SXSW Girls' Weekend

I'm baaaaack! And I've got pictures. Lots of 'em. Around the time I last wrote, we were in the midst of South by Southwest, a huge music / film / interactive festival and tradeshow that takes over the entire city of Austin each March for 10 days, and three of my best girlfriends from Seattle were about to arrive for an epic Austin girls' weekend. Austin did not disappoint.

A few highlights: avocado margs and pollo con mole at Curra's, strolling up and down South Congress perusing the boutiques and vintage stores (I finally found a sweet pair of vintage, totally broken-in cowboy boots), lots of sun and a little pool time, 4 consecutive nights of live music, drinks by the pool at the Hotel San Jose, a drive through the Beverage Barn to pick up beer (it's literally a drive through liquor store-- gotta love Texas) en route to The Salt Lick where we enjoyed finger lickin' good barbecue (and where BYOB is mandatory, hence the trip to the Beverage Barn), and, finally, gospel brunch at Threadgill's. Doesn't get more Austin than that.

Lora, me, Ellen, and Sarah in front of the Driskill hotel, on our way into to see a SXSW show.

And later that night, we ran into a random troupe of hula hoopers. They let us hula for a minute.

Walking home one night... this, um, iconic neon sign graces our neighborhood every evening after dark. J was a good sport and hung with the girls a few of the evenings.

And, a trip to Austin isn't complete without enjoying a frosty beverage at the swanky Hotel San Jose's poolside bar. Sporting my new boots here!

A fantastic weekend. Makes me miss my girls. Can't wait to do it again... and lucky me, we have 3 more sets of guests coming this spring, so we'll get to show off our city a few more times.