On Saturday, April 14th, from 4pm to 7pm, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will be hosting an art opening with Project ClayPlay, Foster’s Angels, andHelping Hand Home at the South Lamar café (221 S Lamar). The art on display and for sale comes from Foster’s Angels and/or Helping Hand Home children through the creative guidance of the dedicated team at Project ClayPlay.
Join CB&TL for complimentary beverages and enjoy some precious art from very strong and talented children.
The title says it all. Stop by Aspen Highlands tomorrow from 11a til the Greek Frozen yogurt runs out to try the latest awesome happiness in a carton from Ben & Jerry’s and look for the Greeks in Ski Boots!
This:
Fab Greek FroYo Flavas: Banana Peanut Butter / Blueberry Vanilla Graham / Strawberry Shortcake / Raspberry Fudge Chunk
+
(but hotter because it’s me and two amazing girls)
=
_________________________ … you’ll have to stop by to see how awesome it is!
Oh fine, I’ll be posting a recap. But if you’re in Aspen, better see ya at 11a on Highlands! #GreeksinSkiBoots
I’m a huge proponent of drinking more water. I write about it all the time, perhaps ad nauseum. But there’s no reason not to, as water has billions of health benefits, beauty benefits, skin benefits, athletic performance benefits, diet/satiety benefits … the list goes on!
I’m usually pretty good about getting my 64 ounces in each day, but after my most recent Drink More Water article for DailyHap, one of the companies we featured, Reduce, offered to send me their WaterWeek bottle set to try.
The idea is that the 16-ounce BPA-free plastic bottles are similar to throwaway bottles in size and convenience, but you “Just fill, chill & go!™” with the five bottles. So they’re already cold and ready in the fridge, in their nice little fridge tray. You could take one bottle and refill it all day at work, running errands, at school whatever. Each person in the family can have their own color.
Or, perhaps what happened to me will happen to you. Once I had the bottles filled, chilled, and ready to go in my fridge, I found that I drank them. All five bottles (I work at home, so there’s no water cooler). Yeah, I peed more than usual, but I adjusted. That’s 80 ounces a day! I, someone who thought she was great about her water intake, was drinking EVEN MORE water!
Empties! I’m not sure what it is about the WaterWeek reduce bottles. Could be the size. Could be the colors. Could be the fridge tray. Could be that they’re dishwasher safe (a must!). Whatever the cause, this water bottle has single-handedly upped my water intake!
Of course, you could do this with any water bottles. The Vapur anti-bottle is still my fave for travel, skiing, and so on, since you can easily store it in your pocket once it is empty (we’re giving away two on DailyHap’s facebook page, Like the page to be entered to win!). But the WaterWeek set is a steal at $17.99 for five bottles and the tray!
Are you upping your water intake? I wanna hear any and all tricks for drinking more water! I want to get up to 100 ounces every day! 
A funny thing has happened to SXSW, which I started to write about in last year’s SXSW wrap-up post: it has tipped. That is, it is no longer a little festival for the geeks of three respective industries, it’s a destination festival for an unheard-of combination of (startup) companies, corporations, and consumers (aka Spring Breakers). There’s possibly nothing else like it in the world, that lasts for so many days and so completely consumes a city (Carnivale?).
So for the first time in FIVE years, I’m not going to SXSW. And much to my surprise, when I let the people and PR companies throwing the parties and events surrounding SXSW interactive, film, and music know that I won’t be in town for it this year, the vast majority have e-sighed and said something along the lines of wishing they weren’t going to be in town either.
Rambling aside, many of you will be in town, and even if you aren’t going big (which I cannot even pretend to recommend anymore, it’s beyond exhausting), below are six things you should probably take a look at …
Since I won’t be compiling the massive spreadsheet I have in the past, you NEED the 2012 SXSW Daytime Party List from Sperry Media. This is the first draft, a final will be published next week. I cannot stress enough, if you might possibly maybe be thinking about possibly hitting up a party, RSVP RSVP RSVP. And RSVP again. Except not really, just make sure you RSVP once.
Alternatively, Do512 has a SXSW take over on their always-happening website and you can:
Texenza Coffee shop (4th and Congress) during South by Southwest is turning into a great place to collaborate and work. They’ll be giving away free breakfast, lunch, coffee, and drinks to anyone who stops by. March 9-13 from 9a-7p. You probably have actual work to get done, so stop by and do it while networking your face off.
