Heading into the Weekend...

cupcakes and party favors all ready to go...

We've got all sort of fun planned for the week-end -- there's not one but two end-of-the-year parties this afternoon for the girlies, friends visiting from out of town, brunch and a bike ride with lovely cousin Erin tomorrow and another pilgrimage to the farmer's market. I'm heavy into my new Alice Waters cookbook and dying to try out a few things.

What are you guys up to this weekend?

Blooming...

As an especially lovely Friday treat, I woke up to my gardenia bush in full-bloom... Aren't gardenias awesome?

Renegade Bus

There are so many long-held (and generally totally inaccurate) stereotypes about Dallas -- you've hear them, no? Cowboys, big hair, lack of culture... So anytime something comes along that is (I belive) the true embodiment of the my city, I want to shout from the rooftops.

There's our incredible new opera house -- gorgeous and built with an enormous solar roof, our progressive recycling program (we can just throw everything in a giant blue garbage can that the city provides each household…no sorting necessary), and most recently an incredibly smart, sophisticated new arts and culture site for the city called Renegade Bus.

Honestly I’m most excited about that last one, as I think it really busts through the stereotypes and is a true representation of the vibrant, interesting people that inhabit Dallas.

Oh and they asked me to write a piece… Take a peek!

P.S.

I also bought this dress...

I know I said I was done buying summer clothes, but I've had it bookmarked for a while... and now it's extremely marked-down. Damn you J.Crew and your summer sale.

I'm gonna wear it with the necklace and some wedges. Cute, no?

Things I Bought Thursdays...

So I promise this week’s purchase isn’t as extravagant as it seems...

It was planned and saved for and thought through. When I finished the formal spending hiatus earlier this year, Bryan and I sat down and talked about how to approach purchases moving forward. We made a list of the things we needed (like new cookware and some minor house repairs/improvements) and a few things we really wanted or had been dreaming of… a trip in the fall, wood to build a new dining room table and a piece of art all topped the list. We decided that in lieu of giving individual gifts for our anniversary (which isn’t until October…) we’d buy a painting that we both loved. After seeing a piece by Louisiana based painter Jon Eenienburg at Aimee’s house, we couldn't stop thinking about his work and decided to go ahead and get the one above.

It’s even better in person… We’re awfully in love with it…

Just a Few Random Bits...

Why can’t my dishes, napkins and whatnot look as stunning as Pia Jane’s… seriously, her photography and styling skills slay me.

I’m digging this sweet summery top… (and realizing I better get rolling on my eBay plan as “the dress” is now on sale!)

I want some Le Creuset (preferably in green or white) so bad it hurts.


That’s all...

The Weekend…

Was filled with all sorts of quintessential summer holiday fun… there were swim parties, a graduation celebration and multiple cookouts (I think I actually ate three hamburgers… sad, but one was dressed with blue cheese, yellow tomatoes and arugula, so that elevates things a bit, no?)

Saturday morning we made a particularly successful trip to the farmer's market (i.e. lots of yummy finds + no kiddos melting down), which lead to a lunch cobbled together from all our goodies…fresh pasta topped with squash and zucchini and a salad of arugula (I’m pretty nuts for arugula) cherries, goat cheese and a port wine vinaigrette.

How was your holiday weekend? Did you eat as much as I did?

Blogger's Favorites -- Jora of Domestic Reflections

image by 2 or 3 things via Domestic Reflections

Ok... no holding back here, I have a serious blogger crush on Jora. Not only is her blog Domestic Reflections smart, well written, lovely, etc, etc... but the lady has great taste, is a killer cook, has a stunning home, adorable children and a rockin garden + she raises chickens...oh and she's super chic too.

So of course you'll love her list...so without further ado, herewith Jora's favorites.

Have a lovely weekend...(hope you're doing something fun for Memorial Day -- I think mine will include Jora's Lillet cocktail.)

Gaggia Classic -- I’ve started my day with an espresso from this machine for years now. It is simply the best. When my husband and I go on vacation, we joke that we can’t wait to get home to the Gaggia!

Gold Shoes/Sandals -- Do not, I repeat do not, underestimate the power of a pair of gold shoes, whether they be ballet flats, sexy strappy heels, or my personal favorite, flat sandals. They can transform a ho-hum outfit (e.g. jeans and a tank or simple cotton sundress) into something sophisticated and date night worthy.

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer -- What can I say? Nothing feels or works better on my skin. Plus it’s SPF 20, without that goopy sunscreen feeling.

The Maxi Dress -- This is my go-to outfit for everything from dinner parties to afternoons at the pool. For almost five years now I’ve been pregnant or breastfeeding, so I guess you can say my body has been through a lot of changes! A great maxi dress makes me feel good no matter what the circumstances. (photo via shopbop)

Lillet Blanc -- I love this French Aperitif….it’s light, refreshing, slightly sweet and always hits the spot. I like to serve it best on the rocks with a splash of soda and a slice of orange.

