Jan 092012
 

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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Dec 032011
 

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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Oct 302011
 

Wow, what a month!  There has been so much going on that I can't even remember all of it!  Besides all of the stuff I have been doing not work related, Manic Trout participated in Austin First Thursday in the beginning of the month and will be again this coming week!  I am also super excited about the Three new lines which were released this month that I'm really proud of, yay!.  But the best part of the month was seeing not one, but TWO of my sisters, how awesome is that???  I think its much more fun to show you, not just tell you though, so here are a few glimpses of what I have been up to for the last month...

Instagram_Sept24Tati and I went to Pecan Street Festival and enjoyed all of the sights and fun that we could find.

Instagram_Sept30The awesome ceiling at one of my favorite restaurants, Madame Mam's...the best Thai food I've ever had.

Instagram_Sept30_2
Ok maybe I had enjoyed a few scotches at dinner, but I was really excited when I realized that Adam and I both wear colored shoes all the time.

Instagram_Oct2At my first NFL game...the Texans vs the Steelers.  It was insane and I loved every minute of it!

Instagram_Oct9We went to the beach!!!  Gillian and Jav went to South Padre Island (where Adam's parents live) for a week, so we drove down to see them for a few days of it and it was awesome.

Instagram_Oct20Thea was jealous of our visiting with Gilly and a bit homesick too, so we headed off to Boulder, Colorado a week later for two nights and three jam packed days with Thea.  That's the view from our hotel, it was gorgeous!

Instagram_Oct19Yeah, my boys got skills.  Boulder was basically one big playground for handstands, look at the face on the little girl in the background watching him!

Instagram_Oct21A habit I can't seem to quit.  These had a citrus cream cheese frosting...SO yummy!

Instagram_Oct23We arrived back in Texas to Adam having a houseful of out of town guests and basically it was non stop chaos for the week.  Even though we were able to hide out at my house some of the time, it was a lot to take.  I managed to go outside alone with my coffee for 10 minutes one day before we headed out to an all day fundraiser.

Instagram_Oct27I got a text while getting my hair cut asking if I wanted to have date night that night, so I had a blown out for the first time in a few years...its so fun to look so different for a night!

Instagram_Oct28The chaos of out of town visitors has finally subsided and since I've been sick all week after a particular germy person sat behind me on the plane,  I have spent much of the past 36 hours sleeping...and eating Halloween candy that I bought "just in case" I got Trick-or-Treators.  So excited for Halloween tomorrow!!!

Oct 262011
 

RedTreeCanopyThe past week has been a blur.  A fun blur, but a blur.  I went to Boulder, Colorado with Adam to hang out with Thea for 3 days filled to the brim with good times.  We got home late Friday night to a bunch of friends in town for the weekend and didn't stop until late Sunday night.  As you can imagine, all of this running around and being fabulous meant that I was no match for the sick people who coughed all over us on the plane and I had a bitch of a cold these past few days.

Today I am starting to feel better...Adam made homemade chicken soup yesterday and we spent the day on the couch with tissues, tea, Faye and movies.  I am trying to ease back into work, but there is SO MUCH to do!  Do you realize how close the holidays are????  Egads.

SierraStraightHairOn a side note, when I got my hair cut today, I decided to mix things up and asked for a blow out...how fun is it when you can completely look like a different person with only a quick hair change???

Oct 132011
 

SundrenchedOceanWe had a wonderful time at the beach.  It was so wonderful to see Gilly and Jav, I was so used to family being around all the time that I didn't realize how much I would miss it!  Their plane was delayed for 10 hours getting to the island, so we stayed an extra day and it was worth getting a bit behind on work for!  I always a bit more centered after being on the ocean.

I'm still on vacation time, without work keeping me up all night and with so much to do, I switch schedules and get up much earlier than at home.  Luckily, Adam is the same way and last night we both fell asleep early and jumped out of bed this morning on the same schedule we've been on.  Perfect for me as I have already begun catching up on the piles of things I have to do today.

Do you adjust to a different schedule on vacation?

 

Oct 082011
 

weheartotbeachI know, it's October.  Last year at this time I was in sweaters and boots frolicking in piles of leaves...well, I live in Texas now...and its over 90 degrees out today.  Perfect beach weather.  A month or so ago, my sister Gillian (the one in New York City) called to ask if she was remembering correctly that I went with Adam to South Padre Island to visit his parents this past June.  She was delighted that she was correct because her bf Jav had googled the best places to go in October and South Padre came up.  Random, yes...but only a 6 hour drive for me!

This weekend is the beginning of their week on South Padre,  so Adam and I have a dog sitter coming for Faye and are packing up the car and heading down to visit our families and frolic on the beach for a couple of days.  Yay!  What are you doing for the long weekend?

Aug 162011
 

Its no secret that I am smitten with Instagram...it's my absolute favorite thing about the iphone and its making me take photos more often which is a goal of mine for this year.  I love to see what other peeps are snapping and have found so many beautiful photographers out there because of it...yay!!

Adam got me into Instagram and we actually compete over who gets to photo the things that we do, so I will have to get his version of the trip at some point, but for now here is our road trip from Millbrook, NY to Austin, Texas in Instagram format...

RoadTrip_02The night before we left, I picked up Adam from Westchester Airport.  He was stranded in Chicago between flights all day, and ended up getting in super late...as did many flights due to thunderstorms.  I joked that I felt I was waiting in line at school parent pick up.  We got on the road at about noon on Monday after tear filled goodbyes with my nearest and dearest.

RoadTrip_03We had decided to go into nyc and have lunch with Adam's cousin Grant on our way south, not really on the way and we hit rush hour traffic pretty bad, but as we left and drove by Newark, NJ I snapped this shot through the sunroof, so it made the traffic worth it.

