I Went To Austin And Left With This Avocet Ring (And A Hangover). Both Worth It

Hey fashion friends, cat lovers, compulsive shoppers. It's been a minute. Blog and blog people, I love you, but the truth is, I'm a good blogger but a shitty updater. Why? Because I'm in front of a screen pretty much from the minute I wake up to the second my head (and, let's be honest, my drool) hit the pillow. I need a small break from Interneting to put my face in things that matter -- food, yoga mat, cat bellies, husband's neck. So, it's not that I don't love blogging. I do. I just give no fucks about pageviews. Caring about pageviews on your personal blog is like caring about your weight. It's just a number. Why are you worrying about number when you could be... not worrying and eating instead? It's just that I love the sky and talking to people in person, and traveling, and not Instagramming stuff for a second and instead trying to commit things to memory instead of screens. I've written thousands of blog posts in my head that, oddly, didn't make it to the computer tubes. Maybe if I get one of those Google Glass thingies that scream "DON'T HAVE SEX WITH ME PLEASE EVER BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE SEX BECAUSE I'M WEARING THESE COOL VIRTUAL GLASSES AND DON'T NEED SEX OR HUMAN CONTACT. I'M HAVING SEX IN MY MIND."

I digress, as I so often do.

I just got back from a week in Austin for SXSW. I'm sorry, body, for the fried things and nicotine and cider beer or whatever I put in you. I'm sorry. The ciders were free and I was feeling fuck-free.

I worked my ass off, but I had a little downtime which I spent shopping and strolling on South Congress Street, where, at the suggestion of the lovely ladies at Paige Denim (shout to them and the guys of Immaculate, who threw an excellent, definitely not Kosher dinner party), I stopped by Feathers Boutique, which is where this gorgeous Native American tribal head dress ring by Mexico City jeweler Avocet imprinted itself in my mind.

Stunning, right? I haven't worn silver in ages, but this ring, like 75% of jewelry I shouldn't be impulse-buying, did.

Other reasons you should check out Feathers, besides their jewelry selection -- including my girl Katie deGuzman's K/LLER jewelry -- they carry Alchemy tees, which have cool retro-luminati designs on tees softer than the little pinky/ white part of a kitten's ear.

I got this one in black and white:

Also spotted at Feathers: Mustard-colored Mickey and Minnie denim. 1994 me would've creamed my jeans for these.

Buy these? I did not. Missed connection.

Finally, in my South Congress rampage (I gave myself a one-hour break between work and work), I stopped into Prototype Vintage, which is IMPECCABLY organized, super clean and priced to move. Picked up two '80s vintage tees -- an all-over print Mickey shirt and these super '80s illustrated ladies on a Las Vegas souvenier shirt. I wish everything still looked like this.

They were both under $40 -- certainly not thrift store prices, but definitely not New York "vintage" prices, where used things cost more than new things.

On that work tip, I did some interviews for the mtvU Woodies. Jack Antonoff of Bleachers was particularly cool:

Here we are making emoji faces:

That's a Reiss "Springstreen" blouse (it's the most beautiful, breathable and unwrinkable thing in the world) and a Lionette Frida necklace if you give fucks about that sorta thing, and JC Ramos of Blo Austin did my hair, and he's a follicular genius and a total doll. I'm supremely into Jack's grown-up Suddenly Seymour style, by the way.

You need to listen to his song "I Wanna Get Better" RIGHT THE FUCK NOW and see him on tour by any means necessary.

Oh yeah, here's me, and, much more importantly, goddess queen superlatively superior human being Iggy Azalea serving Dolly Parton "9 to 5" realness.

 Finally: DOGS! Austin's got the BEST ONES!

THESE GUYS ARE AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION! Contact AustinPetsAlive.org

+ AUSTIN MUSTS:

SHOP
* Feathers Boutique:
1700 B South Congress Ave. and Milton
Austin, TX 78704
512-912-9779

* Prototype Vintage:
1700 1/2 South Congress Ave and Milton Street
Austin, Texas 78704
512-447-7686

* Uncommon Objects: BEST VINTAGE/ ANTIQUE SHOP IN THE WORLD, NO CONTEST.
512 S Congress Ave
Austin, Texas 78704
512-442-4000

HAIR GAME STRONG:
* JC Ramos/ Blo Dry Austin
1611 W 5th St, Ste 145
Austin, TX 78703
512-355-1256

EATS
* Uchiko
* East Side King
* Liberty Bar
* Lamberts Barbecue
* Houndstooth Coffee
* Flat Track Coffee

PlayLand Motel In Rockaway Beach: Why Not? Try It! You Might Like It!

