Treats from Holland

Bryan was gone for most of the week on a business trip in The Netherlands, which:

1. Made me incredibly, incredibly grateful for my husband -- I'm pretty quick to admit what a great husband, dad, partner Bryan is, but there's nothing like going it alone for a few days to raise that appreciation to new heights...
   
   
2. Gave me a renewed awe for single parents (speaking of going it alone...) I mean seriously, how does anyone do this business of parenting alone. Heroes.
   
   
3. Made me a smidge jealous that the most basic things like wrapping every. single. purchase. at the local toy store and the packaging on a little box of mints from the corner market are just so much cooler in Europe. I love the idea of making the smallest things feel special. Special should be for everyday, no?

So now that hubby is home, we're gearing up for a weekend of fun -- trying out a new pizza place tonight and heading to First Saturdays at the Nasher tomorrow morning...and just generally trying to make everything feel special ;-)

What fun things do you have planned?

A Winner!

Courtesy of random.org, we have a winner for the beyond lovely Tolani Scarf, and it's Heather!

Drop me a line with your contact info...and enjoy!

Things I Bought Thursdays...

So this week I bought a dress (specifically this A.P.C. Madras dress that I snagged at the amazing Creatures of Comfort sale) and something to celebrate a milestone...


Audrey has a loose tooth. A very, very loose tooth -- like any day that sucker's gonna come right out loose. And it's her first one. So I had to get the very clever, incredibly cool Official Tooth Fairy Kit, no?

It's even more perfect in person. Can't wait to use it -- I'll keep you posted!

A Fashion Confession (+ A Reminder)

all images of Vogue fashion/news director Sally Singer's apartment via The Selby

I’m not afraid to admit it (my uniform notwithstanding), I sort of love fashion.

I love the idea that you can create a sort of "character" through your clothes, and I'm endlessly intrigued by what other women chose to wear -- my daily indulgence is peeking in on the street style over on Urban Weeds, the Sartorialist and Garance Dore.

The only magazine I read religiously every month, cover-to-cover is Vogue. (Because it’s a fashion magazine, it often gets pigeonholed as “frivolous”, but the book and movie reviews are excellent, the political, art and food coverage is incredibly strong, and the fashion coverage is well, really intelligent and interesting…which, let’s face it, isn’t usually the case with fashion magazines.)



A few weeks ago, my friend Lucia and I were chatting over breakfast about our respect for women like Judy Aldridge and marveling at her ability to make daring, interesting (and sometimes outrageous) fashion choices and not seem like a fashion victim, but instead like the ultimate "fashion as art" patron...

And (feel free to disagree with me here) I think most people care about fashion more than they're willing to admit...or at least "fashion" in the sense that what they wear represents some aspect of who they are as a person. It's why my husband chooses to wear Converse instead of Nikes or why the girl that knocked on our door last night with the Texas Campaign for the Environment was sporting dreads and Birkenstocks.

So... what do you think your "look" says about you?



p.s. speaking of fashion...the (killer) scarf giveaway ends at noon tomorrow, so be sure to leave a comment for a chance to own it if you haven't already!

Loving...

Katie Lockhart's Bauhaus inspired "dollhouses" via desire to inspire. These are my new model for the ones we'll build the girlies. Thanks Mary Beth!

The fact that you can buy this crazy gorgeous bubble lamp if you're not so DIY inclined...

Her fun blog... + doesn't she look like Jennifer Garner?!

This groovy bag from Anthro -- the perfect summer bag. So cool (+ it's on sale...)

The sweet, artful creations from tiny warbler ...

Scenes from The Week-End

So much good stuff...

Donned a new dress (more on that Thursday), had brunch at a yummy "new to us" organic/local restaurant, whooped it up at Little Bean's opening party, sipping champagne (me) and apple juice (the girlies) + the girls had a blast playing in the back of the shop with their two new buddies, Miette and Amelie.

Then later that evening we made a fun collaborative birthday dinner for my friend Achlee -- the highlight was a stunningly good chocolate cake topped with raspberries made by my lovely and talented friend Julie.

And Sunday, well Sunday we rested! What was the best part of your weekend?

Bliss + Weekend Plans

I have a guest post up over on the blog perfection that is Bliss today. The subject -- girl crushes...

