Guest Blogger - 3/21 - The Austinot

Make a Special Connection Doing Yoga With Your Dog at Austin Doga

July 14, 2017 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Austin Doga founder, Nicole Vykoukal (center), poses with her dog, Bonnie, and members of her class

Guest article by Sarah Snyder

For lovers of yoga who are invested in the tradition of keeping Austin weird, Austin Doga invites you and your dog to experience yoga together.

Appropriate for small, medium, and large dogs of all breeds, walking into an Austin Doga session is like walking into a room full of puppy love. Dogs are excited and people chat until founder Nicole Vykoukal begins [Read more…]

Tasting Innovation at The Austin Winery in South Austin

June 30, 2017 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

The Austin Winery at The Yard development in South Austin (Credit: Susannah Haddad)

Guest article by Susannah Haddad

Upon arriving at The Austin Winery, it’s clear that The Yard development in South Austin is going to be big. Currently home to businesses like St. Elmo Brewery, Vuka, Spokesman Coffee, and soon Still Austin Whiskey Co., the city’s first whiskey distillery, The Yard supports local while offering plenty to do.

Co-founders Ross McLauchlan and Cooper Anderson have been making wine since long before The Austin Winery had feet. With their balanced skill set and a gap in the Austin market, they enlisted the help of Matthew Smith, third co-founder and Chief of Operations, then opened their doors.

Walking in, you know these guys don’t mess around with innovation and efficiency. The open warehouse space not only houses a tasting room, [Read more…]

Get the Ultimate Austin Glamping Experience

May 31, 2017 by Guest Blogger 5 Comments

Chris Sawey currently has three Austin glamping accommodations available through AirBnB

Guest article by Rebecca West

Camping is a lot of work. An escape to the great outdoors may seem like a breath of fresh air, but many are put off by the lack of facilities and the effort associated with camping, and return home disappointed and devoid of motivation to ever go back.

“Glamping” is the modern equivalent of traditional tent camping, combining yesterday’s amenities with today’s technology. With special accommodations, glamorous camping has opened up the outdoor experience to those who were dissatisfied before now. [Read more…]

Vannagram Operates Photo Booth on Wheels Using Vintage VW Bus

May 17, 2017 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Vannagram & Co. mobile photo booth in Austin (Credit: Sophie Epton Photography)

Guest article by Rebecca West

Nobody attends an event with hopes of not having fun. And today, no party is complete without a prop-filled photo booth. Not only do photo booths keep guests busy, but they’re also a great way to capture memories and create meaningful party favors.

Jared and Emily Shrode, founders of Vannagram & Co., a mobile photo booth company based here in Austin, have mastered the art of guest participation. With an impressive client list that includes South Congress Hotel, The Knot, Austin Way, and other notable national and local show stoppers, it’s clear Vannagram’s street cred runs high. [Read more…]

No Need to Peek Through the Blinds, Thanks to Austin Weird Homes Tour

April 19, 2017 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Under the Sea House, part of this year’s Weird Homes Tour

Guest article by Cris Mueller

Austin’s long-standing reputation for weird serves as the perfect stage for the annual Weird Homes Tour. The tour is a showcase of 10 select homes, and your chance to stop just peeking through the blinds. With your ticket, you are invited inside for a personal tour and opportunity to chat with the owners of some of the Bat City’s most creative and unique homes. [Read more…]

Restored Globe Theatre Preserves Old Pastime in Bertram, Texas

January 27, 2017 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Globe Theatre in nearby Bertram, Texas

Guest article by Judy Rae Merhar

The world was by no means perfect in 1935, but perhaps it was simpler. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced across screens, and the world was graced with the birth of two cultural icons: the Dali Lama and Elvis Presley. And lo and behold, Globe Theatre in Bertram, Texas, opened its doors for the first time.

[Read more…]

Settle Down With Glass in Hand at Andalusia Whiskey Co. in Blanco

January 17, 2017 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Whiskey cocktail at Andalusia Whiskey Co. in nearby Blanco, TX

Guest article by Mathis Kennington

When you think of grain to glass whiskey, what comes to mind? It took me a minute, the first time I let that phrase sink in. It’s less familiar to me than, let’s say, farm to table food. Grain to glass whiskey hints at the same kind of untouched, unmessed with allure our favorite local restaurants offer: raw fruits and vegetables that must only travel a few miles from a local urban farm until they’re in the hands of a discerning chef. Locally and humanely finished beef and pork that didn’t get mixed into a big pile of neon pink mystery meat paste. We Austinites love to know where our food comes from and what our food ate.

It’s strange we don’t demand the same of our spirits.

Enter Andalusia Whiskey Co. This Blanco-based whiskey distillery startup is committed to producing world class whiskeys with integrity. [Read more…]

Lazarus Brewing Company Comes to Eastside With Pints, Pups and Tacos

December 30, 2016 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Credit: Lazarus Brewing Company

Guest article by Judy Rae Merhar

At the intersection of East Sixth Street and Chicon, you’ll notice a spruced-up teal structure with a navy crest logo reading Lazarus Brewing Company. A barrage of open garage doors allow melodies to drift onto the street. Next to me is a parked pickup with a friendly golden lab wagging its tail from the truck bed. The scene appears like an open invitation to explore this new Austin brewery, and so it is.

[Read more…]

This Austin Baker Is Changing the Way We Think About Bread

November 1, 2016 by Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Miche Bread oven in Austin

Guest article by Mathis Kennington

What would you guess is Central Texas’ most abundant food supply? Is it tacos? How about barbecue? I considered the question for the first time, standing inside a sweltering industrial kitchen with local Austin baker Sandeep Gyawali. I was just as surprised as I imagine you might be to discover that it’s the mesquite legume, the bean-looking pods that hang from mesquite trees.

After laughing at my questioning smile, Gyawali retrieved a small bag of the powdered legume that smelled sweet, like cocoa powder. “Look where it comes from,” he said, as I read that the mesquite powder was neither packaged nor produced in the United States. “Why aren’t we eating the food that’s directly around us?” The smell of Gyawali’s heritage grain flour, milled two feet away from me, made my mouth water.

I’ve thought about his question. Although Austin is surrounded by enough fertile farmland to feed our entire city, less than one percent of the food we eat is local. [Read more…]

Austin Street Performers Entertain the Public in Legal Limbo

September 19, 2016 by Guest Blogger 4 Comments

Credit: Austin Busker Project

Guest article by Jesselyn Parks

For those who find themselves on Austin’s famous Sixth Street on a weekend night, the sights and sounds of the city’s bustling nightlife radiate out in a familiar song. Cars and bikes zip through the streets, deep bass diffuses from lines of packed bars and, of course, a bucket drummer or two pulses rhythm into the supercharged atmosphere of “Dirty” or “West.”

However, when performers venture out to Austin’s streets, armed with their instrument, guitar case or bucket, many fear an encounter with police. Navigating the gray area of Austin’s city ordinances is tough, these buskers say, and many live in legal limbo. Unclear if they are operating under their First Amendment rights or simply waiting to be run off, street performers in Austin are forced to navigate swift waters. Even worse, according to buskers, the city is equally unsure of the law and benefits from keeping it that way. [Read more…]