‘Personal – The Lowe Life’ Category

  1. 2012 review

    January 2, 2013 by Lauren

    2012 review:

    The Burlap Bag:

    -Started the Burlap Bag’s online shop
    -Worked 37 days STRAIGHT in a row!! and now we’re officially open on Sundays
    -Started making candles and have made over 1000 candles to date
    -Met lots of other business owners/managers! SunnieBunnie over at Atown is now a dear friend that we met this year.
    -Lauren was on TV! Had a great interview about shopping local that aired on Thanksgiving.
    -Had many awesome sites share our blog posts! Fiji Water, Life Hacker, Buzzfeed, Seventh Generation, MARTHA STEWART, and many others
    -Started guest blogging for Simple Design!
    -Held our own craft fair – with over 1000 people in the shop within 3 days!
    -Had a big ole booth at Renegade Craft Fair
    -Held 2 free clothing swaps for ladies
    -And most importantly… The Burlap Bag turned ONE!! A huge & exciting moment for us.

    The Lowe Life

    -Hung out lots and lots with friends. A few favorite memories: Snowshoeing in Boise with the Vinson’s, seeing Sufjan Stevens in concert with the Salina crowd, hanging on a barge under the 360 bridge, “initiating” Patrick’s new game store with the first game, and having many a visit to dog&duck pub.
    -Dyed 10 inches of my hair pink.
    -Celebrated being married for FOUR years!
    -Discovered Chipotle’s ordering app (this definitely deserves mention… yes, even right after the 4 years of marriage point!)
    -Ran a lot! Ran a whole mile in under 10 minutes for the first time ever. Did our first official 5k (the color me rad 5k!)
    -Started an instgram for the kitties (@carrotsandturnip) and they have over 2000 followers. ridiculous.
    -Discovered our Torchy’s Tacos obsession.
    -Grew a very fruitful (literally!) garden! 4 massive taller-than-me tomato plants, 3 bell pepper plants that are still producing, and herbs!

     

    Things that would make Josiah and I smile in 2013:

    -Running a 10k.
    -Holding another craft fair/trunk show
    -Hosting more free clothing swaps at the shop!
    -Getting our candles in at least 5 other Austin shops
    -Blog more frequently!
    -10,000 instagram followers for the kitties. They need to be famous and ridiculous.

     

    Thanks everyone for reading our blog/shopping at our store/supporting us! We’ll try to bring you many more silly posts in 2013.

    Love,

    Lauren and Josiah

    Category Personal - The Lowe Life | Tags: | No Comments

  2. on tv!

    November 27, 2012 by Lauren

    Guys, I've been a terrible blogger. It's been almost 3 weeks since we've written. Life in these parts has been so hectic that I haven't had any time! I actually even have two amazing DIY posts all photo'ed... but I just need to sit down and write them. So... awesome posts coming your way SOON! I promise! One this Thursday, ok? And we have the COOLEST giveaway coming your way too!

    We had a booth at Renegade Craft Fair this weekend and it was crazy awesome. We told hundreds and hundreds of people about the shop and what we do with artists. And we sold 113 (!!!!!) soy candles at the fair! Thanks to everyone who came out and said hi. (photobooth pictures from Renegade below!)

    Also last week – I (Lauren) was interviewed on tv! Which is hilarious, because we don’t even own a tv. Ha. But it was great.

    I chatted with the news guy and Rebekka Adams (of the Austin Independent Business Alliance) about shopping at local stores for the holidays instead of the big chain stores.

    you can watch my (awkward) interview here if you’re so inclined.

     

    So with Renegade, and being on the news, and of course getting the shop ready for the holidays, you can see why it’s been hectic around here! but i’m making time for blogging more this week. ok? ok.

     

    Category Local/Shop stuff, Personal - The Lowe Life | Tags: | 4 Comments

  3. How we live without a microwave

    September 21, 2012 by Lauren

    How we live without a microwave... 

    When we moved into our current home about a year ago, we realized (about an hour into unpacking boxes) that there was no microwave. Soon after, Josiah’s parents offered us an extra microwave that they had. We decided “eh. let’s see how long we can live without one…” (it also didn’t have a washer or dryer but we didn’t last long without those!)

    So we just took it one day at a time. Living life microwave-free. I don’t even really have anything against microwaves, but we really enjoy not having one. It’s less clutter of a huge bulky item that we just don’t need!

    But Lauren, what about ___________…. yes, I’ve got answers.

     

    But Lauren, what about tea?

    It’s called a kettle and I love it. We have a lovely blue Le Creuset one. You can have water ready for tea in 4 minutes.

    But Lauren, what about popcorn? You gotta have microwave popcorn!

