Dispatches from AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

Watching news about the economy is making me sad/pissed, so I'm going to show you some pictures from ACL, k?

MGMT:


I was a little far away! Freaking AWESOME show.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, on the AT&T stage:



Oh Conor Oberst....I made soooooo much fun of Conor Oberst when he was Bright Eyes. I know many of you loved him. But I just couldn't take the whiny, warbly-voiced, "I'm special because I'm sad" thing.


There's the Bright Eyes I know and love. Pulling hair 'cause it hurts.

Anyway, now that he's toned it down a bit, I'm really liking ol' Conor. Look at him here, singing Paul Simon:


Doesn't he look cute and playful?


Onto Beck......


Yes, his hair really is that long, and no, I'm not hovering two feet in front of him (I wish). Took that one zooming in on the Jumbotron. But I think it turned out nice.



God, I love him so much. Even though he stopped playing 15 minutes earlier than scheduled, with no encore - kind of lame, Beck! - I still love him. You can especially see the Live with Larry King-like wall going on in the background here.

Beck's guitarist, Jessica Dobson:


I don't know how/why my camera made her all red, but I'm glad that it did.

Jessica Dobson, if you have a Facebook account, you totally have my permission to make this your new profile pic. (Heh, am so cocky!! I would flip out if that actually happened).

Some more random pictures:


Doesn't it look like I'm taking this from backstage. I'm NOT (how funny would it be if I tried to get press access for this blog??), this was just another lucky Jumbotron shot.

Onto the vendors' booths at ACL: These toys are the cutest.


Does anyone know what those are called?

This next one was taken at the MGMT show. I really liked this girl's guitar pick earrings - so very ACL:



I took that one all stalker-style, pretending to point the lens at MGMT while actually zooming in on her ear. I know, it's a little creepy.

Back to the vendors' stands - more jewelry, in the form of pretty pendant necklaces:



I would like to own those. All of them.

Here's a real beauty - my friend Rob and I with our ACL game faces on:


Isn't that frightening?

I'm pretty sure we had just sat down in somebody else's chairs, and were making faces to scare them off. (They didn't come back, so I guess it worked).

I heart ACL.

O Room Service, how do I love thee?

I am happy to report that this morning, an angel entered my email inbox, and she granted me a ticket to today's ACL (i.e. "Austin City Limits Music Festival" for the uninitiated)! So if you read yesterday's post - which is highly unlikely since most of you were - nay, ARE - at ACL already, then we happily have a crisis-averted situation on our hands. Thank you, interwebs!

Anyway. With a few free hours to kill this morning, I decided to have a little fun here in the neighborhood. You see, I have been so inspired by Sarah Dean over at The Year of Living Thriftily - who, if you haven't heard, is chronicling her year of wearing zero new clothes (as in....wearing all vintage, not wearing zero clothes, which I think we can all agree would be a different mission entirely) - that I've been itching to don more vintage duds myself.

Behold. I give you: Room Service!



Every time I walk into Room Service (there are two, by the way - one on South Lamar, and one on North Loop, the latter of which we shall be discussing here today), I freak out a little bit. Why? Well....look how pretty!!!



Now, in the name of objectivity, I should tell you that although Room Service consistently wins both MY love (pant! pant!) AND "Best Vintage" in the Austin Chronicle every year, not all Austinites drool over this comely, kitschy place.

Kelley R. from Yelp, you have the floor:

"I've never found anything here that I'd actually spend money on. It's pricey [O RLY?] and a lot of the stuff is just old crap [der, is resale]. Sometimes it smells funny too [that's actually a good point]. But I do looking at old crap. "

I'm gonna have to call shenanigans on this one, Kelley R. Hear you loud and clear about the smell - like an olfactory cocktail of rose, mothballs, and Grandma's closet - but then, what vintage store does not smell like that. Ditto the presence of "old crap" - is thrift store! A clearing house for old stuff!

But anyhoo, internet sparring aside, let's move onto what delectable items Room Service had in store for us today....


No, I'm not quite sure what that face in the middle is, but I did find a few cute things in this area to try on! These included: A polka dot turquoise skirt, patent leather green flats, and a couple of cotton '80s dresses - wrap-around, horizontal stripes - with shoulder pads happily removed. So with that, I schlepped it on over to the dressing room.

Now guys, correct me if I'm wrong here, but compared to most thrift store dressing rooms, the one at Room Service is downright thrilling. Normally the dressing room area in thrift stores is just a lame siphoning-off of existing floor space, right, with curtains draped in front of makeshift stalls. Not a proper room by any means.