Rockaway Beach got itself a brand-new boutique hotel -- it's already got a boutique taco stand and a boutique boutique, so clearly a boutique hotel wasn't far off. It's called PlayLand Motel, and from the few photos I've seen, it kind of looks like Sole East in the Hamptons or the Ace in Palm Springs, with a pizza joint, 12 small boutique rooms, two restaurants and a 7,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor bar. It looks very dried-palm-fronds/ faded-surf-photo, nautical-knots chic. In a pre-fab way designed to attract hipsters and people who swear they're not hipsters, of course but who even cares. Rockaway Beach needs your cash, and it's a $2.50 train ride/ extended Brooklyn staycay, so who wants to check it out? (There's a shuttle bus from Williamsburg, because OF COURSE.) 

The Meatpacking District doesn't need any more of your hard-earned dollar bills. Those two hours you spent standing in line trying to get into Roberta's could've been spent on the beach. Go support Rockaway. Until the cast of "Princesses Long Island" shows up, and we all need to just head down to Rehoboth or commit ritual group Seppuku instead.

PlayLand Motel: 9720 Rockaway Beach Blvd, Far Rockaway, New York 11693

Photo credit: Athena Calderone/ Refinery29

The Best Shit I Bought, Wore, Did, Ate, Etc In 2012

Okay. Yay, happy 2013! Given that I have more than enough running observations, statistics, judgements, trivial/ triflin' concerns, condemnation, ambitions, thoughts about cats, musings and mumblings going through my brain in just the time it took me to type this sentence, I'm therefore not usually prone to public reflection, review, or navel gazings, such as the year-in-review-style posts that fill up my Facebook feed at the end of December/ beginning of January. I'm not trying to hate. It's just generally not my thing. But, like, if I'm going to reach back into the bowels of 2012 and extract a common theme of the year, then YOLO: Why not take a minute to look back at the year that was (and all of the shit I bought), and raise a glass to 2012?

All joking and unicorn heels aside, one of my daily goals is to always remain fully aware and appreciative of my countless blessings, from having a loving relationship, friends so incredible that I sometimes feel like I should pay them for the privilege, and living in a city I love in a place I'm happy to call to home, to the little things that aren't little at all, when you take a step back and really, profoundly consider them -- just waking up in the morning, and having a healthy body and healthy mind. Truly, in the midst of the daily grind of flying out the door, rushing to work, being annoyed by the 47 billionity thousand trillion things that can annoy you on the ride to work, it's a privilege and a gift -- even on a bad day -- just to get out of bed every morning and stretch out four limbs that can carry me anywhere. Those things alone are truly more that some people can say they have. I don't care if that sounds emo. Sure, 2013 had some crap moments. Every year does. But I got to spend another year on Earth (thanks, Mayans!), and given the alternative, I'll take it.

Okay. So, let's talk shopping and other superficial stuff!

+ Best thing I bought in 2012: My Chris Habana Nostradamus necklace: I stopped into American Two Shot -- FINALLY -- last month, looking for gifts for my sister. A few hundred bucks later I walked out with this Chris Habana necklace for myself, and a pizza iPhone case for my sister. I am a TERRIBLE person. But I LOVE this piece probably way more than any healthy person should. This was my one really indulgent impulse buy of the year, and, in the words of Katy Perry, no regrets, just love.

+ Second-best thing I bought in 2012: Urban Outfitters BDG chambray button-down: Being a woman, ahem, cursed with a more than ample endowment, if you will (yes, I'm talking about the curse of the big-busted woman, but I'm trying to be discreet, because I am TOTALLY A LADY!), I truly believed I would NEVER own a decent button-down. But holy shit and Gloria in excelsis Deo! Urban Outfitters' chambray button-down came around and turned my world upside down because IT FITS, Y'ALL!

+ Third-best thing I bought in 2012: CW-X sports bra: DUDES. My CW-X sports bra changed EVERYTHING. Again, see above. If you're over like a C cup, sports bra issues can be THUH WORST. CW-X is by Wacoal, and they know what's UP. I found that the cup sizes aren't true to your real non-sports bra cup size, so the size I bought was smaller than my real size, but I don't care, because it fits like it's true to size. I can't remember what size I bought, and quite frankly, if you're that interested, then you're probably a real creeper, so fall back. But if you're not a creeper, try the CW-X VersatX Support Bra or the CW-X XTempo from Paragon or ShoeBuy.com. Zappos carries some, too. You might have to shop around a bit to find the right size and fit, but it's worth it. Trust. Seriously, after going to Lululemon and asking for a sports bra in my size and basically getting this from their "enlightened" employees:

... Finding CW-X sports bras was like a revolution.

(More favorite/ best things after the jump!)