Friday, September 4, 2015

Keep Austin Weird

My husband and myself recently went to Austin, TX for a weekend getaway. It was my first time to Austin so I had no idea what to expect other then lots of sun and the city's slogan "keep Austin weird". Everyone I talked to says how wonderful it is there but I wanted to see for myself. Plus I had to know what all of this "keep Austin weird" stuff was all about. 

We decided to stay at the beautiful W Austin hotel which is right next to Austin City limits in the heart of downtown. The location was amazing and the views were even better. 
We arrived on a Friday at 1:00pm and headed strait to our cabana at the Wet Deck pool. It was heaven! I'm serious, 105 degrees never felt so good. So much better then the humid Chicago weather. This was the best five hours of my summer. 

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That night, we decided to stay in our hotel and go to The Living Room for drinks and an appetizer. What a cool place! It's literally set up like a living room with a fireplace and records in shelves on the walls. The decor was gorgeous and after a full day at the pool, feeling like we were dressed up at a very chic home was just the ticket. After our light bite, we headed to Trace for dinner. Oh my YUM! Ryan had the crispy pork shank and I ate ricotta casonsei. You guys, I'm talking drool worthy food.

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Dress: Choies  // Necklace: T+J Designs // Shoes: JustFab // Bag: Nordstrom (hair tutorial here)

On day two, we hit the ground running. A quick coffee stop by our hotel and we were off to eat our way through South Congress. On this day we started noticing the vibe of the city and the people. Downtown felt like we were in San Diego or maybe even LA. Everyone was young, thin, attractive, and very health conscious. There were recycling bins not in our hotel room, but on every block corner! I loved that about the city! Very clean and waist conscious. Everyone was out in their workout clothing bright and early and at one point I looked at my husband and was like "where are we?".

Once we made it to South Congress we got dropped off at the far end so we could walk, shop, and eat our way (about 20 blocks) back toward our hotels direction. I loved it here! It felt like we were in Nashville now. Everything was so charming and bright colors. Lots of vintage stores and at most places we ate, drinks were served in mason jars and all chairs were mis-matched and restored. It was so fun!
In our journey we happened upon Co-Star Austin, and it was store love at first sight! New mens and womens clothing (and accessories) PLUS amazing vintage. I'm talking Chanel, Christian Dior, Oscar de la Renta, and more! We both picked up a few items here. When in Rome...

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Two of my other favorite stores we found were Prototype Vintage and Creations Boutique. I bought this stunning 1960's suede cape (shown below) and my husband bought an amazing 1960's leather jacket at Prototype. This store was so cool. You can find them on Instagram and they will ship called in orders...just saying!

Creations Boutique was all women clothing and I got myself two super girly party dresses. I wore one on this night out, and can't wait to blog both soon!

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Ring from Co-Star Austin, other ring handmade from street vendor

Later that night we headed out for dinner and a night out in the city! We ate at Ranch 616 (which was one of my favorite places!) and then walked around on the west end. A few beers later we decided we would see what everyone was talking about on the east end. HOLY COW we are now on Bourbon street somehow!  How does one city feel like at least three all in one day? Keep Austin weird indeed!

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By midnight we decided to jump in a rickshaw and head back to the hotel. It was such a fun day! Definitely what the doctor ordered.

By the second morning we had brunch in our hotel, went for one last swim, and headed to the airport. My old regret is not staying longer! What a wonderful place to visit. I would love to live there one day...so many more trips to Austin in my future I hope!

Here is a glimpse of some of the yummy food I ate.

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Have you ever been to Austin? What did you think of the city?

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