But oh, what a difference we have here! The dressing room at Room Service is indeed it's very own, walk-in space, much more of a "dress-UP" room really. That's the mirror on the right, surrounded by silk scarves and HATS!

(PS - is anyone looking at that black and white number down on the bottom right, with what appear to be wings on the side? Just how much moxie do you have to have to pull that off? Not even the mannequin, it looks like, who has damn near covered her face with the thing.)

Anyway, took some pictures of myself in here playing dress-up. Unfortunately, I am pretty much a TERRIBLE photographer when it comes to taking pictures of myself:



Like I said.......terrible. Do you like how I'm trying to pose?

But at least I got a close-up shot of THESE lovelies!!



Aren't those sweet? I don't know what we would call that, exactly - sunburst? Sunburst on the feet? Either way.....yummy.

Exiting the dressing room, then, I decided to take a quick spin around for home wares. Now, Room Service excels in many areas, but they really outdo themselves in the lighting department. For example, check out this lamp, with what appears to be a sassy little Poseidon on the front:


Don't you love how he is working it against that wave? And, wait, look at his face:



Girlfriend is looking fierce here. In fact, as soon as I took this picture, I kept asking myself...who does that remind me of? I've seen this vestige somewhere?

And then, it hit me:



Ru Paul, of course! Oh Miss Paul...you have neva looked better.

Austinites (by which I mean, ladies), do you like to go thrifting? Is one of my favorite activities, but I don't go often enough. I am partial to Room Service (obvs!), but where do you all shop when you get the vintage bug?

Speaking of bug - I'm about to go brave the little gnats that cluster in big mating sprees outside my front door (isn't it funny/disturbing that gnats mate in orgy-like fashion?), and hop on a bike for this ACL business, yo!

EMERGENCY

Friends:

I don't know how exactly I've gotten myself into this situation, but I remain ticketless for ACL tomorrow!

If any of you are trying to unload yourself of a Saturday ACL ticket, I will:

A) Buy it,
B) Drive to wherever you are and buy it,
C) Drive to wherever you are, buy it, then sing and dance for you...badly.

Don't know if option C is tempting to anyone or not, but do you like Rick Astley? I can do Rick Astley. Actually that's a lie - I attempted Rick Astley recently at a karaoke bar and royally butchered "Never Gonna Give You Up," so, sorry to anyone who was at Common Interest two Saturdays ago, watching - but I do know "Ice, Ice Baby." And the Moonwalk.

If this post describes you, i.e., someone in abundance of Saturday ACL ticket, leave a comment, or alternatively email me (see sidebar). Or send a carrier pigeon! Whatever method you prefer, I WANT YOUR TICKET. Nom nom nom.

Neato mosquito ACL widget!

The year of living thriftily

Oh YES Austin, have I got a gem for you:

My friend and fellow Austinite Sarah Dean, owner of Magnolia Family Vintage and subject of an upcoming feature story in Rare, has a new blog up that I have been so pumped about: The Year of Living Thriftily. And girlfriend is KILLING it on the blogosphere! (28 comments on the second post?! Damn!).

But it's no surprise because it's pretty freaking awesome. Sarah is a vintage stylist, alright, and wanted to do an experiment where she wore no new clothing for an entire year, chronicling it on a blog. Sort of like Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but with clothes. Everything she wears (with, I'm thinking, the exception of underwear), has to have had a previous owner, so it's not only a vintage effort, but a green/recycling effort too.

I know! So genius!

Anyway, in addition to taking pictures of herself in cool vintage finds, Sarah also has neat tips on thrifting and vintage fashion in general. Like showing you step-by-step how to take frumpy, orthodontist-assistant-looking dresses and make them quite lovely through the subtle power of accessories.

And....AND....see, this is the part where you, readers, writhe around in simultaneous pain/pleasure because the things I'm saying just can't get any better - she links her blog to her eBay store, where she sells her vintage stuff. (And now you say: "Omigosh srsly?!!")

If you are anything like me, then you are wandering around like a blind person on eBay, knowing there are Deals To Be Had if only you knew where they kept all the cool shit. It's like walking into a mall with those sad little cell phone and UT apparel kiosks all around (pause: Who works at the UT apparel kiosk? And why?), and knowing there is a Derek Lam boutique buried somewhere inside having a sale right this second, if you just knew where it was. Well, think of Sarah Dean's eBay store as that bright shining beacon of hope/fashion on the internet.

Here's a little taste to get you all excited...

The wrong house.

What to do when you're home (rather than work), sick (rather than alert and productive), and bored (because your Time Warner Cable box is broken)? Only one solution: tell stories.

