Archive for ‘Playing’

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June 9, 2009

Fastball + Black and White Years in the park

The last of the Solar-Powered Concert Series in Republic Square Park is tomorrow night, and the TBA closer is Fastball–yep, middle school/high school hotties Fastball, of You’re an Ocean, Out of My Head, and other gems, will be playing. With the Black & White Years, an Austin-based band that has tons of local acumen and rabid fans. So it’s probably going to be awesome weather (if you like the heat) for an awesome show.

Stop by the Farmer’s Market at the Triangle and pick up food, or do a Whole Foods run and bring a picnic to the park at 4th & Guadalupe. Gates (?!) open at 5 pm, music runs 5:30–10pm.

Solar Powered Concerts mean audiences experience “pollution free” music. In other words – no stage hum. Solar powered production is not only the better for the environment but also provides a sonically clean sound. The concerts benefit Blue Dog Rescue, an Austin area foster organization dedicated to rescuing dogs from our local shelters and adopting them into new homes. Blue Dog Rescue and their four legged friends will be on site.

Bicycle “Valet Parking” is provided by Mellow Johnny’s bike shop. Scooter and motorcycle parking will be provided on 5th Street by Wood’s Fun Center. For those of you who can’t walk or bike, please try to be pollution-free by checking out Capitol Metro, including the popular Dillos which service downtown, at www.capitolmetro.com.

Parking is available all day at the Laz Parking Lots located on 4th & Nueces and 5th & Rio Grande. Parking is available at the State of Texas Garage located at 4th & San Antonio after 5 pm.

Coming soon to This is Life in Austin: a free summer concert/film series calendar–keep an eye out.

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June 3, 2009

It’s all about the volleyball

Last summer I spent 3-4 days a week playing sand volleyball. While this summer my schedule hasn’t looked like that, there is some good volleyball to be had. Three things on the agenda:

  • Weekly, the ATXVB Meetup Group plays at the Krieg Complex, known before as the softball fields off Pleasant Valley and Riverside. Wednesdays from 5pm-dark and Saturday mornings from 10am-??
  • Coming up not this weekend but next, Aussie’s hosts their popular El Sol tournament. From their website:

In 1999, Eric “El Sol” Solie tore his Achilles tendon playing indoor volleyball at ARC. The surgery had gone well but a couple weeks later, Eric died from a blood clot. He was 30 years old and taken away from us too early. Eric was extremely friendly to everyone he met. He could put a smile on your face just by being around him.

The Eric Solie Foundation was created in 1999 in honor of Eric and his love for volleyball, beer & boiled shrimp. This year will be the 10th Annual “El Sol” Blind Draw 4′s Tournament being held at Aussie’s Volleybar & Grill on Saturday, June 13th. Money raised from the El Sol Tournaments and from the Gemini & Halloween Poker Rides & Raffles goes to the Eric Solie Foundation. The foundation will benefit a selected junior volleyball player each year once the fund has reached its maintenance level.

Register by phone or at Aussie’s: 512.480.0952 or 306 Barton Springs Rd., 78704

Then I’ll just crib notes from an email a friend of mine sent detailing how much fun the tourney is:

“This is the biggest tournament they have each year, and it is followed by a shrimp boil.

Last year they had over 100 people, which is why they will have to spread out the games between Aussie’s and Krieg Field.

Since the tournament is so huge, it should take all day.

I don’t know if they have a lot of spots left, so I wanted to remind you guys to sign up since as we all know these tournaments are a lot fun, and even more so when you get to spike a ball at your friend’s face J

I just signed up yesterday, and the fee is the standard $25, or you can pay $35 (which is what I did) which includes the ticket to the shrimp boil right after the tournament. I think the boil also includes beer.”

  • Don’t forget about the awesome Adult Volleyball Camps I told you about put on by Misty May’s dad. It’s a conflict with the El Sol tournament, but if you need to pick up some more skills, you should definitely look into this camp. It runs Friday after-workish through Sunday, June 12 – 14, at Austin Beach Volleyball Club in Manor. Their website is here.

