Austin: W Hotel, ACL, and Willie

Sorry for being MIA, but I've been blowing and going since I got home Monday afternoon. I told you guys that we planned on having drinks and a quick bite at Second Bar + Kitchen at the Austonian and they totally delivered. It was pretty packed with a very sleek looking crowd so we sat at the bar and order a smattering of things including this pretty cheese board. I also went bonkers over the Tom Collins glasses that they served my Titos and soda in and the minute I got home I went and bought a dozen of them.

At 7:45 we walked two blocks down Willie Nelson Blvd, aka as 2nd, and spotted knitter Magda Sayeg's fantastically sweet homage to Willie. She's the founder of Knitta Please and takes her craft to the streets for a new kind of urban art. The knitted red bandanna and braids are genius.
We moseyed up to the mezzanine level, had our tix scanned and walked inside.
And lo and behold, a sweet sight for my eyes: An entire bar dedicated to Tito's Vodka. Ever since I heard my friend Martha order her Tito's and soda I've jumped on the bandwagon and now I always specifically ask for Tito's no matter where I am. Gotta support my Texans.
At 8, Willie came on stage wearing a black suit and supported by a 40-piece orchestra. A few songs into it, he took a break. 15 minutes later he came back on stage in jeans, a t-shirt, and a black cowboy hat, a Texas flag unfurled from the ceiling to become his backdrop, and his 5-piece band began to play "Whiskey River." Once he got around to "On The Road Again" the hat came off, his signature red bandanna came on, and everyone screamed. Now that I've heard him sing "Georgia," "Hey, Good Looking," and "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" I can die happy.
Monday morning I was at the airport - I swear I feel like I live at the Austin airport lately - and while in line at Maudee's for a breakfast taco, this gal was sporting a red/orange Dooney circa 1991. Is this really coming back around?