So, this is one of my all-time favorite treats from the New Jersey Story Vault. (Inexplicably you see, all of my best girlfriends are originally from Jersey, even though they currently live here in Austin). This happened last summer, just a few month's back, and it does involve excrement / #2 / whatever your preferred term for "shit" is, so if that's not your cup of tea then a) I don't blame you, and b) may I direct you to many perfectly sanitary posts available on the right-hand side of the screen.

Alright, where were we? So it's July, and my friend K. is walking at night with her sister through a neighborhood in North Jersey. It's pretty dark, and they're trying to make their way home from a party, but fortunately it's not a wandering-around-lost situation since they're in a familiar part of town. K. and her sister are happily walking, talking, regaling each other with tales from the evening, when all of a sudden K. has to go. Right now.

"Dude, can it wait?" says K's sister.

"Uh, no - I have to GO," says K.

"Alright, hang on a minute. Let's see. I used to live in this neighborhood."

"Have to go now!!"

"Alright alright - how about we go find my old house, and ask the people living there if we can just use their restroom real fast?"

It's a little intrusive, but sadly, shit doesn't care about manners. So K. agrees. Is the house nearby?

"Yeah it is, actually - oh hey look! There's my old house!" says K's sister.

They walk up to the porch, and realize that there is a party going on out back. Perfect: They'll just sneak in the front door, K. will quietly use the restroom (the restroom that previously belonged to her sister), flush, and they'll slip back away into the night, undiscovered and undetected.

"Let's check to see if the door is locked," says K's sister.

It's not. They cautiously open the front door, step inside the foyer, and K's sister directs her to the restroom. It's really, really dark inside.

"You use it, and I'll stand guard out here, in case anyone comes in from the party."

So K. gratefully enters the restroom, closes the door behinds her, locks it, and starts doing her thing. (And without being inside her head, yet knowing what it's like to be desperate and scarily on the verge of #2, I imagine her internal dialog to be something like "THANK YOU, THANK YOU JESUS.")

Then there's a knock.

"Um K? Hey, K, can you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, hey - hey, I just realized -"

"Dude, kind of in the middle of something?"

"Sorry, I know, but - uh, this, like, isn't my old house."

"WHAT."

Reader, what's a lady to do in that situation? If you're anything like my clever friend K., you finish your business, wash up, and get the hell out.

And you know, that is exactly what K. and her sister did, disappearing back into the cloak of night, undiscovered and undetected, K. having just shat in a total stranger's residence.

Punk My Little Ponies + Museum of Ephemerata

So in honor of the Favorite Toy poll that we ran here at That Austin Girl last week - and then I promise I'll let it go - we had to talk about these special new edition My Little Ponies.

To celebrate My Little Pony's 25th year anniversary, Hasbro is having celebrities decorate their own My Little Ponies, auctioning them off, and donating the proceeds to sick children. Isn't that great? (Boo-ya, Legos people!!) Even more great, though, are some of the participating celebs...which are a little more random than you may think.

Now, asking celebs to do anything is always a gamble, so I should start out by saying how wonderful it is that they are even participating. That being said, John Stamos (i.e. Uncle Jessie), Kimora Lee Simmons, and Amy Grant (?) all have decorated My Little Ponies that are making me giggle. Kimora Lee's in particular, which could totally kick John Stamos' pony's ass. Check out the full gallery here.

Speaking of galleries, celebrities, and toys. Have any of you all been to the Museum of Ephemerata? It used to be in this fabulous little house on 34th St., but now it has moved to the east side (of course!) and has set up shop at 1808 Singleton Avenue. I haven't been there in years, but R. and I went once when we were first dating. The visit is a little fuzzy, but I do remember it was the place where I first discovered kombucha (they make their own, and host workshops), learned how to play a Jew's harp, and saw a vial filled with somebody's sleep. As in, the stuff from the corner of your eye. Which is a little disgusting, but also incredible (once you get past the disgusting).

If you haven't heard of it before, the Museum is basically a little collection of curios and oddities that date back to 1921, which are owned and proudly displayed by Jen Hirt and Scott Webel. The top attractions? A lock of hair from the head of Elvis (word), a two-headed ant, and - if memory serves - a stuffed jackalope. (Which looks like this and this. I know, the realism is stunning).

Anyway, all this talk about toys reminded me of the Museum of Ephemerata, which is getting kind of famous these days! The Chicago Sun-Times included them in an Austin travel story earlier this year (writer Lori Rackl also took note of the sleep), and I remember seeing the museum's two curators on the cover of the Chronicle this summer. So, Scott and Jen: Any plans for a "toys" exhibition in the future? (And might I suggest a rare Kimora Lee Simmons edition My Little Pony if so?)

