Best Local Blog!!

Oh my God.

Oh my GOD!

This happened!!:

Austin Eavesdropper won the 2011 "Best Local Blog" Award in the Austin Chronicle!

You guys, I don't even know where to begin!  I can't believe it!

I am this close to pulling a Sally Field I'm so excited!  

I can't stop using exclamation points!

Ok ... reining it in now.  Thank you so, so much for voting for Austin Eavesdropper in the Chronicle's Reader Poll.  This blog is my baby, and it has grown and evolved so much since I started writing it in 2007.  I had ZERO idea what I was doing back then, and for a very long time it was just me, my mom, and my dad reading.  (Thank you, parents!)

But over the years, you all -- Austin Eavesdropper's readers! -- wrote funny, witty comments, a ton of you started blogs of your own, and my buddies have even contributed guest posts.  In short, you completely educated me on how to do this blogging thing.  Some of you -- and you know who you are -- taught me how to use my new camera (thank you) and more of you catch my typos and send me gentle, corrective emails (THANK YOU).  So in a lot of ways, I feel like Austin Eavesdropper is a team effort.  

My friend Amy's cat, Babette.

I'm a 29-year-old freelance writer and book publicist, although I think I may prefer the Austin Chronicle's term for me, "an ebullient pixie!"  I started this blog as a hobby, but now it's grown into a little more than that and I am very grateful.  

Austin Eavesdropper focuses on Austin's creative culture, peppered with stories from my personal life.  You can read the long "about me" version here!

We've got some exciting changes and additions coming to Austin Eavesdropper very soon.  I can hardly wait to show them to you!  Think video.  Video shot by someone other than myself (thank God).  It will seriously be here in just a few days, so c'mon back now.

Also, if you just so happen to pick up a copy of the Chronicle, um, check out the cover story!  That's my friend Angeliska donning it, whom you may remember from yesterday's post!  She and her Vintage Vivant partner-in-crime, Amelia, were the subject of an insightful feature story by Kate X. Messer on Austin's current cultural moment.  It starts on page 28, and is a worthy read.

Congratulations too to the other Chronicle winners that make this city so magical.  I'm so proud of my friends at Vintage Vivant, Tasty Touring (yay Jodi!), The ND at 501 Studios, Justine's, East Side Show Room, Péché, Birds Barbershop, Public School, The Statesman (Addie Broyles, Best Local Food Writer!), Coco Coquette, Esquina Tango!  And so much more!

You guys are inspiring!