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

this one's for amber: closet tour

i had a special request come in last week from my colleague amber. she begged and pleaded (slash kinda suggested) that i post a little tour of my closet. while i do think this is a fun way to check out what's in my toolkit, nothing is the same as going in an rifling around. am i right? how awesome is it to root through your BFFs closet and borrow to your heart's content? anyway, i hope you enjoy the tour and one day get to come over and check it out in person!

here's the video tour with a still version below for those of you without video/sound capabilities at work...i couldn't get it to fit in the window, so you can watch it on youtube by right clicking.

below: behind closed doors

below: the broad view

below: the hanging shoes...the ones i don't wear as often

below: shelves full of jeans and cardis, plus racks of blouses and tanks

below: racks of warm sweaters and sweats, plus racks of dresses, skirts, pants and jackets

below: the shoes i wear most often alongside a stack of scarves

below: dresses flanked by skirts/pants and blouses - my fave fancy bags on the top shelf

below: a basket full of clutches and smaller bags