Do you know the password? Secret Mad Men cocktails at Peche.

Let's get something straight right now.

Forget your True Blood, your Real Housewives of ____, even your Breaking Bad and Dexter and all the other respectable shows that cleaned up at the Emmys a couple days ago.

Mad Men is the best program on television. Period.

Even the Emmys agree!

Are you watching Mad Men? Oh, please say you're watching it. You could even pop it open right now on Project Free TV, so there's really no excuse. Two years ago, Christina Hendricks - i.e. Joan Holloway, queen bee secretary on Mad Men - inspired me to dye my hair red. Before that, I was Betty Draper blond.

Here's another reason to watch. Did you know they drink constantly on that show? By which I mean, their characters drink, at work? It's funny to think back to a time when that was normal. The show takes place in the early 1960s, and whenever anyone steps into your office on Mad Men, the first question on your lips is always: "What'll you have to drink?" And then, you walk over to your little mirrored cocktail table, pour them scotch on the rocks, and that's that. No one, but no one, slurs their speech.

What a vision.

Above, some examples of specialty cocktails Peche is doing for the next month in honor of Mad Men. During happy hour Wednesdays through Sundays (4-6pm weekdays, all day Saturday/Sunday), each drink is only $5, and bartenders select a specific drink to highlight that week: Either one that has been featured on the show, or one that speaks to a specific character on Mad Men.

The Mad Men special is announced each week, every Wednesday, here.

But to get it, you need to know the password:

"draper."

Each drink is an early '60s classic. I sampled some last week with miss Beth Bellanti, the brains behind this Mad Men cocktail operation, and it was tough to pick a favorite.

mint julep.

Bourbon. Cane sugar. Water. Lots o' mint.
This one looks like a garden on top!

the harpoon.

Precursor of The Cosmopolitan. Vodka. Orange liquor. Lime juice. Cranberry juice. Slice of lime.

old-fashioned.

Such a pretty garnish. Bourbon. Sugar dissolved with water and bitters. Aromatic bitters. Orange slice. Lemon wedge. Cherry.

brandy alexander.

Brandy. Cream. Dark crème de cacao. Nutmeg. Insanity. Probably my favorite.

Bottoms up, dolls.

Show review: CHROMEO at Stubb's.

But, before we get down to business.

Thank you kind, insightful, WISE readers of this blog who commented on yesterday's post. I knew I was taking a risk being a little more soul baring than usual, and I appreciate you being so cool (and encouraging) about it. Your words prompted me to leave a "response" comment so long, that Blogger wouldn't even accept it!  Haha. It was over the character limit, and trust me, they give you a lot of characters.

Well today, Austin Concerts Examiner Greg Ackerman guest posts on Austin Eavesdropper, with a review of Chromeo's and Holy Ghost's show at Stubb's last Tuesday. Enjoy his write-up. Thanks so much Greg for doing this!

photo: Marin Heard

from greg ackerman:

When I received an email saying an Examiner writer had already beaten me to the request for credentials for Chromeo and Holy Ghost at Stubb's BBQ on Tuesday I was momentarily stymied. But the PR contact thankfully asked if I had another outlet to publish to. Oh boy, did I! I frantically typed messages on every freaking social media platform and email address I have for Tolly Moseley and requested to submit a guest post for Austin Eavesdropper.

Secretly I've been wanting to write a post for Eavesdropper for months, but the right opportunity never presented itself until now. The subject is perfect, a dance party galore at featuring one of the hottest dance-pop acts on tour currently, Chromeo. The Montreal duo killed it Tuesday evening at Stubb's as the enthusiastic crowd chanted , "Chromeo Oh, oh" periodically throughout the performance. Even in the sweltering heat, fans danced as well as they could as people crowded in front of the stage.

photo: Marin Heard

Chromeo has developed their own presence on stage. As one would imagine, they keep it light-hearted, which makes for a fun evening for fans.

Holy Ghost was equally entertaining but more in a New Order, old-school, Michael Jackson kind of way. It was still pretty hot when HG took the stage. The crowd was attentive, but not moving much even though the band was going for it with energy. Their music fits the DFA label they share with LCD Soundsystem. There is an underlying edge to the music that sounds and feels punk. I'm looking forward to see the band headline a show after seeing two opener performances. They're THAT good.

Holy Ghost! interview @ The Palladium, LA from TIGER TIGER on Vimeo.

Special thanks to Marin Heard for supplying photographs and to Tolly Mosely for graciously accepting my offer.

Connect with Greg Ackerman here.

Blogging and ego.

This post is not going to have any pictures. I don't think. 

