Adios.

highlights, thoughts...

-BF got the job that he's been chasing after since before college graduation. I'm so proud of him!

-We signed a lease in an area that we *love.* Already have pretend dinner and cocktail party plans at our new place.

-So close to launching project with Chelsey. Tieing up loose ends.

-My old friend Nick Espinosa (check out he & his cute wife's blog here) was featured on life hacker for easing up the pain of tracking finances.

-Probably not going to be blogging too much next week, as I'll be packing. :( slash :)

-I've been enjoying reading all my favorite blogs especially since Domino is in the can. I bet we'll see a bunch of new, fabulous design blogs coming out of the woodwork from all the former CondeNast'ers.

Have a great weekend!

photo by Scott Bush

Bleeding Type

Alberto Seveso.

saw it first at apartment therapy.

Song & Dance

No doubt you've seen this video today....

but here it is, just in case you hadn't.

Her Morning elegance by Oren Lavie

Your Funny Valentine

I got a good chuckle out of this litter press card. From messenger bird press.
There's a good amount of handpicked ValenTIMES day items here.

Forgive..

....Me for being a bad blogger. I had a great weekend in Austin. Chelsey and I are super close to launching our stuff. I don't know what is more exciting, that or watching LOST at the Alamo Drafthouse RIGHT NOW. Seeee ya.

Noooooooo..

DOMINO Magazine is folding. whaaa...?

She's Got Face

How crazy is that? Margaux Lange's Barbie Doll jewelry on etsy.

Balloons

I, like everyone else these days, loves what a big bunch of balloons can do for a picture.

1. http://www.joshgoleman.com/blog/
2. Vogue Feb. 2009
3. Miss Dior Cherie AD (this video is the cutest, too)

Today I'm off to Austin to hang out with old friends and work on the project. It will launch soon. I know it's kind of lame of me to keep mentioning it.. but life gets in the way of life.

Be cool and safe and happy.

Fast/Slow Small/Cool

It's been a hectic, crazy real-life week, therefore it's been a slow blogging week. Which is OKAY.

BF and I are in the middle of looking for a new apartment. Somewhere inside the loop. That's Houston-speak for cool. We're also downsizing--not by much, but.... here's a few inspiring, very small apartments that work (all from apartment therapy).

First one, 412-square feet in LA, California:



400-Square feet in Chelsea, New York:



595-square feet from Dallas, Texas:

Green Gloves

I liked them with the yellow.

Obama Cupcakes

Wish I could have eaten some of these today...

from Whole Foods blog.

Lawndale Art Center

In the space of absence | Kathy Kelley

John M. O'Quinn Gallery

“This project is composed of a series of visual explorations toying with the ideas of continuous consumption, the stunting of growth via unending wanting, the never ending suckling of consumer goods without fulfillment, in conjunction with some of Melanie Klein's object relations theory on personality development, envy and gratitude or lack thereof, her referencing of the experience of breast feeding as being determinant in much about who a person becomes (old theory coming on the heals of Freud but interesting). The work is a visceral response to this dissection of the incessant wanting of consumer culture on the self with each element becoming referential of the shadow self.” – Kathy Kelley

found sound (Public Music Reconnaissance) | Patrick Renner
January 23 – February 28, 2009

Mezzanine Gallery

Patrick Renner will present an installation consisting of found telephone poles with attached sound-harvesting devices. These mechanisms, based on the function of the standard music box, will be activated by all the leftover nails, staples, and hardware used to hang public notices of garage sales, lost pets, property listings, et al. The random melody the devices produce is the reinterpretation of imbedded information that we see all the time as we pass through the urban landscape.

The President

Barack Obama

Photography by Calle Shell

Book Covers I Love

http://bookcoverarchive.com/

Happy Commercial...

Ta Ta

AND Exhale.....

This week has been nuts. I now know what it's like to have zero time. The new job has kept me very busy. I pretty much pass out as soon as I get home!