So it looks like my summer calendar is filling up all volleyball-style again …

Posted in Good people/services, Playing, Sports/Fitness, Things to do ... all the time | 3 Comments »

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May 22, 2009

Hoover Ball

Kick off the summer (and Memorial Day Weekend) with a CrossFit Central Hooverball BBQ!

5-9pm at Northwest Park (Map)

They’re providing the MEAT, you BYOB and your favorite side dish, dessert, or snack to share (serving size 15-20 people) … doesn’t have to be Zone/Paleo–everyone gets cheat days!

What is Hooverball? Like volleyball on a sand court but we’ll be throwing a med ball over the net instead.

If you’re intimidated by CrossFit, this is a perfect way to meet some cool people without having to tackle a sick workout… :-)

Posted in Eating, free, Good people/services, One-time event, Playing, Sports/Fitness | 3 Comments »

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April 29, 2009

I am Daycationing

I am laying by the pool at the Four Seasons on a Daycation. Yes, it’s overcast and not particularly hot, but I am determined to make laying out by the pool part of this experience, so here I am, clad in a new ViX swimsuit typing away at the laptop.

What is a daycation? It’s a package the Four Seasons is offering to lure locals to the hotel. You get lunch at TRIO, a 50-minute spa treatment, and access to the facilities all day. For lunch I had a delicious “Austin Hippie” salad with perfectly cooked scallops, and a side of the most amazing berries in the world. Okay, maybe not that good, but somehow TRIO always manages to have the juiciest, most flavorful berries around.

I’m headed to my massage in a few minutes, I’ll update later on how it goes. Ahhhh, daycationing …

Update: The. Best. Massage. Ever.

I’ll admit, up until today I didn’t really get what everyone was talking about with the massage deal. Sure, it feels nice to have your muscles rubbed, but blissed out? Hadn’t felt it. And I’ve gotten massage at some top notch places. But John at the Four Seasons today, he took it to a whole new level. He worked some serious knots I didn’t even know existed out of my shoulders, and while the pain was a little intense for a bit, the release was incredible. My body is so relaxed. I wanted to lie in a hammock and breathe it in–luckily for me, I could, as there are lakeside hammock havens. And then I sat in the steam room, sweating every last drop of tension out.

Can every day be a Daycation?!

From the Four Seasons Austin website:

Daycation:

Whether you’re a local looking for a close-to-home getaway or a vacationer staying with friends or family, enjoy the amenities and pampering of Four Seasons Hotel Austin’s Daycation package, offered Monday through Friday.

This package includes:

  • A 50-minute spa treatment of your choice
  • Lunch in TRIO
  • Use of the Spa’s eucalyptus steam rooms, locker room and fitness facilities
  • A day pass for the pool

USD 160.00 per person

Posted in Beauty, Good people/services, Playing, Things to do ... all the time | 3 Comments »

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March 26, 2009

Thursday – Sorry for the late notice!

I totally meant to post these sooner, but got too excited about the 70% off sale! And tonight I’m going to the Justin Timberlake Singalong at Alamo Ritz, BUT here are two other things to check out if you don’t have plans and read the blog in time:

Dazed And Confused w/ Richard Linklater & Brewster McCracken at Alamo Drafthouse Lamar, 7 pm. Writer-director Richard Linklater’s answer to American Graffiti, 1993’s Dazed And Confused is considered a stoner classic for its dusk-to-dawn party atmosphere, but it’s more melancholy than its reputation might suggest. With no greater ambition than securing Aerosmith tickets in the morning, Linklater’s aimless characters go through various rites of passage on the last day of school, each a little apprehensive about making a new transition. As such, it’s a strange choice for a mayoral campaign fundraiser—but then, the candidate in question is the very progressive Brewster McCracken, fervent supporter of Austin’s film industry, so it’s easy to see why Linklater would throw this screening party for him. Here’s hoping McCracken’s own “morning after” is a little less bittersweet. [This is probably sold out, but I don't know]

This, however, is open for business:

Charity Bash

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March 4, 2009

Your Lucky Day: SXSW

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p2_e5Pa9NwdSkKQEQs3v1MA

This, my friends, is all you need for SXSW. It is a spreadsheet of the best parties.

