If a chair would be sent down from Heaven...

....I have a feeling that it would look something like this....

During our family trip to the beach for Easter my parents brought some new beach chairs. Mom was super excited about it since there was a cooler and could be carried like a backpack. I was intrigued and after beach-testing it, noticed many more key features of this superior seating situation.

- Backpack...you can bring other stuff and/or ride a bike with it without any problems.

- Cup Holder....sure, for some of us two would be ideal....or if one was a koozie...but this works well.

- Built-in Cooler....it holds enough cans to get ya started.

-Storage space...big enough for a blanket, snacks, books...

-Cell phone holder...self explanatory, but it keeps your gadgets separate and easy to find after you've broken into the goodies from the cooler.

- Four different settings....you can sit up and be attentive, lay it back to catch some rays, even more to relax, or if you're crazy, all the way back to the last notch to take a siesta.

This little invention is going to make us the most comfortable jazz festers out there. Can't wait to put it to use.

You can find this amaaaaazing chair at Sam's....it might even be worth getting a membership.

Houston has a certified organic restaurant...really!

Nope, it's not April Fool's Day....the city filled with big trucks, hummers, and cowboy hats actually has some green to it. Ruggles' newest restaurant is Ruggles Green, the city's first certified organic restaurant and I dined there for the first time last night.

It's a meal you can feel good about...well unless you succumb to the temptation of the decadent desserts staring at you through their glass encasement. Although they looked so delicious (and Ruggles is known for their amazing desserts!!) that you probably wouldn't suffer from PDCD, post-dessert consumption depression.

The parking situation is not-so-hot (I had to walk from Whole Foods) and the layout didn't feel very comfy while eating. Mainly because everything was so close together and the music was rather loud. I do love Jack Johnson, but with every table seated so close together, the mixture of convos and laid-back jams made it hard for me to talk to my dining buddy....but that's the extent of the rants.

I want to go here all the time so I can try everything on the menu!! It all sounded so delicious, but I was in a chicken curry salad kind of mood. It was delicious...a perfect mixture of sweet and spicy. The dried mangoes were really what put it over the top for me!

My dining companion chose the fish tacos and raved over how delicious they were!! The plate was piled high with cabbage and fish...one can never go wrong with that!

Wine by-the-glass selection and prices were reasonable, they also have an espresso bar, and an extensive assortment of condiments for dressing up your eco-conscious meal. Everything was healthy and organic....truly a feat for Houston, which Ruggles has successfully accomplished.

I felt like I was reducing my carbon footprint with every bite I took. Can't wait to go back and try the sweet potato gnocchi!!

Indie Shirts for a Good Cause

I recently came across this website, http://www.yellowbirdproject.com/, for the Yellow Bird Project. According to the site, it's a Montreal-based non-profit group who allow musicians to design a shirt and pick a charity for the proceeds to go to.

Some of my favs:

ACL Ticket Update

Still wondering why I had not yet received an email mentioning the ticket sales for ACL 2009, I went on to the site before 10am for my advanced purchase. The prices were higher than last year, even for the early birds....and the first tier had already sold out. What was left? $160 weekend pass....that's more than twice what I paid for a weekend at Pitchfork. I was still in contemplation mode until 10:48am, an entire 48 minutes after the tickets went on sale, I received an email from ACL saying, "TICKETS ON SALE NOW!" Seriously?? C'mon ACL, at least give your loyal festivallers a heads up!!

At 10:49am, I decided that I will not be in attendance at Zilker Park this year. My hard earned cash will go to Jazz, P4K, and Voodoo Fests!!

ACL Fest Tickets On Sale Tomorrow!

For all of you loyal ACL festivallers who have been wondering, "When the HECK is ACL going to put the passes on sale???" Well fine folks, your question has finally been answered. With extremely little notice, the tickets will go on sale TOMORROW! This is for the early bird pricing...although I'm not exactly what that even entails. I suppose they wanted the early birds to also be the www.aclfestival.com site stalkers since no emails were sent out to those of us on the dist list.