I really need to remember to post my instagram posts on a more regular basis as its been over a month since the last post and there were just so many to choose from!  I had issues editing, so this post is a tad long, but its been such a busy month!!

Instagram_Jan2012_01A glimpse at the weekly market which I am a proud part of...all local artisans, all hand made.  On the corner of Gibson St and S Congress.  I'm there almost every Saturday (I occasionally have to switch to Sunday when I have scheduling conflicts).

Instagram_Jan2012_02They're baaaaack! Adam and I were equally excited to find these at Big Top Candy Shop.

Instagram_Jan2012_03Flowers "just because" are my favorite reason for flowers.

Instagram_Jan2012_04As you already may know, I said yes!

Instagram_Jan2012_05My "tree"...I love it!

Instagram_Jan2012_06I found the coolest wrapping paper, it was super thick, pretty and REVERSIBLE! That part was an awesome surprise, I picked it out for the white side with the fonts, but loved the red as well!

Instagram_Jan2012_07Merry Christmas wishes!

Instagram_Jan2012_08Thea snapped this of Gillian, Holly and I in the post Christmas clean up.  I love that we're in teh crowns from our crackers still...its perfect and the only photo I have from 5 days at my moms with all of us.  That's sad!

Instagram_Jan2012_09Wedding dress shopping before heading home to Texas.  ps...this is the dress I will be wearing in September!

Instagram_Jan2012_10A very quite New Years Eve with us both being sick.  We made it to Madam Mam's for dinner though and it was as awesome as always!

Instagram_Jan2012_11What I looked like in the last hours of 2011.

Instagram_Jan2012_12One of my moms delicious Apple Pies in progress...Yum!

Are you on Instagram?  I am @manictrout, look me up if you so desire!

 

 

 

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My New Years Eve was a bit dampened by Adam and I having nasty colds, but we managed to celebrate anyway...it just involved a lot of nose blowing.  I am a bit ahead in the symptom department and had to drag Adam to Madam Mam' s for our favorite Thai food, but once there he was glad we went...as it's awesome!

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After dinner we really got exciting and rented a movie...hey, we're sick...getting off the couch for dinner was rough enough!

NYE2012_04I did get us a bottle of sparkling cider to ring in our first New Year's Eve together.

NYE2012_05Luckily we're both dorky enough that we had a great time celebrating low key...and my sequin dress will just have to come out to play at a later time.

How did you celebrate the New Year?

 

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What a year it's been.  What an unexpected year full of twists and turns and an unexpected outcome.  I was reminded while back in NY for the holidays that one year ago to the day I had told a friend of mine that I didn't really care about dating (although oddly I did have a bf when I said this...obvs on that relationship being doomed!) and was really just wanting to focus on work and growing Manic Trout.  And there we were, one year later.  Toasting my engagement.  I guess its true that you find love when you're not looking.

The year however was so much bigger then finding love and a big part of all that love discovery business was due to my cleaning out the clutter of my life...including a great deal of furniture and 1000's upon 1000's of books and moving 2000 miles across the country.  It was a huge change and scary one, but I survived and am loving living in Austin.

In addition to all this crazy change, I decided that after cutting so many costs to save money for the move, that I could keep it up in order to be able to focus on Manic Trout full time since moving to Austin in August.  While writing this I find myself amazed at how much has changed since April of last year and am even more shocked at how at this time last year, I had no clue of what was to come in the next 12 months.

Let's raise a glass to 2011 and I leave you with the words of Albert Einstein...

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow

Cheers to 2011 and see y'all in 2012!!!

 

 

weheartitsnowyhouseWhew...what a week!  Every year I get a bit older and I crave longer and longer amounts of quite in my day.  When you don't have any of it for a week...my goodness it's wonderful when it occurs again.  After the final madness of shipping out holiday orders, traveling back to NY, being in a house with all of my sisters, friends and extended family and traveling back home to Texas, well lets just say that its lovely to be back in my studio tonight and I am immensely enjoying the silence.

I was hoping for a bit of a white Christmas while back in the Northeast, but it wasn't in the cards.  I did however, get to hang out with some of my favorite people, see a few new movies and even go wedding dress shopping on my last (more on that later!).

I hope your holidays have been just as wonderful...

 

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I am kind of in shock that Christmas is less than a week away.  Deep breaths.  We fly to NY on Thursday, so I have to be all set and packed by then.  The Christmas shopping is done (thank goodness!) accomplished in one crazy afternoon dashing in the rain to local shops, and the gifts have started to get packed up and shipped off to nieces nephews and other family.  Cookies have been made, and ahem...mostly eaten.  I even made a twinkle tree.  The last show of the year of the year is now behind me and the studio is calming down.  We're officially in the home stretch here people!

ps...Manic Trout is still shipping in time for Christmas!  Browse the Gift Guide for awesome ideas ;)

 

GiftGuide2011Are you struggling to figure out the perfect pretty for the favorite ladies in your life? Well the Manic Trout Gift Guide can help you find the gifts that every girl on your list will cherish.

