Last Thursday we headed to Austin, Texas, for a style blogger’s conference put on by the Texas Style Council.

Kels was going to meet all of her fashion blogger friends from the inter-web. And I was going along as her personal chauffeur/supportive husband. I loved running along side my wife chasing her dreams.

I have three observations before I go into the details:

1. I didn’t see a single cowboy wearing boots, spurs, chaps, a cowboy hat or a huge belt buckle (disappointed and relieved all at once).
2. I’m not sure that everything is bigger in Texas. Most things were pretty comparable to everywhere else I have been…
3. Have you heard of South by Southwest (SXSW)? Yeah, well here is a little key to coolness. If you are from Austin, or simply cool, you refer to it as “South by.” That’s it. To put it in a sentence, the most FAQ I got all weekend was, “Oh, are you here for South by?”
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Read about what we did on Friday here.

Saturday, March 5, 2011 (my birthday)

We took our sweet time in the morning since the Dave Ramsey LIVE! event didn’t start until noon. I wanted to get to the arena by 11:30 so we could get decent seats, so we headed out for an early lunch/brunch. We stopped by Union Station and thought the cafe would be a nice place for some breakfast food. Unfortunately it was closed, but the express cafe was open (limited menu). So we took advantage of the time and explored the station. While we were eating, Becky called me and said because I wasn’t at the arena yet, I wouldn’t be able to participate in the game (bummer), but she said she did have a gift for me so I needed to find her when we got there (yipee).

When we got to the arena, we decided to walk around behind the stage in the bleachers to avoid the foot traffic on the concourse. We spotted some nice seats on the side of the stage and as we were walking by the stage I heard someone say, “Eric, happy birthday!” It was Jon Acuff, calling me out from the sound booth area by the stage. How sweet is that? It was like we had been friends forever (Saved by the Bell).

The show was awesome. Besides the guy next to me taking up half my leg room. Most of it was a refresher from Financial Peace University, but it was just the kick in the pants that we needed to stay motivated as we save for our 3-6 months emergency fund. We heard Rachel Cruze and Jon Acuff during the pre-show and during the break Becky gave me a coupon for one free item from the Financial Peace University booth. Kels and I went to look at the items and realized that we already had all of the materials, so we decided to give the coupon to a young couple in line. They were on the fence about spending the $99 to take the class, so we took that excuse away. I really hope their lives are blessed by that. I also managed to catch a free T-shirt that they were throwing out from stage (errbody loves free T-shirts).

What a great birthday. Best one ever, I think? We cruised home because Kels and I had to speak at our church’s high school youth group the next day and we had some finalizing to do to our talk. We didn’t get home till about 10:30, but we cruised home listening to Garth Brooks’ Greatest Hits album. A classic.

So thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. Now you know what we did in KC to celebrate. I am allowing an extension for late birthday cards!

When Dave Ramsey LIVE! announced they were coming to Kansas City, I knew I wanted to go. When I saw that it would be on my birthday, the heavens opened up. When I saw that we could get tickets for $9 (originally $39) if we hurried, I used my birthday lifeline to e-mail Kels.

Here’s the link to what I want for my birthday and I want to take two friends with us. POW!

I am sure she wanted to go just as bad as I did, but she couldn’t say no because it was my birthday. So we chose to take my buddy Doug (college roommate, groomsman) and Jess (co-worker, great friend, married to Doug).

Friday, March 4, 2011
We started our voyage from The Moines around 9 a.m. and ventured down I-35. The trip was blessed with great conversation, one topic was helping Doug name his future goat farm. Yep, you read it right. Some thoughts were “Goat, tell it on the mountain,” and “Doug, Doug, Goat.”

Upon arrival in KC, we headed toward the Country Club Plaza to get some well-deserved grub. Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue was my restaurant of choice for lunch. Superb customer service and equally great BBQ.

Then came the shopping. We enjoyed perusing the shops, and Kelsey bought a fedora and black jeggings. Having just finished her 30 for 30 challenge, she was like a sprinter coming out of the blocks. By mid-afternoon we were ready for some ColdStone. The guy working there did not love his job, but that’s probably because it was 83 degrees inside. Made it tough to eat the ice cream before it melted.

Next, we checked into our hotel. We scored a great deal in true Dave Ramsey fashion and they put us near the top, which provided an excellent view of downtown KC.

We had no dinner plans so we looked to our good friend Concierge Torrence to suggest something. He sent us to a place in the Power & Light district that was out of our price range and also our vocabulary–didn’t know anything on the menu. So we headed to Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant for some appetizers (we were still full from lunch and ice cream). Doug and I split the wings and beer sampler (6 flavors, 4 oz. each). We timed supper so that we would be able to attend our first ‘tweet up’ with some folks from Dave’s team.

We walked up, not having a clue what to expect, but were welcomed by Becky Tennille from Dave’s marketing team. She was so nice! She heard it was going to be my birthday and offered to have me on stage during the pre-show to play a game (more on that later). And remember Jon Acuff, the guy who wrote our Christmas letter? He’s on Dave’s team and does an opening bit for Dave’s live events. We got to chat with him for a while, he gave us each his new book and signed them, and in true Stuff Christians Like fashion, we got a picture side-hugging. Jon couldn’t be any more down-to-earth and genuinely friendly. We also got to meet Chris, who tweets from DaveRamseyLive, and Dave’s daughter Rachel Cruze. She is working on helping out high school-aged students across America be financially savvy.

After the tweet up we went to McFadden’s Sports Saloon for a drink before heading back to the hotel. And what better way to end the night than a soak in the hotel hot tub? While waiting for the elevator, we were asked to “step aside.” Then about 10 guys blocked off the elevator. We had no idea what was going on, but then Whoopi Goldberg stepped out of the elevator with some people wearing FBI-style ear pieces. I was like, “That’s Whoopi!” and then some smart alec photographer that was chasing her down says, “Never seen Whoopi Goldberg before?” and I thought to myself, “Nope.”

That was enough excitement for one day, so, forecasting a long day ahead of us on Saturday, we went to sleep.

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