    Nope, I’ve got a Whirley-Popand it’s incredible! The Whirley Pop cooks popcorn on the stove and it tastes SO much better than microwave popcorn. Also, it’s fresh. Also, it’s CHEAPER… popcorn kernels are soooo cheap! Also, you get to decide what you want on top (not NEARLY as much butter as that microwave stuff comes with!) Also, it’s done in about 3 minutes. Also, your house will smell so good, like the fair! Also, go get one. You won’t regret it.

     But Lauren, what about leftovers? Aren’t they so easy to re-heat in the microwave?

    Yes, and they never taste that good from the microwave! Get out a skillet. Grease it and turn it on medium high heat. Then reheat some chicken and rice or pasta. IT WILL TASTE SO MUCH BETTER THAN IN THE MICROWAVE! Microwaves boil out all the water, hence your dry chicken and rice. We actually enjoy eating leftovers now… they taste the same as the first day we cooked them! (sometimes even better! the flavors get to mingle overnight) Besides, how do you think they heated up “leftovers” before they had microwaves? (way to sound like an 80 year old Lauren, and not the 23 year old you are...)

     

    When it’s a bummer about no microwave:

    Cans of soup.
    Needing to melt butter for a recipe.
    No “defrost” button on my oven.
    If you have children who need their food instantly. (I don’t know this one from personal experience. But I can imagine with kids it’s trickier.)

    How to fix those bummers: Cans of soup – cook in a pot on the stove. Melted butter – use a little skillet or pot.  Defrost – plan ahead? :)

     

    Not having a microwave does take a little extra time… But we’ve just learned to get over it. And we love it!

    Well, there ya have it. We love not having a microwave. I know, we’re weird. But maybe just try this week to not use yours as much… and see if you could live without one too!

    Category Food Tips and Tricks, Personal - The Lowe Life | Tags: | 16 Comments

  4. color me rad 5k free registration giveaway!!

    August 30, 2012 by Lauren

    I've been running.

    Ugh, no, I'm not naturally a runner. A couple of months ago, I decided I WILL BE A RUNNER. So that’s what I did. I ran.  Terribly. The first time, I ran .3 miles and had to stop so I wouldn’t vomit. But the next day, I did it again. And SLOWLY, it got easier to run. Well, I’m running like a snail. But it counts.

    Now don’t get me wrong. Running still isn’t a dream. But it’s so much easier than when I started. This morning? Ran 3.5 miles straight. Yes, it took me 45 whole minutes, but I DID IT! That’s the most I’ve ever run! A lot of people use Couchto5k and love it – it trains you safely and slowly for a 5k in 9 weeks.

    To celebrate my running, I’m doing an amazing run called Color Me Rad 5k. It’s full of color, which I absolutely love. You get colored cornstarch thrown on you every 1/2 a mile or so. I will laugh the whole way. And take photos after! It’s a huge celebration of being able to even MOVE. The best part of this colorful race? It’s being held in Austin ON MY BIRTHDAY! December 8th.

    Color Me Rad has been awesome and donated TWO free registrations for us to give away!! That means you can join Josiah and I for free if you’re in Austin or any close-to-Austin city like Dallas or Houston.

    Please do join us, even if you don’t win a free registration! On the website, you can enter in a team to run with. Our team name is The Burlap Bag. Shocking and original name, I know. If you think you can’t run a 5k… just slowly start jogging. Or walking fast. And keep doing it. The race isn’t until December so you have more than 3 full months to get ready! Or just come out and walk it! I will running the speed of a snail. And we will all take colorful crazy pictures together afterwards.

    don’t that look amazing??!

    i. want. to. be. in. that.

    We have 5 different ways you can enter this giveaway for a free registration to the Color Me Rad 5k. And TWO of you will win a free registration! Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry… so if you do all 5, you should leave us 5 comments here! If you leave them all in one comment we will NOT count them as multiple… it gets too crazy with +100 comments!

    -Option 1: In the right hand column, sign up for our newsletter OR to get each post emailed to you. Leave us a comment on this post saying you signed up. (already signed up? tell us!)

    -Option 2: Leave a comment on one of our other posts! Then leave a comment here that you commented. Yes, I know, it’s silly.

    -Option 3: Post a pin to pinterest about the giveaway. Or a post on facebook. Or on twitter. Or some other social media!

    -Option 4: “Like” us on facebook! (already “liked” us? tell us!)

    -Option 5: Tell us the furthest that you’ve ever run straight! (and be honest! A year ago, the furthest for me was 1/4 of a mile!)

     

    The giveaway officially ends September 6th, 2012  at 1:00pm central time.
    GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED NOW!!!

    (p.s. Our book giveaway just ended yesterday! Congrats to Diana & Anabella on winning those lovely journals. Check your emails!)

     

    Category Contests & Giveaways!, Personal - The Lowe Life | Tags: | 78 Comments

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