South Congress Austin

Howdy y'all! I'm so excited to finally be blogging about the recruiting trip I'm currently on! Although, I'm starting right as it's almost over, haha. I've been on the road for a solid two weeks now and have made it to all four of my schools. Texas A&M, Duke, Rice and Penn State (in that order!). I'm spending the weekend in DC and then heading to Duke one more time before returning home. I'll get a week with bae before I head out AGAIN. September and October are the busiest months for college recruiting. During the weekdays, my alumni and I are busy all day with events like career fairs, office hours, presentations, student meetings and running back and forth to prepare for each event. At the end of the day, we'll reconvene at an ice cream shop/bar/restaurant/coffee spot to sort resumes and discuss the candidates we met that day. It's usually about 10 PM by the time I get back to the hotel and then I stay up until I can't keep my eyes open entering candidates into our system for first round interviews. I wake up 6 hours later and do it again! This schedule is insane and it's definitely testing the limits of my seemingly endless supply of energy. Thankfully, the people I'm working with keep me inspired and motivated! It's been a dream to meet and mentor students at my schools and represent my favorite company alongside some badass alumni. The season is far from over but it's nice to take a minute in the middle of all the crazy to reflect a little.

I do find myself doing work every day, even on the weekends (just a couple hours a day to catch up on email, I swear!). However, I make a point to use the weekends to refresh and recharge! That means a little extra sleep and a couple new adventures that do not include talking to eager students about Microsoft or eating my meals surrounded by stacks of resumes :D As I've mentioned before, I am ever so grateful for amazing alumni and coworkers that have attended these trips with me. And of course, I couldn't leave home for my first recruiting trip without my one and only, Kasey Champion. I honestly could go on and on about how she saved my ass a million times over during our trip to Texas, but instead, let's talk about our weekend jaunt to Austin!

Kasey and I have gotten REALLY good at impromptu adventures. We drove from College Station to Austin without any plans. All we really knew about Austin was that Seattle peeps tend to love it! Thirty minutes out from the city limits, Kasey asks, "Where should we go?" Considering our common interests, I randomly yelled, "Vintage shopping!" We're obsessed with The Haight in San Francisco. I figured with Austin's reputation, there was bound to be some quality vintage shopping. OMG WE WERE IN FOR A DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE. We found ourselves in South Congress, Austin's equivalent of cap hill... but... better! There were more than 10 quality vintage shops all within walking distance along and around main drag of South Congress. Kasey and I were in heaven. For future reference, we picked up the Austin Vintage Around Town guide to help us navigate to some pretty fabulous finds. We were surrounded by incredible eats, unique shopping and good vibes.

Our first stop wasn't a vintage shop though, we happened to find parking right outside little tienda called The Turquoise Door. We were drawn in by their beautiful window display of dia de los muertos skeleton dolls. Through the shop doors we entered a magical world of Mexican folk art and southwest inspired jewelry. It was INCREDIBLE. I love creeping on Kasey as she looks at art. She always notices the little details and being an artist herself, appreciates the craftsmanship that goes into creating the beautiful figurines. She picked up a little Alebrije, a traditional figurine that wards off bad dreams.

We proceeded to walk up and down South Congress, stopping wherever our hearts desired. We eventually drove to North Loop to check out the vintage shopping there. At the end of the day, I scored a beautiful 50's plaid house dress that I plan on purchasing a full skirt for. Can't wait to share that on the blog this Fall! Kasey got away with a HUGE haul! She loves 50's as much as I do and took home 4 beautiful dresses. I see a photoshoot in our future.

I loved Austin so much, Mitch and I are planning to go back during one of my recruiting trips at the end of the month! He's looking at grad schools and UT Austin is on the list! I'm looking forward to visiting again and getting a different look at a very cool city!