my oscars picks

because it wouldn't be the monday after the academy awards without it, here are my picks for best dressed at last night's oscars. i had the privilege of watching the show with some of my favorite girls here in austin and most of us agreed on the best dressed of the night.

ps. anne hathaway was pretty good but james franco was a big. fat. dud.
pps. all images from justjared.com
ppps. jeffrey rush was robbed.

below: mila kunis in elie saab haute couture; too bad she's making scary faces

below: gwyneth paltrow in calvin klein collection; my friend andrea said it best - she is margot tenenbaum in the flesh with that white blonde hair

below: cate blanchett in givenchy couture; the circle was a bit weird but she pulled it off like the veteran she is

below: michelle williams in chanel haute couture; hair is perfect, dress fits perfect - redemption for the bad daisy dress at the globes

below: jennifer lawrence in calvin klein collection - bombshell!

help me choose: door pulls for the media console PART 2

thank you for all of your votes last week to help me choose the new door pulls for the media console. and...drumroll...the winner is the clear gemstone knob! i think they add just the right amount of flair for an already flaired-up piece of furniture.

i did it...i bought my tom fords

remember way back when when i first blogged about my obsession with the tom ford jennifers? weeeellllll, i finally bit the bullet and bought them for myself!! woot!!! i brought these bad boys home from nordstrom over the weekend and i can't get enough of them. i'm kiiiinda wondering if i should have gone with the brown/brown rather than the brown/bronze but they didn't have them in store. i may order them and return one...decisions, decisions.

below: brown/bronze

below: brown/brown

the look for less: stuart weitzmans or aldo

flare jeans and platform sandals are everywhere i look right now, and while i really appreciate the trend, i couldn't decide which pair of platform sandals to partake in until i found these over the weekend. i really love a wedge because of their versatility - good for work, good for a night out with nick, good for a concert outside at stubbs, good for running errands. remember when jennifer aniston wore stuart weitzman's alex wedges ($365) all last summer? these connally wedges from aldo are pretty much spot on (with the straps crossing in the back rather than in the front...no big) for a mere $50. the biggest decision here is do i want the taupe or the khaki?

below: taupe

below: khaki

a backyard vegetable garden

just like michelle obama said we should, nick and i spent our day off yesterday making a kitchen garden. we waited until the austin cold seems to have gone for good (it was in the 80s yesterday, woot!), scoped out the best spot in the yard and put in a 5x5 raised bed and a few pots full of broccoli, beans, brussels sprouts, asparagus (which btw takes three years to show any yield, wuh wuhuuu), peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and strawberries. we've also recently planted a fig tree, a peach tree, blueberries, grapes and a calamondon tree. pretty soon you might see us with a booth at the local farmers market (ok...not really). emilio was a very good helper...until he walked right through the garden in an attempt to catch a squirrel in a tree above. it has since been surrounded with chicken wire.






ps. here's a nice shot up emilio's nose. he loves mooching it up for the camera.

i'm currently coveting: rag and bone maxi skirt

when styled impecabbly like on blogger rachelle hruska in this month's lucky, the spring trend of maxi skirts is that much more appealing. i plan to embrace the trend as the temperatures rise steadily in austin over the next few weeks. the biggest hindrance? the price tag of those i've fallen in love with so far. rag & bone has some serious beauties, including this one for a hefty $395. i'm on a mission to find one just as gorge. anyone seen any good ones for less?

try on trip to forever 21 (via the internet)

sometimes i like to peruse the new arrivals at forever 21 to see if there's anything interesting. last night i spent a few minutes looking at the "view all" page of the new arrivals and decided i'd be trying on the following items if i can find them in store. have you found anything good at forevs lately?

below: woven panels tunic, $15.80

below: berries n cream contrast dress, $29.80

below: belted knit dress, $19.80

below: silk feathers top, $29.80

below: peace dove open cardigan, $17.80

below: sleeveless brush stroke top, $15.80

below: small basketweave leatherette bag, $22.80

below: circle embellished knit top, $19.80

below: falling flower top (also in white), $14.90

below: failing blossom tie up dress (also in blue), $18.90

grown up lucky charms

"When kept as a talisman, a horseshoe is said to bring good luck. Many believe that to hang it with the ends pointing upwards is good luck as it acts as a storage container of sorts for any good luck that happens to be floating by, whereas to hang it with the ends pointing down, is bad luck as all the good luck will fall out. Others believe that the shoe should be hung the other way, as it will then release its luck to the people around it."

i decided to take these words to heart and found myself two antique horseshoes at local store uncommon objects. they're dirty and most certainly used, and the perfect good luck charms to hang over our front door. i'm sure you're supposed to hang them outside and i'm sure i'm canceling out the good luck by hanging one each way, but whatevs. it's the thought that counts.



ps. the metallic gold marker in this pack came in handy when i handed nick white nails to use to hang rusty bronze horseshoes. oops. i promptly asked nick to do some coloring to try to make the nails blend in.

gypsy queen

the new swell catalog isn't something i usually pore over, but being laid up in bed all weekend from a minor teeny tiny surgical procedure (no, i didn't have a boob job) left me looking for reading material. if i were sixteen and still had the boobs i had back then, i'd definitely be rocking this little number, the gypsy 05 orian maxi dress for $168. you all know how much i love me some chevrons...

ps. happy valentine's day!

help me choose: door pulls for the media console

i blogged earlier this week about the new media console and how pumped i am that it has arrived. i decided i hate the door pulls it came with so i took a little trip to anthro on sunday for a few replacement options (great suggestion, erin!). help me choose which to use...even though i think i already have a favorite. let me know which one you like!

below: the orig/boooooooooring

below: ceramic melon knob in aqua

below: ceramic knob in linen

below: gemstone knob in clear