Would you like some prickly pear with that?

As you may know, I am a bit of a cocktail connoisseur. And because of that, I almost never use commercially-produced mixers. Most of them are full of high-fructose corn syrup and fake colors and flavors.


That's why I was excited to see these "Republic Spirit Blends" at Whole Foods. They are from an Austin-based company and are made with agave nectar and cane sugar instead of HFCS. And they have fun flavors like Jalapeno Lime and Pineapple Basil. 


I tried out the Prickly Pear.  It had a nice flavor -- if you've never tried a real prickly pear, it's delicious but hard to eat ... being, you know, prickly.


I'm excited to try these out in sparkling mineral water. Every morning I start the day with some Pellegrino with a little bit of lemonade or orange juice, and this will be a nice pink alternative.

The Big News

OK, in my last post I promised some big news. There's more to the story, but I won't keep you waiting for the headline:


I am not going to move; I am staying in Houston! I got a new job (in the organization that I work for currently). It is a Houston-based role, as opposed to my current role, which is flexible.


Now, the back story:
At the beginning of the year I declared my intention for 2012: 2012 is the year I find a home. For the past year or so, I've been vacillating between the idea of moving back to the Northwest or staying in Texas. They both have some serious pros and a few cons, which I chronicled here. However, the Northwest has very few opportunities in my field, which I would loosely label as "ed reform." Because I don't have any advanced degrees (besides my teacher certification) in the ed field, I'm not considered qualified in the Northwest to do the kinds of work that I do in Texas (instructional coaching and teacher training). That's one way to keep ed reform out of your state - make sure that most of the reformers, who weren't educated through traditional ed schools, can't get jobs.


Anyway, I wasn't really looking for a new role, but a position was created that is right up my alley and so I jumped on it. In the past, I've let jobs go by because I wasn't "looking" for anything new, and then I felt annoyed with myself. 


I'm feeling giddy at the prospect of my new job, which will start this summer (and which is also a promotion!). And, the moving decision has been made for me.


I still don't know if I'll stay in Houston forever. As a child, my family moved around a lot. For many kids, that scenario results in them simply wanting to settle down. But for me, it's always given me the sense that you can live anywhere you want, whenever you want. For now, though, I'm staying put for at least a few more years and that is A-OK with me. 


Now, I want to start looking for another home. I've been driving around lots of neighborhoods, trying to get a feel for places outside of my usual sphere - because my usual sphere is rapidly gentrifying and getting very expensive. 


I'm also going to start thinking and planning how I can remain connected to my hometown in the Northwest, since my new job involves less travel. I'll be a much happier person if I can visit regularly. I always go up for Christmas, so maybe I can figure out another time of year when I can schedule a regular visit.

Hey!


One reason I like The Voice is that I don't have to give it my full attention, so I can do things like blog while I'm watching it. Like right now. I'm listening to Ashley de la Rosa tear up Jewel's "Foolish Games," which I think my sister must have listened to 5,000 times when she was younger. Go listen to Ashley's rendition right now. It was fabulous.


Coming up soon, I think I'll have some big news to share, but until then, I'm just going to share a few things I'm loving these days (besides The Voice).


HERE
I'm sort of obsessed with this trailer for a movie called HERE. I think that possibly it's because the Peter Coyote narration reminds me of his days narrating on Lost. Don't you think that Peter Coyote should be hired by the government to read bedtime stories over loudspeakers every night?

There
That picture at the beginning of the post? And this one here? I took those at Girl Scout camp this past weekend. I think camp is basically the best place in the universe.


I've written more about it, and you can read it here.


Over There
I don't really watch Law and Order any more, but I do like a well-done procedural from time to time. So on Wednesday nights I've been tuning into the BBCA show Whitechapel. It's made me like Rupert Penry-Jones, who I'd never forgiven for taking over for Matthew MacFadyen on MI-5. He plays an obsessive-compulsive detective inspector, and Phil Davis (you'll recognize him from a million British dramas) is his kind detective sergeant. These are two guys you really root for.


Scare
After camp ended, my friend Kelly and I put on our matching Scooby gang shirts and headed out to see Cabin in the Woods. (The Scooby gang is a reference to Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Joss co-wrote the movie.)  Another guy walked into the theater wearing the same Scooby gang shirt, but he didn't notice us.

The movie was great fun, very meta as all Whedon tales are. And gosh, Jesse Williams -- who played one of the college students spending the weekend at a spooky cabin -- sure is pretty.


What are you loving these days?

Well hello there!

Hi, just wanted to say that I'm alive, but very busy! I had a little stay-cation with family in town and have been playing catch up since then.


HOWEVER... expect some updates next week. I miss y'all!

Got Milk?

...or plant-based milk substitutes?

Gala Girl

Last night I got invited to a real live Texas charitable event. A friend who works in development had an extra ticket to a gala dinner and so I tagged along -- it wasn't quite GCB, but it definitely was a full-on Texas philanthropical hootenanny.


The invite was for "evening attire, business formal, or cocktail." 
Eek!


Having no real idea what that meant (I mean, that could be ballgowns to suits, right?), I googled the event to find out more and came to a site called "Blacktie Houston", a clearinghouse for photos and info on all of Houston's fancy events. Luckily, there were photos from last year and people seemed to be going more in the direction of business suits and church dresses. Houstonians tend to be a little more casual than their Dallas counterparts.


I can't really pull together a look that will convince anyone I'm a native Texan, so I went full rockabilly (at least -- the Texas society version of that).  I also pulled out a lot of my Light Green beauty techniques:

 Hair:


I'd washed my hair earlier in the day and it was still a little damp -- perfect for my "Product-Free Party Hair". It's my default for any updo-appropriate occasions.


I used my Sonic Bloom to bejewel my 'do.

 Makeup:
I'm a big fan of Revlon's ColorStay Liquid Lipstick, because - as the name implies -- it stays on for a long time. It also has fewer bad chemicals than a lot of lipsticks. Revlon was also one of the first major cosmetics companies to swear off animal testing. 


I used some eye make-up that I've had for a long time. I realize that you're not supposed to do that, but at least I'm not wasting it! It was actually a pretty good smoky eye, although you can't really tell in this pic.


Daily I use a mineral foundation from L'Oreal. I just looked it up on the Good Guide and it seems as if their most recent formula isn't as good for me as the old formula, although it still gets a green light when it comes to the environment. 


Completed Look:I wore a dress that I never wear, because I bought it for work and it turned out to have a major slit ... just perfect for businessy cocktail and showing off my Fluevogs and Pisces tattoo.

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