RoadTrip_04We continued to Baltimore for the night to visit one of my Besties, Jess and her family.  I went to SU with both Jess and her husband Steve, and I love to visit with them and their hilarious daughters Zoey and Kira...we had so much fun and stayed until early afternoon on Tuesday.

RoadTrip_05We only drove a few more hours and then stopped in Salem, Virginia for the night where this Krispy Kreme photo which I snapped for my sister Thea was the highlight of our 16 hours there.

RoadTrip_06Wednesday we had a pretty strong start to driving but then decided that it would be fun to spend the night in Nashville...which was an awesome idea.  Nashville was where I discovered that my dog is a snob.  The night before in a little motel that smelled kind of damp, she refused to eat and just laid on the bed pouting.  Well, in Nashville, the minute her toes hit the marble floors of the Hilton, she changed her tune.  Faye was prancing up a storm!  She was quite taken with the living room in the suite, especially the couch pillows and even managed to conquer walking through the revolving doors!

RoadTrip_07We had a great night in Nashville, Faye was happy...we ate a great dinner and saw live blues at two bars!  I was glad to finally get a chance to check out Nashville, but kind of sad as we both knew that the fun places we wanted to stop at along the way were now behind us...and all that Thursday had to offer was 15 hours on the road...

RoadTrip_08

RoadTrip_09
We stopped for lunch in Knoxville, TN.  I fell in love with this building and we made friends with a budding furniture designer.

RoadTrip_10

RoadTrip_11

We arrived in Austin at about 1:30 am and its been quite an adventure ever since!  I'll be back soon to update you on whats been going on!!

Do you use Instagram?  I would love to see your photos too!  You can find me as Sierra Bailey @manictrout

 

Jul 132011
 

This past weekend Adam was visiting and as he had never been to NYC and in a few short weeks, I will no longer be a resident of the Empire State, we decided to spend a long weekend in Manhattan.  Without planning out anything before hand, we ended up fitting in a ton of stuff and I felt like I gave the big apple a proper farewell and at the same time giving Adam a proper introduction!

Friday night we checked into the Hudson in mid town and met up with Adams childhood friend Lindsey and my friend Matthew who I went to school with at Syracuse for dinner at Freemans Alley in the lower East side.  After an awesome dinner, Adam, Matthew and I ventured off into the night to a pub where we ran into another classmate of Matthew's from SU...how weird is that?  The boys were in the mood for some Karaoke, so we headed to 2nd street where we found both Karaoke and following an hour or so of questionable singing, a bar that the three of us lasted about two minutes in.   At this point it was 2 am and where else would we have gone, but Times Square!  We ate hot dogs under neon lights and then called it a night.

NY_ZooSaturday we had brunch with my sister Gillian and her boyfriend Javier and then headed off to the Central Park Zoo.  It was the perfect size to wander around and not get overwhelmed and so much fun.  The boys then wanted to check out the big Nike store, and Gilly and I perused Chanel and Miu Miu where I had no desire to look at Fall clothes as it was 95 degrees out.

NY_DinnerAfter an afternoon out and about, we dressed for dinner and headed to The Porter House in the Time Warner building for oysters, the most delicious steak on the planet and fantastic scotch.  I learned that I now prefer steak so rare that I should order "extra rare" so its not charred black and blue style.  Mouth watering awesomeness is what it is.

NY_ShakeI though of going to Serendipity for frozen hot chocolates, but we decided to go visit Gilly at the Shake Shack she manages and have a delicious shake for dessert instead.  We also had Gilly there with us to take dorky photos of us...love it.

NY_YankeesvvSunday we went to a Yankees Game with Gilly and Jav, and it was awesome, they won...we had cotton candy, beer and hot dogs.  It was perfect.

NY_Yankees2We meant to go home on Sunday night, but decided to stay on until Monday and I was so happy that we did!  Jav lives in the Financial District so after the game we visited Ground Zero and wandered down by the water where we could see Lady Liberty off in the distance.

NY_LadyLibertyWhile deciding on dinner, the four of us played cards and had cocktails on Javs deck which was like a little jewel filled with flowers and teak deck furniture amid the mass of concrete around of us.

NY_BrooklynBridgeWe opted on a fantastic Sushi restaurant with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and copplestone streets outside the open doors.

After dinner, Adam and I headed back to our hotel and finished the weekend off with fantastic live blues at Terra Blues on Bleecker Street.  We sat in candle light with a great selection of scotch and even managed to get a dance in before we called it a night.

NY_SushiIt was an amazing weekend, the majority of it spent smiling like we are above and saying a proper farewell to nyc!

May 062011
 
Steps to nowhere, Zilker Botanical Garden, Austin

Zilker Botanical Garden, Austin TX

I'm home!  Texas was wonderful...beyond wonderful, but now back to normally scheduled broadcasting.  One of my goals with the blog is to start to use more of my own photos, and luckily my recent travels have stimulated both my subject matter and my desire to click away.  Wednesday I explored the Zilker Botanical Gardens in Austin and was overjoyed with the amount of steps and paths to nowhere...nothing like feeding an obsession!

Jan 202010
 

Well, I have actually been back for a few days, but have been so pumped and full of ideas that forgot to check in and say hi!

It was wonderful to relax and recharge and I went with my 3 roommates from college, so I had a week of the kind of discussions that you need extremely close friends and time in order to have. It was wonderful and made me think a bit about what I am looking forward to next!

There is so much going on right now and I have such an excessive amount of coffee that I can't really think straight...so I will just leave you with a lovely image of my trip...