LIVE from La-La Land: Austin Week of Fun

You know how some people perform better under the pressure of a deadline? Well, as evidenced by our last week in Austin, we are certainly some of those people.

I'm sure there are probably endless lists of fun things to do in every city, but for convenience's sake (and, really, just reality) let's all agree upon one thing: Austin is the funnest, (funnest? Is that a word?) most adventuresome city in Texas, and if you live there for any significant amount of time, there are some things that simply must be done. Like take sunset pics on the 360 Bridge with your beautiful best friends. And attend a gospel brunch. And visit the oh-so-conveniently located crop of vineyards right down the road.

You know, important things.

So put your party hats on, because today, my friends, we re-live our last week in Austin. And my, oh my, what a good one it was. Okay, ready? Go!

**Disclaimer: As with yesterdays post, the vast majority of the images featured here are stolen from my friend's Facebook albums. Maybe one day I will act like a child of my generation and learn to use and upload images properly. Until that time arrives, please don't sue me.

Singin'
I arrived back in town from Los Angeles just in the nick of time for the beginning of the adventures. This night was comprised of half-price bubbly at Cru Wine Bar (perfect for broke college students who insist on celebrating none-the-less) and a Pop Hits Sing-A-Long at Alamo Draft House.

THIS. WAS. SO. FUN. Like hair whipping, tambourine-shaking, singing as loud as you can, pure simple fun. And who knew that music videos these days were so stinking odd? I realized as we watched that I've never seen most of them, though I know the songs front and back. I blame this on MTV's slow degeneration to a second-tier reality channel and their flat out refusal to actually play music during waking hours. Not that I really ever watch MTV... Anyway, FUN! Do this at some point in your life!

(Now, if I would have had my choice, we would have gone to the Moulin Rouge Sing-A-Long night. Can you even imagine 100 devoted fans growling "Roxanne" in downtown Austin? Now that would have been a Sing-A-Long.)

Brunchin' and Flippin'
Pancakes, that is. Clearly we didn't plan this one out very well, because the two major activities of the day included gorging on endless quantities of carbs. (Which, in truth, is much worse for my Gluten-free friends, of which I have a few.)

Anyway, we started the morning out with a festive morning brunch, complete with Gospel music at Threadgills. And the food was amazing. The gospel was great, I'm sure, but we kinda sorta didn't make reservations and could hardly hear it. Oops.

We continued our trip on the calorie train later that evening, with the final pancake party of college.

A little background here- my apartment (502) along with out neighbors (505) sophomore year started a tradition of grilling up any-flavor-you'd-like pancakes on Tuesday nights at 10:30. I think we counted 40 people one particularly fateful Tuesday. So yeah, I guess you could say it was a big deal.

Flashback, 502-ers? Please note the original "He Looks Good" Wall. Then note that hardly anyone on the wall was older than 20 at the time. We might be teeny-boppers. Excuse me, have been teeny-boppers.

Moving on...

Here we are now. So old and mature. And much better pancake chefs.

Make me a deal- next time you make pancakes, throw some bananas and chocolate chips in a few. Yes, together.

You can thank me later.

Snippin' and Sippin'
Wow, this whole naming game is probably getting old about now, right?

Sorry.

So I have this strange, completely random talent of cutting men's hair. I don't know where it came from, but it has served me well in life. For instance, I was recently introduced to a great cup of iced coffee by my friend in exchange for a haircut.

And I promised him that this ridiculously early morning, pre-shower photo would appear on here.

And no, that is not some sort of hallucenogenic tea. It's mate, for Pete's sake!

Next, vineyards! This was such a fun day. Fredericksburg is this perfect little gem of a town, with all the vintage charm and wine you could ever need. We hit up 3 vineyards during the day, and learned so much about different wines. At the ripe old age of 22, we all like to consider ourselves wine connoisseurs. Hey, you've got to start somewhere, right?

Go to the Texas vineyards. Just do it.

Posin'

Austin is a beautiful place. The combination of rolling hills, (typically) adequate rainfall, and beautiful sunshine make Austin a perfectly picturesque place to live. Therefore, we found one of the most scenic views, and snapped pictures like mad people. Here are some of the results.