Austin City Limits Festival | Weather, Fashion & Food

As we're less than 48 hours away from the start of ACL 2008, there's more to think about than just what bands I'm going to see.  Today, I started thinking about what I was going to wear.  First thing to consider... It's going to be HOT this weekend.  Last week Austin & most of Texas experienced a wonderful cold front that followed Ike.  We had highs in the 80s and lows in the upper 50s.  It was glorious.  Unfortunately it was not meant to last & this weekend we're expecting highs in the mid 90s & lows in the upper 60s.  

I'm sure it won't be as bad as it was back in 2005 when ACL = Giant Dust Bowl & 100+ degree miserableness. The picture here in the upper right is me & Jonathan at ACL 2005.  We look happy, but the flash is masking the layer of dirt that covered EVERYTHING (clothes, camera, hair, nostrils...yeah GROSS!! I had black snot for 3 days afterwards...sorry, I know TMI)  What made it worse was that it was seriously over 100 degrees outside so everyone was all sweaty & the dirt just stuck to the sweat...yuck!  Check out this picture taken on during Coldplay's set the last night of the last day.  If you'll focus on the upper portion of the photo (ignoring my horrible picture taking skills), you'll see the massive amounts of dust floating around in the air.

Things should be much better this year.  They've improved the irrigation system at the park & the heat isn't supposed to be near as bad...  Still, I'm planning on packing sunscreen & my allowed two bottles of factory sealed water.

Now what to wear.. These girls, are so good at using Polyvore, and I've been looking for a good excuse to create my own collage.  So here we go! If you happen to see me at Zilker park this weekend, I'll look very much like what you see here.  

Besides thinking about what to wear & bring with me, I browsed the awesome selection of food that will be available at the Food Court.  So many of the best restaurants in Austin will be there.  As long as the lines are insanely massive, I'm hoping to check out the Hot & Crunchy Chicken Cone from Hudson's on the Bend, a Grilled Sausage Sandwich from The Best Wurst, and a slice of Pepperoni Pizza from Austin's Pizza.  Yummy greasy goodness!!  Is it bad that I'm just as excited about the food as seeing the bands?!  Even though I can go to these places anytime I want, there's something different about enjoying it at the festival.

Do any of you frequent festivals?  What kind of gear to you bring?  What's your favorite festival food?

Sorry, we only carry sizes 1, 3, and 5. You could try Sears?

Since I got married in December, I've gained a little weight...10 lbs to be specific. I'm by no means obese...let alone overweight. But, I'm much softer than I was a few months ago. I go through periods where this really bothers me (anytime someone mentions swimsuits) and then there are times when I don't even notice (when I'm wearing cute, fashionable, & flattering empire waist tops).

I'm fairly self conscious about my body & in the past few months I've gotten fed up with being embarrassed by my "softness" and so I've started going to the gym several time a week and watching what I eat. It's not helping. Not sure what it is. I don't think I've changed the way I eat between now and this time last year. So, this 10 lbs of yuck is really perplexing.

I'm at a really small trade show today & this customer comes & gives me a hug. I've met him at several shows over the years and he always takes time to chit chat with me and see what's new at the company.... I guess you could say we're trade show friends. So, this trade show friend comes over and the first thing out of his mouth after hugging me is, "Oooh, you're putting on weight!". I am shocked and I'm sure I made a horrendous face when I said, "uh, what?" and he patted his belly and repeated, "you're putting on weight" (with a grin & a wink)

I'm not sure what this guy was thinking when he mentioned that. Maybe he thinks I'm preggers...ah! ack! ugh! Maybe he thinks that's a good thing? Maybe he thought we were good enough friends that he could tease me about my new layer of blubber? I have no idea. Anyway you look at it, I was super uncomfortable.

I just laughed it off, "heh, yeah, got that newlywed weight." And I give a hearty laugh & pat my soft belly.

AAAHHHHH the humiliation!!!!

Did any of you gain a little newlywed weight? Has anyone every humiliated you by commenting on your weight publicly?

If not, can you please make up a story to make me feel better?! Thanks! :)

"I love the smell of commerce in the morning!"

I'm not much of a fashionista or trendsetter.  I mean I love clothing, design, even shopping, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly skilled at it.  

I saw Wishcake's post the other day and commented on how I never think to go to Old Navy to check out some affordable clothes.  So, I stopped by the local mall on my lunch break today and cruised on over to Old Navy.  

There is something about that store that inhibits my ability to think outside the box.  In stores that big, I feel more comfortable if the mannequins show me what to wear.  You know, give me some ideas.  I've been shopping in mostly smaller boutiques for the past year or two, with the exception of Anthropologie...I LOVE that store more than any other store I've been to.  Seriously...Anthropologie is AWESOME. So you know at boutiques you can cruise through the store and there are lots of unique items.  You have to be careful when you're looking so that you don't miss some hidden gem.  

At chain stores...even though the store is bigger, there are fewer things to choose from.  There will be one dress, but it's in 5 different colors and two of every size.  I used to work in retail...at the evil Abercrombie & Fitch...so I know these chain retailers put the best of the best of what they've got on the mannequins.  

Everything the mannequins had on was not cute or too obviously Old Navy (no offense Old Navy, I'd just rather give the illusion that I spent a lot of money on my clothes).  I probably didn't stay long enough, but when I couldn't find the pants Wishcake was wearing, I bolted.

Since my search for affordable pants at ON was over, I thought I'd go ahead and look around for a dress to wear to a wedding I'm going to to this weekend.  So, next stop was Banana Republic.  Ugh, frustrating.  The a/c wasn't working in the store & they were setting up for a sale, so the staff was moving stuff around while I was browsing making the whole experience unpleasant.

I headed over to White House | Black Market to browse.  Lots of cute stuff.  Not cute enough to spend $200 though.  

I left the mall frustrated.  

Does shopping in the mall frustrate you?  How do you handle the blah-ness & find cute stuff?

On the bright side...Back at the office I had an email from a friend that had a link to join this cute website, called gotidbits.  It's specific to Austin and Houston (Austinites check it!).  Cute website & good info so I signed up.

Look what I found!

This laptop bag is adorable...and it comes in other colors & patterns.  This one is out of stock until mid-August...I may go ahead an splurge for a different one...maybe the green or red one?  Oh and what am I saying, it's not splurge, these adorable bags are only $69.99 on the Kailo Chic website.  There are retailers around the country too...so you may be able to find a shop that carries Kailo Chic near you!  

After my experience today, I think I'm going to stick to my boutiques & Anthropologie.  The mall has left me feeling jaded  But at least I found an über cute new website to follow!