cheeseburger t-shirts in paradise

just back from super fun sxsw in austin, tx. amazing thrift finds (a vintage tab glass--the one with a waist!), wonderful live music and delicious food. part of the hilarity was the l train hipsters cruising the giant pile of $3 dollar vintage t's at the citywide garage sale (www.cwgs.com) held last weekend in the palmer events center. and i quote "i wish i could find a t-shirt with a cheeseburger on it." they'd be in luck if they wanted to eat yummy cheeseburgers (with "beach" volleyball and hand cut fries at aussie's grill and beach bar, www.aussiesbar.com open until 2am or with a milkshake or malt at the 24 hr whataburger, www.whataburger.com ). if it's steaks you're up for, skip the chains and head to texas land & cattle steak house ( www.texaslandandcattle.com) for perfectly cooked steaks with a crispy crust.

no worries if you missed the "garage sale" (vintage show)--congress avenue is lined with well-priced, vintage stores filled with cowboy boots (snake, ostrich and other exotic skins are a really good value if you can find your size), silver and other handmade and vintage jewelry. stop into allen's boots to get a worldview expressed in boots, belts and western ware, including gorgeous (if pricey) handmade silver jewelry (www.allensboots.com). congress has other charms you'll want to enjoy--sidewalk benches for enjoying the 80 degree weather with an ice cream or shave ice from big top candy shop. as the day rolls to an end, pop into the continental club for a beer and an old school live music experience.

circling back to the object of this blog, latest additions to my need to know list: who pays for the $500 haircuts the l-trainers sport? what's the difference between a malt and a milkshake? how to get a serious crust on a steak? can you do that in a cast iron pan? is new cast iron better than vintage? any creative excuses for apt dwellers to collect rc cola and coca cola memorabilia--the big stuff, coolers and outdoor signage? last, anyone know anything about silver and goldtone, very decorative, so-called knights templar sword chains (saw them for the first time in austin remade into jewelry and also sold in short pieces)?

peace out,

flatsie

cheeseburger t-shirts in paradise

first things first

is it possible to be un-selfconscious (unconscious?) about "blogging?" well, better to focus on the objective--resolving important questions and pointing out the things that matter (for example, the handwritten note, monogrammed stationary, vintage etiquette books from 1923 and listening to the classics of literature on cd (the cheater's path to renaissance status).



why blog? to answer: is it possible to use a waffle iron to make panini or grilled chicken? i own (didn't say use) every other kitchen appliance and wondered if i could skip yet another purchase in case i wanted to take a stab at imitating the perfect panini at Ino in the west village (elements of greatness: top quality ingredients judiciously applied and grilled more like being toasted and not fried, another approach i've seen but think successful only in the context of working your way into a hangover or enacting its cure). i had a baking issue with an ina garten recipe for puff pastry cinnamon rolls (which were pretty gross, came out raw and oily then got burnt and oily) because i baked in a pan not a muffin tin and it turns out i found other folks online whose blogs confirmed it was the pan choice that set the mess in motion. so this blog's initial intention is to avoid harm to an innocent waffle iron and maybe make panini or two.



peace out!



flatsie

first things first