Hope your weekend brings fabulosity. We're going to stick around Sugar Land and hang out with family and friends.

Best of luck to Alice who is running a half marathon in Phoenix this weekend!

Frock Your Closet

When I was in college, I came home one summer and worked at Frock Boutique in Houston. Frock carried pieces from smaller, foreign designers that became a huge hit with River Oaks ladies (both young and old). I LOVED working in such a calm space with the most friendly customers.

This past year, Frock closed it's doors but its owner, Marianne Mayeux has come up with a brilliant "GO GREEN!" idea for anyone who wants to keep up their look without spending a fortune.

Here's her new plan, straight from the horse's mouth:

Who says your wardrobe has to be in a recession, too?

Not I! Times are tough but we still want to look and feel great without breaking the bank. And those who really understand fashion know that a lot of money is not necessary for great style or an enviable closet.

Most of you know me from my boutique, Frock, which I closed recently. I am happy to announce that I'm venturing into personal styling and wardrobe/closet consulting. Although I'm no longer buying for a store, I'm now available to you personally and at an affordable hourly rate.

I started my first fashion business over 7 years ago, importing up-and-coming designer's creations from Milan and then in 2005 I opened Frock. These valuable endeavors, which taught me so much, along with my fashion expertise and organizational skills make this a natural fit.

In times like these it is ideal to optimize what you already own by repairing, altering or remaking garments, or by simply filling in some pieces to make your look current. Even adding a statement piece of jewelry may be all that's needed for a lift. You will be amazed at how far your wardrobe (and dollar) can stretch! But the absolute best thing about getting organized is how your mind also becomes clean; our closets and drawers can be symbolic of what's going on in our heads and in our lives.

I am pleased to offer the following services:

* Closet cleansing/wardrobe consultation
* Personal shopping
* Travel wardrobe shopping and/or packing
* Special event outfit coordination and/or shopping
* Outfit coordination

My fee for closet/drawer reorganization is $50 per hour with a 2 hour minimum. For all other services the fee is $40 per hour with a 1 hour minimum. I am flexible, with availability during the week and on weekends. Please feel free to pass this on to your friends and family.

Happy New Year-

Marianne Mayeux
Mobile: 713-412-7623
Email: mariannemayeux@yahoo.com

Reject, repair, recycle, renew!

Cool huh? I can tell you personally that she has a phenomenal sense of style and will make you flourish with your own.

Prospect 1: New Orleans

I couldn't think of the proper way to describe Prospect 1 New Orleans so I'll just copy/paste from their website:

Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1], the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States, opened to the public on November 1, 2008 in museums, historic buildings, and found sites throughout New Orleans.

During our visit in NOLA, we visited several of the P1 locations and my favorite was the one at the Contemporary Art Center. Three stories of large, New Orleans-inspired art. Much of it was a response to Katrina, but none of it felt exploitative.

From top to bottom:

Skylar Fein's Remember the Upstairs Lounge, a multimedia installation paying tribute to lives lost at the Upstairs Lounge Fire of 1973.

Tony Feher's (re:place), a placement several two-liter plastic bottles of orange soda in strategic places in the rafters of the Contemporary Arts Center atrium. That's it.
Apparently, it has become quite a puzzling conversation piece upon walking inside the building.

Shawne Major's War Channel and Eating Cake. I don't know where to start with these... the first one is a whole picture of one of her pieces, from afar. The size of the tapestries are 9 x 14 feet. The close-up shows that the tapestries are a collection of trinkets and toys, hand sewn onto layers and layers of fabrics.

BF in front of a piece I cannot remember who did it. It was really cool though, layers and layers of blueprint-y buildings.

Me in front of some pretend street art. Again, can't remember who I should give credit to for that one.

NOLA Eats + Drinks

Before we got to NOLA, BF was very adamant about eating tons of boudin, oysters, etc. And that we did. It wasn't part of our New Years Cleanse, but it was worth it.

