spring hapennings

So, I don't want to jinx anything, but the weather has been perfection here in Dallas. Like 70s and breezy and blue skies and trees blooming bright green and big Texas sunsets. I sincerely thank you weather gods. You are helping a desk-bound gals spirit just by shining through her window. Been big time busy with Hens tasks and designing goods for ladies getting hitched. Currier left town for a week and I almost went crazy without our multiple, daily chats. I survived, but boy it reminded me how thankful I am to have a partner in this!
So, Mimers and I have been busy too. School was out last week so had to think of lots of new activities. Pizza dinner date with friends, picnics, errands together, Perot museum (score), and a trip to the aquarium. I don't know why I went to the aquarium on one of the busiest weeks of the year, but I did and it was sort of a nightmare. Way too many people and stinky inside. Even Miriam was ready to bolt by the time we made it to the penguins. Our backyard is much more fun anyway. Trevor and I finally got around to some landscaping at the casa. It was basically a blank state that no one had ever really paid attention too. We changed that and gave it a lotta love last Saturday. So much better I can't even tell you. A lot of happenings here and it's made me miss home just a bit less and less. Maybe that means I am finally settling in here? Finally.


tip from my friend samma… this $4 drug store mint julep masque is awesome! I stuck it in a care package for my cuz'. She's preggers and every preggers lady can use a little pick me up. Plus getting mail makes somebody feel extra special!

creole thrift

When I'm doing research for a project I start with a folder on my desktop called "design inspiration." It's full of random images I've collected over the years - my pre-Pinterest solution to saving digital images. Colors, interiors, typefaces… I scroll through them making notes and attempting to sketch a layout. And then I step away from the computer completely. Hurts my eyes and everything can start looking the same! Time to look around the house, open drawers, open books, and get the mind cooking. I was brainstorming on a job this week and found an old favorite book tucked away. Creole Thrift. I remember my mom brought it to our house in Beersheba and I was consumed with it all weekend. I loved the design and the layout and all the quirkiness within. 

The author, Angele Parlange writes about her growing up in a plantation house in Louisiana. The house is beautiful and moody inside. She gives ideas on printing fabric, sewing shower curtains with home photos, and reupholstering junk. "Premium Southern Living Without Spending a Mint." Isn't that adorable? Although they were clever, I never did any of her crafty ideas. What appealed to me was just her storytelling, the colorful personality, and the texture of the images in the book. Made me feel good.

So I got totally distracted from the project I was working on and ended up flipping through the book all over again for at least an hour. Easily distracted? Yep. But, I did come away with some ideas in the end. At least I think I did. Even with all the beauty online, books remain my go to for creative inspiration. And pink roses on your desk certainly don't hurt either.

school closed

Monday morning is always a little rushed, a little scattered, and always little late around here. Today, we made it to school on time only to find that school was closed due to no power. Bummer. I was super frustrated and totally annoyed. My whole day would have to change around. Then I noticed how excited Miriam was. "Just me and you today mommy?" "School is closed," followed by a little smirk of pure joy. My girl sure loves her mommy and was thrilled that we got to turn around and go right back home. It made me turn my bad attitude around and be grateful for the time just the two of us. That's what children do. They make you think and be slow and play. We came home, had more coffee and set up a whole town of legos and trains. She loves to talk to her figures and pretend. We made a diving board for lego-man, elmo went to school, and our wooden buildings were stacked tall. We played naptime, a current fave, and talked about where her animals go potty. Did I mention we're potty training? I procrastinated for a long time, but it's nothing I'd made it out to be in my head. She's totally doing it. I just told her no more diapers, they're for babies, got big girl underwear, and a made a big deal about it the morning we started. We made a sticker chart together and she picks one when she goes. Maybe it's just luck. I have no idea, but hooray for small miracles. Thankful for my big, willing girl and, as it turns out, mighty thankful for a day off from school.

sundays

After a hectic week, Sunday comes around as a welcome respite after days of motion. Cleaning the kitchen, going through mail, and watching Miriam play outside with Daddy is so calming. Just being home with the whole family. Time to shower, and plan dinner, and take the dog on a proper walk. Just time to be. Moosh and I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that ended up as one giant spread, but it was a happy accident. They got sort of thin, and toffee like. Sometimes all you need to revive your spirit is to beat some eggs and wash some dishes. It's good for the soul.

my valentines

I'm a tad ho-hum about Valentines Day as I get older. It's much more fun for kids I think. We crafted and made strawberry heart skewers.  Miriam happily toted her handmade hearts to all her classmates and was thrilled when I came to her class party yesterday. But, as I was checking out D magazine the other week, I saw an ad for a Valentine's mini photo session. The style of photographer, Kelly-Christine's work immediately caught my eye. I told T this would be the perfect Valentine's "gift" for me. I'm always the one behind the camera, so it's mighty nice to have some memories of our entire family. I think they turned out really lovely, especially the ones of my sweets.