Lastly: New poll everyone. Favorite (mainstream) superhero - Spidey, Aqua Man, or someone else entirely? Go vote at the top right-hand corner of the screen.

Polyvore art!!!

(PS: I don't actually own a Wii Fit.)

I'm going to be on the radio tomorrow! + Tribute to LEGOS

Y'all! Check it:

That Austin Girl will be on the "JB and Sandy Show" on 94.7 tomorrow morning!

I'm sliding in at 7am, and I don't know for how long or what we shall be discussing, but I'm sure our esteemed hosts will think of something great. And if not, my morning mimosa will.

JB and I met through Rare Magazine, and keep tabs on each other's blogs. He writes a monthly column for front-of-the-book, while I kind of write....whateva. For example, this week I am interviewing a cupcake caterer, the Radio City Rockettes, and composing a "think piece," if you will, on local hangover cures. (All, um, for the Holiday Issue).

Switching subjects dramatically. After some polite trash-talking about Legos this past week, I've come to realize that many of you are in fact quite enamored of those colored plastic interconnecting blocks. Legos are preferred by 15 out of 31 people who voted in our Favorite Toys poll, as a matter of fact!

(Which, it bears mentioning, is way more love than the comparatively high-tech and interactive Teddy Ruxpin got. Sorry Teddy: We so do NOT want to hear a story!).

So being a My Little Ponies / Barbies gal myself, I thought I'd metaphorically extend the olive branch with these impressive, sometimes disturbing, examples of Lego genius. Observe:



Below - Brad and Angelina (with babies!!) Thanks to Sissel for the fun tip!:

Starry Night:

Edward Hopper (I think?):


Yay Austin!!


Ok everyone, brace yourselves - you thought Brad and Angelina in Lego form was pretty good? Check this out:It's Amy Winehouse! Are you loving it??

Here's another serious piece of Lego art, by I believe the same artist as the yellow, chest-ripping open sculpture above:

Dude.....deep......

No I'm just kidding, this is pretty freaking cool, Lego artist man (whose name, I believe, is Nathan Sawaya). Interesting story: This artist left his job as an attorney last year to become a full-time Lego sculptor. In fact, his exhibit "The Art of the Brick" is touring museums in the US right now. Dare to dream, kids!)

So Legos people: I have to admit. You guys can make some rad creations after all. Besides, like, forts and stuff.

Now, off to perform some investigative research on hangover cures.

Saturday: The Lennings, Room to Read

HEY EVERYBODY!

We interrupt the presidential election, collapse of Wall Street, and high-waisted pants trend to bring you this breaking news:


This lovely little organization I'm a part of, Room to Read, is having a fundraiser / SHOW at Hot Mamas this Saturday. It's kid-friendly, it's for a good cause (raises money to build classrooms/libraries all over the world for children in need - heartstrings), and, not gonna lie, the wait staff is really good-looking.

Here's the scoop:

SATURDAY, September 20, 2-5 pm
Hot Mamas Espresso
2401 E. 6th St.

The Lennings (indie pop)
The Ransom Notes (a capella)
Miriam Gould (Eastern folklore storyteller)
Diane Cantrell (author of "Good-Bye Baby Max")

and...

Blubber-making (not really sure! Blubber always fun!)

So, if you know children, herd them all over here. Although adults, I think you will have fun even if you come by yourselves.

During their show The Lennings (yes yes R. is the drummer) are playing songs off their new EP "Geographic Tongue," and did I mention that Ararat, the amazing Middle Eastern place of yore on North Loop, serves some of its dishes at Hot Mamas? (PS - Steve Terebecki from White Denim happens to fancy Hot Mama's La India sandwich, and although I know because I stalk people via the internet, I also know because I think Steve told me once. Dude, Steve! Come say hi!)

Lastly. If you come, bring a book! (It's also a book drive). And nothing lame, like Pre-Calculus Principles v2.6. Dr. Seuss...Harry Potter...these kinds of things.

Let's talk about toys.

Ok, seriously everyone - Legos?!

If you're new to That Austin Girl, we've been taking a poll this week on everyone's favorite childhood toy. And so far, LEGOS are in the lead. In fact, they've garnered almost 50% of the total vote.

Even more shocking? Teddy Ruxpin, the jumper-suit-wearing talking bear, has 0 votes!! If he heard that guys...his jaw would drop.

