So Long Sweet Summer

Summer is almost over, and I am halfway done with college. I can’t decide whether I should celebrate or  cry. I mean I don’t wanna cry, but I am sad to see my precious days diminishing. And so I sit here and can’t help but think about that dashboard confessional song from my high school days. So cheesy, I know, but read these words and tell me you can’t relate.

“So long sweet Summer

I stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays

So long sweet summer

I fell into you

Now you’re gracefully falling away.”

And so I try to mentally prepare myself for the next school year. For the busyness, sleepless nights, stressful tests, coffee dates with classmates, etc. And as my summer mellows down, I do things such as:

Take cody to barking springs, (FREE FREE FREE). this photo above would be his profile picture if he had a facebook. 

We dine at the finest of the fine (@ Austin Java).

I have the greatest college dog because I can, and I do, take him everywhere with me. (@ Dolce Vita Gelato & Espresso).

And during my breaks at home, I like to lay on my comfy bed with the pups. Their cuteness can be distracting, but I would never ask them to leave.

I spend my evenings laughing with these people who do nothing but bring brightness to my days.

I cherish all the friendships I have made this summer and am grateful for this community.

Getting back into the groove of things will be healthy. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of these free summer days. Go bask in the sun and sing your favorite song with the windows down and the AC still blasting cause it’s so darn hot outside.

xoxo, 
Nadeen 

Free Nights

Summer is awesome and all,

But many of us are diagnosed with this disease called boredom. And although some may crave this. It can start to  become deadly at some point..

Boredom leads to over thinking, it leads to questioning  yourself, it leads to calling randoms who you don’t normally speak to, and most importantly, it leads to wasting your precious cash monay.

Luckily, living in a co-op decreases my chances of picking up this sickness. When I’m bored, I just go downstairs and find someone who is bored, and we do something about it!

One of my house mates Al and I have been exploring the comedy scene in Austin. Last thursday night, we biked downtown and watched a FREE show at The Hideout Theatre. Not only was the show hilarious, but there is a cafe connected to it! With lots of deliciously strong coffee and juices and austiny granola bars and such. I was too involved in the hilarity of the show that I didn’t take any photos, but I did snag this one of the bar.

I got a delicious italian soda, with whipped cream on top. I heart you topo chico.

Their shows are typically 5 dollars(thats nothing for what you get!), but the 10:00pm show on thursday nights is completely and totally free!

We enjoyed this outing so much, that last night, when boredom started knocking on the door, we decided it was time to explore again. This time, we ventured off to The New Movement. We parked our bikes and seemed a little lost because this place is slightly hidden. Just look for a huge sign with a question mark on Lavaca Street.

The comedians here were alot younger, so the humor was definitely a different feel, but nonetheless hilarious.

These shows are also typically $5, but their 9:30PM Wednesday shows are FREEEEEEEEEE. And you forget how great it feels to laugh, continuously, for like 2 hours. It’s a stress reliever and it works your abs. How could you say no?!

(Reason #18272398982 why I love this city: It’s easy to have fun and be frugal at the same time)

Al and I plan to continue this habit and find plenty more of these local holes.

In the meantime, don’t allow boredom to conquer your summer days. Yes, you should relax, but get out there and enjoy yourself. There is never NOTHING to do. I will punch someone if I hear them say this.

Cody wishes you crispy days with lots of laughter and treats.

xoxo, 

Nadeen Abou-Hossa

SXSW 2013

Hello loves, Nadeen AND Jacqueline here! We have been together for the past week and it has been the greatest. Today is a sad day, because all of our fun is about to be over and Jacque is about to go back to San Antonio. Instead of crying about this, we will blog about it and remember all the great times we had! This was our first south by south west ever!

Tip #1 for all you newbies: Making a set hour by hour schedule WILL NOT WORK. Play it day by day and it will all work well. HOWEVER: remember you CANNOT do everything. It is impossible to make it to every show, so you should figure out the ones you are dying to go to, and allow yourself travel time plus line time. Luckily we made it to all the artists we were dying to see, however we missed a few that we planned on seeing.

DAY 1: Waterloo Records and Spiderhouse.: All week, Waterloo Records on 6th and Lamar had free shows. I was confused when I first found out about this, because I didn’t understand how they’d be able to accommodate all the crazy hooligans in the streets. However, it worked out perfect. We grabbed lunch across the street at whole foods, sat on the patio and listened to the angelic voices of Tegan and Sara. A salad later, we decided to join the crowd for Macklemore.

We had to kinda linger behind the fence for a while like stoop kids on the street, we finally decided to stack on shoulders and move our way backwards. We got around to the back gate and surprisingly it was still open! But we still didn’t end up that close.. Macklemore has so much energy on stage that even far away we could see him bouncing around having so much fun.

I had fun too!

Tip #2: Always keep in contact with friends who are traveling around the city, they may guide you to a MUCH cooler show than the one you are heading to.

Day 2: WOODIE AWARDS. Our group relied on the bus to travel around Austin (sometimes helpful, sometimes not) because its pretty cheap and you won’t have to walk 10 miles. But we still had to walk a lot downtown. On the bus I got a text from a friend about the MTV Woodie awards, the most important words that I got in that text were “FREE, ALT-J, TEGAN AND SARA, FREE BOOZE” So while on the bus we rerouted and headed down to that. The line did not look very promising but it moved so quickly and before we knew it we were noming on free hibiscus popsickles listening to Atlas Genius.

This is what the MTV Woodie Awards included: Free entry, free beer, free mixed drinks, free doritos, free condoms, free sunglasses, free water + soda, free BBQ (we are vegetarian but they still had good options for us!), and free goodies.