So for a few months now, I've been going to a couple of Buddhist book groups. I love them. And, while Ross was away in the jungle, I shook off all my skepticism about books labeled with Oprah Book Club stickers, and bought a copy of Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth. I love it, too.

This is a tough post to write because my comfort zone with Austin Eavesdropper pretty much stays in the nightlife/food/fashion realm, and sometimes, I truss up these local recommendations with stories about my life. But for the most part, this blog is a party dress and my real life is much less fabulous. If my life were wearing shoes, they would probably be Tevas.

But anyway, these books and book groups have been making me thinking about an issue that I wonder if other bloggers experience.  So I'm bringing it to this very public forum. And that is: blogging and ego.

Let's be honest. First of all, Austin Eavesdropper is great, but it ain't no Gawker. I am grateful to those of you who read, stop by, bookmark this page, all of it. And if I exert some effort, I can probably grow it. All I'm saying is, in terms of ego, I know it's not the biggest, baddest blog in the world. So let's not pretend Austin Eavesdropper is this cumbersome mantle of fame, because it's not.

What it is, however, is my favorite hobby. It's the only hobby I've ever stuck with for years at a time. It's an avenue to complex, interesting people who read and comment on this site, it's an inquiry into the creative currency of this town, and it's free tickets to shows. All things I don't want to give up.

Here's one thing I do want to give up. Ego.

Or at least, give up some of it. I recognize that checking one's blog stats, keeping track of your RT's on Twitter, and all other manner of measuring your social media effectiveness is, on the one hand, pragmatic. If you want to build a community. And I think I do.

But hitting refresh on Twitter constantly, just to see how many people have RT'd my shit, is not only ego-stroking, it's embarrassing. I don't like that feeling. Whenever it gets this way, I tend to unplug from all social media platforms for a few days, to experience the joys of real life. I'll be taking a pleasant walk, stand-up paddling, making dinner with my husband, calling my mom and dad, shopping at the Farmer's Market and all the other healthy things people who aren't obsessed with social media do, when out of nowhere - BAM - it hits.

"You should be Tweeting this." 

"Where is your camera? Where is your damn camera?? You have to blog this."

"Wait - should you check in? You have Gowalla (I think)...maybe other people are here? Should you make a recommendation?"

--And a thousand more anxious voices that rise up in a single moment. Reminding me that I haven't been "participating" properly.

Last night, while eating with Ross, I confessed all this. Oh, he knows. He's the one I used to cry to in the early days of this blog, when no one was reading (even him), and my feelings got all hurt.

I explained to Ross that while he was gone, I had an epiphany of sorts that I didn't need to blog, ever again. I mean, I'm still going to, but no longer did I need it to be my identity, that thing I thought of first thing in the morning, the reference point to which I connect all lived experience because it would make a good blog post. And, that felt like a step.

"So, it's a good thing," he said.

"Yes," I said. "It's a huge relief."

But.  Fellow bloggers, can you relate to this?

My ego, my sneaky, sneaky ego, thinks differently. It's saying: "you give up blogging, you give up anything, and you're less interesting.

You're less Tolly.

You're less you."

I tend to get emotional when I talk about things like this.  And Ross, seeing it on my face last night, took my hand and said:

"You can do whatever you want. It's about doing things for the right reasons. Do you want to blog because it makes you feel like a badass, or do you want to blog because the people you talk about are badasses?"

Ok, so he didn't say those exact words.  He's much more eloquent than I am. But that was the gist of it anyway.

I started this blog because my love was exploding outward. Three years ago, I was an excited little puppy, happy to reunited with pretty, perfect Austin, after a stint on the west coast. Each day, I wanted to log online and shriek: "did you guys hear about this place? And that person? And, and--! I'm so thrilled to be here!!"

All blogs start out so pure.

And then, when we get an audience, bloggers have a choice: to spread the love or horde it. Checking my stats all the time falls into the latter category, the hording category. Bye, I'm done with that.

So, where do we go from here? I'm not sure. I don't have any tips. All I know is, if you're a blogger, and you struggle with that nasty ego drive that makes you feel insecure because not enough people are reading your blog, or they are, and you're nervous about how to keep them, the four lines of this poem really helped me:

"Live neither in the entanglements of outer things,
nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things
and such erroneous views will disappear by themselves."

That's from a poem we're reading in my Buddhist book group. It's called "Xinxinming," or, "Trust in Mind." I have no idea what it means. Or rather, I only have kind of an idea of what some of it means.

But I find those lines very comforting. Especially for this whole blogging business.

Do you ever read your old, awful diary entries?

Don't even front, I know you do.

I read mine a few months ago, in front of an audience full of strangers at the Alamo Drafthouse!  It was for Mortified, a national show that has performances all over the country.