(Not that I blame anyone. Teddy frankly scared me a little bit as a child. Kids these days are pretty used to interactive toys, I think, but back then I wanted no part of a stuffed animal who just up and talked. One time my friend Hayden took the Teddy Ruxpin tapes out of that little player in his back, and put his dad's Steppenwolf tape in instead, and I swear to God it was like the exorcist.)

Anyway, not to be a judgmental Judy or anything, but I never saw the appeal in Legos as a kid! Hayden (same dude) invited me over one time, and was like, all pumped that he had just finished putting together the Lego Castle. He set it out on his bed, and we looked at it for a minute, and then as soon as I tried to move the Lego people around I broke the movable drawbridge. That kind of pissed Hayden off.

So I get how the end creation of a big Lego project can be neat (until a stupid girl comes along and breaks it), and I think you must have a lot of patience to complete one. I mean, check this out!




It's a New York, made out of Legos! That's pretty rad, I have to admit.

But anyway, as a kid, and even now as an adult, Legos are just like....yay....something got built. Product = cool, process = kinda boring. Whereas with My Little Ponies or especially Barbies (I really should have included Barbies in this poll) there was a back story, relationships, scandal.

My other friend besides Hayden, Jeannie Kenmotsu (never "Jeannie," always "Jeannie Kenmotsu," because it was so exciting to say!) played Barbies with me, and we used to put Ken and Barbie on top of each other and then walk out of the room. We'd then walk back in and "catch" them making out.

"Barbie!!!!"

"KEN!!!"

"You guys were kissing and we saw you."

Barbie and Ken were totally busted, and they always remained speechless. Sometimes Barbie would be in various states of undress, and then she really, and I mean really, got in trouble - Jeannie Kenmotsu could give a fierce tongue-lashing when she wanted to, and she had a zero-tolerance policy for Barbie taking off her clothes.

So, Legos people: Given the regular drama of a Barbie/Ken love tryst, or a fantasy world of colorful horses with glittery manes complete with miniature plastic hairbrush (i.e. My Little Ponies)....How can little snap-together building blocks possibly compete??

Undercover Blonde

Hey everybody, I'm guest-posting on Undercover Blonde this week! To check it out, just click here.

For anyone who has ever artificially colored their hair, you might enjoy the story.

This fish doesn't need a bicycle, but she does want to go shopping

So it's been an expensive month Readers, and I don't know about you, but the state of my finances seem to exist in an inverse relationship with my desire to go shopping. The smaller the checking account = the larger my clothing lust. Frivolous? Yes. Illogical? Indeed. Often rash, chronically expectation-dashing, and most definitely a sign of fiscal immaturity - especially given the fact that I have just started a 401K for the very first time and am already mourning that little bit of disposable income previously reserved for bright, colorful bags that don't go with anything much really except my joyful mood? Sadly, also yes.

It's times like these that I especially turn to Polyvore.com, creating these lovely little clothing collages that, alas, are out of reach (making it fairly easy to track when I am broke). However...there are ways to go "shopping" even in dire straits, if you're handy with a needle and thread, no?

I've been especially curious about Austin School of Fashion Design since I read about it in Rare last month. ASFD offers sewing classes, hat and purse making classes, fashion illustration classes, etc. for both adults and kids (I always think the inclusion of kids classes is a good sign for any craft-based instruction center....indicates patience). And, it has a fall session beginning October 20, as a matter of fact.

The founder of the school is Mary Margaret Quadlander, who trained at FIT and spent 20 years as a fashion designer. At the request of several of her fashion students at UT and St. Edwards, she opened up this school so other people could have access to her skillz. Rad huh?

Anyway, it looks so cool that I'm considering signing up next month. Has anyone here taken classes at ASFD? Would you like to? The last time I tried to sew a purse, it turned into a diagonal, skinny belt thing...only a belt you could zip open and shut! So, professional intervention on the sewing side of things may be needed.

In other news: Saw Burn After Reading on Sunday. It's smart, clever, oh-so-Coen Brothers. I heart very much.

Ode to Hancock Center H-E-B

I must be about to get my period (sorry) because I just had the most emotionally rewarding experience at the H-E-B.

Ok, so, Hurricane Ike is happening right now:



(P.S. - Leave it to the NY Times photo journalist crew to make a natural disaster look so breathtakingly artsy!)

As a result, many Houston and Galveston evacuees have fled to Austin, where the weather here is relatively stable. As such, our neighborhood H-E-B has been packed with confused out-of-towners.

"Excuse me, where are your bottled waters?"

"Is there a cell phone store nearby?"

"Do you know how to get to "Man-chac-a" Street?"

I don't know if it's the spirit of Texans to rise above adversity, or the fact that H-E-B employees are just so damn odd and charming, or (most likely) the afore-mentioned womanly reason, but everyone was in, like, the best mood at the grocery store this morning!

