Bites of My Life

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Post-ACL weekend and Pre-OU/Texas weekend caused for catching up and keeping up. It was a short week so it went by fast. I headed home Thursday night instead of going straight to Dallas because big sis Kathleen got ENGAGED!! We are all so excited! 

Mom and Dad and I woke up early the next morning to head to D-town. Before meeting up with my friends, I held back to make a stop at Zara (holy amazing right now). While we were there I got an email that my ACL food article was now live on Spoon University. I had been working the past few days on getting it published and it was so fun to see it up on the main site!

Spoon University is a website for college foodies. They cover everything from hot local restaurants and dining hall hacks to two-ingredient treats and tips on avoiding hangovers. Spoon is made up of student contributors across the country. They have individual college pages and a national page. Read my Eating My Way Through ACL post here!

-Roasted corn, peas, brussels sprouts and butternut squash topped with a dollop of pesto and greek yogurt. I'm a huge frozen vegetable fan, so I use this method all the time to cook up a quick dinner or lunch. 
-A pink smoothie before all the carbs and fried food during OU/Texas weekend. Beets and strawberries gave it that pretty pink color!
-The first Tucker sister is finally ENGAGED! Congrats Kathleen and John! I can't wait to co-wedding plan;) We were so excited we had to get froyo to celebrate!
-Finally in Texas for the weekend and since the game is played at the fair you can't go through the day without getting a Fletcher's corny dog. I seem to be a creature of habit because I have almost identical Instagrams from this year and last. 
-The crazy fried food ideas they come up with never size to amaze me. I saw a guy order the Fried Frito Chili Pie, and I couldn't help but ask if I could snap a pic. I actually think that sounds amazing, the guy thought it was sub-par. 
-My annual fried fair food purchase is the Fried Pumpkin Pie. Inside is pumpkin, cream cheese & pumpkin seasoning, sandwiched between two ginger spice cookies, dipped in funnel cake, batter rolled in a mixture of ground cookies, powder sugar & pumpkin seasoning, then served with fresh whipped cream. I swear by it and it made it on Thrillist's, Best Fair Food at the Texas State Fair.
-My last OU/Texas weekend as a student was as perfect as can be! An OU win helped too!
-A Texas shape and sized waffle to send us off back to Oklahoma Sunday morning. 
-Detox time round two after two foodie weekends. Quinoa fried rice for dinner and green smoothies for breakfast this morning. 

Annie

No Limits

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Austin City Limits, or as some say, Austin City 'No' Limits. A weekend of being free and easy just listening to music and enjoying the scenery. That sounded so hippie of me, let's try that again. 

My take on ACL was much different then I expected. I honestly thought I would stick out like a sore thumb and have to pull out my acting skills to fit in. Wrong. The weekend was amazing and 100 times better than I even thought. There was such a mix of people. A majority of college kids especially. So many groups of friends all just enjoying the weekend together. 

I knew a majority of the bands in the lineup, but did my homework too. Some new discoveries include The Hunts, Falls, Spoon, Rebelution, Belle & Sebastion and Kodaline (despite them dropping out last minute, they were supposed to be there and they were great). The highlight of the festival was making it in time for Sam Smith. It was a fight against the clock because he played early in the evening on Friday and we were making the drive all the way from Norman. Rolled into Austin and walked into the festival right as he was starting--success.

Now for the food, what I know best. Austin is full of creative food trucks and new modern food. Local vendors set up in the "Eats" section of the festival to give you a taste of Austin while also keeping your tummy full during the long days.

One friend went for the Fried Chicken Sliders from Max's Wine Dive. The chef of the restaurant was on Food Network's Chopped and named champion!

The Scallywag Taco from Torchy's Tacos. A coconut battered shrimp taco with bacon, green chilies and habanero peach jam. Still kicking myself for not ordering this for myself. 

A bad photo attempt of The Mighty Cone. I was trying to walk, eat, photograph and manage my way through busy crowds all at the same time, not to mention I had already eaten about half. My picture doesn't give you the full idea, but this cone is an ACL legend and was highly recommended. The cone is a tortilla filled with mango-jalapeno coleslaw, a crispy fried avocado and your choice of crispy fried chicken or shrimp with an ancho cream sauce over it. The batter is made from almonds, sesame seeds, chili flakes, corn flakes and seasonings. This deliciousness comes from a famous Austin food truck, but is definitely the best seller at the fest.

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Sunday I was starting to feel the bags under my eyes. I was about to opt for a Red Bull, when I saw they had iced coffee on the drink menu. I chugged this delicious  Mexican Vanilla High Brew Coffee and immediately got the jolt I needed. High Brew is based in Austin, but sold at retailers around the US.

Pork buns from East Side King. I had never had a pork bun before and this seemed like the perfect time to try one. The soft pillow like bun was filled with a big piece of crispy pork belly, scallions and pickles.