Four Seasons Hotel Austin and KUT-FM 90.5 are once again teaming up for early-morning music. Wednesday, March 14 through Saturday, March 17, $10 gets you a breakfast taco and unlimited coffee, while the money goes to Austin’s Seton Shivers Cancer Center at Brackenridge Hospital. New this year, The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Austin will offer complimentary hand massages and mini-facials throughout each day’s event. The music schedule (each artist performs a 30-minute set):
•Wednesday, March 14 (7 – 11am) – Lost in the Trees, Grace Woodroofe, M. Ward, Cotton Mather
•Thursday, March 15 (7 – 11am) – Kat Edmonson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jimmy Cliff, Punch Brothers
•Friday, March 16 (7 – 11am) – Ruthie Foster, Motopony, James Mercer, Trampled by Turtles, Nneka
•Saturday, March 17 (8am – 12noon) – Sons of Fathers, Glen Hansard, Justin Townes Earle, Nada Surf
You will go into new app overload during SXSW, but the good news is that the cream will rise to the top and the rest will simply get deleted (though somehow apps are never really deleted, but I digress). One possibility for widespread adoption is a new geosocial service called glomper. The mobile-and-web app ties together check-ins and sharing across already active social platforms facebook, twitter, instagram, foursquare, etc. but is strongly event-focused—so it’s more about partying. You can see all the events nearby by type/date and you will be able to share your plans to visit them before they start and then to check-in when you arrive.
Launch event Mar. 11 from 3-7p, at the Launch787 next to Moonshine. Free but you need to RSVP: glomper.eventbrite.com
Lakeway Resort and Spa on Lake Travis is 18 miles northwest of downtown Austin. They’ve got events all week for families, but even if you’re not staying there, you can get away and enjoy the Hill Country Festival with live music and kids activities on March 10th and 11th at 3p or a St. Patrick’s Day Beer Garden + entertainment on March 17th at 6p. The spa at the resort has also put together the San Saba Spa Delight, a 50-minute signature facial and a traditional manicure for $148 to rejuvenate during or after your SXSW adventures. Post-SXSW, refresh with a nightly rate of $125 for March 18 – March 22 only. Promo code is SPRING.
I posted 11 SXSW Rules last year, but let’s face it, there are really only three important rules: (1) drink a thousand times more water than you think you need to, (2) wear your sunscreen unless it’s raining which it might be, and (3) relax—there’s no way you will ever make it to everything, so enjoy what you’re doing and forget about the rest.
The full lineup is still under wraps, but the Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival (April 25-28) has announced some of the single ticket sale shows that go on sale tomorrow … comedy is not usually my thing, but they have brought in some BIG names, locals and celebs alike, and it’d be fun to check out a show or two. I will never forget Joe Rogan at Cap City Comedy something like five years ago … you know your relationship is golden if you can withstand THAT roast!
AZIZ ANSARI @ Paramount Theatre
April 25th: 7:30pm & 10:00pm Tickets starting at $38
THE AMAZING JONATHAN @ Cap City Comedy Club
April 26th: 10:30pm / April 27 & 28th: 8:00pm Tickets starting at $18
MARIA BAMFORD @ Cap City Comedy Club
April 25 & 26th: 8:00pm Tickets starting at $18
W. KAMAU BELL @ 29th Street Ballroom
April 27th: 10:00pm / April 28th: 7:30pm – $12
April 28th: 7:30pm – $12
HANNIBAL BURESS @ The Parish
April 25th: 7:45pm – $15
THE DIVORCE SHOW @ Stateside at the Paramount
April 25 & 26th: 6:00pm – $12 (Happy Hour at 5:00pm)
SETH MEYERS @ Paramount Theatre
April 26th: 7:30pm – $40
JOHN MULANEY @ The Parish
April 27 & 28th: 7:45pm – $15
CHELSEA PERETTI @ The Parish
April 26th: 7:45pm – $15
STEVEN WRIGHT @ Paramount Theatre
April 28th: 7:30pm – $41
Festival badges are available for $129 and VIP badges are $799. Both can be purchased online at moontowercomedyfestival.com as well as in person at the Paramount Theatre box office or by calling 512-474-1221.
The festival is slated to bring over 60 of the world’s best comedians both established favorites and up-and-comers to Austin, a city with an insatiable appetite for comedy and festivals alike. Spread out over 10+ venues around the city including the Paramount Theatre and Cap City Comedy Club, the festival will showcase stand-up, improv, sketch, musical comedy, and all of the odd and hilarious stuff in between.
For more information on the festival, visit moontowercomedyfestival.com or follow on facebook and twitter @moontowercomedy. Also check out all things comedy at the festival’s blog site www.comedymoontower.com.