"Ok....GUYS....should we get some ham? To make......." (dramatic pause)...

That was a goofy Houston dad at the deli counter this morning, wearing an Astros shirt, with his two little kids in tow. I imagine that evacuating one's city and sitting on the highway for 8-10 hours is probably somewhat of a tense experience, and yet, here was this cool dad who probably did exactly that, getting his kids all pumped up about some ham.

...."sandwiches?!?"

"YEAH! Let's get ham!!" These are his little kids, who are quite literally getting worked up into a frenzy over Boar's Head honey maple ham.

"Ok! Ok. Ma'am, hi, excuse me? We need to get a sample of ham. We need to," (turns to wink conspiratorially at kids), "test it."

The kids are now shrieking with giggles, barely able to suppress their delight that their daddy just tricked the deli lady into giving them a sample.

"WHOA! This is some HAM! Am I right, guys? Am I right??"

Would you believe me if I said his kids were double-fist-pumping the air right now?

"We'll take ONE! POUND!"

And then, I kid you not, his kids started jumping up and down.

Oh dear reader, I wish you could have been there. It's not an exaggeration to say I was very nearly moved to tears by this grocery store tableau. It was pretty freaking precious, I'm not going to lie.

And it doesn't stop there.

Alright, so the poor H-E-B employees - R. was there yesterday, and he said there were check-out lines stretching down into the aisles. You know all those people had to work late yesterday, especially since H-E-B is a 24-hour operation. So I'm pushing my little cart to the check-out, still dazzled by goofy, feel-good Houston Dad, but bracing myself for a surly checker. Because they are probably underslept and tired. But instead, I got the most amazing service.

"Well hey pretty lady! How you doin today!"

That was my checker, as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (pause: weird expression? Are we talking about squirrels here? Is rodent analogy?) as you can be. I thought about it, and told her I was doing alright. And herself?

"I'm hangin in there, thanks for asking! You got any plans tonight?"

I told her about Dana's party tonight, and that we will be going karaoke-ing.

"Aw man! That's fun! Is it a birthday?"

I told her indeed it was, good guess!

"Hey, Rita - she's going to go karaoke-ing tonight!!"

By now a second checker, Rita, has wandered over, to get in on this crazy conversation.

"Oh girl, for serious! What are you singing??"

I sheepishly admitted that Fergie is sorta my go-to, precisely because she does not sing, but spells things. (At least Fergie circa 2006-07 did).

"Aw, lady!" (Back to original checker now), "You're going to be the best one up there!"

Now, based on appearances alone, this prediction was, shall we say, unwarranted. I was (still am) looking about as unimpressive and non-diva-like as you can get - wearing the shirt I wore last night which has a wine stain on it, yoga pants, and flip-flops, and sporting as my friend Rob would call it, "David Lee Roth hair."

But it made me happy anyway. These girls made me feel like a semi-celebrity, just for chatting it up at the check-out line. And, and - this, after all employees worked late, crazy hours last night.

So, Hancock Center H-E-B, it's official: you've stolen my heart.

And I'm totally coming to buy Midol from you in a few days.

Calling my own bluff: The gym

So, like many a gal in her twenties, I go to the gym regularly. Why? Sheer vanity. Also, I have a Chilango Margarita problem.
I go to 24 Hour Fitness, where in the past, I have attended several things: hip-hop dance classes, kickboxing classes, spin classes, yoga classes, weight-lifting classes....one very awkward "strip" aerobics class, a brief fitness craze flash in the pan circa 2005....as well as countless individual sessions on treadmills, elliptical trainers, stairsteppers, stationary bikes, hand-weights, inflatable balls (effective, but comical), with an iPod or TV as my training companion.

But today, I am DUNZO!

I am completely sick of the gym, guys. Can anyone here relate? I caught myself yawning on the elliptical trainer tonight. Seriously. It's sooo boring.

Also: It's crowded. I know, duh. But guys - and I mean specifically males - what is the deal with you and your territorial behavior around the weights area? There is some serious hoarding and skulking going on around the weight benches in particular. I've noticed how some guys "claim" benches by draping their sweaty towels over them, after which, ew, none of us want to use it! Are you saving your bench in case you come back later? Are you going to go knock out an hour of cardio real fast in between sets?

I have clearly lost the gym fervor, so am considering adopting a new fitness routine. I decided to look to a trusted source for information: YouTube.

The first item a found is a "facial exercises" item from Greer Childers, at once hilarious and horrifying. WARNING: not suitable for young children.



