I Didn't Say It, I Declared It.

I declare blog bankruptcy. I just deleted a whole mess of posts (only 15/96 remain) because I want to take things in a different direction, both in real life and online. I had an inkling to start doing outfit posts but I am just not cut out for fashion blogging - more disposable income would be required, I'm kind of restricted about what I can wear at work and plus I've come to the realization that I just don't care about fashion that much. Don't get me wrong, I love cute clothes and outfits that are put together well. I just don't get caught up the excitement of Fashion Week or the latest designer collections. But what I'm really into: handbags, scarves and wearing as much jewelry as humanly possible (as I type this, I have five huge ass rings on) and my preliminary market research (aka like three of my friends on Twitter) shows that it's that's the kind of niche that people would like to read about.

That said, I want to put more effort into Beyond 6th, I've been taking classes to brush up on my HTML & CSS skills (through Girl Develop It, which I'd highly recommend!), I just started a new job that I absolutely love and I'm back in college so things are in a weird transitional phase right now. So what, who cares? 

Anyone else on Pinterest? This is the Internet thing that I'm all about at the moment. Click the picture to peep my boards & follow me.

Endless Summer (Reading)

I'm just going to accept that I'm terrible at blogging but still update this thing when I feel like it, for some reason. Is my web presence spread too thin and that fact the reason why I can't keep up with this thing? Probably. I have an irrational impulse to sign up for every social network/Internet thing ever. Speaking of which, I'm on Pintrest, follow me if you're into that sort of thing!

(via... yes, that's me.)

Summer may technically still be a month away but it's already started in Texas. I had my first swim of the year last weekend, which was oddly, my very first visit to Barton Springs Pool, even though I've lived in Austin during and toughed out four blazing summers before. I know, it even shocks me. I anticipate several trips back as the oppressive heat continues to terrorize us (just checked the forecast and it's supposed to get up to 100 today... and it's only May).


Because I work a weird schedule that makes it pretty much impossible to be social during the week, I end up spending the bulk of my free time consuming various forms of media (a LOT of podcasts, Hulu, Netflix, etc.). Now that most of my TV obligations have closed out their seasons for the summer (my favorites, of course, being Parks & Recreation and Community and my guilty pleasures, Grey's Anatomy* and Private Practice), I'll have more time for other stuff, like my ever-growing Summer Reading List AKA books on my Kindle that I'm ""getting around to"" reading (in no particular order):

• Currently Reading: How Did You Get This Number? by Sloane Crosley
• Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith
• We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill
• Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Cafe Society, and An Early Cry for Civil Rights by David Margolick
• Decoded by Jay-Z
• The Commitment by Dan Savage
• The Kid by Dan Savage
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
• No Turning Back by Estelle Freedman
• Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti
• Spook by Mary Roach
• Undoing Gender by Judith Butler
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• Tales of the Beetle Bard by J.K. Rowling
• Goat Girls by Francesca Lia Block
• Necklace of Kisses by Francesca Lia Block
• Help! a Bear Is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen
• Little Bee by Chris Cleave
• Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• John Dies at the End by David Wong
• All of the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris
• Black No More by George Schuyler

Here's hoping to make a dent in it, at least until True Blood, The Walking Dead and Louie come back.


* I swear I had kicked the habit several years ago because it was so bad but within the last two seasons, I've somehow gotten sucked back in. It's still bad, over the top and ridiculous but entertaining.

I Guess We're Kinda Legit Now

Wade got us these awesome shirts for the Beyond 6th podcast to wear around during SX (or whenever)! They came out awesome, I'm really pleased!

I'm going to start using this shirt in lieu of showing actual ID at bars. "Hello, I'm right here on this shirt and I'm holding a glass of sangria, of course I'm 21!"

Six South By Pro Tips

I wanted to run down a list of SXSW tips on the latest episode of that podcast thing I do, Beyond 6th, but as I am wont to do, go distracted talking about other things. This post kind of elaborates upon what I wanted to say (and borrows a bit from the segment). I've been putting off making this post (or you know, blogging in general) for a while, to a point that I realize this post is almost too late. But for out-of-towners not arriving in Austin until next week, this might actually be helpful! Or at the least, someone can refer to it next year...

(Baby me on 6th Street, St. Patrick's Day, during my 2nd SXSW in 2006. This guy was just hanging out, sitting on the curb and I asked for a picture. Keep Austin Weird, indeed. By the same time a year later, I would be an Austinite myself!)

I like to joke that South By is my favorite holiday. Despite the traffic and noise, to me it's always been the most wonderful time of the year. While I won't pretend to be an expert at all, I've got a total of six years of SXSW under my belt (two as a visitor and four as an Austin resident) and I think I've picked up a few things along the way.

An Illustrated View of Austin Through the Eyes of a Transplant

I don't remember how I discovered or how long I've been reading comic artist Melinda Boyce's blog of adorable diary comics but I've been fan of her work for at least a year. Her drawings aren't (usually) meant to be funny as much snapshots of her life and adventures with her friends, family and boyfriend, Aaron (who she also does a collaborative comic with and is one of the main featured players). I loved her cozy portraits of her life in Portland and definitely missed them when they disappeared from my RSS feed for a while.

So imagine my surprise when she resurfaced and announce that she had been absent because she had moved to Austin (apparently a city she'd never even visited!) along with Aaron and three other friends! Hey, wait a minute - that's my city! While getting settled in, she is making up for her hiatus with a new series called "Falling in Love with Austin." One of my favorite things about living here is when I get to share the great Austin-y places and things I've discovered and this is such a fresh take on the concept. So far there's only four in the series but I've already fallen in love and definitely look forward to seeing more.

(click the picture to check out Melinda's blog and portfolio)