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Old Pecan Street Festival 2009

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:17:05 +0000

The Old Pecan Street Festival is celebrating its 31st year downtown on 6th Street. Great art (250 exibitions), local handcrafts, festival food, and over 80 acts on five stages to take in all in two days! Whew! There will be plenty of fun to be had for the kids, too. From a petting zoo to pony rides to flying high on the huge jumper areas, and at the last festival, there was even a climbing wall erected on the street! Just goes to show that the kids are way more adventurous than some of us attending the festival! Some of our favorites from the last festival: McClintock Photographics and the whimsical and fun folk art of Wayne Ayers. We also love the gorgeous watercolor originals by Patrick Sullivan who does wonderful portraits as well. We love art here in Austin! Don’t worry if you missed the Spring Festival. The next Old Pecan Street Festival will be September 26-27th of 2009. See their website for more info. And remember, if you want more information on living and playing in Austin or the surrounding Hill Country, just drop us an email or better yet, call us at 512-665-7778. Enjoy the slide show and the music of Austin’s own (and my favorite Latino band) Del Castillo from their same titled CD just released in 2009.

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Ten Cities Where Americans Are Relocating-Austin No. 2

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:16:57 +0000

According to a March 30th story in Forbes, Austin is No. 2 in the Top Ten Cities Where Americans Are Relocating in 2009. The main reasons given: better business opportunities, our very low rate of unemployment, better weather, and more afforadable housing than many US metro areas of the same size (nearly 1.7 million and growing). Our population actually increased by almost 4%, being beaten by a fraction out of first place by Raleigh, N.C. According to Forbes(http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/americans-moving-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-relocating.html), Austin has a broad base of employers which means it doesn’t rely on any one particular industry to sustain its growth. For example, Austin’s biggest employers include University of Texas, Advanced Micro Devices (nyse: AMD – news - people ) and Dell (nasdaq: DELL – news - people ). That wide range might have something to do with the area’s relatively low January 2009 unemployment rate of 6.4%…When it comes down to it, a buzzing business community is a metro area’s most important characteristic, says Sean C. Safford, a professor at the University of Chicago and author of Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown: The Transformation of the Rust Belt. He studies the social economics of U.S. cities and metro areas. “Perception is driven by the vibrancy of the companies in an area,” he says.

And Austin is apparently, a very vibrant community indeed! Just ask us at Cool Houses Austin and we will be happy to share our love of the city with anyone thinking of relocating here! It is a great place to live and work and play!

From the article: www.http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/30/americans-moving-cities-lifestyle-real-estate-relocating.html

Austin Adopts Zero Waste Plan

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:25:46 +0000

The city of Austin is the first city in the state of Texas to adopt a zero waste plan. What does that mean?According to Jessica King, sustainability administrator for the City of Austin’s Solid Waste Services Department, …it is no longer a ’waste’. We call it a commodity now…a different way of thought on how we look at trash”. The city transitioned in October to single stream recycling (allowing users to put all recyclable materials into one big “blue” bin) for twice monthly pick-up and the number of tons of recycling collected has already doubled! According to the Solid Waste Services dept, nearly 80% of residents of Austin are now participating. The city hopes to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill by 20% by 2012. Can it work? The city has only to look at San Francisco where 90% of their trash is diverted from the local landfills and know that yes, we can do it, too! So get that big blue bin, and rinse out those cans, bottles, plastic trays, and containers..Do it for your city, your children, and for the planet. Make it a family Earth Day project to see how much difference you can make in your household. We did and it is amazing to see how little we actually put in our “normal” dumpster. We are down to one bag per week and are working on eliminating that, too. Our big blue bin is overflowing and we look forward to the day when the weekly pick-up is for the big blue and the twice monthly or less for the “trash”. Until then, happy recycling!