The second absolutely warmed my heart: Canadians! You're so goofy! Do any of you own an i-Joy Ride Exerciser? Can I borrow it?



Ok, this last clip is a classic to most of you I am sure - but how did I miss this?? It makes me want to join a ginormous dance troupe stat, even if that means being in jail! Behold: 1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Cebu, Philippines doing "Jump!!!"



The same group also does Soulja Boy, Thriller, I Need a Hero...seriously, is this a documentary? Can it be please?

Funny how dancing inmates have totally derailed my train of thought...what was I blogging about again? Oh yeah - exercise.

I can't resist - one more!!

What your favorite cocktail says about you

Here at That Austin Girl, we've been taking a poll on everyone's favorite drink. And the results are stunning! With 23 votes total, here is how it shook down:

Chilango Margarita at El Chile: 5
Your basic Mojito: 2
Mexican Martini: 3
Wine: 8 (!)
Chimay, Spaten, or another equally elitist beer: 5

First of all, I am pleasantly surprised to be among the company of so many fellow winos. We do like to relish in our false sense of sophistication and pedigree, don't we?

Secondly, I've always thought that while the idea of a "signature cocktail" is silly - why deny yourself the pleasures of the full mixed drink rainbow? - there is significance indeed in your preferred poison. Based on completely non-scientific research, here is what your favorite cocktail most likely says about you.

Chilango Margarita at El Chile
God you're hip. You're in the know. In the east side Austin know! You like to wait until the server has made the rounds around the table, unopened menu in front of you, and - after a dramatic pause for effect when the server asks, "and what will you be drinking?" - casually order the Chilango Margarita. On the rocks (if you're on the east side that is - I recently found out the north side doesn't offer a rocks version. That's a one-two punch of in-the-know for you, and you're welcome). You've got tight pants on. If you're a man. If you're a woman, make that high-waisted full-legged pants, worn trendily and ironically. You dazzle your table with sips of your mysterious, delicious Chilango. All are awed. You are awesome.

Your basic mojito
You are most likely a dude, who saw a chick order this in 2003, and felt it was ok to order it once Miami Vice came out and Sonny/Colin Farrell said to Isabella, "I'm a fiend for mojitos." It is totally not a chick drink, ok? And besides, they're delicious! All your bros with a foamy glass of Guinness laughing at your dainty, beautiful glass filled with sugar cane sticks and mint sprigs can just go to hell.

Mexican Martini
You are a Texan. Better yet, you're an Austinite! You appreciate presentation, and a pitcher of pedestrian margaritas just won't do. You need salt. You need a little pizazz. And to that end, you like your margarita served in a martini glass with a splash of olive juice and garnished with a jalapeno-stuffed olive, please. What?

Wine
You're a class act. You're a lady. Or a gentleman. You appreciate the finer things......and did you mention you also speak French? You're getting hints of blackberry...no, chocolate...or is that goat cheese? You're testing your palate, and you're hitting on everyone. You like to think you're the ultimate combination of refinement and sexiness. And you're probably right, fellow winos.

Chimay, Spaten, or another equally elitist beer
You are a walking contradiction: You drink beer, and yet you are a snob. A beer snob. Where did this hybrid of beer-guzzling populism and opinionated "brew" connoisseurs come from? We don't know, but we blame Belgium.

And there you have it, Austinites and non-Austinites alike. As this admittedly is a limited cocktail selection, are there any alcohol faves you'd like to give a shout-out to here and now? Did I leave your pomegranate-infused something-or-other off the list? Tell me tell me.

We own this (South Padre) island

Hello everyone. Did you have a good weekend?

I did. I went to a very non-Austin locale indeed, and that would be South Padre Island. This marquee sign signifies pretty much all you need to know about our beloved SPI, our exalted Texas beach, our MTV Spring Break claim to fame:

I think this is a fair assessment of the qualities that South Padre has to offer. I mean, we all know about the "trouble" part when it comes to SPI (psst: It's the kind that fits into a shot glass.) But this weekend it was pretty much me, four pals, and the hotel maintenance roofers on the whole island, and we did not take shots with the roofers, but rather drank our sophisticated wine out of more sophisticated wine glasses. What could be better? I'll tell you: fried curds.

Excuse me! Cheese that has a crispy shell around it, for serious? Now that's just crazy talk. But oh no, it's true: Read on friends, about the further "talents" of South Padre.

Gloriously gaudy signage
If there's any place in Texas with better signage than Austin, it has got to be South Padre. Where else can you enter a gift shop via a shark's throat?



We didn't know whether to be wowed or freaked out by this place, so we just took a picture and kept on walking.

