The Perfect Austin Weekend

Spring break officially started as of Friday when I submitted my super boring paper on Age and the Digital Divide. More on what I'm doing with my spring break in a post- coming soon! So, I decided to kick off my spring break by literally avoiding all things technology, work and school related. Since I've been in grad school- I have found it hard to escape my obsessive compulsive checking of email. Once I made the addition of the iPhone to my life- forget trying to escape- it's impossible. While I was ditching technology for the weekend, I decided it would be best to also give myself two glorious days off to rest my brain a little. With the perfect 75 degree weather in Austin this weekend- my two days off were PERFECT.

Okay, so I'll admit it- I couldn't completely rid myself of the computer/email. Saturday morning, I found myself catching up on my laundry, going for a run and- you guessed it- working. I had to get the April calendar submitted for austinwoman Magazine. That only took about an hour or so, and I had plans to meet the girls for brunch on South Congress. The SXSW festival is going on here in Austin- and I have been known to see a few celebs every time it's in town. Last year, I was actually on a plane with the entire cast of "I Love You, Man" including Paul Rudd. He and I shared a moment as I got on the plane- I swear....

So anyways.... as I drove through downtown, which by the way was PACKED-everyone and their mom decided they needed to be outside enjoying the weather, I was wondering who I might see this time. I met the girls for brunch at South Congress Cafe- known for their AMAZING brunch. While we waited (and I will let Ameera explain why we had to wait so long) we got to shop. We dropped by the boot store- and I developed a major case of boot envy, until I saw that most of them had a $500+ price tag on them... so not worth it.

Once we were finally seated- I decided I need a mimosa- after all, it's brunch right? So I enjoyed one of these:

Then... you guessed it... Kiera spotted someone famous: Chloe Sevigny. In case you don't know who she is- she was in "Boys Don't Cry." We were starstruck- and it was great.

After brunch, Ryan and I played a game of tennis- where I won, of course. Haha.

Sunday

So I woke up on Sunday at 11. I freaked out- thinking I had taken this whole- relaxing for my break thing too far. 11 is just too late to sleep in- even on a Sunday. Then, I realized it was daylight savings time, and didn't feel so bad. I could see the sun peeking in through my windows, and knew it was going to be another beautiful day. Austin has some great hiking trails, and I haven't taken advantage of any of them yet, so Ryan- his sister Jennifer and her friend Ann Marie, decided to go on a hike to Mt. Bonnell.

On the way there- Ryan made me a take a detour- and showed me Lance Armstrong's house ( Don't ask how Ryan knew where he lived)- it was HUGE, and I wanted it. We finally pulled up to the mountain- and it was packed. So we hiked up to the top- and by hike- I mean climbed a lot of stairs, and had a photo shoot:

Once we reached the top, we found some more trails- which looked like they went straight down... Greeeeaaat. So... I found myself trekking (straight) down the mountain, and then (straight) back up. I felt legit. Luckily... I didn't fall off.. you would be proud.

Once the hike was over, we decided to go eat some lunch on the lake- so we made our way to Cain& Abel's on the Lake. Yummm. I die for their Southwest Wrap- delish. I had my Baylor hat on, and some man thought it would be appropriate to keep yelling Sic 'em bears at me... funny- but there is a socially acceptable way to do... Yelling a sic 'em bears across the parking lot is not one of them. awk.... While we were waiting, my friend Esteban (or Steve) from Baylor study abroad in Spain, called me, and proceeded to tell me I almost plowed him over in the parking lot. Great.... he was leaving the restaurant, and I was on a mission for a parking space. Needless to say, it was great to catch up with him...

What a great weekend- as you can see- my technology fast is over. Back to work... and maybe a little shopping :) A girl's got to treat herself every once in awhile!!!