Having been raised by one hoarder and once married to another, I myself am a big purger. No way do I want to ever again live in a house crammed with crap. Nor, when I check out, do I want to leave my son to sort through 5,000 coffee cans of rusty nails, a vast collection of headless Barbies, and a stack of National Geographics dating back to the 1800s. So, several times a year, I go through my already very small pile of possessions and I purge. I take bags of clothes and kitchen stuff to my favorite thrift store, Top Drawer. I redistribute CDs I’ve imported to my Mac. And, once in awhile, I part with books, which is a little bit more difficult, as books and yarn are the two things I would hoard if I did hoard. more ›

Although it may just look like a pizza stand parked in a Mobil gas station on Barton Skyway and South Lamar, Giovanni's Pizza Stand may be one of the greatest South Austin pizza joints since Austin's Pizza (Ed Note: and Home Slice Pizza, ahem). Barton Hills residents don't have far to look for value-priced pizza with a ton of toppings to satisfy their hunger after a jump in Barton Springs, a spin around The... more ›

Austin Police need your help to identify a man who attempted to molest a 4-year-old girl. The incident took place at the Half Price Books on South Lamar (next to Chotchkies) at roughly 8:30pm last night last Tuesday. A father, taking his child to the bookstore, noticed a suspicious-looking man following the two as they went about their browsing. At one point, while the father was retrieving something from the bookshelf, "the other gentleman lifted... more ›

We were excited to learn about the opening of the new restaurant Boomerang's Gourmet Veggie & Meat Pies because, doggonit, we support the eating of savory pies. Once upon a time we spent a year in Australia and we grew to love the pie as a meal. Meat pies and veggie pies are sold at street vendors in Australian cities like hot dogs in Chicago. The Australian pies are traditionaly meat and gravy, but the popularity of the pie has broadened the menu. We happened to spend our year abroad in Adelaide and often found ourselves slathering chicken and veggie pies with ketchup for a cheap and tasty lunch. That was about fourteen years ago and we haven't had a veggie pie since. Until a few days ago. more ›

A few month's ago we sold our tiny house in North Loop and leaped across Lamar to rent an even tinier house in Brentwood. The official parameters of Brentwood are North Lamar and Burnet to the East and West, and Justin Lane and 45th Street to the North and South, but much like Hyde Park and other neighborhoods the lines tend to get stretched and muddled. We were fond of the North Loop area.... more ›

Okay, we are not certain it is the world's largest Half Price Books, but the month-old location on Lamar and Koenig sure feels that way, and it does claim to be the largest new and used bookstore in Central Texas. This new Half Price books is a roomier, more inviting location than that teeny tiny one on Guadalupe, which was cute, but we were kind of frustrated by being run over by over zealous booklovers. Those history buffs can be kinda pushy. And let's not even get into the fantasy fans. more ›