the moms in big D

My momma, aunt Louise, and cousin Lauren all came for a visit last weekend. I'd forgotten how fun it is to have so many people packed in one house! Hair dryers going, makeup on every counter, bacon cooking in the skillet, air mattress in the playroom, magazines piled up, coffee being poured, and everyone in their robes. Just like home. It was lovely and relaxing, and busy, and wild - just like I'd hoped. Even Trevor enjoyed having all these ladies in the house. One of my favorite things we did was a day trip to Fort Worth. What a cool town and the stock show was going on so we spotted trailers, cowboys, and a ferris wheel. Mom steered us to the Amon Carter Museum of American Art which was really fabulous. Little dose of culture then lunch at Tillmans Roadhouse. Let me just say we had more than our fair share of good eats. I did my Texas duty of showing off the wide variety of mexican fare. High (Komali) to medium (Glorias) to low (Rusty Taco) we ate mexican food at almost every meal. When in Rome!
One meal we strayed from the tex-mex was Neighborhood Services. Oh my gosh… it was one of those wonderful nights where everything just goes smoothly. Really happenin' vibe, great waitress, flowing cocktails, and the food was… well, perfect. We stayed up late listening to music and talkin' until we couldn't talk no more. The only thing missing from this trip was Miss Lauren partaking in the libations. Poor thing was fighting off those not so pleasant early pregnancy symptoms. I do think the food helped though and we celebrated her birthday with some pretty sweet cupcakes from Society Bakery. I am beyond thrilled she's having another baby. She is such a good momma and I miss her terribly already. I miss my momma too. I made her get dark nail polish at the salon and she was so not sure, but it looked chic.
What else, might you ask, do you do in Dallas? Shop. We went to all the stores I'd heard about, but never wanted to go to by myself. All the fancy stores that are filled with beautiful things just for looking. The shopping here is endless and I don't even know all the places to go. Some of my favorite spots though were Gypsy Wagon (soooo my style I wanted everything in the store), Blueprint (just because it's so pretty inside), and our last stop was the mall - very exciting, right?! Had to pick up some Hannah Anderson training undies for the babies. I've totally been stalling, but it's time. Oh, and my favorite store was Timothy Oulton. He's the guy that's designed a bunch of things for Restoration Hardware and his only US store is here in town. Anyway, it's beyond cool and they fixed us the best cappuccinos in vintage British mugs so they sort of won our hearts from the get go. They have a giant fish tank with a yellow submarine inside so that should give you a little taste of what was going on. Why do the Brits always get it right? Overall I think they were very impressed with all that Dallas has going on and feeling good about our spot in Texas for now.

Then they were taking back off in a flash. A weekend sure flies by. Back to reality and responsibilities. All the fun made it hard to get going Monday, but it's back to work and back to my little corner of the house. I've been hard at work on my office these days and can't wait to share soon.
 

listening, pinning, cooking, dreaming

Listening to Wild Child with a glass of vino, Paul Simon in NY while I work, and the Pistol Annies when I need a little country twang in the afternoon. 

Pinning these images from Vogue wanting to move in with this family in Brooklyn and give this pony a big hug around the neck.

Cooking Southwestern Sweet Potatoes (Trevor turned up his nose, then went back for seconds), Enchillada Soup, Tomato Soup, Brussel Sprouts, and the best Cauliflower of my life. Sipping Lakewood Lager helps too.

Dreaming of a trip with my husband. Thinking we need a short trip, just the two of us, real soon. Maybe Santa Fe, maybe Austin, maybe Hill Country? Sleeping in, later dinner, reading, and driving with my dude. Are we there yet?

images via here and here

girls only

No boys allowed… that's what Miriam kept saying all weekend. You gotta be careful what you say around a toddler, cause boy does it stick! Daddy was off on a ski trip with some buddies so it was indeed a girls only weekend. We had ourselves a big old time. Crafting, a birthday party, banana pancakes at Legal Grounds, a Target jaunt, supper on the patio, and a trip to the bookstore for a new Max & Ruby book. Two and a half is sort of a hilarious age. She says super silly things, corrects me often, walks on her tip-toes a lot, and tells me "that is not my favorite" all of the time. That shirt is not my favorite, that spoon is not my favorite, that fruit is not my favorite… and on and on. I caught her with sharpie last night and she just died laughing as she ran away from me. Dumping her crayon bowl on the ground is another favorite activity. Lordy-pete, she's a spitfire when she wants to be. And that's cool. Exhausting, but I totally dig that she has so much personality. We had burgers at Hopdoddy with her buddy Belle & my buddy Whitney which was so great, but when these 2 girls get together… watch out. They giggle and get all loosey-goosey on us as we try and restrain them to the table.

I spent nap time + night time working on my out of control office. Paperwork, filing, bills, rearranging, ughh… cleaning is not my favorite. Better now though and I have to admit it feels good. Another baby I was taking care of the last few days was Bran. I don't even think I've introduced him, but meet the big buddy. We adopted him from the lab rescue here in town back in December. He's sort of a Cooper twin and is seriously sweet and just wants to curl up next to ya all the time. He had to have a little surgery for his leg which had been broken and worked on way before we got him. Poor guy has been through a lot, but we are sure glad to have him. Anyway, he's on the mend, but he's been super needy since he cant run around. Miriam on my hip and Brando at my side, I was never lonely for company, but I was sure glad to see T roll in the door last night. So much nicer when there's two.

jet-setting for half a second

It was thundering, lightning, and snowing all at the same time Tuesday morning. Who ever said Texas had normal weather? I was rushing around, waiting for my taxi, and waiting on my very late nanny to show. It was a cluster, but I got to the airport and made it to Nashville for my whirlwind trip. I had a big, big meeting for Tenn Hens. I was trying not to be nervous, but impossible. I sampled multiple outfits and wore my grandmothers special bracelet just for extra luck. Currier picked me up and we ate lunch at Bricktops to kill some time. We sipped cappuccinos and discussed all the exciting projects juggling in front of us. Sometimes I pinch myself thinking how lucky I am to love my job as much as I do.

Then it was back to Dallas - such the jet-setter, right?! Back to my baby girl who was so excited when I picked her up from school. "Mommy you all done with meeting?" and "Mommy, you're going to stay with me?" Mmmm, I could eat her up she's so darn sweet. What a week I tell ya and now it's back to basics. Trevor reminded me we were out of bread, milk, and trash bags this morning. Eeeks… reality check after feeling all fancy!