I love you so much

During my recent visit to Austin, Texas, I was told that I should spend explore the neighborhood called South Congress (or SoCo for short). I was promised funkiness, great shopping, and stylish people. And that's exactly what I got. It was fun hopping from store to store, browsing all the cool and unique fashions and accessories (and spending too much money), and people watching.

The graffiti in the photo above is on the side of Jo's Coffee. I just caught it out of the corner of my eye it when we drove past, and though we ended up parking quite far away I insisted on walking several blocks downhill to find and photograph it. I did a little research when I got home: the story is that the owner of the cafe was having a bad day, and her girlfriend scrawled this on the side of the building to cheer her up. I think it's a sweet gesture.  Apparently it's become quite an Austin landmark over time.  As a wedding and portrait photographer, I can't help but wonder how many zillions of engagement and wedding portraits have been taken in front of this wall since! (I'm such a cynic, ha.)

Below, a couple more pictures I grabbed while exploring South Congress. So much character -- it really is a photographer's dream come true.  From the many pictures I took, I held back and limited this post to three.  It was hard, I tell you!

 

Personally, I thought this was hilarious. Take a close look.