Austin Named Community Wildlife Habitat

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:13:13 +0000

Once again, the city of Austin is selected for top honors! On March 12th, Mayor Bill Wynn and the city council accepted the National Wildlife Federations’ offiicial certification as a Community Wildlife Habitat. This makes Austin the first Texas city and the largest metropolitan city in the nation to be so honored! The main focus of the National Wildlife Federation Habitat program is to benefit plants, wildlife, and people through the creation of sustainable landscapes that require little or no pesticides, fertilizers or excess watering. And best news of all is that you can have your very own garden or yard certified as a wildlife habitat! Get officially recognized and the very cool sign to display in your yard by simply providing food, water, places for cover(shrubs, etc), places to raise young (again grasses or shrubs or nesting areas, and sustainable gardening(compost, mulch,etc) For more information on the project, simply click here: National Wildlife Federation

What is Organic?

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:05:39 +0000

We read about the word “organic” as a label applied to food all the time? But what does it reallymean? According to US Dept. of Agriculture, organic means “meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products which come from animals that are not given antibiotics or growth hormones”. Organic food or produce is produced “without using pesticides or fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation”. Sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? Just the thought of eating vegetables grown in sewage sludge makes us pretty queezy…let alone radiation of plants? So where to buy organic in Austin? Most of our local supermarkets carry an organic produce section and we have a plethora of specialty markets for our Austin area like Central Market Westgate, Sun Harvest, Newflower Farmers Market , and of course, the wonderful flagship store of Whole Foods (located downtown on 6th and Lamar) where you can eat in one of their incredible cafes, have a cooking lesson, listen to live music, and shop organic til you drop! And if you are downtown on a Saturday, don’t miss the Austin Farmers’ Market every Saturday from 9am to 1pm on 4th and Guadalupe….yummy treats! And so good for you, too!

Nation’s Largest Solar Panel Array Coming to Austin

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:10:36 +0000

The Austin City Council voted unanimously on March 5 to contract with San Fransico based Gemini Solar Development Company to produce up to 30 MW of sloar power over the next 25 years. The facility will be located in east Austin and will be the nation’s largest solar panel arrary in existence! It is expected to be online by 2010 and according to City Council staff, it will produce no carbon emissions, no fuel cost, and its energy production will create more green jobs in the Austin metro area and help hand the peak demand needed in our hotter summer months.

Best Places For Business and Careers 2009

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:22:31 +0000

If you are tired of the doom and gloom and ready to relocate, check out Austin, Tx. We were just named to the11th Annual Forbes magazine Top Ten Best Places For Business and Careers! Austin hit a home run by a climbing from No. 47 in last year’s poll to No. 8 this year! With a population of 1,645,000 Austin ranks No. 5 in projected job growth for 2009 with an increase projected of2.3% over last year. Austin is very affordable with a median home price of $188,300 and a median income of $57,288. Our metro area has a lot to boast about as the poll also shows that 85% of our population finishes high school and 34% college! And what the poll doesn’t show is our great weather, fabulous restaurants, and incredible setting on the beautiful Colorado River! Top it all off with all of our many hike and bike trails, our outdoor music scene and you have pretty close to heaven on earth here in Austin! What are you waiting for? Don’t let the recession get you down, pack your bags and migrate to the prettiest, coolest little city in the USA! And don’t forget to give us a call at Cool Houses Austin 512-665-7778 or send us an email….We would love to show you around town!

How to Walk Your Way Into Wellness–Austin Style!

