Equal Parts Sunshine & Fashion Zing

For me, without a doubt, the best part about Austin is the amount of sunshine it gets. When I first came here, I read in a tourist brochure that this city gets 300 days of sunshine a year! A Google search to confirm that just a minute ago, however, found some people who doubt that figure. Either way the past two months have been almost one long uninterrupted stretch of pure sunshine. There was a period at the beginning of May when it was so hot for so many days in a row that I actually could feel the heat radiating off my arms about 2 minutes after I stepped outside. The air also seemed thicker-- almost like being underwater or walking through a bowl of warm soup. I'm not sure if that extreme heat passed or I just got more used to it but I don't feel like that anymore. Instead, I happily bask in the sunshine as I walk down the street and try not to think about how soon I'll be back in Toronto - which obviously has its merits but plentiful and consistent sunshine year round is sadly not one of them. Although, summer there is usually pretty dependable, and I have to say that I'd be hard pressed to name something prettier than a bright sunshiney January day when the sun makes the snow positively sparkle and shine.

The second best thing about Austin is that it was in this city that I discovered the absolute coolness and fabulousness of shorts! Now that I love them, I can't figure out why I resisted for so long. I distinctly remember having a conversation with N. six years ago in which she told me she didn't like shorts. (I wonder if she still doesn't? I should ask her.) At the time I wholeheartedly agreed. But then at the beginning of last September I suddenly decided that shorts were a practical thing to own in Austin's climate, and could be really cool as well. I don't think I've quite reached the level of fashion zing as the women in the picture at the top (their shorts are pretty rad!) but I have started wearing shorts almost as much as I wear dresses, if not more. I like them so much because they have all the benefits of pants (like pockets) but hold an advantage in that one can get away with wearing different coloured or patterned shorts that one would never wear in pant form. They also just look good-- on pretty much everyone! They are very popular here - I constantly see both men and women wearing them- and I think most everyone can totally rock them. There's something about bare legs (particularly bare legs that are getting exposed to lots of sunshine) that I find very appealing.