I've been wanting to blog for about 2 weeks about this tagline.  Every day on my way to work, I pass by a giant billboard for the new Red Tea Pomegranate Passion Fruit by Nestea.   The tagline: "Liquid Awesomeness"!  Now I'm in my 20s, and awesomeness is just in my vocabulary.  I see liquid awesomeness, and I want it!  That and I love tea.  I'll definitely say this whole campaign is geared towards people my age.  Just another way to target one age group: use their crazy vocabulary.  Not only that, check out their site: liquidawesomeness.com (completely targeted towards us youngsters).  So now I'm off to the store to buy some.  SOLD!

Stumbled upon this site while researching my trip to the Pacific NW at the end of May.  Love how fresh, young and vibrant it is... especially when comparing to the standard hotel website.  Looks like they still have a few kinks to work out and they do use a 3rd party reservation system, but overall I really like how out of the box it is for a hotel site. Unfortunately, they're booked for the dates I'll be in Seattle :( They have locations in Seattle, Portland, Palm Springs, and New York. Check out the site here.

The road trip is a distinctly American phenomenon.  Due to Eisenhowser's plan to construct a highway system across the States instead of a train system like Europe, Americans have been roadtrippin' it since the 50's (think Kerouac's "On the Road").

 
This comes to mind as I am heading down to Austin this weekend, with a stop in Waco along the way.  The evolution of the road trip is an interesting thing... from the
Egyptians to the "Manifest Destiny", a ride up to Sturgis, or an
impromptu trip to Austin... there's something about getting out on the
road with a good music mix and just driving.

 
I'm a Texas girl.  Never lived anywhere else.  The road trip in Texas is one of my favorite things to do.  And as a "buffalo", it's in our nature to be nomadic and spontaneous (see......

I've started spending my Saturday mornings teaching ballet and jazz at the Dallas Bethlehem Center to girls ages 2-4.
 
Check out the cutest girls in Dallas!

So this year, we've decided to bite the bullet and have an actual holiday party!  We are so pumped about opening up our office to everyone! It will be held at the OFB Studios on December 10th, with festivities starting at 5:30pm.

 
There will be food, booze, music, games, etc. so come hungry and ready to have fun!  We'll also have art of all kinds, with proceeds benefiting NVision.

 
We've got a lot of ideas but we're welcome to more, so please feel free to post them here! 
 
Check out our e-vite!

Happiness ensues.

I'm a PC.
 
I'm not a designer.
 
I do not own a Mac.
 
I am... the lone PC in a Mac world... or at least the OFB office.
 
So, I get harrassed about my Dell laptop I carry around everywhere.  Yes, Macs are cool.  Yes, Macs are sleeker looking and probably a little more user-friendly.  I've played on them, and I do actually use one on occasion at the office.  I find them harder to use than the PC, but that's because I've only used PCs my entire life.
 
However, my PC and I have been summoned on multiple occasions to test sites in Internet Explorer.  And now, Google Chrome is only compatible with PCs.  So... harrass all you want... most of the computing population uses PCs. 
 
It seems my trusty Dell might be on its last legs.  Do I......

Sometime in 2006, I read in a fashion magazine about a new company selling shoes.  But there was a catch... a good catch... every time a pair of shoes was purchased, the company would donate a pair to a child in need. 
 
How it Started...
The founder, Blake Mycoskie, was on the Amazing Race... random right?  Well, he went to Argentina while on the show and noticed what a burden the lack of shoes were having on children (disease, death, etc).  So after returning to the states, he vowed to start a company to give away shoes to those in need around the world.
 
The Shoe...

The shoe is based on the typical Argentinian shoe and is made of natural fiber in sweatshop free conditions.  I now own 3 pair and am in need of a 4th. 
 
My first pair were purchased at SoLa......

This September held the 4th annual Christine and Katie Austin City Limits Festival Road Trip Extravaganza!

 
Christine and I have been attending the ACL Fest since college... it's become a bit of a tradition.  Both of us are pretty much obsessed with all things music, and ACL is a perfect excuse to break away from office life for a weekend and become pseudo-hippies for 3 days of the year.  

I started thinking about why we return each year and how the ACL Fest has improved over the years....
 

Wristbands -- every year the wristbands are different... the first couple years they were green hard plastic with black design, last year they were a flimsy white plastic (very uncomfortable), this year CLOTH!  It's always interesting to see what the wristband is going to be like.........

A couple weeks ago, I made a trek down to my beloved Austin for a friend's birthday.  On the way back to Dallas, I stopped at the old shack on the southbound side of I-35 between Waco and West... STYLE STATION.
 
The place has old cars, vintage signs, and mannequins in hippie garb strewn about to draw in people like me looking for odd things.  So I ventured inside to find the usual:  vintage cowboy boots, tshirts, pearl snaps, dresses, leather jackets, etc.  They also carry some mod style clothes and some tacky 80s garb as well.  You gotta dig a little for the random finds, like my boss's new business card holder.
 
The owner's wife also designs some items like skirts and shirts of all kinds.  I've seen some skirts made from old jeans and such, but her line is......

Hello all.  I have a favor to ask...

 
Our good friend/client/business partner, Jason Boso, owner of Cowboy Chow and Twisted Root Burger Co., was in a serious accident recently while driving to work.  Being a good citizen and saving the environment, he was driving his Vespa... when a Hummer hit him.  Not good. 
 
He's been in the hospital for a couple weeks now, and we'd love for everyone to show their support by eating lunch at Twisted Root and Cowboy Chow as much as possible!!  We love the food and both places are regularly visited OFB favorites.

 
Show your support!
 
Get well, Jason!

 
______________________________________________________
 
Read about our relationship with Cowboy Chow

 
Peruse the Twisted Root menu 
 
Come and......

In mid-March, the core OFB leadership held their bi-annual retreat to the desert/mountains of Taos, New Mexico.

Traveling in OFB style (prefer the highway to the skyway) we broke up into groups and headed
North - then South after a wrong turn in Wichita
Falls (oops!) - and West to meet up with Ben and his
family!  Our favorite car game was seeing who could spot the most Peterbilt trucks on the way... PETERBILT!!

We stayed in a adobe house in Arroyo Seco, NM just north of Taos.

Typical day in Taos:  Buy
OFB team rings at Taos Pawn, ski half of the day, work, walk into Arroyo Seco
for a milkshake at Taos Cow, work, jump in the hot tub, dinner at Sabrosa or Orlando’s,
and some “The Office” watching before bed.
 
Not all of us are expert skiers... I had only skied once or......

Being OFB's "PeaceMaker", I get to deal with
vendors of all kinds.  Be it internet/TV service, new barstools for our
conference bar, or the metal covering for our workspace tables, I have come to
realize customer service is slowly going to the wayside.  When did this
happen?  Why?  Can it be resuscitated?  Soon?  PLEASE??

When I was 16, I worked for Domino's pizza... haha I know,
right?  But seriously, it was a good first job, and I learned plenty about
how to treat customers.   We would have people calling not knowing what
they wanted (yelling back to their friend/wife/dog to figure it out).  Or the wrong pizza was delivered to
them.  Or they want to use all five
coupons but we’re only allowed to use one, etc. 
Basically bottom line from our......

The OFB office + family ventured out of the office down I-30 to A-town for the Rangers vs. LA Angels on April 15, 2008.  All the players wore #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson day.  Hot dogs, beer, baseball players... nothing beats America's favorite pasttime!

 

Mucho fun had by all!  Check out the pictures...