Etsy Austin Promotes at SXSW 2009

It's march in Austin and everyone knows what that means...It's time again for SXSW to take over our great city. SXSW, for those of you who aren't from around these parts, stands for South By Southwest, a giant interactive, film and music festival that lasts about ten days and happens mid-March every year in Austin, TX. The city is overrun with film nuts, interactive geniuses and more musicians than you could shake a stick at.

This year, Etsy Austin Street Team is hitting the streets to tell people about buying handmade. You'll see our teams of three and four people pounding the pavement in downtown Austin, handing out super-cool messenger bags that were created out of old t-shirts. The bags are filled with goodies all designed by members of Etsy Austin, as well as coupons for those who are interested in shopping online once they return home from SXSW.

Etsy Austin is also vending on South Congress Avenue, next to Hill Country Weavers and across the street from Hey Cupcake. They've got a great booth full of handmade merchandise that's all for sale at very affordable prices. Etsy Austin will also be doing great craft demos at their booth on SoCo (South Congress). The booth will be up and running today, Sunday, March 15th from 12PM - 7PM as well as next Friday, March 20th and Saturday, March 21st from 12PM - 7PM. It's a great place to pick up a unique souvenir from ATX!

We hope to see you out there, whether it's downtown watching a great movie at the Paramount Theater, shopping SoCo or catching a great band at any one of our awesome live music venues. You'll know us by our bright blue shirts with big orange Etsy Austin logos. Pull us aside and ask about buying handmade. You just might score yourself an awesome new bag full of fun goodies!

Happy Spring Break everyone, and Happy SXSW '09!

A Filling Skinny Girl Recipe

So, it's been just another Monday at the office. I'm itching to get home and check out what I can photograph and post on my Etsy site this evening: http://gemjunkie.etsy.com. In the meantime, I thought I'd post a delicious recipe for those of you (like me) who are trying to lose weight:

Skinny Shepherd's Pie
1 lb. 96% leand ground beef or ground turkey
1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, boiled and smashed
1 lb. frozen, cut green beans
1 red onion, diced
3 wedges laughing Cow light garlic and herb cheese
1/4 C skim milk
1/4 C taco seasoning
1/2 C medium salsa
Salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 9" square glass casserole pan with Pam
2.Brown ground beef in a skillet with the diced onion
3. Once completely browned, add taco seasoning and salsa, then mix in completely
4. When potatoes are boiled and mashed, add salt and pepper and garlic, to taste, the 1/4 C of milk and the 3 wedges of cheese, then smash it all until combined (lumps are okay!)
5. Place frozen green beans in bottom of casserole dish, top with ground beef mixture, then spread potato mixture on top
6. Bake at 400 for 25 - 30 minutes or until potato layer starts to turn golden brown

This recipe makes 4 LARGE helpings, which are 7 WeightWatchers points apiece, or you can cut smaller pieces and count less points. It is GREAT reheated for lunch the next day!

Take care!

Kelly
http://GemJunkie.etsy.com
GemJunkie on Twitter
Kelly Owens Pratlett on Facebook

Austin Handmade Event February 21st!

Hey All,

It's been a while since I've had time to sit and blog, but I've got exciting news for Austinites: Austin Handmade is hosting an Etsy Austin Parking Lot Event on February 21st. This fab craft fair will take place from 12PM - 6PM and is located at 507 West Mary Street, Austin, TX 78704. Questions? Call Austin Handmade at 512-383-9333. I will be there, so please come by to say "Hello!" If you can't make it out to this event, I'll keep you posted on the recurring monthly events they'll be hosting. You'll find a great variety of crafty Austinites with jewelry, stuffed animals, handbags, and other fun goodies to treat yourself or buy the perfect gift.

Blogging?!? Me?!? For Real!!!

Today is the last day of my 11-day vacation. Tomorrow, it's back to the real world...a 9-5 job, people, computers, paychecks and bills. BO-RING. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. In the meantime, I'm hoping I'll be able to maintain my new Etsy site, http://GemJunkie.etsy.com, where I'm selling lots of gorgeous supplies to help beaders stay creative. It's going to be a test for me to see if I can handle a full-time job with a fully functional web business. I tell you, it just seems like there are not enough hours in the day for everything I want to do anymore. Anyhoo, I think I'll sign off for today. Thanks to anyone who reads this and let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to research and explore. I'm happy to fill my hours learning something that I can share with the world!
-Kelly