Garden Fresh Fruits and Vegetable -- raise them yourself, go to the farmer’s market or raid someone else’s garden. It truly makes all the difference in the world for flavor and health. It makes cooking more fun too.

All Things Italy -- I love to travel -- period. But I have been obsessed with Italy for as long as I can remember. Luckily, my husband has the same fetish, so he understands. There is something magical about the people, geography, history, lifestyle, food (I could go on and on) that just makes me feel like home. (photo courtesy tony helsloot)

Gourmet Magazine -- Like most women I know, I love to read magazines. Gourmet has been on my must-renew-every-year list for a long time now. Most people think it is just about food, but the tagline is “The Magazine of Good Living” and that is how I see it. Travel, art, literature, food, life – it all ties together and Gourmet is all over it. I started collecting old copies and have a (partial) collection dating back to 1963. The magazine is so well-done that 30 year old issues feel just as relevant and inspiring as something put out today. (photo courtesy lovegrove & repucci)


Jo Malone Orange Blossom Fragrance -- My favorite scent in the world is orange blossoms and this is the only fragrance I know that smells just like the real thing.

Duralex Picardie Glasses -- I have many “favorites” in the kitchen (I love to cook and entertain), and these glasses would be at the top of that list. They are simple, beautiful, affordable and functional. It doesn’t hurt that they are what is used in cafes all over France! You can serve an espresso in them, some wine, a cocktail or anything in between. It all works. They stopped making them a couple of years back (after being in production for like 100 years), but thankfully, they are back. Stock up until they change their minds again!

Things I Bought Thursday…

Fanny at Chez Panisse

The Art of Simple Food

So I realize it’s a bit odd to follow a post about having less stuff with one telling you what I just bought, but I warned you it was a complex relationship, so you’ll just have to roll with me.

In matters of spending it’s been a bit a “foodie” week… It started innocently enough -- I swung by the bookstore last week to grab some reading material for the long drive down to the coast and ended up leaving with Alice Waters and Chez Panisse and Best Food Writing 2008. Totally caught up in the story of Waters and itching to cook, a few days later I bought her daughter Fanny’s cookbook/memoir of growing up in the Chez Panisse world and one of Water’s cookbooks, The Art of Simple Food.

Sensing a theme here?

Actually the theme has been brewing for a while, as after getting my subscription to Gourmet, reading A Homemade Life and then tearing through The Tenth Muse during our spring beach trip, I’ve been a bit, well… obsessed with food writing. Which is ironic really, as I’m constantly making fun of my husband for his habit of latching onto a subject, say the history of plastic (I’m not kidding) and then reading every book, article, Wikipedia entry, etc…that exists on the topic until he’s sufficiently satiated.

I get it now Bryan…

Oh and I also bought two new saucepans, as you can’t read loads of food writing without wanting to cook, and you can’t cook without pots…and my husband (sweet thing that he is) burned both of my saucepans while boiling sugar water (don’t ask.) So while the books were a bit of a virtuous luxury, the pans were a necessity…at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Simplicity...

In my dreams, my house looks an awful lot like Sweden’s Hotel Sigtuna (via remodelista)

You probably realize by now that I have a rather complex relationship with “stuff.”

As with most complex relationships, this one is pretty deep rooted in my childhood experiences... I’ve watched my parents literally lose entire housefuls of stuff (once when I was nine and our home burned to the ground the very night we moved and again during Katrina), so I know how in the entire scheme of things you can live with very little...how our possessions are not remotely as important as we think.

I also have this fixation on being able to "pack light" -- actually "light" probably isn’t a strong enough word, if you asked Bryan, he might say I’m obsessed (full-blown obsessed, not unlike the white situation.) This again (not surprisingly, hello therapy) comes from my childhood… My father is a musician so growing up we moved where the work was… 17 times before I graduated high school -- New Orleans, Austin, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe… As such, we became experts at packing and unpacking -- settling in immediately (my mother is a consummate nester), which is infinitely easier to do when you don’t have a lot of stuff. To keep things under control, my mother would walk through the house once a month with a big black garbage bag ruthlessly collecting stuff to toss or donate.

Bryan’s parents on the other hand still live in the same house they moved into when he was three. They have a lot of stuff. Needless to say, Bryan and I have much different relationships with our possessions. He’s a hoarder, I would throw away anything…I’m not sentimental at all. I know, weird.

