Here is my first attempt at a video from the Manic Trout studio! A peek at the progress on the upcoming Bridal Line. Please excuse the learning curve here as its the first try.
p.s. if you cannot see the video, click to watch it on youtube.
Sierra
Feb 032012
Feb 012012
Three colors from the Bridal Line!
Another Bridal Line peek
Dinner out with friends...we were waiting for them and decided to have a photo shoot
We tried the Bone Marrow at dinner
Who says Fruit By The Foot is for kids? (or that Adam isn't a kid?)
One of my favorite Manic Trout Necklaces...The Little Secrets Necklace
I started creating Adams "Man Space" as he has moved in with me
To deal with insane population growth, Austin keeps building the roads up higher and higher
It's so easy to get cupcakes in this town that I had time to walk up to the Hey Cupcake trailor and score this beauty while Adam was at the bank
I realized this week that I am walking distance from both Hey Cupcake and Big Top Candy Shop. Kinda scary as I ordered my wedding gown already and have to fit into that size. No yummies unless I walk there!
(want to follow me on instagram? I'm: @manictrout)
I have no idea where this is, but I wish I did because I think it would be amazing to drive through it. The Hudson Valley had spectacular autumns and vivid colors, but they were more of the traditional New England mix of reds, oranges and yellows...the intensity of all red almost doesn't look real!
ps..there is a at Manic Trout right now!
I have a thing for decayed buildings and spaces. They are romantic and beautiful in a twisted type of way. Today it started out sunny and bright but turned rainy and gray as my day became busier and filled with things I needed to do and yet stress me out. No matter how nice laundry and sweeping my apartment are once done and how gross it is when they are not, they never seem seem like a good use of my time. So now as I sit at my desk, listening to the rain and preparing to work into the late hours of the night, I feel that beautiful decay is what is making me the most inspired.
On a less dismal note...yesterday ended up being such a lovely Sunday, all the plans I had were wonderful and I got to end the day doing two of my favorite things...making jewelry for the upcoming bridal line and writing the with Adam. Maybe there's hope for my least favorite day yet!
Jan 292012
As a kid, Sundays were the worst days. Saturdays were jam packed with early morning cartoons, fun adventures and sleepovers and then cam Sunday. Everybody had to go back to their own homes, and it was sleepy and quiet. As an adult, I'm still not a fan. In my years in the bar/restaurant world I preffered to work Sundays as at least it made go by faster. As my work life is now focused online, it gets even more depressing as the crazy busy sites of the weekdays are a ghost town come Sunday.
I declared my distaste of Sundays to Adam a few months ago and made a promise to my self to try and make it better for myself. Its been going pretty well! In an ideal world I would hang out with girlfriends on Sundays and gab away the day, but rarely two of our schedules align. However today is one of those wonderful Sundays where the sun is shining, I'm meeting a new friend for coffee and then off for family time and birthday celebrations with nieces and nephews. Now that's a Sunday I can get on board with!
Vogue China, January 2012
Ah Tulle. How I adore thee. In any way, shape and form. I even once designed a line of jewelry with you...although I realized I may be one of the few women over 20 who wishes to wear it in any form not bridal. Eh, whatever, I will forever sing your praises you feminine and sassy material!
Jan 242012
The winner of the January Giveaway and lucky recipient of the has been selected (via the random number generator). Congrats to Trishden!!
Jan 242012
Date night! (adam's taking the photo...next time we'll make sure to have the waiter do it!)
Uncle Adam!
Pretty little flowers from a yummy brunch
Materials for consideration in the Bridal Line
The very first necklace from the Bridal Line!
Testdriving the second necklace...I took it to lunch
The breathtaking view of Lake Travis from our table...it was a gorgeous day!
Lisa put her soap skills to work and made lunch prettier!
A sketch of the third necklace from the new line!
The past two weeks have been filled to the brim...lots and lots of studio time, but tons of fun fit in there too!
Are you on Instagram? I am @manictrout, look me up if you so desire!
If you ever read here that I don't have much to do or anything going on, tell me to shut up and enjoy because wow do I love to pile on the busy. No time to breathe these days...thankful that Adam travels so much right now as I don't stop working until about 2am most nights recently. 2012 is however, going to be a fantastic year!!
ps...this weeks post from where Adam and write about the difference between the male and female perspectives is up!
Jan 222012
*This post is republished from July 2009. I have been telling a few people about it recenlty and thought I'd share it again.
Before I even launch into why, please note that I said *most* gals. So last night I achieved studio perfection when I got to break in the new set up…the girls were all sprawled out on the couch and we all watched chick flicks while I worked (I am where the arrow is pointing in my jewelry area).
After the girls left I continued to work all hopped up on girl talk and cookie dough and proceeded to somehow break all of my hole making apparatuses at once…I have NO IDEA how this could happen, but I did not have time today to bring my power drill back to sears and the hand drill I broke is out of stock indefinitely…this brought on a mild panic attack at 2 am last night…but I survived.
This morning I dashed into my awesome local hardware store down the street and discussed the options. We decided that the best idea was to buy a new smaller power drill then my broken cordless one…and this is when I realized that I shop for tools like a girl…and I say this as a girl who grew up with a father who is an art carpenter and made sure I knew how to operate every single tool in his workshop by the time I was three and a mother who once brought home a table saw because she thought “of all the cool things she could do with it”. I know my way around a hardware store…and I still suck at shopping in one. I kept trying to grab at all of the pretty colored, multi functioning, fancy packaged drills…the patient man who often assists me and is therefore used to this told me those were overpriced useless toys and steered me over to this plain looking PLUG IN…wait, I want to be on the go!!!…he pointed out that I make jewelry in one spot and would get a much more powerful drill this way…but its so inexpensive…but, he pointed out, a really great drill….but it’s really ugly…he just looked at me with a look I get A LOT from men…but the packaging is really ugly too, and the direction changing button doesn’t have arrows printed on it…I got that look again…oh fine, I huffed.
So I carried my ugly drill home and put it aside…a bit later I decided it was time to test drive it…my intern J was watching me out of the corner of her eye with a look of mild amusement as I pointed out how unattractive the box was and that the drill was only inside a plastic bag…what kind of packaging is that???…I then plugged it in and locked in one of my favorite bits and almost drilled through the table while I shot the metal I was drilling across the room…her amused look turned quickly to fear…I quietly put down the drill and looked at J…"this may take a few minutes to get used to, but I promise to aim away from you"…I took a deep breath and picked the speed machine back up…I’ll admit it freaked me out, who knew such an ugly drill could have so much power??? It took a few tries, but within 15 minutes I was drilling through anything I could get my hands on…with an amazing amount of ease I have to point out…and then I realized that this is the most bad ass tool I have ever owned…and seriously the best $23 I have ever spent.
ps...if you enjoyed this post, consider checking out the blog , in which Adam and I discuss the differences between men and women every Monday!