I teased you guys here, here, here, and here, and it’s finally HERE!
DailyHap.com is a website designed to create a community of happy people and encourage people to openly, genuinely pursue happiness. It will guide people to Achieving Happiness 1 Day at a Time through a daily action item.
It is also my labor of love, my grand adventure, and now that it’s live, what will consume my life. 
We’re launching with a really cool campaign called Penny for Your Thoughts, where a visit to the website donates a penny to Austin Smiles. Sign up for a profile, and contribute Your Two Cents, another two pennies to Austin Smiles. Three cents donated for very little effort! We want to show you that it can be as easy as a click to start on your way to happiness.
What are you waiting for? Click on over to DailyHap and get happy!
That’s right, a Boulder-based company is hosting two visiting events in the two cities I call home. The parallels!
The Blind Cafe comes to Austin January 26-28 and Aspen February 14. The Blind Cafe is a completely dark dinner, live music, and speaking experience. For more on the individual events in each of the cities, read on.
Keynote speaker Richie Flores will lead a Q&A and discussion on life with blindness. Richie is the president of the National Federation of the Blind in Austin, runs The BELL program (helping young blind children learn valuable life skills) and will also be doubling as a musician in the band.
Dinner is a delicious multicourse vegetarian/vegan meal prepared by local Chef Brian Henderson and includes a decadent, dark chocolate dessert. Then, guests indulge their ears during a full set of live music by Rosh & One Eye Glass Broken. Proceeds from The Austin Blind Café will be donated to support The BELL Program (a two week workshop for blind children in Austin).
Where: The Church of Christ (1903 University Avenue)
When: January 26th, 27th & 28th (Thursday – Saturday)
Thurs & Fri: (6:45pm check-in / 7pm seating)
Sat: (5:45pm check-in / 6pm seating)
Tickets: Available by calling 1-800-838-3006 and online at brownpapertickets.com/event/212981
Cost: *Special pricing note: Guests are asked to ‘pay what you can’ from $45-$95 (suggested ticket cost is $55) to keep the event accessible to all. Group rates (8+ people) call 720.495.7797
theblindcafe.com/austin-blind-cafe.htm
Make this Valentine’s Day something extraordinary: spend an evening in an event completely unlike anything else. Visit the Sky Hotel in for a delicious three course meal, full concert and community awareness event in complete darkness. The servers at the event are blind and guests have the special opportunity to explore darkness with their keynote speaker, Gerry Lerry, who will lead a Q&A and discussion on life with blindness. Gerry has been blind since birth. He was a car mechanic for over 40 years and then shifted gears to pursue one of his great loves, coffee. Gerry taught himself the roasting industry and opened his own coffee roasting business and café, The Unseen Bean, in Boulder, Colorado.
Dinner is a delicious three course meal that includes a decadent dark chocolate dessert that will be prepared by the Sky Hotel’s star chef. Full set of live music by founder Rosh & One Eye Glass Broken. Then there is the Black Box. It’s something special for this Valentines Café. While in the darkness guests will open their Black Box. What’s inside? To figure that out, they’ll have explore their senses of smell, taste and touch!
The Blind Café is also committed to giving back and improving the lives of sight limited individuals in our communities and will donate 10% of proceeds to Challenge Aspen to help their efforts supporting the blind.
Where: Aspen’s Sky Hotel
When: February 14th (Two times: 5pm or 8:30pm)
Tickets: Call 1-800-838-3006 or online at brownpapertickets.com/event/215857
Cost: $195
Remember the awesome massage I had a few weeks back? The spa, though it has been open about two months, is having its grand opening tonight with lots of treats, including wine, cocktails, spa experiences, giveaways, discounts, and more. Stop by and check it out!
Did you know September is National Yoga Month?
Did you know you can get a full week, seven days, of free yoga at tons of studios across the country thanks to National Yoga Month?
It’s no secret that I’ve been practicing A LOT of yoga recently. I did a seven-day boot camp in Aspen that was transformative. No, I didn’t come to any life-changing realizations. No, I didn’t make any decisions. Trust me, I had plenty of realizations and decisions needing to be had, I WANTED them. But yoga, you learn through doing it, is just about doing it. Just about being. The other stuff comes with being. Being present. And it definitely does not come instantly.
Why then was my yoga week transformative? Because it made me realize how important yoga is to my health and well-being. I have previously publicly declared that I’m not yogi. But I AM. I am a yogi.
There are 10 days left to take advantage; yoga month culminates September 30th with The Time for Yoga, a global community practice.
Use the studio finder here to immediately get your yoga on. For free.
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