This past weekend I watched my little sister, Caitlin, perform with her sketch troupe, Taken Seriously, in their debut show at The New Movement Theater. Cait is a natural born comedian. She came up with her first standup routine when she was just a wee tot. She would put her hands on her little toddler hips and deliver this long, storylike joke. Though her pronunciation was still a little hinky (an account of her being a baby and all) she never missed a line.
“Standally” (Stanley), she’d say. “You’re not opposed to do dat!”
Now she’s all grown up and taking her funny to a whole new level. Knowing she was funny, I expected to get a good chuckle out of her show on Saturday night, but it was way funnier than that. I spent half of the show doubled over with tears running down my face. It was seriously funny, and I couldn’t be more proud of my sister for having helped write it. Taken Seriously is opening for Opposites (a really funny improv team) this Wednesday, 8:00pm at The New Movement Theater on Lavaca Street. If you are free, I highly suggest checking it out. Tickets are just $5 and it’s BYOB. Follow Taken Seriously on Facebook to find out about future shows.
I saw Cait perform again on Monday night when she M.C.’d Vanessa Gonzalez’s show, I Don’t Know Dating. There must be something in the air because again, I was totally unprepared for how funny it would be. I Don’t Know Dating is a one-woman sketch show where Vanessa explores – quite candidly – the craptastic side of romance.
I Don’t Know Dating is on again next Monday, February 16. It is the perfect show to go see with a group of your girlfriends, especially right after Valentine’s. It will be at The Spiderhouse Ballroom (29th and Guadalupe) at 7:30. You can check out the FB Event Page for more details.
Speaking of my incredible sisters, Heather is running the Austin marathon this weekend, and is just nine(ish?) weeks out from running the BOSTON MARATHON! What? She’s a freaking firework. Heather will be running for Project Life, a charity that does all kinds of amazing things for humanity. She’s started a blog, Heather Runs, to track her training and progress and to act as a fundraising platform. Heather’s goal is to raise $5,000 for Project Life before she runs Boston. It would be amazing if you would consider making a donation on her page, visiting her blog, and sharing it with your people. Go, Heather, go!
Another new blog I am pumped about is Love the Retro Life. My friend, Sailor, is a period expert, a pinup photographer, and a talented stylist. She is the genius who glammed my bridesmaids and myself for my retro wedding back in 2009. Since then Sailor has run a successful pinup studio. Now she’s taking on a lifestyle blog and I couldn’t be more excited to see what this talented gal dishes out. Check out her blog at SailorRetro.com or follow her on the Love the Retro Life Facebook Page.
I may not be the one training for a marathon, but I sure do love to load up on carbs. I’ve been eating a whole lot of pizza lately in order to research picks for this year’s pizza guides. I shared my New York Style Pizza Guide yesterday, but am also working on a Neopolitan Guide and hopefully a Most Unique Pizza Guide. My travels recently took me over to the small food truck park at South First and Elizabeth that houses 40 North Pizza and Regal Ravioli. The proprietor of 40 North had asked my friend Suzanna of South Austin Foodie to come check it out, so we made it a food blogger date.
CC and I helped Suzanna gobble two pizza pies. The first was one of their weekly specials – topped with roasted butternut, mozzeralla, thyme, red chiles, and hot honey. Yum. These guys definitely know what they are doing when it comes to pizza. The crust was great, the toppings were tasty, and the pie was baked just right. After that we tried the truck’s most famous pie, the Hot Honey. This was a tomato sauce pie topped with dollops of house-made ricotta, thin sliced coppa, and a drizzle of hot honey. I never would have thought to put honey on pizza, but it really works. The sweet honey with the savory tomato is just delicious, especially when an element of heat, like spicy coppa or red chiles is thrown in. I enjoyed 40 North quite a bit and would happily return. By the way, you can check out Suzanna’s take on 40 North on her blog, South Austin Foodie.
We were also treated to a bite by Regal Ravioli. I had heard many times how great their beet ravioli was, but hadn’t yet had a chance to try it. While I do love a good beet now and then, they aren’t my favorite so I am often weary of trying beet-based dishes while I am out and about. I am really glad that I got the chance to taste these ravioli though – they were something special. Caked in a chunky pesto sauce and stuffed with savory beet puree, this was the kind of beet dish that makes me want to give those red little globes another shot. They were really, really good.