Travel Shoes!

These are the shoes I ended up getting. They're made by Clark's. Initially I got some cute Cole Haan shoes with Nike Air technology, thinking they would bring me the most comfort, but then I tried these on and I was blown away.

I wanted to get some super comfy shoes because when we were in Paris I wore crappy Ann Taylor flats and I wanted to end my life by the second day.

I'll be walking several miles a day around Austin (next week) and Washington D.C. (in May) with a group of people and we have to dress professional, meet with politicians and represent Good ol' Fort Bend County. I don't know who we're meeting in D.C., but we'll be meeting with Texas Governor Rick Perry next Tuesday.

.. and i think I'm done posting about shoes for awhile.

NEED HELP! Shoe Advice!

Last weekend was my mama's birthday! I wore heels for six hours straight and am still paying the price for it! My feet STILL HURT.

I'm just coming to realize that all my shoes are cheap, archless and terrible for me. I'm committed to finding some ergonomic, comfortable shoes. There's Sofft and Naturalizer...looking kind of similar. But, I really fell in love with these Clarks, although a way too casual for my purposes.

I'm going to Austin and DC in the next few months for a thing and have to dress up and walk around the city. Yikes. I have yet to find cute, comfortable heels under $200. Do they exist? Please tell me!

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.

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.

Sick Excitement

I woke up at 5:00 am today. This is unusual because I've been sleeping in until 10:30'ish on days that I do not work. The early rise is a mix of excitement for New Orleans (we leave tonight, stay overnight at the BF's grandparent's Lake house, leave for NO tomorrow, arrive in early afternoon) and the Theraflu I drank last night that made me pass out at 9:00 PM (I'm feeling all sore-throaty).

Even though our destination is only five hours away, I feel like it's a different country because come on, it is. CAJUN COUNTRY. Yes, good jokes in the a.m.

Thanks to the New Orleans D*S guide (+ reader comments) and the Domino Magazine Shopping Guide, I'm in good hands.

P.S. If you're traveling anywhere, a good up-to-date resource for delicious eats, and trendy, unique shopping is the Design*Sponge guides. I look at the Houston one all the time, and I live here. Check out the full list here.

New Orleans photo from David Paul Ohmer.

See Ya.

Today is my last day at the current temp job. It's been real...stupid. Ha, no.. I'm thankful that I got a nice little five-weeker in so that I don't have to tap into my savings (said savings only exists because of my dear Suze Orman).

I'm spending my day researching for our trip to New Orleans (which we may take next weekend?). The BF's parents gave it to us for Christmas and we're super-pumped. Maybe we'll go see Benjamin Button to build the NOLA anticipation. And finish A Confederacy of Dunces(I'm the worst).

Anyway, we have Very New Orleans: A Celebration of History, Culture, and Cajun Country Charm, the beautifully illusrated guidebook by Diana Hollingsworth Gessler to bring us to the best food, shopping and sights. Are there any off-the-beaten-path places that are the bee's knees??

P.S. Be Cool.

Whhhaa???

Venice is underwater and everyone is just hanging out. Normal.

Lake House Scene

Here's what I drove away from this morning.

We had a great weekend at the lake house. I hated getting up early to drive into Houston. It was so cold. Girl has got to work though-- I'm temping right now. Still looking for jobs in the right city.

Mexico is still an option, just not as strong. Turns out I would need a lot of money or already be fluent in Spanish to live there. It's not off the table though. I'm exploring options in other cities such as Austin, Chicago, San Fransisco, Portland, Seattle, etc..

More SMA Food

There was so much delicious food to enjoy without breaking the bank. It was nice to be somewhere where the dollar wasn't worthless.

1. chicken drenched in chipotle pepper sauce with mango salsa-- this was my favorite meal of the whole trip. From La Posadita on the Jardin.

2. All the spices that accompanied my 70.00 peso chicken soup ( 5.32 USD). Fresh and AMAZING!

3. the chicken soup all it's garnishes

4. spicy chicken

5. gourmet chocolates in EVERY flavor: Cinnamon, coffee, ginger, chile.. you name it.

6. warm pink pastries

Fortunately we walked everywhere and burned those pastry and chocolate calories right off. If anyone goes to San Miguel and is looking for good traditional Mexican food, I HIGHLY recommend La Posadita. The restaurant has two levels, one of which is a huge rooftop terrace that will either give you a view of the Parroqia, a 15th century church or the Mexican hillside sprinkled with colorful Spanish-style buildings.

Since I've been home, I've had Mexican food approximately six times: Berry Hill, Fajita Flats, Los Tios, Chipotle to name a few. Chelsey and I decided that Mexican food is just 'regular food'.

back back back

Okay, so we're back from Mexico. It was a very interesting trip. First of all, our luggage never made it, but we manged after rummaging through my grandparents' clothes and buying a few basics from the grocery store (white v-neck tee) and the Mexican markets. We got to know the streets of San Miguel pretty well, finding our favorite places to start the day and to end the day.

It was a blast capturing all the colors of this culture and I can't wait to share it with you guys over the next week or so. I have tons of food, flowers and interior shots.

Also.. my Grandmother's poodle had a litter of seven puppes while we were there, it really made our trip special to be able to play with poodle puppies every day!

We were also excited to come home to election night. Wow.. all of the footage from the Chicago Obama rally was completely striking. No words other than gracious could have described McCain's speech. I personally felt that either of them would have made positive changes ( at a very tough job), but I am more excited to see what Obama's going to do for our country.