Saturday we made a venture to Taco Deli for breakfast tacos before heading to the festival. I went with The Vaquero. Scrambled eggs, grilled corn, roasted peppers, jack cheese and a variety of salsas for dipping!

Sunday morning I met some friends at Texas French Bread for brunch. I had already eaten, but helped assist in tasting their Banana Walnut Pancake.  We were told "you have to get the pancake!" And it's true, we had to get the pancake. This cute cafe/deli is located on West Campus. 

There was an abundance of Flash Tats, cut-offs, free people tops and felt hats. Festival fashion has definitely become a sought after look, and it was fun to see how people interpret it. 

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Highlight of the weekend was finally getting to meet up with Molly of Bridget's Own Diary. Molly and I are both bloggers, foodies, creatives, kappas and finishing up our senior year. Molly at UT and me at OU. We are kindred spirits and have only been cyber fiends until this weekend. We met up over food (of course) and immediately had a million things to talk about. A blogger weekend road trip is in the works because 30 minutes wasn't long enough. Check out Molly's blog, it's my constant inspiration!

  'Twas a great weekend!

Annie

Bites of My Life

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The week days went by just dandy, but I think I've decided this past weekend went down as one of my favorite college memories. A big group of my friends and I headed down south to Austin, Texas to attend Austin City Limits. It was three days of amazing live music; Sam Smith, Outkast, The Head and the Heart, Iggy, Lana Del Ray, Fitz and the Tantrums, Calvin Harris and more. Stay tuned for a  full recap post tomorrow!

I got home this morning and I'm exhausted. Although, every minute was worth it. The merriment keeps going because this weekend I will face the Austin locals again, but this time in Dallas. The legendary Red River Rivalry takes place this Saturday. OU and Texas will battle it out but I think we can all predict the winner (cough OU cough). More food, more friends and this time football instead of music will be the theme of the weekend. 

-Vegan bowl for Monday's lunch. Inspired by this.
-A fall version of the "Megan Salad" with beets thrown into the mix!
-HUGE craving for froyo hit last Wednesday! After haggling several friends I found one whose sweet tooth was craving some froyo too! I went super rich with pumpkin, salted caramel pretzel, and honey cinnamon graham cracker topped with granola, cappuccino crunchies, cookie dough bites and more. 
-Brownies baked and sent off for my guy friends to devour. 
-Hello ACL.
-The food at ACL was unreal. Everything was authentic and from local Austin vendors. Having never had one before I went for the pork bun on Sunday evening. Love at first pig fat bite.
-I love how the blog world can bring people together! Found this girl on the internet about a year ago and we have been cyber friends ever since. Loved using ACL as a time to finally meet up! 
-Good people and great music made for an incredible past three days. Austin City Limits for the win.

Annie

 

Girl Talk and the Countdown to ACL

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Let's talk about it: Looking calm in a bar alone (without the help of an iPhone). We've all been there.
This scenario is quoted on the back of the ultimate girly coffee table book "Girl Talk: Unsolicited Advice for Modern Ladies." I chose "Girl Talk" by Christie Young as my second book from Blogging For Books. If you missed my first post, Blogging For Books is an opportunity for bloggers to read, review and spread the word about some of the newest books out on the market. With me not being a reader, I opt for the cookbooks and coffee table books.
I got Girl Talk in the mail last week and I think all four of my roommates and I have now read through it. It's the perfect book to leave on your coffee table and let people flip though. It has tips on growing up and moving out of your hometown, how to pick a roommate, how to pick a boyfriend, how to "look calm at a bar without the help of your iPhone," and everyday tips like eating healthy, having good etiquette, going to the doctor regularly and not waiting until your sheets are visibly dirty to wash them.

The pictures are illustrated in sketches and written in easy to understand girl terms. Christie Young is on point with every topic she covers. I cracked up over the section on how to throw a house party and accidentally stealing something from the farmers market (ya like every sample given out and usually going back for seconds). She also depicts every type of friend and family member you have, even down to your pet. This book is good, and gives exactly what the title says--unsolicited advice for the modern lady.

The one section I loved that came just in time was How To: Get Out of Town-Festival Edition. Girl Talk gives the following advice when it comes to music festivals...don't "touch them" or you will get kicked out, you will look a wreck by the end of the day if it is outside, don't forget your ticket, have a plan and a have a party sack full of necessities like sunscreen a phone charger, a snack, Advil, and water.

I conveniently leave for Austin City Limits music festival tomorrow and I can NOT wait. I now know not to "touch them," that I'll look ugly by the end of the day and I have my party sack packed and ready to go. Sam Smith, I repeat Sam Smith will be there, along with Iggy, Lana, The Avett Brothers, Paolo Nutini and The Head and the Heart just to name a few. I'm not a hipster music festival junkie, but it's going to be a great weekend in Austin with a ton of my friends, good food and great music. 

From boyfriends to parents, and music festivals to grocery shopping, Girl Talk gives you the real advice we all need to hear. I urge you to grab a copy of this book and/or read more about it in my B4B review!

Annie

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.