While a little humiliating to read the stuff I wrote as an ill-informed, hormone-crazed, overly-curious preteen, I can honestly say that Mortified was one of the most fun things I've ever done here in Austin. I shared with hundreds of people things I never expected to be public knowledge, including but not limited to the time I mooned a dog.  What.  You don't moon dogs?

Anyway, tonight and tomorrow, Mortified is happening again.

For those of you that have never had the joy and delight of seeing Mortified, I asked my director, Erica Lies, if she'd stop by and tell us a little bit about it. Erica was the gifted individual, you see, who took my weird, pre-pubescent scratchings, and actually turned them into something worthwhile and funny.

Buy tickets here, and read my interview with Erica below!

AUSTIN EAVESDROPPER: What is Mortified?

Erica: Mortified is a comic excavation of adolescent artifacts where people read aloud from stuff they created as kids to an audience of total strangers. It's comprised of journals, letters, poems, drawings, lyrics, and even some screenplays. It is hilarious, it is poignant, it is a really good time. Mortified's live stage show is in eight cities across the U.S., and Mortified also has two books out, as well as a web series.

AE: How do you possibly find people willing to bear their adolescent trauma in front of a live audience?

E: We get people from all walks of life. I think the biggest pull is from audiences who've seen the show and see what a good time it is and that it's possible (and oddly cathartic) to live through the embarrassment of sharing those old works of terrible art. A lot of folks have found us through the Mortified books, as well. We put out a call every time we do a screening (which is what we call it when we look for new performers). Folks can also fill out a submission form at the Mortified website: www.getmortified.com/casting, and we'll get in touch with them when we're gearing up for our next show.

AE: How do you, as a producer, take someone's "material" (old diary entries, camp letters, passed notes, etc.) and shape it into a condensed, 15 min. piece of agonizing hilarity?

E: It depends on the performer and what material they have. A lot of it starts in the screening. We have folks read their most embarrassing stuff to us and then we ask them lots of questions about their life at that time and what they were like, and that sort of interviewing process is ongoing as we work on the piece. Some pieces are pretty easy to put together, especially if they're straight-forward journal entries, but others can be tough becasue you have to wade through a lot of material, which means looking at many many possible themes and storylines. I just did one piece for this next show that was tough, because this performer was a writer in high school and college and he was actually pretty good, and therefore, not embarrassing. I read through all his stuff, though, and found some perfect, terribly written gems, but in a case where someone's material is all fiction, it's doubly difficult because the material itself might not reveal a great deal about the writer, so you have to do more work to figure out a storyline and reveal the author.

I had another piece last fall with a performer who'd kept an online journal going back 8 years or something. And, um, I read all of it that was written before she was 21 just to find the gems for the show. So it can be a bit of a treasure hunt, but it's so worth it.

What's been one of your favorite Mortified pieces to date? (besides mine of course! Knowing wink!)

E: It's so hard to pick!! We've had so many wildly different folks, and you love each piece because they're all so extraordinarily interesting. But if I had to pick one--aside from yours, of course--the first one that comes to mind is one of the first pieces I worked on. The performer was a woman who was a nerd stalker in high school. Her whole piece was about how she wanted more experience with guys, and so she went after these really nerdy dudes because she liked them, although no one thought of her as nerdy at all. But, she had more in common with nerds because she was actually into the same stuff. And here's the thing: she'd never told anyone about it before, except her husband. She wasn't a performer, but she really came out of her shell for her hilarious piece, but it was also really sweet and vulnerable because she'd never shared this diary with anyone and suddenly there she was reading it to total strangers.

Anything else you'd love to tell us about Mortified?

E: The show truly reveals how utterly fascinating people are, and how similar so many of us are, even in our differences. And even as the show is fall-out-of-your-chair funny (and I know this, b/c I've watched audience members practically fall out of their chairs), it's also really poignant to find yourself as an audience member really investing in and rooting for these people you've known for less than ten minutes. Also: The much-touted Mortified: Austin band will be back with more ridiculous reinterpretations of classic hits from your youth. You've never heard "Love Will Tear Us Apart" until you've heard it played on a kazoo.

**EDITOR'S NOTE: The Mortified: Austin band is amazeballs. They only play for Mortified, and it's all acoustic versions of cheesy '80s cover songs. Their low-fi version of "When Doves Cry" is heartfelt, hysterical and ... hot.

That was some serious alliteration.

ATTENTION DESIGN NERDS: Tonight, Apartment Therapy Meet-Up.

It's true, I'm a little obsessed with interior design.