Now I'm not saying that you should always generalize and compartmentalize your loved ones, but when trying to buy a gift that she will adore and actually wear, you may need to figure out what kind of style she has.

  • Does she always look timeless, is impeccably dressed and polished and her home full of furnishings that never go out of style? Check out gifts for The Classic Dresser.
  • Is chrome a staple of her home, does she prefer clean lines to chaos...is simple her style? You should check out gifts for The Minimalist.
  • Is she happiest outside, is always ready to wander through the woods and wears all eco friendly fashions?  You should check out gifts for The Outdoor Type
  • Does she spend her spare time in thrift stores, fill her home with found treasures from a bygone era and love the thrill of the find? Check out gifts for The Vintage Lover.
  • Was Punky Brewster her style icon, is her closet filled with color and chaos and does she have a habit of using things for the opposite of what they were intended?  Check out gifts for The Quirky Type.
  • Does she have subscriptions to Vogue in several languages, is her closet more up to date than her date book and can she name every model on the runway?  Check out gifts for a Fashionista.

Hope this helps with your Holiday Shopping...and ps...it's ok to buy for you too!

 

What a week.  I think my hard drive crashing was number three on my list of most stressful moments in the life of Manic Trout, coming in behind two floods...both causing my studio to be evacuated and one forcing me to move and the being a move of 2000 miles and having to keep my studio n a pod for a month.  Thankfully I now have a new hard drive and as I back up weekly, I only lost a small amount of work.

While transferring photos from my phone this morning, I realized it been quite some time since I posted instagram photos.  Speaking of instagram, have you seen followgram yet?  You can access your instagram account from your mac, its awesome!

Anyway, here is what I have been up to the past week or so...

InstagramDec03_2011_01On the boat in South Padre on the Thanksgiving Moring

InstagramDec03_2011_02Faye who is exhausted after her first walk on a beach.  There was a plethora of washed up jellyfish and fish carcasses that day to cause utter joy and excitement.  All in all, a successful adventure.

InstagramDec03_2011_03A kite boarder setting up on the flats.

InstagramDec03_2011_04We had to stop at the tourist trap on the way off the island to photo the dinosaurs and other creatures...I personally liked the shark the best.

InstagramDec03_2011_05A pit stop for a big bag of pineapple oranges on the road home...so happy we did, yummy!!

InstagramDec03_2011_06When it gets down into the low 40's in Austin, the outdoor bars are still open as usual, so everyone is out on 6th street in parkas and scarves...still hanging around outside...freezing cold but reluctant to go inside...me included!

InstagramDec03_2011_07Faye and I had a lot of cuddle time this week while my computer was gone.

InstagramDec03_2011_08Part of the Manic Trout tent at Austin's First Thursday this month, I love doing outdoor night shows in December...we're sure not in NY anymore!

InstagramDec03_2011_09Adam and I had date night last night...burgers at Docs on Congress, an unexpected stop at the Big Top Candy Shop and then we were off to see Jack and Jill (the new Adam Sandler flick)...it was the perfect date and so much fun!

ps...I am manictrout on instagram!

 

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I am hoping I'll have a chance to pop back in here in the next few days, but there is a pretty big chance that I will be mia until next Monday.  Adam has been away for what seems like forever but had really only been a tad over three weeks.  Funny, when we lived 2000 miles apart that was the shortest we were ever apart, but now it feels like forever.  Well he finally will be coming home just in time to load up both of our cars with Faye and 5 of our friends for the 6 hour drive to Adam's parents home in South Padre.  You can image the scene the Holiday is going to be when there are 7 of us rolling up to an already full house.  Needless to say, I may be in the midst of family time and unable to work that much...then again it may be the perfect excuse for some alone time.

So just in case, have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving!

 

The costumes were a hit! We had a great time and it was INSANE on 6th street.  I thought as it was Monday it would be quieter then the weekend, but WOW.  The streets were packed, and it was fantastic eye candy!  We were asked to join in many photos, and I even managed to get one snapped myself.

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Ready to save the world!

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Spidey's getting frisky!

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Spiderman is ready for action!

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He even planks in costume

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Just a bunch of Super Heros on 6th Street

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Look, there's 2!!!

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Tati was the best Prince EVER and finished the night on the Jackalope!

How was your Halloween?

 

No surprise as its the biggest candy holiday of the year, that I would love Halloween dearly.  Its also an excuse to dress up though and that makes me love it even more.  The first thing I thought of when I started planning my move to Austin was that as I am living in a new city, I get to be Wonder Woman again!!!  I had my costume wrapped in tissue and packed gently away just waiting for this day!  Adam decided to be a super hero along with me, but Wonder Woman doesn't really have a male counterpart.  I guess it could be Super Man, but we discovered that those costumes were all gone at Lucy in Disguise yesterday...and that's when he saw Spider Man.  He actually has the perfect build for it, and I have been told that I look like Wonder Woman (its the hair) so when all dressed up tonight I think we'll look AWESOME! Woo Hoo!!!  I Right now our costumes are waiting patiently for us to put them on...only a few more hours!!!

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Happy Halloween!!!

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