When people ask me what there is to do in Austin, I often have a difficult time answering. Of course, there is much to do. There is a TON to do. But I'm not 100% sure what precisely there is to do, because of what I do. And what I do is camp out at a coffeehouse and read all the livelong day. That is just what I do for fun.

This past weekend, R and I tried a new coffeehouse in East Austin. And oh my lord, you know what? I don't even remember its name. But it is on east Cesar Chavez. I imagine that it would be a really nice place to go in the autumn--when temperatures sink back down into the 70s--due to the five or so picnic tables arranged neatly outside on both grass and zero-scaped gravel. Though there were several tables and chairs inside, the crown jewel of this coffeeshop was truly the long, elegant, velvet couch in the window that seemed to have come straight off of the set of Downtown Abbey. A matching armchair sat on either end, and an elaborate metal coffeetable in front of all of them.

Bonus: this coffeehouse has not only several of my favorite local Austin beers on tap, but ALSO (and this is a really big deal), of all things, Strongbow Cider?! Sold. We will be going back.

 

 I was also particularly fond of the yellow flowers that were growing amongst the extremely pointy bushes on the side of the shop, where we had parked.

I'm making my way steadily through The Mill on the Floss. I already know how it ends; it is probably one of the most oft-discussed Victorian novels and one of the most sentimental, so I've already had it ruined for me at least four times in various articles and book chapters on emotions in the Victorian novel. So it feels rather odd to be reading it now, and I must remind myself that I am not reading it for the plot but for the feelings. That is a thing.

On Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market in search of strawberry syrup. We found no such thing there (or at Whole Foods, subsequently, either!) but we did find some unique popsicles at this booth. You can see R here with a mint-lime popsicle, which was deliciously refreshing on such a hot and humid morning.