Fried seafood - or, any food
Calamari is one thing. But fried pickles and fried curds? Now you're talking!



It takes real guts - by which I mean arteries of steel - to eat this stuff. And lo, eat we did, washing it down with plenty of heart-healthy wine so as to counteract potential cholesterol abnormalities. Health crisis averted, and bragging rights obtained! (When was the last time you ate a fried piece of cheese? Boo-ya.)

A somewhat attractive Texas beach
I'm sorry, Corpus Christi. You and I had plenty of good times when I was a kid. Your 5-for-1 t-shirt shops! Your two-story Whataburger! Heck, even your brown waters were a welcome respite from other, clearer shores, where sea creatures could just swim about totally able to see my feet. I liked that your water was so dirty that it partially blinded anything trying to use its vision underwater, and my unscarred legs liked it too. So, thanks!

But ah, South Padre - you really are the crystal shore of Texas.

(PS - I am wearing clothes here because I was completely stupid and did not apply sunscreen to all the areas I should have on our first beach day. Backs of knees? Totally able to get burnt! Stomach? Yes! As it turns out, it's not just your shoulders and nose that are vulnerable to the sun, but, like, all the parts.)

Austinites, this is switching subjects dramatically, but one thing we need to discuss is the cocktail poll running on the side of the page right now. I can't believe there are so many winos here! It's good to see you, comrades! It's too late right now, but we'll talk about it tomorrow.

A gift from the internet: Heartless Doll

Guys!! Do you have some time to play on the interwebs right now? Yes? Poise thine finger to the mouse, and get ready to surf.

A glorious blog, Heartless Doll, landed in my virtual lap today at work. Even better - I think the blogger might be from Texas? And quite possibly Austin? I can't tell. The blog banner says "SF Weekly," and yet according to Google, Andrea Grimes (blogger of Heartless Doll) appears to be a contributor to both Austin and Dallas publications. Curious.

(If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you are probably aware that I like to stalk people. Clearly this is no exception.)

ANYWAY, Heartless Doll is a pop culture blog, but funny and smart. Don't get me wrong, I love me some PopSugar, PerezHilton, all the classics - but they are exactly what they set out to be, and that is crack-laced Laffy Taffy for your brain. A typical headline might read, "JESSICA SIMPSON PUMPS GAS WEARING MAXI DRESS!" which is, without fail, followed by 60+ reader comments of passionate feelings regarding Jessica's outfit. Some comments have such ridiculous spelling that it breaks your heart a little bit.

Heartless Doll, however, offers truly thoughtful and witty topics to chew on - stuff I wish I could have come up with! Here's a sample of recent post topics:

"Nuns: Too sexy for their habits"
"Google Earth proves cows are secretly magnets"
"Is Paula a cold-hearted snake?"

I should also mention that there are many more in the Heartless Doll blogger gang, and not just Andrea Grimes. But while we're on the subject: out with it, Andrea! The jig is up! Are you in Austin? And if so, can we hang out please.

There's only one way to show the economy who's boss: Alcohol

I'm giggling at this story by Adam Geller at Associated Press, which ran in the Statesman today. He writes:

"In the past few weeks, scattered reports have noted that alcohol sales are up [...] The new figures have revived the thinking that when Americans are taking it on the economic chin, they keep a firm grip on the bottle."

I wonder if Austinites are immune to this trend or not. Overall, we are not a stressed-out people (see: Matthew McConaughey). But then, maybe it's a chicken-or-egg situation: Perhaps we are not stressed out precisely because we're already buzzed?

When I get anxious and annoying, I usually call my mom. Did I mention that I'm twelve? I know that many of you take your stress out in ways that don't involve your parents, though: A nice long run, a well-placed expletive to your fellow motorists, a feminine wash of tears (actually, can relate to all of these tactics too).

So here is my question, Austinites: Taxed by a bad economy or bad other circumstances, do you "comfort drink?"

"It's not what good boys do"

Ok, remember Kate Perry's "I Kissed a Girl?" Very popular, caused a quasi-stir, is probably playing on a Top 40 radio station right now? Check out Temposhark's fab cover:



Are you loving it?? I am! (Thanks Arjanwrites for this gem!)

As of yet, it's only an audio clip - they played it for a London radio station on Saturday - but these guys won SXSW 2008 Sound Checks award for best music video, so we can only hope a cheeky visual accompaniment will follow. Do it, Temposhark!

(No, they're not coming to ACL, already checked. But Vampire Weekend is. Doesn't VW look exactly like what would happen if Demetri Martin started a band? Is that Demetri Martin?)