2007 San Miguel Interiors

I should be in San Miguel. I don't know if I'll be blogging from Mexico, but I set up a few posts for the this week. Here's a peek from my trip to SMA last year...



I went to San Miguel for Spring Break with two of good friends from college. My grandmother, who dabbles in real estate down there, was asked by friend if she could house sit while she was in the states. It was great timing, because the week this lady needed a house sitter, three poor college students arrived by bus and saved the day. We got to stay at this amazing casita for free:) TRES ANGELITAS!

I'm going to try to walk you through the house.. Here's the front.... We pretty much died when we fund out our house was green and purple.


Walk into a nice outdoor courtyard, loved the cobalt blue chairs.


Looking up from the courtyard...


Step inside the first room: view to courtyard & fireplace...


Look to the other side of the room and see the interior courtyard with fountain...


Next room: adorable, tiled kitchen...


Kitchen table with skylights...



Going upstairs with cheerful walls...


Master bedroom, where we all slept and sometimes watched weird television ....



View from the roof...



and there you have it! I'm going to try to get some good pictures of my gramndmother's house. It's much more muted and mature, without losing its Mexican flavor. Adios chicos.

Hey, It Stopped Raining...

So, for the past two months I've looked up the weather forcast for San Miguel and every single day has had a little rain/lightning icon. So I looked up when the raining season would be over and to my luck and surprise it's this very week. Clear skies from here on out. Looks like I'll be packing my sunnies and leaving the umbrella at home.

I am soooo excited. I feel bad for my traveling sidekick, he'll be sitting on a 20-hour bus ride with a broken ankle and crutches. He insists that the show must go on. What a trooper.

Anthony Bourdain Captures Spain, My Heart

Yesterday I saw Anothony Bourdain: No Reservations - Spain. This is by far one of my favorite shows on television. I wish I could find more information on all the chef's he visited with while in Spain. Bourdain describes the Spain episode as "some of the purest, hardest, straight-to-the-action, food porn."

Obviously, it was the chocolate segment that really did me in. Choclatier Enric Rovira of Barcelona sculpts, shaves, airbrushes and melts his chocolate into art. It's basically Easter eggs for the rich.

Wishful Packing

San Miguel de Allende by explauren

I'm beyond excited about my "checkin' it out" trip to San Miguel. It looks like we might be there for 8-10 days and for Day of the Dead. Unfortunately, that region of Mexico is experiencing the rainy season, but at this point I cannot be picky. I'm definitely looking forward to cooler weather. I've packed my dream bag-- a debt-inducing jumble of items that would keep me dry walking through the cobblestone streets and a little delusional considering some of these items are 4X my rent.

peacock umbrella
Vanessa Bruno T-Shirt Dress
Burberry Privet Trench Coat
Olympus Stylus 850 SW waterproof camera
Marc by Marc Jacobs square-face watch
skinny jeans
chunky scarf
Longchamp Pliage waterproof bag
Wellington boots

I'm accepting donations :)

Going Good.

I think I've missed being stressed out. It's been fun scrambling around looking for a temporary job, trying to plan a move to Mexico and maintain a social life. I'm just now realizing that the last few months I've been too comfortable with my situation.

I have a job interview today for an upscale restaurant in Houston's upper-Kirby district. I'm looking forward to that job because I'll actually get dress up! The construction industry doesn't care for fashion.

Also have a tentative interview for a temp job tomorrow. That will be much more boring, but hey-- mama's got to pay her bills.

We've got a date set for a San Miguel de Allende trip. We're going for a week to check things out to see if it's realistic for us to move there. I'm convinced I will move there by Feb. 2009. I've been a tad jealous of friends who were able to study abroad and actually learn a language and live in another country. In honor of the Mexican excitement I made some Spanish carmel flan over the weekend.

Shaking Things Up

So, yesterday I found out I'm getting laid off. I had been anticipating this for a few months now, considering the housing and construction market is down and my company's success depends on it. To be frank, I was relieved when I heard. I was reaching the point where I wasn't happy here and was ready for a career change. It couldn't have been at a better time:

- just told myself I was going to cut back on eating at restaurants
- The weather is cool, don't need AC anymore
- don't mind shopping vintage
-don't have kids, house payments or car payments
-saved, saved, saved my money just for something like this.
-can take a cheap, bus ride vacay to San Miguel de Allende with the BF.. finally.

I'm totally looking forward to finding another job in a new city. I know it might be hard in this economy, which is why PLAN B is amazing-- head to Mexico and learn Spanish.

I figure since my grandmother lives in Mexico, I might as well take advantage of the opportunity to relax and learn Spanish. I need that bi-lingual edge when I start applying for jobs again.

e.x.c.i.t.e.d.

p.s. if you know anyone hiring Media, PR, Advertising, Writing.. holla.

The Menger Hotel

My favorite stop in San Antonio was the Menger Hotel (1859) located downtown, next to the Alamo. In 1898, Teddy Roosevelt used the bar to recruit Rough Riders which fought in Cuba in the Spanish-American War.

The first picture is from the bar, an exact replica of the House of Lords Pub in London. We had a couple of drinks there and chatted with the bartender, who dispelled the rumors we had heard about bullet holes in the wall from Teddy Roosevelt. The hotel also holds the unofficial title of "The Most Haunted Hotel in Texas" and claims to host 32 different spirits including Richard King of the King Ranch.

The second two pictures are of the lobby:

1.My feets and the tile.
2.My pixelated face and the lobby. Kinda creepy, right?

Click on the lobby picture and you might get an idea of how fabulous the wallpaper is. Reminded me of the movie Atonement.