I bailed on SXSW festivities this year. I’m tired. I’m stressed. I’m filled with a little bit of rage and a heck of a lot of passion. And as I work through it, I don’t have an interest in wearing myself even further.

I wish I could tell you that I spent the week of SX 2017 catching up on sleep. I didn’t.

But I did make some killer progress on restaurant construction in spite of the best efforts of some to make me stumble. I did use this week as an excuse to take a break from restaurant eating by highlighting my favorite Austin spots for #SXSW attendees. And I did use rainy evenings to my advantage by convincing my SX visitor friend, Heidi, to skip events and watch rom coms.

SXSW ended yesterday. Without attending any official events, I woke up at 6:30 this morning feeling the need to create. I caught up on Instagram while I waited for the sun to rise. And as an acceptable time to work on a Sunday rolled around, I glanced over at a stack of magazines Heidi left behind.

I whipped up my go-to turmeric butter coffee and spent the rest of morning in the studio with my camera, magazines, and a revived desire to continue the hustle.