The criteria:

-Free

-Free booze / food / cool stuff

There are a million and a half lists out there with free parties. Most focus on music. This is not what I care about. I care about swag. And good times. Music involved is great, and helps make good times, but music alone does not a good time make.

I am an expert in free parties. I partied for 65 1/2 hours last year. That’s NOT including sleeping or time in transit. That’s 65 1/2 hours of on-the-streets, party-hoppin’, free-stuff-carryin’, raw SXSW action. Trust me when I tell you that the parties on my spreadsheet will be the best, the most fun, and reward you with the most branded junk you might not need. But you want it.

It will be constantly updated on the new tab you see on the top navigation bar. Check back for more goodies.

The top three–so far–are highlighted in green: Rachael Ray (the food), Facebook (the people), and Standard Recording/Craftster (the crafts).

PARTY ON! SXSW 2009!

Special thanks to @lodea for her research and updates!

Posted in Eating, free, Going Out, Gossip!, Music, One-time event, Playing, Things to do ... all the time, travel | 4 Comments »

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January 23, 2009

Best movie ever: Growing Out

My movie opens today in LA! So I’m a little biased: I did all the costume design for Growing Out, so obviously it’s the best movie ever. But it is a seriously good movie, fun and scary, weird and smart … it’s pretty cool, and worth checking out. (Click here to buy it from amazon and kick me back some cash!) It opens in a small theater in LA this weekend and–cross your fingers–if sales are good, it’ll open in select theaters across the country! (Austin being one, since I guaranteed a fan base … um …)

Growing Out Poster

Growing Out Poster

Synopsis: A troubled songwriter discovers a human growing out of his basement floor. And falls in love with the girlfriend of the dude who lives in his backyard in a trailer. What more could you ask for?

I’m buying some tix just to support the movie, if you’re into that sort of thing OR you have friends in LA, here are the deets:

Opening on Friday January 23rd at the Laemmle Grande 4-Plex

345 S. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90071.
(lower level of the Marriott hotel)

Tickets are $8.50 (cheap!) The first showings on Saturday and Sunday are only $6.50.

Show times :
Fri. 7:00 pm, Sat. 1:00 pm, 3:10 pm, 7:00 pm, Sun. 1:00 pm, 3:10 pm, 7:00 pm, Mon. 7:00 pm, Tues. 7:00 pm, Wed. 7:00 pm and Thurs. 7:00 pm

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April 3, 2008

Bikram – The Hot – Yoga

So I skipped run club in favor of Bikram Yoga with my girls. Of course, I was late, so it’s not like we hung out, but still, it’s a cute idea. Sweating together. :-)

I did not think Bikram sounded good at all when I first heard about it. The room is 108 degress, you sweat your face off for 90 minutes doing yoga, and they claim you burn 560-1000 calories. Problems: one, if I wanted to sweat that much, I’d go for a run at noon in the Texas heat; two, your heart rate has to get pretty high to burn 1000 calories in 90 minutes; three, isn’t yoga supposed to be peaceful?; and four, do I have the attention span to do 90 minutes of yoga?

The first time I went, I did not really like it. Nor did I like it the second time. Today was the third time, and I didn’t necessarily like it, but it wasn’t so offensive to me anymore, which is progress. They say you need to try it four times before you know if you really like it or not, so I’ll keep trying. I’ve got an unlimited month of classes anyway at YogaGroove anyway!

And my legs are sore right now, which can’t be from anything but the yoga because I’ve been laying on my couch sick for the past two days. So maybe this hot yoga thing is growing on me … or I’m warming up to the idea? Har, har, har.

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April 2, 2008

New Direction

Rather than being a ramble on my life, which no doubt my mom finds very interesting, I’m changing the scope of this blog back to my original intention: This is Life in Austin. What I do, what I see, what trends I identify, what I think everyone else should do, visitor and local alike. So in the spirit of that! here’s what’s hot for Wednesday, April 2:

Evening:
1) SoCo Run Club: meet at Doc’s, run 3 miles (reunite with my buddies from last season!!), hang out & make friends
2) T-shirt pickup for Austin Sports & Social Club Flag Football league (conveniently also at Doc’s!)

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