what i did on my birthday vacation...

... or my 10 favorite parts of an amazing trip to austin, tx

(now with musical accompaniment if you hit the play button on the "boom box" below)

01. shopping on south congress - the buildings are all interesting to look at, the paint colors are amazing, the shops are jam packed full of  vintage, indie and affordable clothes, shoes, jewelry and every other type of cuteness you can imagine. photo ops abound. already worn in cowboy boots attained. hey cupcake trailer attacked.

02. breakfast/brunch - i won't even go into the super tasty texas pecan coffee kerry got me hooked on, but our breakfast's and brunches were some of the best meals; savory breakfast crepes out of an airstream (apparently lots of scrumptious food in austin comes from an airstream), cheap & yummy breakfast tacos and a special birthday cupcake breakfast.

03. t.c.'s - have i mentioned yet that kerry is a first class tour guide? she showed me some truly amazing places and was always super quick with a suggestion when i told her what i was in the mood for, plus she had no problem taking the reins and planning our days when i was feeling a little undecided. anyway, we went to t.c.'s on monday night and i instantly fell in love. it kind of pops up out of nowhere, a neighborhood gives way to a gravel parking lot filled with all kinds of cars and long haul trucks. it feels a little like a scene out of "crybaby"; real texas road house blues bands, bring your own wine and liquor (they sell the beer  & mixers) and a complete mixed bag of patrons. beyond packed, beyond hot and beyond any sort of explanation that could really do it any justice. maybe my whole experience was colored by the awesomeness of my partners in crime for the evening, but i really think it was the vibe at t.c.'s working a lot of the true magic.

04. movies at the alamo draft house - movies + food + beer. i mean, need i say more? okay, i will anyway. kerry & i went to see "brothers bloom" (which was amazing and snarklarious by the way, watch for the joseph gordon-levitt cameo of hotness) and "up!" (bootleg non-3d version) at the alamo near-ish her house (there are 3 around austin) and it's awesome.  every other row of seats are replaced by low bar tables with lights underneath to ready your menus by, and when you want to order you just write it down, fold it in half, they come get it and 20 minutes later you have your beer, mozzarella sticks, hummus, fried pickles, espresso shake, warm chocolate chip cookies, or whatever else you want (that just happens to be what we got the two times we went.) they also have sing along and quote along movie nights that i would love to hit up next time i go visit!

05. beauty bar on my birthday - rocking the change over to 27 while in austin was really the best way i could do it. cute, plaid skirted party dress, stella's & pbr's all night, outdoor patio, and a dj inside whose playlist may even beat my fave dj at the 7hundred club (yeah yeah yeahs, lykke li, salt n peppa, what?).  it also helps that i had a fabulous dinner in my tummy courtesy of kerry taking me to blue dahlia & awesome company. and, we rocked the party all night since i had to be up at 5:30 for my flight anyway. totally killer!

06. puppies everywhere! - i finally got to meet bacon, kerry's pug, and he is amazing! he slept with us and one night his little pug snores even invaded my dreams! plus, roommate jackie's pup, rigby, and a revolving cast of visiting puppies in the house kept me happy! plus, we got to meet lots of new dogs everywhere we went, including our 4 mile walk around town lake with the pups, followed by avocado margaritas with the pups on the patio.

07. elysium's 80's night - we hit austin's "goth" bar my second night in town for 80's night, had a sparks for old time's sake, moved on to rum & cokes, got hit on by a couple of teddy-bear-like west point dudes, danced for hours upon hours to the best mix 0f 80's & 90's music ever (barring their glaring lack of smiths songs considering the surroundings) and i passed my first pick up moo card, successfully i might add. and when i say dancing, i mean dancing. the kind where you don't care what you look like, sweating like crazy, getting all messy & sticking to the dance floor, but you're lovin' it and killin' it philly style.

08. the harlem shakes & passion pit at emo's - there was definitely some more super sweaty dancing this night as well! first thing kerry booked for us, as soon as i booked my flight, was this show and i'm so glad she's on top of things because it was totally off the chain (for lack of better term.) it was a sold out, outdoor show and therefore totally packed in the best of ways, totally entertaining,  with lots of foot stomping and crazy hot! i can only imagine how great it is to be in austin for sxsw! i'll have to make that a goal.

09. people watching at barton springs - barton springs was something else that kerry enticed me with right away. it's a huge, and i mean monstrous, natural swimming pool, fed by underground springs, that is always at a cool 68. we headed over there with a blanket in tow, planted ourselves up the hill under the shade of a tree and read, listened to music, people watched and kerry even got some of her studying for the bar done. i also shot a not-so-successful roll of diana+ film there, but i'm learning. we did get in the water for a little bit, but i would totally be a nerd and bring water shoes next time, i kept slipping on the rock bottom! haha.

10. the austin wardrobe! - so, i'm not big on my legs, and will usually cover up anything above mid-calf, but kerry pried my leggings away from me pretty early on in the trip and i'm glad she did! it's so hot in austin, and people are so non-scene-y, that all the girls are rocking little dresses and skirts, with no judgement felt! i loved having kerry throw something at me to make up or complete my outfit, and she was always right. kerry was my favorite shopping partner, but she is also now my favorite stylist. i rocked a dress and my new cowboy boots almost every day and night!

there are about a million more people, places and things that i loved about my trip, but i won't go there, my top ten list got long enough as it is! i can't wait to go back and visit kerry a couple more times before she heads back out to the east coast for her grown up job at a firm! austin (or awes-tin) has totally topped san francisco as my favorite city, and i really didn't think any place would ever be able to take over sf's place in my heart! i also can't wait to scrap all my pictures from this trip in the wood veneer album from chatterbox, so yummy!

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