Last weekend, my sister and I went to Austin to go to Austin City Limits. Sadly, we only had tickets for Sunday, but we traveled to Texas on Saturday to explore the city and go see Hippie Sabotage and Cherub at one of the official Austin City Limits Late Night Shows.
After checking in to our hotel, we drove to South Congress to go to the ‘I love you so much’ wall. Of course, it wouldn’t be an #endlessblisstravels story without some complications. I just want to say the South Congress parking situation is a real life struggle. You have to back into slanted parking spots, which sounds all good and well, but what happens when there’s a line of cars behind you? A mess; that’s what happens. But in either case, we managed.
As soon as Bre and I got out of the car, the first person we interacted with was this man with one arm. He was walking toward us and said, “Hi, beautiful ladies.” We said hello and continued walking. He, however, wasn’t done. He asked if we were single and looking because “I’m a working homeless man, and I have money. I can provide for you like the goddess and queen that you are.” Welcome to Austin, eh?
We passed a few stores on South Congress that we wanted to go to, but we made our way to the ‘I love you so much’ wall because we wanted to take pictures before the sun went down.
Before we went to dinner, we decided to visit the Uncommon Objects store. It was full of uncommon objects, indeed. The only things I got really excited about were a few typewriters (I’ve always wanted one), this lamp shaped like a giraffe’s leg (it was taller than me!) and also a few greeting cards. The cards were the only things we couldn’t take pictures of, and understandably so. They were hilarious. They all featured just one word and one picture. For example, the word “smart” and a picture of a donkey to depict “smart ass.” I wanted all of them.
After our visit to Uncommon Goods, we walked down the street to Hopdoddy’s to get a burger. The line was forever long, but I assure you, people, it’s worth the wait. While in line, sister and I both ordered a milkshake. She got a salted caramel milkshake, and I got a red velvet one. They were both pretty dang delicious. We each ordered different burgers, and we shared some truffle fries. The burgers were good, but the truffle fries were everything. I want to go back to Hopdoddy’s just for the fries. Yum!
Something else I loved about Hopdoddy’s were the staff shirts. They were all so clever. The guy that determined when people went inside wore a shirt that said “Burger Bouncer.” A few of the sayings on the back of shirts include:
“There ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little bun & grind.”
“We spank our patties and they like it.”
“We wake and bake…our buns fresh everyday.”
“Hopdizzle fo’shizzle.”
They also had a sign on their tip jar that said “Tipping will increase your libido.” It said other things too, but that was the most memorable. I’m officially obsessed with Hopdoddy’s.
With full tummies, we made our way to the Vulcan Gas Company on Sixth Street to see Hippie Sabotage and Cherub. When I was looking at who would be playing at the ACL Late Night Shows, I had only heard one song by both Cherub and Hippie Sabotage, but after I bought tickets, I became obsessed with listening to Hippie Sabotage. I was so excited to see them live, and they more than delivered.
I feel like I never stopped dancing. The beats were intoxicating, and I belted out the lyrics to “Riding Solo,” “Your Soul” and “Habits.” I never wanted to their set to end, but I was still excited when Cherub hit the stage.
Before seeing them live, I had only heard of one song by Cherub, “Doses and Mimosas.” A lot of people in the crowd were singing along to their songs, which was so awesome. It was a sold out show, and now I love so many of their other songs, including “XOXO.” During “Doses and Mimosas,” they soaked the crowd with champagne. It was the best thing ever and the perfect way to end the show.
A few random things that happened during the show:
— Jordan put on a D.A.R.E. hat that he wore for a few songs. #ironic
— They gave out this guy’s phone number and told everyone to send him a crude message that I won’t write here.
— It was Jordan’s birthday, and the crowd sang him “Happy Birthday” to which he said that we were one of the friendliest crowds he’s ever played for.
After the show, I went to the merch table to buy a shirt for a friend, and while I was waiting my turn, someone hit me in the face. That person ended up being Jordan from Cherub. He was taking a picture with someone, and he put his arm over her shoulder and hit me the process. After he took the picture, he walked by me and said, “Did I just hit you in the face?” and I dorkily said, “Yea, but it’s cool. It happens.” I finished buying my friend’s shirt and also Cherub’s record for myself, and then I took a picture with him.
Sister and I didn’t make it to bed until about 3:30 in the morning, but we still woke up in time for Austin City Limits on Sunday! I’ll be sharing all about our Austin City Limits experience on the blog tomorrow, so definitely be looking out for that! It was way too much fun.
On Monday, the day after we went to Austin City Limits, Bre and I had breakfast with Katie, one of my blog friends from The Hungry Goat. We had a brief breakfast at this cute place called Cafe Creme. I love meeting blog friends in real life, and Katie was such a sweetheart. She made me want to move to Austin!
After breakfast, sister and I went back to South Congress so I could do a little shopping. There were so many cute stores, and I wanted to get some gifts for a few friends and maybe do a little selfish shopping as well. I always buy a postcard and a magnet in every city I visit, and I found some cute ones in Austin. We discovered some fun shops on South Congress, including Leighelena and Monkey See. Monkey Do. We also got some drinks from a candy shop called Big Top Candy Shop. I got a salted caramel milkshake that I pretty much inhaled.
Austin is such a magical city. I love it so much! This was an amazing trip, and I can’t wait to visit Austin again soon. If you want to read about my Austin City Limits experience, click here!
Want to see a vlog of my trip, including clips of Hippie Sabotage and Cherub? Check out the video below:
Have you ever been to Austin? What’s your favorite city to visit?
