Meet me at the speakeasy, buy me some giggle water.

Sneaky kitty!

Last Sunday night, I went to a party hosted by our friends at Vintage Vivant.

As you can see, the night was '20s and '30s themed.

So three red-headed broads - Rene* (left), Amy (middle) and I (right) - recognized this as a perfect excuse to get dolled up, head on down to the juice joint, and have ourselves a keen time!  

Look how serious we are with the camera.

... but things got silly pretty quickly!

I wish I could transport every non-local person I know down to Austin for one time in their lives, and escort them personally to a Vintage Vivant party.  It's held each month at this luscious throwback bar called Swan Dive, and people go all out for it.  The gents wear suspenders.  The gals wear pearls.  There's usually a silent film projected onto the wall, and sometimes a live musical accompaniment.  They like to - as the VV girls say - party like it's 1929.

And you know something?  When I started this blog at 25 years old, I went out a lot.  I'd been cooped up in grad school for two years and was ready to get my mid-twenties kicks.  When it comes to nightlife now though ... I am much more selective.  And by 'selective,' I mean 'lazy.'  The main event for me on Sunday nights is typically a date with my book, in bed, and sometimes, Claudia (my cat) is invited too.  It's pretty exclusive.

So things have to sound pret-ty, pre-ty good (Larry David voice) for me to go OUT out.  Vintage Vivant more than does the trick.

*Rene made both her dress and mine!  She's a talented lady.

The Scarlet Header.

Monday night, my fellow redhead friend Amy and I had a little girls' date in her 'hood, which just so happens to be down the street from mine.

We found these giant ... asterisks? on our way.  "Clearly," we said, "those asterisks would like us to take our picture in front of them."

(If you're here in Austin by the way, that's the wall of Top Drawer Thrift Store on 49th and Burnet.)

We vamped it up a little on this park bench too, because, well why not?  I've got red hair, you've got red hair.  Here's a perfectly good bench.  Three excellent reasons to have a mini photo shoot.

Oh Reader.  Are you mad at me for taking a break from doing more writing on this blog?  More lengthy, storytelling-esque posts?  

Because I'm a little mad at myself.  Truth be told, I took on a zillion freelance assignments last month, which may or may not have been a wise plan.  I mean, it was wise in the ch-ching! sense, but not so wise in the having-clever-or-even-legible-sentences-to-spare-on-my-blog sense.

I hope you'll forgive me for turning August into a more picture-laden month on Austin Eavesdropper. Because that's what we're going to get.  Danger Kate (my camera) is doing a fine job of capturing my adventures, so I'm going to let her take the helm for the next few weeks while I finish up all my stories!  Here's one I wrote about chandeliers.

Also: one exciting tidbit to tell you.  Did you know that my husband and I are building a music studio in our backyard?  The concrete gets laid tomorrow!  

It's for my husband's music school for kids and grown-ups, and will officially launch in September.  I am so incredibly proud of him I could just burst.

Art teacher.

Remember when I said I was going to work on my photography this summer?  Well guess what.  I'M TOTALLY DOING IT.

However.  As you can see, I still have a lot to learn.  

What you have just witnessed are the five very best pictures of approximately 5,000 I took yesterday.  I don't know how fashion bloggers do it!  Photography is exhausting.  But I liked my outfit, so I thought: What the heck?  I'm gonna go have some fun with Danger Kate.  (That's what I've decided to name my new camera.  We're a good team, she and I.)

Now I seldom wear glasses, but when I do, friends tend to freak out.  I guess because they change my face so much.  But I have to admit, I think it's a nice effect!  Combined with the smock-like top, I felt very art teacher in this outfit.  Like, good morning class!  Today we are making earthenware.

Those two necklaces are a gift from my mom.  For my 28th birthday, she gave me a jewelry box filled with vintage necklaces, rings, and earrings that she picked out from thrift and consignment stores in San Antonio.  Talk about freaking out.  If memory serves, I immediately put 3-4 pieces on, then proceeded to model them for my parents, my husband, our waiter at the restaurant where we were eating, neighboring tables, the hostess, and eventually, strangers in the parking lot.  Which is about the kind of behavior you can expect on an only child's birthday.