So where to begin? For those of you who know me, you probably know all too well of my phobia- that being of bows. Oh my lord, I simply cannot DEAL with them! They literally make me gag. Always have, always will. I used to cut them off of my clothes when I was younger, much to my mother's chagrin. I'm also not much of a girly girl. It's not that I don't like pink... OK, well, I just don't really like pink. So anyway, I ordered my birthday cake from my FAVORITE bakery in Austin, Walton's (it's Sandra Bullock's bakery off west 6th). All I said was that I wanted a red velvet cake with an owl on it, because I was a Chi-O and love owls.. blah blah blah. Long story short, they gave me THIS.
I mean, what am I, FOUR? Not only was it pink, but it has BOWS ALL OVER IT. Good lord, I almost died. I couldn't eat it. Seriously. OK, that's a complete lie, but they truly couldn't have missed the mark more. I guess it's the thought that counts?? Still love you Walton's, but let's take it down a notch next time. After that DEVASTATING mishap, I somehow managed to pick myself back up and carry on with my week, and let me tell you, it was a WILD one. I had a badge for the first time ever this year and I don't think I'll ever go without one again. It was so nice being able to skip the lines and get into almost everything that I wanted. Key word almost.
Just a tip for you SXSW newbies out there: Create a separate email account for South By to RSVP for parties, etc. That way your actual email won't be bombed with random spam and music flyers after the week. One of the first Interactive sessions that I went to was one with the founder of Reddit, Alex Ohanian. He spoke on entrepreneurship beyond Silicon Valley and the importance of unrestricted creativity in our society. Afterwards we found out that he is a Skins fan and I work for the Cowboys, so we weren't sure if we could be friends. But after a few tweets back and forth we decided that we're good. :)
After that, my Jayhawks lost to Baylor, but let's just go ahead and skip over that part COMPLETELY. 
I know it's cliché, but walking around on 6th is always bound to produce a good time. Well, interesting at least. I ran across Amy Phillips, my favorite Rachel Zoe impersonator, filming a skit on East. She's kind of hilarious.. y'all should check her out. 
While on 6th, we were interviewed by KassemG, the YouTube sensation. He didn't end up using our clip in his final video which I'm actually OK with, because I'm pretty sure I just sat there the entire time and threw a random "Rockchalk" in there at the end. Cool, Kels. REALLY COOL.
At SXSWi, we got to meet LaMorne Morris and Jake Johnson from New Girl. I'm kind of obsessed with that show, so I had to try really hard to play it cool when we took this picture, which obviously ended up in me not even looking in the camera. FAIL. Of course, Jake aka Nick Miller, HAD to do the "Panic Moonwalk" while he was there. :) 
With Daniel Sunjata from Graceland at the USA TV party
And then this happened. One of the highlights of my life so far. Maybe. He actually tried to card us too. Good stuff. ---Now I don't know about you, but I am a music freak. I pretty much owe my entire week's success to AltNation on XM and Jake Fogelnest. WOW. That was quite possibly the cheesiest thing I've ever written in my life. That's besides the point. Anyway, I saw some really awesome shows and I'm tired of writing about them so I'm just going to leave you with some pictures and videos of my favorites and a few random things here and there. (OK, a lot of random things).
Sirah at The Belmont 
Sirah getting up close and personal
Blondfire at The Belmont
Icona Pop at The Belmont
Charlie XCX and Icona Pop at The Belmont
Rockie Fresh at The Belmont
Macklemore at The Belmont
Check out this next video at around :25 for a good laugh. 
The Neighbourhood at Clive Bar
The Neighborhood: So hot, they burnt the speakers!
Blondfire at Clive Bar 
Dan Croll Band at Red 7 
Local Natives at Lustre Pearl 
Wolfgang Gartner at La Zona RosaCallie and I's sorry attempt at showing how RAD this show was. TAKE 12.
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And what festival would be complete without an UNREASONABLE amount of photo booth pictures/selfies/photo shoots?!
WAY too into this viking helmet
Rave sticks are always a plus
Christmas card status right here
So if you're still reading this, I'm shocked. But if you haven't gathered by now, we kind of had the best week ever.
A little advice for all of you going to South By next year? Don't over think it and don't come in with crazy expectations. Austin is a spontaneous town and just because you didn't get into that super exclusive Green Day show, doesn't mean you won't have the time of your life elsewhere.
THE END.
Photo cred: Kirsten Swanson Photography, Callie Musick, Kelsey Charles
