A SXSW surprise

SXSW Interactive finished up this past week in Austin and I thought that it was a really great year. There was a ton of great panelists speaking on a range of topics from how to implement a social media customer service program to what it’s like to swap creative folks in an agency swap program between the U.S. and the UK. Even Al Gore made an appearance for a jam-packed session that I am fairly certain they had to simulcast from almost every exhibit hall for those who could not get into the live session just to make sure there wasn’t an uproar.

It was during the Al Gore session that I tried to sneak a peak of the latest celebrity to hit town, and not it was not a person. It was the real grumpy cat at the Mashable House! Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to stand in the ridiculously long line but I was able to grab a shot of a poster on the back of the tent.

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Amy’s ice cream date

Today the girl asked me on an ice cream date so we walked down to Amy’s Ice Cream because it is right next door and it was such a beautiful day in Austin.

getting crazy in the kitchen

Everyone hold on to your hats, because I made something, and ADDED something to the recipe. I am turning into a baking rebel.

But for real, I know I am not a very adventurous baker. I usually stick to a recipe for the most part. I might use normal butter for unsalted butter, or light brown sugar for dark brown sugar, when I want to get crazy.

But I wanted to eat an orange, and I wanted to make cookies, so I decided to add some orange zest to these chocolate chip cookies. And they didn’t turn out to shabby. The zest added a nice freshness to it. Everyone at work seemed to eat them, so I would say that is success.

orange cookie 3 orange cookie 4We ate ours split in half, with an orange split in half, and some tea.

 

message on a penguin

These penguins are a custom request from Etsy. Someone asked if I could embroider some words on two penguins, and I decided to give it a try! I was kinda nervous about the hand embroidery, since it definitely is a challenge to embroider fleece, but I think it turned out pretty good. The handwritten lettering is part of the handmade charm, right?

Now off to your happy new homes, little penguins!

penguin friends

Barreled 2013 date night

Last week the girl and I had a fun date night and attended a great event that was put on by Dulce Vida Tequila, Barreled 2013. It was their inaugural Barreled event and was a great way to kick off the pre-SXSW activities with some good food, music and company. The set-up was awesome with food trucks in the parking lot and barrels stood up on end for tables for people to pull up at and enjoy some tasty guacamole and tacos. They even took some old wooden pallets and turned them into swinging benches inside the warehouse which helped create a really fun vibe and atmosphere. Not to mention they partnered with Collings Guitars to put on some great live music featuring local musicians such as MilkDrive, Redd Volkert and Sons of Fathers!

Now that's a way to welcome your guests! A huge logo projected on the side of a warehouse.

Now that’s a way to welcome your guests! A huge logo projected on the side of a warehouse.

A photographer with a nice set-up greeted you as soon as you walked in the door. Say "Cheese"!

A photographer with a nice set-up greeted you as soon as you walked in the door. Say “Cheese”!

The inside of the event with some great lighting hanging from the ceiling.

Strings of light across the warehouse really helped set the mood.

Guac N Roll was there and we got to try all three kinds of guacamole they had. Who doesn't love avocado?

Guac N’ Roll was there and we got to try all three kinds of guacamole they had. Who doesn’t love avocado?

The Peached Tortilla food truck was in attendance and had their usual great tacos and brussel sprouts with bacon jam.

The Peached Tortilla food truck was in attendance and had their usual great tacos and brussel sprouts with bacon jam.

At first I thought it said "pickled lobster" and was completely confused until the girl corrected me. :)

Dock & Roll Diner had some great poppers and at first I thought it said “fresh pickled lobster” and was completely confused until the girl corrected me.

SXSW invades Austin

I’m not sure when it happened, but SXSW Interactive has become a huge deal in Austin for brands, agencies, start-ups and everyone else in between. Its popularity has grown to the scale of an estimated 80,000 badge holders (according to the nice individual who helped me check in at registration) which is insane to me! That is a lot of people.

Two of my favorite things about SXSW are the people watching and the social media conversations that pop up which is why I’m a fan of Mashable’s SXSW Trendspotter that they have created through a partnership with Topsy. Case in point is that during a session today on “How to Rank Better in Google and Bing” the hashtag #Bingle popped up and was a top trending hashtag during day one of SXSW Interactive which I found highly entertaining and amusing.

breakfast in austin

Getting breakfast on weekends is one of my favorite things ever to do with my one true love. We occasionally try new places, but we have a couple favorites we go back to over and over again.

Since everyone in the world is coming to Austin, I just wanted to give a hint about 3 places you should NOT get breakfast, since I would like to eat there peacefully as usual.

1. 24 Diner. I like to get waffles or the breakfast platter. The guy likes the 24 hash or chicken and waffles. (photo)

breakfast1

2. Kerbey Lane. I wish I could eat the whole breakfast menu in one sitting, plus some Kerbey queso. (photo)

breakfast2

3. Rudy’s. Breakfast tacos or pigs in a blanket. (photo)

breakfast3