Not that I am an expert at it. I simply make an effort, wherever I have lived, and always on a tiny budget. Which makes you get pretty inventive, and at times, reckless.  I have so many paint-stained articles of clothing that I still insist on wearing, including an ugly, brown, workout top that has bright orange stains on it. Stains on the BOOBS.

Ross shakes his head in shame whenever I walk out of the house with it on.

Also, I have a mental list of design sites that I frequent. Like Design Crisis (run by two Austin girls!), Desire to Inspire, and - of course - Apartment Therapy. They are my version of internet porn.

Tonight, Apartment Therapy is hosting a meet-up at House + Earth on W. 6th St. for design nerds like us, organized by my friend, Apartment Therapy writer, and lovely fellow blogger, Adrienne Breaux.

apartment therapy august meet-up

6:30pm - 8:00pm

1214 W. 6th, Ste. 120

special space tour

free wine

raffle of house + earth eco-friendly cleaning products

Attendees are encouraged to bring an old design book (I've got plenty) to trade with someone else, and, House + Earth (a new local business, selling eco-friendly home decor products) will be taking us through a tour of their space. According to Adrienne, they've got a floor made of old wine barrels! 

See the Facebook event page here.

I'm so excited! Especially because I think these meet-ups are monthly. I will definitely be there, old design book in-hand.

*Images graciously provided by Design Crisis and Apartment Therapy.

Austin Fashion Week 2010: The After Party.

Forgive the Society Pages nature of this blog post, everyone. It's about to get all picture-y.

I did attend the Austin Fashion Week Awards, but I was backstage, dressing models. If you were in the audience, did you see the René Geneva portion of the show?  (Indiana at Adored Austin shot a great video of it.) Gorgessitty, non?

Anyway, I was steaming/zipping/pinning those little ladies pre-show, and as a result, schlepped my tired feet back home until the After Party began. As in ... I literally took off my uncomfortable ass shoes, carried them barefoot across the parking lot behind The Long Center, scampered across The Long Center lawn, glanced wild-eyed at the fancy people on the red carpet, ran - still barefoot - across Riverside Drive, flanking The Long Center, threw open my car door, tossed the offending shoes inside, and tossed myself, panting, into the front seat.

That whole description was possibly more dramatic than it needed to be.

How I wish someone had a video of that entire ridiculous incident, so we could laugh at it together.

If you were one of those people on the red carpet, and saw a redheaded, sweaty, HOT MESS clad in a big pastel dress, running across The Long Center like a lunatic, then A) I'm sorry you had to see that, and B) you looked really pretty!!

Where were we? Ah yes. The After Party.

Well frankly, I was pretty excited it, mostly because it was held at the Frost Bank Tower. Which felt delightfully Gotham to me. Haven't you always wanted to party up there, inside the bizarre little points? Are there rooms up there?  Rooms that slant diagonally? 

The answer is no, there aren't rooms up there, inside the "points." But on Saturday night, there were plenty of well-dressed individuals.

Left to right: The fabulous Anslee Connell of Savannah Red Couture, man-about-town Jeremiah Newton, designer Amanda Fay, who MADE the pink top you're looking at, and moi.

On the left: my girl Cory Ryan, aka Austin Fashion Awards 2010 Critics Choice Winner: Best Photographer! And on the right, her completely adorable man, Tom Hudson.

On the left, Maureen Toribio, beauty and brains behind Inglenook Decor.

 Left: Austin Fashion Awards 2009 Critic's Choice Winner: Best Designer, René Geneva, middle: Austin Fashion Awards 2010 People's Choice Winner: Best Model, Jessa Peters.

A fairly typical shot of René and I.

As you can see, this was one of those nights where I had a drink or two, waved my camera around, and insisted strangers take pictures of my friends and I. Girl's all class!

Sugar high: Snapshots from Cupcake Smackdown 2.0.

Riddle me this, Austinites.

What do you get when you combine cupcakes, zombies, and oh, a little bit of Dave Chappelle?

You get my Saturday afternoon at Cupcake Smackdown, that's what.

(Yes, I decided to dress like a cupcake.) 

So, how cute is Jennie Chen? The brains behind this operation, Jennie has organized the Cupcake Smackdown two years in a row now. What was a blowout bar party last summer (One 2 One Bar, specifically) is now a full-fledged family event, this year at The Westin and Le Cordon Bleu. 

Speaking of inclusivity, even zombies were invited to Cupcake Smackdown this year.

(Unfortunately for them, our zombie brethren served as rather better target practice, than proper party guests.)

Back inside, I saw my favorite pastry girls: The Cupcake Bar.

... Sampled a Kona Kahlua cupcake by Bellissimo Bakery, which is as insane as it sounds.

