During our “vacation” to Austin, we finally had a chance to try out some of the great trailer food popping up in town … mostly south of the river.  Our first stop was Mighty Cone, on South Congress which was mighty good!  I had been hearing about it for awhile, because it is run by Hudson’s on the Bend, a great restaurant way out near Lake Travis.  Much closer, and much cheaper, this little trailer offers a short and sweet menu with the same interesting blend of flavors.  The cone of choice was the Hot ‘N Crunchy Chicken Avocado cone. The chicken and avocado are covered in a crunchy shell of almonds-sesame seeds-corn flakes-chili flakes-and-sugar, wrapped in a flour tortilla and then topped with mango-jalapeno slaw and ancho sauce.  That’s a lot of flavor in one cone!  It was lip-smacking good!

The picnic area provides shady umbrellas and the tables have special cone holders built in.  Very handy.  Above right: this little pistol-packin’ mama just happened to stroll by our table with her pretend six-shooter ready to take on thievin’ outlaws.  We were definitely in Texas.

I suppose every place has its share of secret views – and by secret, I mean, not a place that’s known for it’s view – not a lookout. It’s the momentary surprise of the world spread out before you as you are driving along an otherwise normal street, or walking through a not-particularly-astonishing neighborhood. This is that view for me:

Every Saturday, as I am driving back from the Arlington Park public tennis courts, about a fifth of the way down Moeser Lane, this view from San Francisco to Sausalito opens up for about 5 seconds (though, I can make it longer if there are no cars behind me) and I am suddenly at peace.  There’s a place like this in Austin too – I think it’s on Bee Cave.

If you know of any secret street panoramas – or better, have one on camera – we’d love to add your contribution to this post. Just email us at share@cathyhecknurseryart.com.

We have pumpkins in Texas, too!  I even saw the pumpkins delivered to the Methodist church yard yesterday … and I knew that meant that it was really October.
Every year at this time, I love to fill this wonderful Luna Garcia bowl with seasonal gourds. The lumpy bumpy gourds work great against the soft smooth pottery.  Have you ever touched Luna Garcia pottery?  If you have a chance, do!  It really is so soft … I mean baby’s bottom soft. And, it’s a perfect texture to hold these so-ugly-they’re-pretty October wonders.

And, speaking of pumpkins, here is an illustration that I created for Woman’s Day magazine several years ago.

The article was about unusual ways of becoming engaged.  This particular young man thought a seasonal request would do the trick (so to speak) and now that I look at it again, I am wondering if they are still married?! In my opinion, the idea of beginning a long-lasting relationship on a trick-or-treat holiday is a little risky.

No matter how you cook it, or carve it, or smash it, October is the month of the great orange gourd. When huge cardboard crates appeared outside the Berkeley Bowl on the first of the month, I knew three things for sure: 1) that it was officially October 2) that the weather is about to be crisp and inspirational, and 3) that all craft stores and hobby shops and perhaps even my local grocery store will begin to smell very strongly of cinnamon potpourri.

Below are a few prints inspired by this great edible boulder: On the right, you’ll find a print work by Tetsuya Noda – one of my favorite Japanese artists living today and on the left, my homage to his later work, created back when I was in Chicago and particularly enamored with his aesthetic.

Happy October! (and if you live in a location where leaves are falling, I am officially envious)

I BARTed into the city a few days ago to meet with some artists who are participating in the San Francisco Open Studios with me this month, and I arrived just early enough to make a quick stop by Britex Frabrics – a four-story color-coded Mecca for San Francisco’s textilephiles. The place was packed at 5pm, and the people were nearly as colorful as the bolts; I saw two blue goatees. How often can I say that? and I live in Berkeley…

Here are a few saturated images for you: (from left clockwise) the shelved solids on the first floor of Britex, some silks on sale, a window display on Britex’s first floor (oh so Anthropologie), and of course, while it’s on the mind, the S.F. Anthropologie (I love the open, two-level plan).

Many thanks to Louisa Stegmann for making this a destination point! (We passed by together a few weeks ago when it was closed, and Louisa, with her costume-designer past, already knew of the wonders within.)

Britex, by the way, seems to be the place if you want to do something amazing with cloth: costumes, tailored suits, wedding dresses, etc… If you’re in the Bay Area and are leaning more towards the softy, quilty, homey experience I would recommend Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics…but that’s another post!