weekending it up

me and nick at salt lick mid-bbq coma

nick and i had an absolutely fantastic weekend with my bff in the entire world and her husband. katie and warren came for a visit from their new home of LA and we did our best to show them the highlights of austin. you'd think we'd be pros by now, but i still get worried we won't be able to show how awesome austin is with just one short weekend. we spent friday night on the east side (takoba, the good knight, cheer up charlie's), saturday at salt lick, mandola...ahem...duchman winery and dinner at uchi (best hot rock evvvveerrrr), and yesterday was more relaxing with breakfast/lunch at tacodeli and a freezing/wet walk around s. congress and mt. bonnell.

i miss katie tremendously and can't wait to plan a trip out to LA to see her new home. hearts!!!

the guest room vision: almost done

it's been a few months since we moved in and the guest room is almost done. remember when i had visions of the viceroy santa monica dancing in my head? well, i'm on my way there. i'm still looking for a new bedframe, i want to spruce up the white curtains with something (although i'm not sure what), and there are a few details here and there that i'd like to refine. but overall, i'm digging it. who wants to come visit and spend a few nights in that cozy bed? eh? bueller?

before: the blank slate

after: on my way to the viceroy (kinda)

DIY: i love me some chevrons

remember when i posted about how much i love chevron curtains? well, since i haven't figured out how/if i'm going to create them for the guestroom i decided to whip out the sewing machine and add some chevron flair in a smaller way. i bought this sewing machine about a month ago to have for my mom's visits to austin (she's a master and loooooooves when i give her hemming, curtain trimming and other jobs when she comes to visit...note sarcasm) and decided it was about time i figure out how to use it.

i spent practically an entire day teaching myself how to thread the dang thing, then how to sew a straight line, then muddled my way through actual creation.

and i must say, i'm pretty dang proud of myself! and i know my mom's proud, too.

i love you, chevrons.

ps. i got the fabric here.

DIY: giving an old chair new life

i searched craigslist for about a month looking for an old armchair. i knew i wanted something for the guest room but couldn't find anything off the shelf that i really loved (or wanted to spend that much money on...armchairs are expensive!) so turned to craiglist for something previously loved. i found this guy for $40 from a woman who inherited it from her grandpa. it was no masterpiece but i knew it was a diamond in the rough. i spent a few days sanding, cleaning, scraping, gluing, removing rogue nails, etc...


i was mid-paint when i started wondering if i should paint it yellow to be a bright statement in the white/yellow/purple guest room...but decided to keep it white and repaint it later if i still wanted to.

and voila! the finished piece. there are a few more details, too, which i'll share later this week.

my favorite blogs

similar to how i started off 2010, i thought i'd start 2011 with a round up (in no particular order) of some of my favorite blogs. i found all of these in the past year and i can't get enough. i only hope to one day be as successful and creative in the blogging world as they are (if only i had more time and energy to put into it!!). enjoy.

copy cat chic

reichel is a master at finding looks for less when it comes to the home. she blows me away regularly with the things she finds - it's definitely a blog to visit once a week, at least. reichel regularly answers reader questions, too, which is always fun.


blank white frames
jen at blank white frames is so freakin' cute. she lives in dallas, works in fashion, and is someone who comes up with really great outfits, amazing finds on etsy, and regularly highlights the newest trends. i think what i like most about reading her blog every day is her enthusiasm.

flourish
jessica at flourish has a really great eye. i dunno what it is about her, i just like to visit her blog every day. maybe it's because she is open, honest and completely real. she also has unique DIYs, i love her handwritten "weekend agendas" on fridays, and just overall good taste.

nuestra vida dulce
all i can say about joi is she's AWESOME! she's had a huge year with winning blog/interior design contests, making an appearance on the nate berkus show, contributing to a local tv show about entertaining/home decor, and she's got an impeccably-decorated home. she's a regular source of inspiration for me as i decorate my home, and i especially like to see how she evolves each room over time as her tastes change ('cause we all know our taste change...).


atlantic-pacific
blair's style is incredible, to say the least. i can't get over the ensembles she puts together and i can only dream to one day have as much style as she has. her combinations of inexpensive trendy items with staple investment pieces are enough to make any woman swoon with "ohmygod i wish i could pull that off" whispers. MUST. READ. she doesn't post every day so the anticipation of her next one makes her outfits that much more exciting.


young house love
the husband/wife bloggers at YHL are the cutest and funniest ever. i really enjoy that they tag-team the posting so you get to see both personalities shine through. they loyally document every little thing they do as they turn their house into a home. and i also really enjoy the anecdotes about their baby daughter clara and doggy burger (short for hamburger and he has his own blog). they just moved in to their second home and i'm pumped to see what they create.

back to reality...with a new watch!

hi!

i hope you all had as wonderful of a holiday as i did. it was a really great week and half off and i am so so so so so sad that the christmas decorations came down. even though a new year always means a fresh start and the beginning of something new and unknown, i always spend the first week of january just a little bit sad.

but the good thing about going back to reality is that i'm doing it with my BRAND NEW CARTIER WATCH courtesy of the husband of the year. he completely shocked me with this bad boy for christmas and i think i'm still not believing it's real. i guess my not-so-subtle hints that i wanted him to hand-me-down his own made him go one step further.


i feel weird "bragging" about my new watch, but f*ck it, i'm doing it anyway. typically i like to write about the favorite gift i gave so i'll do that too.

gift certificate for my parents to have a yummy dinner in charleston (where they have a newish condo) at the renowned peninsula grill

glass piggy bank from viva terra for my sister ($39)

gilded herringbone toms for my sister, sister-in-law, and cousin ($54)

ps. only five more days til my bff of all time, katie, comes to visit with her hubby warren. yay!
pps. if you're wondering what my new years resolution is, i don't make them. to shop more?

meeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrryyyyyy chriiiiiiiiiiistmaaaaaas!

merry christmas, peeps! nick and i are off to spend the holidays (and my dad's birthday!) with family and i couldn't be more excited. i'm even a tiny bit excited to have some cold weather, believe it or not. although the 82 degree temp the other day was awesome, i really miss the prospect of a snowy christmas and a big coat and mittens while packing the car full of santa's surprises.

i'll be taking a little blog hiatus to enjoy time with my loved ones (you're loved, too, just in a different way), getting some much-needed r&r, and working on some big DIY projects (blog posts to come). wishing you the merriest of christmases and here's to a very happy 2011. i'm looking forward to what the new year will bring.

see you in january, loves. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

ps. don't worry, it might look like emilio is unhappy in his elf hat, he's really ok. he even fell asleep in it until the bell on top rang him awake.