SXSW

This past week saw us welcome the music portion of SXSW to our beloved city. It's one of our favorite times of year to live in Austin, despite the millions of visitors who travel here to join in on the fun. Being August's third year to attend, we know what type of  family friendly, easily accessible shows to seek out, and what places to completely avoid all together.

                          2010 (6 weeks)                                                 2011 (13 months)    

In planning our outings for the week, I was pretty excited to see that the eyewear company Warby Parker was hosting a showcase. Ever since we first heard about the brand last year thanks to here, and here, we've been anxious to check out their product first hand. Kevin wore glasses throughout high school, and a little bit through college, eventually packing away the passe' spectacles and committing to a life of squinting. But the past couple of years have found him struggling with his sight more and more, so we know a fresh prescription for glasses are in the cards. 

So on Wednesday, we happily took a break from our hellacious workload, and delayed Augie's nap, so that we could all head out to the French Legation and check out the Warby Parker Citizen's Circus. As anticipated, it was anything but a disappointment. As a matter of fact, it's definitely the coolest event we've attended as a family.
There really was quite a bit for each of us to enjoy. First of all, it was held on the historic grounds of the French Legation, which meant that August had plenty of room to run amok throughout the fenced property with all of the other munchkins. He spent a good portion of the time trying to perfect his tree climbing technique, as well as scaling the steps to get a view from the best seat in the house. I personally was more than thrilled to have a perfect environment to hear the only band I was really hoping to see this year, the Love Language. I also happened to score an unused pair of the exact Minnetonka moccasins I've been seeking from the mobile trailer of the Nashville boutique, High Class Hillbilly, for quite a steal!  And Kevin was able to try on multiple pairs of frames, get some great helpful advice, and make a fabulous final selection in the Warby Parker yurt.
Spread out among the main attractions on the gorgeously overcast, breezy day was great food, affordable drink, free kettle corn, stilt walkers, and a super friendly crowd. Had this not been the last day of the event, we definitely would have made this our permanent base camp for the rest of the week. We did our part to convince the Warby Parker management that this needed to happen again next year, we can't wait to find out what they come up with!