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 22:18:07 +0000

[[Show as slideshow]]Happy New Year to all from Cool Houses Austin! If you are like most of us, you are making those New Year’s resolutions to get your metabolism up and burning off those Christmas calories! Did you know that one hour of walking briskly burns 170 calories which is the same as low impact aerobics? Now I don’t have anything against aerobics but what could be more fun than exploring some of our incredible trails in and around Austin for a great nature walk? Austin boasts over 50 miles of trails! Yes, and there are maps available online that you can download if you are unfamiliar. (For all the maps, visit Runtex.com) Want to bike or rollerblade in the city and almost double the amount of calories burned, then head on over to the Veloway located in the Slaughter Creek Metropolitan Park where there is a 3.17 mile trail dedicated to bicycles and in-line skating! No walking or jogging allowed here, but hey, you have 47 miles of other trails to walk and run to your heart’s content! How about going over to Town Lake and walking along the gorgeous Colorado River for the afternoon? That trail is 10.1 miles and loops from Mopac to the Longhorn Dam and it is where the statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan is also located. We just spent the day along the river to celebrate this wonderful New Year and it was a beautiful sunny 65 degrees out on the trail! What could be more perfect than that? See you around our trails!

Austin and San Antonio Top New List for Best Places to Live!

admin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:52:58 +0000

Wow! Texas hits the news again as a wonderful place to call home….So if you don’t already live here, it’s time tio get packing! Our job prospects are great, our housing is affordable, and the lifestyle just can’t be beat! And our weather (aside from Hurricane Ike), is pretty close to heaven most of the time! We are talking about our Hill Country cities which have just been granted No. 1 and No. 2 of places where you get the “Best Bang for Your Buck” in best places to live in this economic crisis which seems to be engulfing the rest of the country along in its overall picture of gloom and doom…However, as stated in the article, “the economic storm sweeping the country has left Americans with few places to hide. But those looking to hunker down might want to head to Texas, where they can get the best value for their dollar”. Houston and Dallas also named to the top 10 at Nos. 4 and 7. “Texas, as a whole, is one of the few economies that’s perforning extremly well because of the energy and technology sector,” says Andrew Gledhill, an economist at Moody’s Economy.com…” To read the complete story on the consistent growth in Texas in the midst of these strange times, go to www.realestate.yahoo.com/prom/best-andworst-band-for the-buck-cities.html

2008 ACL Music Festival Austin, Tx.

admin — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:06:37 +0000

The 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival has begun at beautiful Zilker Park in downtown Austin! And if you love live music, then this incredible festival with its 130 bands, eight stages, and a variety of music that ranges from gospel to country to rock to blues to world beat to reggae, etc. is one hot ticket! You get the picture? Yes, there truly is something for everyone here…And while you listen to some of the world’s best music, you can also shop at the Art Booths which showcase some of our best local artists, munch down at the food stands again showcasing some of our better known “fun and fabulous” eateries like Stubb’s BBQ and B. Terry’s. Too tired to walk to another stage? There is even a Heineken Beer Garden to sit and just chill out under the big oaks with a nice cold beer and the misting fans blowing on you while you decide which band to see next! What an incredible day we had hanging out with friends from Dallas and Florida! Our Cool Houses Austin pick for best music….Well, it was a toss-up between Austin’s own phenomenally talented Alejandro Escovedo and California surfer dude, Donavon Frankenreiter www.donavonf.com whose talent has been compared to Ben Harper and Jack Johnson….I would have to agree; he is enormously talented and so good with the crowd that he took the mike and jumped down into the audience as he sang the final song of the night “It Don’t Matter”. The crowd sang right back at him as he held the mike out to the adoring fans…Another Friday favorite of the crowd was G.Love and to his credit, after he finished his own show, he came up onstage with Donavon and blew us all away with his incredible harmonica blues accompaniment on Donavon’s last songs…Wow! Just an incredible way to end the night….Click here to get a taste of Donavon’s music from his 2008 Pass It Around CD 01-life-love-laughter

Even if you miss out on ACL, Donavon is currently on his “Pass It Around” Tour so check out his site and do yourself a favor and get to one of his shows! You will write and thank me later for turning you onto this incredibly talented young artist! Check out our picks too of some of the local “Cool” Artists–My favorite as totally representative of the Austin Hot Music Scene was Michael Babyak’s incredible guitar painting! See more of his work at www.babyakart.com