austin lifestyle

Sneak Peek At Fun Downtown Holiday Activites You y Familia Won’t Wanna Miss!

Fred Schmidt | November 15, 2012 |

[Image: The fabulous Driskill Hotel during the holidays. Photo credit to my pal and part-time Austinite, Trey Ratcliff. Check out www.stuckincustoms.com]

Just gleaned by one of my sources at a secret meeting of townie insiders today. Shhhhh. You lucky DAB mates are seeing it all here first! Be sure to key in on the important operative word: FREE. Mark your calendars now!

Chuys Parade DEC 1 – Congress Ave, Capitol to 1st. 9 AM

FREE — well, donation of a new unwrapped toy really appreciated

Holiday Stroll & Capitol Treelighting – Congress/11th DEC 1 PM
* “Santa” at the State Theater 6-9 PM – FREE
* Christmas Cartoons at Paramount 6-9 PM – FREE
* Sing Along at Capital Lawn 6-7 PM- FREE
* Tree Lighting at top of Congress 7 PM- FREE (sidenote: this will mark the debut of a rare new hi-tech tree that is a giant, artful, musical marvel to behold! trust me on this one)
* Austin Bike Zoo- Et Al festivities Congress Between 10th and 11th 7-9 PM – FREE
* Farmers Market and Gift Market 11th Street 6-9 PM – FREE
* Cookie Decorating 5-9 PM – Upstairs Old Bakery – FREE
* Ornament Make and Take upstairs and Music (Austin Samba School) on the Roof – ARTHOUSE 6-9 – FREE
* Ornament Make and Take on sidewalk – Mexicarte 6-9- FREE
* Live Music Event TBA – Frost Plaza 6-9 PM – FREE

Trail of Lights – Zilker Park Dec 16-23 – FREE!
The tradition is back! Thanks to private donations and Paul at RUNTEX it will be back like it used to be and FREE!
More lights than ever!
Details to follow, there will prob be shuttles etc.

Deck The District – 2nd Street District Dec 15-24th – FREE
A juried Holiday Window Walk and contest.
A great way to stroll some Xmas cheer anytime day or night and vote for fave windows done by college art students!

AUSTIN NEW YEARS EVE Dec 31st. Auditorium Shores 5-10 PM – FREE!!
Family friendly NYE celebration
Music by Del Castillo
Fireworks at 10

87 Rainey Street Downtown Austin Update: NO VA (not NOVA) to Open End of 2012 (Hopefully).

AG | November 5, 2012 |

UPDATE 8/31/2013: No Va is OPEN for Business! Check out pics and my review HERE.

UPDATE 7/1/2013: Just got a note from Brad Sorenson with an update on what is going on with NO VA –

Things are getting really close now. Construction is pretty close to complete with inspections taking place and little odds and ends being finished. I have started hiring for the kitchen and we should be training with in a couple weeks. I don’t want to make a guess on when an opening date will be until we have set it in stone on our end.

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Remember that mega post I did on what’s happening on Rainey Street? In the post, I talked about 87 Rainey Street located in the Rainey Street District of Downtown Austin, and how I had not heard any updates on just what exactly was going on in that space. Well, that must have hit Brad Sorenson‘s (the head chef of the new concept, perhaps more widely known for his stint on The Next Food Network’s Star) Google Alerts, because he promptly posted a comment on the Blog saying things were still a go for the restaurant concept.

Which was great, but I wanted more info – so I emailed him and asked if we could meet. I was actually very surprised when he said okay.

So we met. Last week. And, let me just say this – the guy OOZES affability. He’s also real, real tall.

I was absolutely charmed, I will admit – but not only by him as a person, but also by what he told me about NO VA.

First off, NO VA is the name (there’s a space in between “O” and “V”, 2 words), not NOVA, as it’s previously been reported. There’s actually a cute little story behind the name, too, Brad tells me. “No va” is what the owner of the business said when he looked at the house at 87 Rainey Street when he initially purchased it, in late 2009. He said “No va”, because, at the time, [Read more…] about 87 Rainey Street Downtown Austin Update: NO VA (not NOVA) to Open End of 2012 (Hopefully).

Partying for a Cause – Ghoulwill Ball at The W Tomorrow Night

AG | October 25, 2012 |

I have been honored to have served on the host committee for Goodwill Industries of Central Texas’ 2012 Ghoulwill Ball event, being held at The W Hotel in downtown Austin tomorrow evening. Helping promote a very worthy cause (GICT’s mission is to generate lifelong connections to work) has been rewarding. All proceeds of this event will go to GICT. Free food, free drinks, a killer DJ, at one of the swankiest downtown hot-spots, AND you get to dress up in a Halloween costume. I couldn’t think of a better time!

And, if you live in The Residences at The W – you can literally just stumble home after the party.

Buy your tickets here.

The Rainey Street Rundown: A MEGA Post of (Almost) Everything That’s Happening in the Rainey District

AG | October 18, 2012 |

The Rainey Street District in downtown Austin has been a hotbed of activity lately, from new apartment high rises, to an influx of new bars – things are really happening in Rainey. So, we thought it helpful to put together a property-by-property guide about all that’s going on. Everything we know about Rainey Street to date [mostly] in one place – this post!

This picture of the Rainey Street has each lot numbered with its numerical address. Look below to the corresponding number to see the skinny on the lot.

51 Rainey Street, Austin (address not shown on map, across from the Milago Condos), Austin Skyhouse apartments

The ABJ reported on the imminent ground-breaking of the Austin Skyhouse Apartments last month. Being built by Novare-Andrews Urban, the same group behind the successful 360 condos, the 20,000 feet of ground floor retail is rumored to include a Royal Blue Grocery.

Downtown Austin Pharmacies: CVS Pharmacy Now Open on Weekends

AG | October 3, 2012 |

Probably not the most urgent of news, but I got really excited about it none-the-less.

The pharmacy at CVS on 5th street, the only pharmacy in downtown Austin proper (the now closed Live Oak Pharmacy used to the closest next best thing), is now, finally, open on weekends!

For those living in downtown Austin condos like the Austonian or the Brazos Lofts, especially…your prescription filling life just got a lot easier.

And, just to be clear, this is NOT a plug for CVS, simply a plug for convenience.