Well shoot, I’d prepared this post a year and a half ago and never published it! So here you go, for the record:
To welcome in 2023, some friends and I decided to go to Austin to visit our friend who moved there recently. It was my first time out there and it felt strangely like I was in a foreign land at times. Austin feels like a gangly teenager to me, in its awkward growth phase where some things are matured and some things are underdeveloped. I also found it to be a great place for shopping inspiration, lol — I ended up noting a bunch of things to look for deals to buy, ranging from jewelry and accessories to shoes and maybe even an instrument.
I’m so sad I napped through the baby American kestrel that visited the balcony!! <3Christmas day, almost everything was cancelled, including my flight. (Remember that travel debacle?)After rebooking on another airline, I left 2 days later.A giant amethyst geode made into a seat! My mom would love this.These sunglasses blended in perfectly.I enjoyed rocking around on this guy. Now that’s some camping fun.How interesting that they display the food embedded in crushed ice.A whole section of butcherless plant-based meat!A gorgeous birthday sunrise.For New Year’s Eve, fireworks were abound.Some people set fireworks out of their balconies and others set them right at this hotel!!New Year’s morning was supposed to be sunny and bright, but we got this for the first few hours until the smoke cleared.Kayaking on Lady Bird Lake/Colorado River was super fun.A beautiful left-handed guitar!If a guitar and a harp had a baby…Now what is this mysterious thing?Went to a barber for a shave.My new spider undercut shave design!This was absolutely bonkers. There were fireworks on every block for MILES. And this went on for a good 30 mins non-stop.
It was a grand time, trying all sorts of vegan places, playing a ton of pickleball, experiencing a very Texas New Year’s Eve (the only time I felt like I was in Texas), kayaking and chasing birds and turtles, checking out some cool instruments, learning a bit of banjo (I learned Auld Lang Syne, of course), and then working the rest of the time before going home to a very rainy SoCal.
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laelene
My philosophy is simple: things change. Therefore, we are all on a lifelong journey of discovery. We should be flexible, questioning, learning, adapting, and growing. Always.
little fat notebook pays homage to Mead's "fat lil' notebooks" that I use to write down any thoughts that strike me throughout the day. I keep one by my side at all times. After all, inspiration waits for no one.
