Sandra Bullock's Good Taste In Austin

Tuesday was our last day with visiting family. We woke up to chilly and very windy weather so we had to change the elaborate hiking plans we made. After watching Miss Congeniality 1 & 2 during the week off of school, we decided to dedicate ourselves to a Sandra Bullock theme and investigated her offerings around the town.

 Bess Bistro is located in the lower level of the historic Stratford Arms building at 600 West 6th Street in Austin. This street was formerly known as Pecan Street which I think sounds much more appealing than just plain old 6th Street. Upon entering there is a tres chic bar area featuring rich wood and a mirrored backsplash with vintage fixtures. It looks like a cozy yet elegant place to enjoy a cocktail during the holidays.

Bar stools are just the right size for the counter height

Despite being set up as a below street grade establishment, it feels welcoming with it's exposed brick walls and ceiling rafters. There is just enough natural light combined with well thought out ambient lighting to give the space a warm glow. The wood work is rich and glossy with sienna colored leather banquettes and seats. There is unexpected crystal chandeliers dressing up the space.

Dining area

I'm not sure how much of the renovation Ms. Bullock was personally involved with, but whoever executed the design plan for this space demonstrated an incredible attention to detail. The brick pillars were strategically padded with leather matching the seating. Not only did it give it a lush look but is incredibly practical to prevent damage to chairs as they are scooted in and out by diner

brick pillar padded & wrapped in leather

 The place was full of surprises like a built in fish tank just around the wall near the bar. The attention to detail was carried out fully in the bathrooms with vintage tile on the floor and generous use of sparkling white subway tiles covering much of the wall space, broken up again by the exposed brick.

Turkey & Gouda on fresh bakery bread

Since we were merely lunching we sipped ice tea while we enjoyed attentive service and the menu which I would describe as refined comfort food with a southern flair. As is in fashion these days, there is an emphasis on using fresh, locally grown and organic ingredients. The prices were on the high side but I appreciated the uniqueness of my surroundings and my builder's brain told me the cost of the renovation is reflected in that.

What sets the menu apart from otherwise typical lunch fair was the freshly baked bread. Locally baked and used at Sandra's other establishment, Walton's Fancy & Staple, which is located in another historic building just down the street. While I thoroughly enjoyed the Bess Bistro, I am head over heels in love with Walton's. It is the coffee shop (plus more) I have dreamed of spending time in.

Side room of Walton's

Fresh flowers & catering

I can hardly describe the awesomeness of this place. Not only are the breads and pastries visually stunning, they taste just like they look. So many coffee shops offer pretty pastries (often made elsewhere) and with great anticipation you bite into it and it is just...meh.The pastries at Walton's were outstanding and the sandwiches and salads going by looked worth going back for when I'm really ravenous.

In another impeccably restored historic building, Walton's  was a feast for the eyes and taste buds.It's not hard to imagine sitting down with my fellow Austin Sketchers, whiling the afternoon away. The offerings here include small unique gifts, spices, luscious candles, a florist, catering and a "gourmet to go" section.

Now y'all get over there & try it out

The calculator was running in my head the whole time we toured around both buildings. My experience as a serial renovator and designer tells me that this was a work of love on Sandra Bullock's part. The cost of this renovation would have far exceeded a tear down and rebuild project. This was definitely a gift to Austin's business district.

A Big Dose Of Darcy

All of us chickens are lounging around our troublesome telly tonight watching the silly movie What A Girl Wants. Now we don't give a flip for Amanda Bynes, it's the adorable Colin Firth as Lord Dashwood that has us tied up in knots.

We've been watching the 6 hours of the BBC's Pride and Prejudice for many years. I like to pretend I'm the vexed into a chronic state of nervous breakdown ala Mrs Bennett until my teens start throwing pillows and pelting me with ice cubes to make me stop.

I don't know why her shizzle about needing to take to her bed never works for me. My family would simply let me succumb to my vapors alone in my room and be miffed at my inability to give them a ride somewhere.

I've never mastered the art of throwing a righteously dramatic fit. When I was in 5th grade my mom took me shoe shopping. All the girls my age were bigger than me so they had graduated out of the children's shoe department. Me, not so much. My mother was not moved by my dramatic angst over being stuck in a child's fashion warp. This was a long time ago when kid's shoes were not tiny replicas of current women's fashions.

Did my mother take one ounce of pity on me? No, she was annoyed with me to say the least. Many decades later...I have often been accused of having no pity for my children's situations. The apple don't fall far from the tree.

I'm far too practical to be good a pitching fits, because who ends up cleaning up the mess? The first year of marriage I threw a jar of pickles at my husband's head. I found out it was not an effective method of conflict resolution and the momentary vengeance surge I felt upon pitching that jar was not worth the energy it took to clean up the mess (nor the continued conflict with my spouse).

Let's get back to a more intriguing subject than the origins of my personality, my Oscar night observations. Not that I have many astute original thoughts on a show that is usually a bit torturous for me to try to watch. I don't get excited about sifting through hours of viewing time for 15 minutes of juice. Twittering made it a little bit more interesting so my boredom threshold was tolerated a bit longer than normal.

Matthew Broderick & Colin Firth

I didn't realize he was nominated for his role in A Single Man despite confessing our favor of the actor. So I'm putting that movie on my to do list. The John Hughes tribute was nicely done, warming my heart and reminding me of my fondness for Ferris Bueller and Matthew Broderick. That leads me to my snarky observation about the weirdness resting atop of Sarah Jessica Parker's head. I'm thinking  The Bloggess was way ahead of the curve regarding the popularity of wearing cats as head dressing.

There were two delightful moments that stood out for me this year. I thoroughly enjoyed Kathryn Bigelow winning the best director category giving her arrogant ex-husband Mr I'm King of the World James Cameron a very cool beat down for all the world to see.

Last but not least I thought Sandra Bullock rocked the night with her look, the grace in which she conducted herself and her absolutley engaging and original acceptance speech when named best leading actress for her role in The Blind Side.

When you think about it, her win for portraying Leigh Ann Touhy in  the Blind Side and the awards associated with the film The Hurt Locker both shared the theme of courage.

One a fantasic visual on the war front unquestionably demonstating the courage of the troops in Iraq. But The Blind Side, more subtly made us all appreciate the difference one stubborn and courageous southern woman made.

She had one of the best quotes of the night when she ended her speech accepting the award for "the moms that take care of the babies and children, no matter where they came from".