Amazing oysters and boudin at both Desire & ACME Oysters. Different, famous and delicious. Desire allows you to sit on adorably 40's-style diner and watch the Bourbon St. Madness. (picture of dining room above)

Absinthe from Old Absinthe House Bar, or last stop on the Ghost Tour and super cute, authentic and not too touristy. The tour by the way, was hilarious and entertaining way to see the city. Highly recommended by me and the Travel Channel.

I had my first Louisiana Salty Dog at Herbsaint (gin & grapefruit juice, rimmed with sugar and salt). This place was right across from our hotel in the central business district, and was a trendy spot for the locals. Fantastic food, ambiance, etc.

Totally excited to find French Macarons at the cafe inside the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center! Mission Accomplished.

Irony

Thought I Would Share:

So I have had this blog for about nine months and never post pictures of the BF. I felt it was a little personal. I warmed up last week and posted a picture of him in a blog about Sugarbaby's Cupcake Boutique and low and behold, a random blog picks it up and calls it a "breakthrough" that a male was in this girly bakery. Sorry for exploiting you.

Nadine Blake

My absolute favorite shop in New Orleans was Nadine Blake's design shop. There is a good mix of local art, letterpress stationery, home textiles, etc. She also had an awesome Union Jack inspiration board.

I stocked-up on some cute letterpress cards, of which I cannot show because some of my readers might be receiving them soon.

The interesting thing about New Orleans was that EVERY SINGLE TIME I bought something, the owner sincerely thanked me for buying local and supporting New Orleans. I've got to admit, all the southern charm they laid on me made me not feel guilty about spending.

New Orleans, LA

Okay, I'm back. New Orleans was awesome. Even though it's a tourist-driven city, there's an overwhelming amount of local art, richly flavored food, Zydaco music and Quarter characters. We ate, drank, toured, shopped.. you name it. I'll be posting several highlights from our trip throughout the week.

I strongly urge you to visit New Orleans. Especially if you're a Texan. It's an easy, cheap weekend trip. They're hurting from Katrina and of course, the economy, but it's back. You won't get die from drinking the water or staying in the hotels. The shops, restaurants and museums are up-and-running and GREAT.

Sunday Catch Up

Well look at that. I haven't completely abandoned the Every Day Matters project. It's Sunday afternoon, I'm catching up with Google reader (which, I highly recommend to anyone who doesn't have it yet. Shameless plug: add me to your reader), and drinking espresso, a dangerous and rare event.

Here's a little bit about what's going on with me: no, I'm not moving to Mexico. I hate that I was "that person" who says all this stuff and didn't follow through. I hate those people! Although we had a fabulous time in Mexico it wasn't practical to move there. The plans that have not changed is that I am still inspired to follow my dreams and be happy. For the past two months I have been job-searching like a mad woman and turned down several not-so-enticing-but-decent positions to ensure that I would chose something that would ultimately lead me down a satisfying path.

I snatched a two-month contract position at an ad agency in Houston. I start tomorrow and am both nervous and excited about the next two months. They told me they would love the bring me on as a permanent employee later as long as they can survive in the economy. If it works out, great, if not, okay. I'm just excited to get a little more relevant experience under my belt.

How was your weekend? Mine was fab-u-lous. Lots of New Orleans stuff to come...

P.S. Photo is from San Miguel, not NOLA.

Always In Great Taste

While BF and I were apartment hunting last weekend (Houston, Seattle, Chicago? Where am I going to live in six weeks????), we came across the adorable Sugar Babies Cupcake Boutique. Okay, so the uber-girly decor may nauseate your male companion, but you can get the cupcakes to-go!

You must check it out if you're in the Kirby/Montrose Area. It's also next to a fantastic design shop with plenty of stationery goodies that will tug on your letterpressed heart strings.

Sugar Babies Cupcake Boutique
3310 S. Shepherd
Houston, TX 77098