these items were thrifted, though there is some art at Hob Lob I am eyeballing.  I will consider this a long-ish term project.  And I need to finish up other projects I've started.

I hate to make excuses, but I just cannot get behind walking or exercising in rainy weather on my days off.  So yesterday was the first time in a long time I was able to get back over to the park track and walk.  However, I have today and tomorrow off and will add it into my morning routine, plus I go in late on Monday so I can walk 5 days in a row next week.

Bring on June!

Gina

5 thing Friday - happy hour, weather, Aqua Festival poster, chrysanthemum print, "Japanese Cheesecake"

I took myself to a fun place for happy hour after I bopped around the creative re-use store looking for cheap art supplies. 

A friend recommended this Indian restaurant in downtown Austin.

I enjoyed a couple of adult bevvies and some appetizers.

I love the idea of fusion food - this was curry queso.  Dee-lish.

Mornings have looked like this lately.  Sunny, slightly nippy, super beautiful.  Its a promise of warm days to come.  I am taking my daily walks and soaking up all the sun I can.

And evenings are just right for a quick firepit while supper cooks.  It won't be long before the days lengthen, but Austin normally sees at least one big winter event before spring.  After that, I guess the firepit will get safely stowed away.

Look what I found behind the art in this frame!  Can you imagine? This was a major event in Austin each year, until 1998.  I think we went a couple of times back in the day.  I don't remember ever seeing this framed poster, but maybe Mark had it in his office.  Just like when I found the Leah Schwartz pink poster, it was like a blast from my past.  I wonder what it's worth?

I stored the previous art, cleaned up the frame, left the AAF poster in, and hung my chrysanthemum print.  Pardon the lighting, it was evening when I got around to this project.  OK, I pinky promise to leave this wall DONE and stop moving things around.  Was I sad to see The Girl's middle school art finally get taken down?  A little. But knowing the poster is still in there is kinda fun. 

I thought the Japanese cheesecake thing sounded interesting and I tried it, but shocker, it just tasted like cookies in yogurt.  Mine was slightly sweet vanilla yogurt as I cannot imagine how terrible plain unsweetened yogurt would have tasted.  As it is, this was barely sweet and did not taste like dessert in the least.  Yogurt is not my favorite thing - just give me the cookies.

Gina

5 thing Friday - step stool feet, chair seat, big decisions, tub drain cover, snack mix

About a year ago I replaced the rubber feet on the step stool I use often.  At the time, it was a tight fit and they were hard to put on.  Over time, the edge of the step stool foot cut into the rubber feet.  Time to replace them yet again.  Don't you hate it when you have to re-visit a project you thought was done?!

You can see how one is misshapen.

I ordered a different set of feet that were slightly larger.  Turns out, they were too large.  What to do? Returning a $6 pack of rubber chair feet to Amazon is also a pain in the rear.  And they automatically tried to send another set out, to which I said NO, I will figure out a way to make this work.

In the garage toolbox I found exactly enough 3M mounting tape (whatever that is) and wrapped it around the end of the leg like so.  It provided just enough extra width to make the rubber feet fit snug. Perfect.

Mission accomplished.  I use this stool all the time.  I bought it years and years ago for our first house.

I got to looking at that fabric I bought last week and it is so pretty I knew I had to use some of it to recover my antique sewing table chair.  So vintage-y and beautiful!  It took me a power stapler and all of 30 minutes and was a good creative project.

On Wednesday, Scout came over to help me move the leather sectional to the garage.  I am patiently awaiting the new one. I'm a little nervous - I think I picked the right style, right color couch for me.  But big purchases always do a number on me.  I do trust myself, its just that for years I had another person to bounce all of these things off of.  One day, these decisions will feel more natural to me.

I pulled off the caulk around the guest tub overflow drain cover and wanted to shriek.  In fact, I might have.  Looks like the plumber was right - I need a new tub insert.

But that's not going to happen right now, so I pulled out this peel and stick caulk I had purchased months ago.  Originally I planned on putting it at the base of the tub, but I never got around to it.

It looks like homemade sin and maybe like its loose, but its not.  I did add a small bead of clear caulk all-around it.  Its a temporary patch job, but it will work until such a time as I replace the tub insert in here.  This bathroom is rarely used.

I made some Fall-themed snack mix, courtesy of an idea on a blog I read often.  It made a LOT, so the extra went into a sealed container in my pantry for whenever I want a treat, which is often.  I found this storage jar at Home Goods and filled it to the brim for Scout - he is my Halloween babe.  If you like salty-sweet snacks*, I highly recommend.

Happy weekend!

Gina

*In mine is: cheese crackers, Cocoa Puffs cereal, honey roast peanuts, Brach's autumn mix and candy corn, raisins, peanut butter filled pretzels, and Reese's Pieces.

5 thing Friday - latest read, the den, touch-up paint storage, curbside oops, Schlotzsky's

I found this book on a recent stop at Salvation Army (while keeping my eyes open for furniture for Bubbie).  It was on my To Read list on Goodreads and was all of $2.

I rate it as "OK".  You didn't get her full opinion and reflection on the premise of the book until the last chapter.  It was mildly entertaining, but also made me frustrated with her - mainly for choices she made as an adult, years after her mother died.*

Painting week, again.

This is a before pic of the area above the fireplace.  It definitely needed a glow up.

I gave Chat GPT the suggestion to redecorate it, with a green wall.  I had no intention of painting the whole wall, though.  And it left out the bookcase, but I loved the landscape, the candles, and the addition of a plant.

Painting it took me around the same time as the hall wall.  When I showed a friend my plan, she said she had a big canvas print that I could have, for free!  I set a chunky candle holder up there until such a time as I find a couple of taper candlesticks at a thrift store. The mirror went to live elsewhere and I'm not sure what I will do with the small terracotta suns.

With all of the natural light in this room, an accent wall here is not as dark as I thought it would be.

This little nook between the den and front rooms is always going to be in the shadows but its a small area anyway.  I think this one took me around an hour because I was being so careful with the edges.

The before on the main den wall - so much brown.  And I ended up moving that lamp and table after living with them a couple of weeks and deciding I didn't love them there.  A floor lamp will work better for reading, I think.

Such a beautiful color.  Rather than make it dark in here, it looks cozy and so good with the creamy white accent walls.  I will still need to address the rug and coffee table situation, but I will wait until the couch arrives.

Pillows tie it all together.  The pretty floral one I found at Target, the light green ones are courtesy of The Girl, and the fat boucle pumpkin is from Wal-Mart.

As I finish up a room, I store the leftover paint in a small container will all the details labeled on it.  Each one has a stainless steel blender ball and I placed these in the hall cleaning closet which is temperature controlled, unlike the garage. Only time will tell if this is a good plan.

A downside to ordering groceries curbside/delivery is that I frequently don't pay attention to the size of the item.  This week I got an 80 ounce package of frozen peas, which is comical.  Also, a much larger bag of green beans than I intended. The size of the bag of broccoli to the right is what I was aiming for.  I will be eating peas until the next scheduled rapture.

I haven't had a Schlotzsky's in forever and this week seemed as good as any to get one.  For the most part I have been cooking all of my meals.  Boring, but customizable, and much cheaper.  Still, its fun to let someone else do the cooking now and again.

Happy last weekend of September - can you believe it?

Gina

*incidentally, Sunday makes two years since Mom died