Music included: The Lonely Biscuits ( I met them! we have friends in common because they are college students!) Jake Bugg, HAIM, Atlas Genius, Alt-J, Tegan and Sara, Macklemore, 21 Pilots, Zedd, and rappers named Travis Scott, Trinidad James, and T.I. showed up too!

^High School Hometown Friends!^

^The Lonely Biscuits (From Belmont University) ^ They won best college band of the year by MTV

Day 3: At this point, we were exhausted. As much as we wanted to just lounge around the apartment with the doggies, we fueled ourselves with coffee and eggs, and headed back onto downtown. I’ve recently been obsessed with wild child. This Austin based indie folk band was by far the best live show I’ve seen in a while. Their combination of instruments flowed so well and they all seemed to be a big happy family. I’ve been trying to catch a show the whole week and finally was able to get to this one at Shiner’s Saloon. (Jacque: I was REALLY scared we were going to miss it then we would have to all cry in the street)

This was the first day that we were actually able to meet some of our idols. After the show, we found the keyboardist of wild child, exchanged some words, where he redirected us to our next location. One minute after this exchange, we happen to notice wild child’s van. As the obnoxious fan that I am, I yell out how much I love them while Jacque silently smiles (I get really really nervous around people I want to meet). We react to these situations very differently. AND THEN, after I am recovering from this, we see alt-J in the street.

ARE WE NOT THE LUCKIEST GIRLS IN THE WORLD?

These foreigners told me how ecstatic they were to be in Austin and were nice enough to accept a photo with us. I was all smiles after being serenaded by their beautiful accents.

The only set plans we had for Austin was to see our friends shows on Friday night. I (Jacque) have some great friends from Houston I have gotten to know over the years, and Nadeen has slowly gotten to know them, along with our other friends and after staying with them in New Orleans we feel like one big happy family.

The show was at this awesome guy named Will’s house (THANKS WILL) and the setup was : My Fathers Rifle (NOLA), ArchAnimals (NOLA), Growl (ATX), and Donovan Wolfington (NOLA). We happened to know pretty much every person playing so it was the best way to end a sunny evening. As the beer started to sink in to peoples stomachs and the sun was setting absolutely every body was groovin.

These bands bring so much energy that you absolutely cannot stand still during their shows.

After the shows ended we walked to East Side King’s where we got some delicious squid ink ramen noodles! I stumbled into this place after a show at hole in the wall and was amazed at the unique conjunctions they make with my childhood ramen. Jacqueline and I felt extremely adventurous trying out this meal.

Tomorrow marks the day we teleport back into reality, homework calls our names, as well as a full nights rest. SXSW has felt like the longest and best dream we have had in a while. Even though sxsw is over, the good music still continues in this great city all the time, so life is always good. Be on the lookout for our NOLA post.

arrivederci,

NADEEN AND JACQUELINE

Austin Holiday Festivities

If you’re currently in the wonderful ATX and looking into something to do, I have two activities that’ll keep you entertained and leave your pocket full.

1. TRAIL OF LIGHTS

This event is completely FREE. Head on to the beautiful zilker park, grab some hot chocolate, hit up the food trucks there, and walk through these fascinating lights.

Any disney character you can think of was there! My personal favorite was A Little Mermaid.

You feel as if you’re in a whole different world…and you have an excuse to act like a kid again 🙂

That’s me and my roommate inside the gigantic christmas tree! If you look up for a while, you start to get loopy and feel as if you’re moving around in circles.

2. REDBUD PARK

Also…FREE. Currently my favorite dog park in Austin. It has the conveniency of being close to campus, but you feel as if you’re on a beautiful island far far away. So calm, so serene.

My brother and I both took our dogs and let them run around off leash. I’m usually afraid to let my pup free, but this place was perfect because it’s pretty much surrounded by water. There’s no where the doggies could escape!

If you’re fortunate enough to be in this city for the break, these are two fun and free plans to put on your calendar. I’ll be headed to Houston tomorrow morning so get ready for some posts about good food and crazy friends!

“we must become the change we want to see in the world” -Mahatma Gandhi

-Nadeen

 

A Day Of Yoga, Fashion, Music, and More

Ello!

We are just figuring out this whole blog thing so please bare with us, soon we will be having multiple posts per day! However, today I want to share with you this awesome FREE (yes, completely and actually free) event that I went to in downtown, Austin this past weekend.

I have to admit that I was hesitant about coming to this event at first. I have practiced lots of yoga in my life, but Austin’s expert yogis do intimidate me. Looking back on it, I am so glad I ended up going! There couldn’t have been any better way to spend my sunday morning.

The Free Yoga Class was quite different than any other one I had taken before. It was hosted by Wanderlust Live, a local studio off of 4th street close to that huge Frost Bank Owl looking building. The studio is really unique because they host classes with live music. As if yoga wasn’t already relaxing! The concept of this studio came from Wanderlust Festival which is a big Music/Yoga Festival bringing together the master yogis, musicians, chefs, and winemakers.

As if I didn’t feel great already, I got the pleasure of tasting some free samples from Austin’s first acai cafe- Blenders and Bowls! They have delicious fruit bowls with organic fruit, hemp granola, and local honey! The best part is that they’re located inside Wanderlust Live, while also having their colorful truck roaming the streets of Austin!. Make sure to be on the lookout for it!

After eating this bowl of deliciousness, I couldn’t help but walk around the shop for a while. I mean who doesn’t love free people?! Although their clothing is a little out of my price range, I get some great outfit inspirations from them. And it’s okay to splurge sometimes 🙂 Go check out their new August Catalog when you get a chance!

Love,

Nadeen