At night when I can’t sleep, my favorite game is to play out my shelter fantasy where Bryan, the girlies and I move to a tiny house in the Pacific Northwest where it’s all loamy, green and misty (or Marfa, which doesn’t really fit with the misty green fantasy but is alluring nonetheless.) Since the house we move into is small, I can only bring the things I absolutely, unequivocally love, so I go through each room in my head picturing what would make the cut, chronicling all of my most special/meaningful/essential belongings into this little fictitious place.

That said, since having the girls, I’ve become a smidge more careful in my obsessive culling of our possessions. I now actually stop and think before selling every item of meaning on Craig’s List… I want the girls to have some mementos from their childhood when they start their own families. Just this morning, I was fantasizing about selling all of our baby gear in the next year or so, and while the crib and the Pottery Barn Dream Rocker is nothing special, I had all but sold the lovely Svan highchair that both girls used and would still be stunning in 25 years. So that stays in the attic.

Progress friends, progress…

I’m Especially Loving…

Anything that Katy sews (!) for her girlies (I’m totally in awe of her), but I’m especially in awe of these pieces she made which were inspired by the color palette in the book caps for sale.

The Australian blog Distillate – it’s so spot on and well organized. This peanut brittle recipe found there is on my "things to make" list.

Her… She’s been around blogland a lot, but I couldn’t help jumping on the bandwagon, as she’s just so freakin lovely + her store looks so thoughtful and perfectly curated. (via the pipeline)

Fueling the Obsession

As evidenced by the photo in the last post (my frequent readers already know this), I have an (unhealthy?) obsession with white pottery -- especially kind of groovy, imperfect, handmade vessels...

I'd love to add these pieces from inky pots (via bloesem) to my collection -- so organic and lovely.

I'm also smitten with this little bronze vase even though it's not white... see I'm versatile!

Thinking of Home...

In honor of Mother's Day, CafeMom has asked several blogger's to talk about their idea of home.

You can see my post here. Take a peek...

Spontaneity

I generally tend to be a planner (perhaps that's an understatement)…especially when it comes to preparing for a vacation of any sort/length.

While I’m generally laid back once we arrive at our destination (after all it is a vacation), the days leading up to any trip have all the preparations of say, moon flight -- really there’s nothing I love more than a good long packing list. Needless to say (regardless of how romantic it seems), I don’t tend to relish in the "last minute, quick get-away.” You can call me boring, it’s ok, my feelings won’t be hurt...

So I was pretty proud of myself when we decided on Monday of last week that we’d pack the girls into the car on girls into the car on Friday morning and drive eight hours (each way) to the Texas coast to enjoy one day at the beach with a group of dear friends.

One of the nice benefits of not having much time to plan is that there’s also very little time to “stress”… I decided early on to just roll with it, and as such, it was a pretty great trip.

Who knows what I’ll attempt next.

We're Off....

On an impromptu week-end adventure that will involve some of these things...

images via stylist christine rudolph's gorgeous portfolio

But they'll probably not be so beautifully styled (envision a hot pink dora the explorer beach pail thrown into the mix...)

I'll be back with details on Monday. Have a great weekend!

What I Bought Thursdays

I think the most important thing to share this week (even more important than what I actually purchased) is that I feel no guilt whatsoever about my acquisitions. "Why", you ask? Well I actually set out to go shopping last Sunday. I went into the whole enterprise with my eyes wide open, it was after all, my first real shopping trip in several months, one that I knew could very well result in bringing home things I might not really “need."

I did set some ground rules...

• First I could only buy something if I really loved it. And under no circumstances could I buy something that I merely "liked" just because it was deeply discounted...
  
• If I did buy something on sale, it had to be something I would have happily bought at full price.
  
• And last (and most important), I had to be able to afford it…i.e. cash only.

I came home with two tops from Anthropologie (one on sale and one full price but still very reasonable) and a white dress from the Gap that I’ve been stalking for a while (that happened to be less than half the original price.)

Guilt-free shopping aside, I’m done with buying clothes until the fall, as I really have everything I need to get me through the ridiculously hot Texas summer (aforementioned scheme notwithstanding…I’m still working on that one.) I’m counting on you guys to keep me honest here!

Rethinking Hawaii

Up until now, Hawaii hasn't made my “top five family vacations” wish list.

My reasoning seemed pretty sound -- If I was going to endure an eight hour plan trip with two small children, I’d rather go to London or Paris, and if we were going to do something tropical and far away, why not shoot for the moon and aspire to Tahiti (snobbish as it seems, Hawaii always seemed a little too “easy”.)

But then I read Ayelet Waldman’s piece in this month’s Cookie about her family’s annual trip to Kona Village, and as if he was reading my mind, yesterday my father-in-law sent over these photos of my husband as a child on a family trip to Hawaii (how awesome are my mother-in-law’s glasses?)… And now, well now Hawaii is on the list. For sure.