We have a fun weekend planned -- brunch with the girlies at a new organic restaurant I found via this genius site and then onto Little Bean for the opening celebration. Later that evening we'll make a birthday dinner for my dear friend Achlee --fish tacos, yum!

What are you up to?

Blogger's Favorites -- Roberta Jane of Camp Comfort

image from Camp Comfort via Alexander Girard for Urban Outfitters

This week's list belongs to the lovely and seriously fashionable Roberta Jane...Whenever I'm needing a dose of fashion inspiration, I head over to her most excellent blog, Camp Comfort, as she never fails to push me out of my "uniform" rut. (She also "counsels" others out of said ruts through her genius series, "ask camp comfort"...)

So without further ado, Roberta Jane's list. Enjoy!

Converse Chuck Taylors -- I have been wearing white low-top Converse for as long as I can remember and I am never without a pair. I wear them all the time and with everything! And the more broken-in the better. This photo is my little take on this.

Fabric Remnants -- I seem to collect fabric remnants wherever I go. Some are old (thrifted or found), some are new (pulled from the bins at fabric stores), some are handed down. My favorite remnants are the ones I inherited from my Grandmother, Elizabeth, and I only use them for very special projects.

Clothes -- As anyone could probably tell from Camp Comfort, I have a pretty big love affair with clothes... or more specifically with personal style. I love having fun with my clothes, but most importantly I want what I wear to be comfortable and make me feel good.

Old Movies -- My love for old movies comes from my mother, Jane. We have watched so many together over the years, but our favorites are anything starring the amazing dancing duo, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.


Beers with The Hubby -- Ryan and I are big beer fanatics, so we've been to many bars and brewpubs in search of great beer and excellent conversation. Our travels have taken us to beer bars all over Europe and the United States... Lucky for us, our new town of Portland, OR has tons of amazing options!

Black Ballet Flats -- The perfect black ballet flats can sometimes be hard to come by and often can cost you a pretty penny, but I wear them constantly. I've gone through so many pairs over the years! I have been lusting over a pair from Repetto for a long time... Someday, they will be mine!

Cleo -- We adopted out Italian Greyhound, Cleo, a little over one year ago. We could not have asked for better dog. She is so sweet and friendly, she makes friends everywhere we go!

A Giveaway!

I am beyond smitten with this gorgeous, groovy, watercolor inspired scarf...

In fact, I pretty much love all the Tolani Scarves, but this one is my fave -- love the color palette, love how cool it would look with some cuffed distressed jeans and a simple white top, pretty much love it all...

So, I'm super excited (and a little jealous frankly) that the folks at chick downtown have offered to GIVE IT to one of my readers.

Just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a (lucky) winner at random next Thursday, July 30th at noon CT.

Good Luck!

p.s. -- for more chick downtown news peek at http://twitter.com/chickdowntown and http://www.facebook.com/pages/ ...

p.p.s -- the scarfs from Sir Alistair Rai are also rather awesome!

Things I Bought Thursdays – The Kiddo Edition

Actually maybe this week should be dubbed the “Small” edition, as all our purchases were related to that genius little magazine.

First up our loot from Friday’s visit to Little Bean*… I bought a sweet dress for each of the girlies, which they loved so much that they promptly stripped down and donned the new frocks right there in the store… They then proceeded to sit on the curb outside the shop in their new duds like some kind of Little Bean sandwich board. While they were luring in customers, I got a few genius craft kits by The Little Experience. These little kits are seriously fun + easy to make and most run less than ten bucks.

I also grabbed a couple of the just released Small Draw coloring books. These are truly little pieces of art…so lovely and cool. If you had a little stack of these and a few of The Little Experience craft kits stashed away, I'm thinking you’d be set for classmate birthday gifts all year.

*If you happen to be in the Dallas area, definitely plan on attending the opening party at Little Bean this Saturday the 25th. Christine is serving up juice boxes, cookies and champagne (for the adults!) and later in the afternoon they’ll have pizza +free children's portraits by Steven Visneau.

Through Her Eyes Part III

Audrey took more snaps last week... I think this is my favorite set yet!

She took the last three photos during our trip to the DMA Friday night. Speaking of the DMA, my friends at Renegade Bus are giving away tickets to the artist talk with Mark Bradford at the DMA tomorrow, July 23 at 7 p.m.

If you're in the Dallas area, you should definitely jump on this... His work is incredible.