... Had a long chat with the little lady behind Blackbird Bakery, Karen Morgan, who has her own cookbook coming out from Chronicle Books (one of my favorite publishers) this Fall.

... Passed by Cake Ball, which I didn't sample, only because I was too busy stuffing my face with something else. But word on the street is that Cake Ball was many attendees' favorite Cupcake Smackdown treat.

... Spied these funny, multi-colored macaroons from La Boite Cafe.

Have you ever tasted a macaroon? They are marvelous. Whenever a lady wanted to be naughty in Victorian literature, she'd sneak a bite of a macaroon hidden in her pocket. Scandalous!

Above, tiny portraits of Jennie's dog House, in cupcakes by Sugar Mama's.

Your humble blogger! Demure as ever, gobbling cupcakes by the finger-full.

And finally, Dave Chappelle? I'm not sure what brought him to Austin, but as pictured here, he swung by the Cupcake Smackdown. One of the zombies even got his photograph.

Ross, I'm so happy to have you back.

I started posting about stuff going on this weekend in Austin ... and there is a lot of it.

But honestly? 

Ross got home three weeks ago from being in the jungle for two months. And I am MOST excited about that.

i missed you so much husband! i'm thrilled that you are home. thank you fixing the broken side rear view mirror on the car.

(PS. Anyone notice how we're being photo bombed by a seal? With a ball on its nose?)

TOMORROW: Cupcake Smackdown 2.0!

So I'm a little fuzzy-headed today, but for all the right reasons.

Last night, Ross and I had dinner with two amazing friends, who made enormous, juicy hamburgers for us. If I had been thinking, I would have whipped out my camera and taken a picture ... but I was so overwhelmed by flavorful meat, it was difficult to concentrate.

Also? I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm a snobby little sorority girl when it comes to beer.  Which is sad, because I want to like beer.  I WANT to have a beer with hamburgers. I WANT to clink bottles with Ross, like a cool, laid-back wife would do. I WANT to hang, but I can't, because my taste buds recoil in horror when they come into contact with the stuff.

However. Last night, our friends introduced me to a chocolate, cacao nibs, coffee-like beer. I think the name was "Yeti." And while I didn't love it, I didn't spit it out, either. Progress.

Anyway, I'm thinking about the beer this morning because I'm thinking about Jennie Chen, Misohungry blogger, and host of tomorrow's hugely anticipated Cupcake Smackdown 2.0.

Do you all know Jennie? She's like an industrious, brilliant, force of nature. She researches. She trains dogs. She makes cupcakes with liquor inside of them! Which is how I came to sample my very first chocolate/bacon/beer cupcake, one she brought to the very first Bleet-Up, over a year ago. And people, that cupcake BLEW MY MIND.

Tomorrow, her annual Cupcake Smackdown will take place at 11:00-3:00, at both The Westin (11301 Domain Drive) and Le Cordon Bleu, across the street.

The event is free, and there will be about a million cupcakes for you to sample and savor, including ones by The Cupcake Bar and Sugar Mama's (mmm), as well as a cupcake piñata and a Guinness World Record contest for Most Jaffa Cakes Eaten in One Minute.

But the most exciting part (to me)? A cupcake CANNON!

How great is that?

see you tomorrow!

PHOTOS: A Hair Affair Fashion Show.

On Monday night, The Phoenix hosted A Hair Affair Fashion Show & Fundraiser, as part of Austin Fashion Week. 

With gloriously large, 18th c. French-inspired wigs, body painting, and lacy tights aplenty, A Hair Affair ties with Fashion Freakout for the best local fashion show I've ever seen.

We waited for the show to begin ...

Emcee Marcus Swagger, of LegitArt Entertainment, introduced the show in full French regalia.

I couldn't get enough of those tights and frothy skirts. Buffalo Exchange provided the clothing, while Brandy Joy Smith provided the luscious styling.

Backstage, I got to talk to a few of the models.

Lovely Cameron.

Austin Eavesdropper reader, Lauren! Her top is entirely painted on.

Are you wondering where this wild make-up and hair comes from? That would be Waterstone Aesthetics, and hair stylist Ana Castro.

Finally, I didn't get a decent shot of the grand finale model - the one with a SHIP ON HER HEAD. I was so busy staring slack-jawed that I forgot to to get my camera in position, and by the time I did, it was too late!

But it's ok, because guess what you guys? I got to interview that model, Teresa Cantu - who made it to the finals for America's Next Top Model - for News 8 Austin. Go laugh at my little tiny microphone! I had such a blast doing that, and was honored to be asked by the station to help out with reporting. Maybe I'll get to do more of it in the future!