Trips to Austin.

Two out of the past three weekends we have headed up to Austin.  Our first trip was for Sawyer's first birthday party!  On the way to Austin that trip, we stopped off in Lockhart for two things:  (1) Barbecue at Kruez Market (one of the top 5 places in Texas for BBQ); and (2) a little antique shopping.  I ended up scoring one of my favorite finds ever -- here's a not-so-subtle hint.  It's so swoon-worthy, it deserves its own post!

We went back to Austin last weekend for a friend's wedding.  The wedding was early in the day on Saturday, which left us the rest of the weekend to enjoy a city that we love so much (and to try out some great eats too).  We went to dinner at La Traviata, which was wonderful.    

(photo: la traviata)

It was such a nice night, so we took a stroll down to the Capitol after dinner. 

Of course, the Capitol itself is amazing, but it's also special to us because we got engaged there.  Justin proposed right by the rose garden (over 8 years ago).

After our romatical (yep, that's a word) walk around the Capitol, we were in the mood for something sweet.  Actually, I was the one craving dessert, and Justin knows it's better just to go along with it rather than fight it.  So he was up for getting something too.  After some quick searching for the best place, we ended up at Gourdough's.

I'm almost too embarrassed to admit that they serve massive donuts loaded up with more super unhealthy things like icing, bacon, brownie batter, cake batter, candy, etc. (not all on the same donut though -- please, let's not get carried away here).  Check out their menu.

(photo: gourdough's)

The next morning, we walked around UT's campus and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  It was so fun to cruise around and reminisce with Justin (and to see all of the changes around campus).       

(note: the water in the fountain is usually not green!)

After our campus tour, we stopped by Uncommon Objects, which is a pretty amazing vintage store.  I could've spent hours in there browsing around, but I knew Justin had cookies on his mind. . . . When we were in college, we ordered tasty chocolate chip cookies from Tiff's Treats, a place that would deliver warm freshly-baked cookies to your door (with milk too), which is nothing short of heavenly when you live in a dorm room.  So before we headed home, we stopped by to enjoy them for old times' sake.

We've been having beautiful weather here!  Hope you have too.  I'll be back with my fab find! 

Organized Kitchen Pantry.

I mentioned a while back that Megan from Honey We're Home came over to help me get my mess of a pantry in order.  I have no excuse on why it took me so long to post the after-pictures, other than I just flat out forgot to!  But I'm happy to report that the pantry looks the same today as it does in the after-photos below! 

I think the pictures speak for themselves on what an amazing job she did!  Sadly, I never knew how bad it really was until looking at these before pictures.  {Shudder}  Prepare yourselves. 

And after Megan worked her magic . . . 

Seriously, what a difference!  Through the organizing process, I learned that I have a problem buying canned pumpkin (I won't disclose how many cans I had; but there was a time when there was a pumpkin shortage and I felt that I needed to "stock up").  Megan probably thinks I'm a little loony!  I also learned that Justin has a problem buying baggies in bulk in various sizes, freezer bags, non-freezer bags, etc.  Now that we can actually see what all we have, it's a lot easier not to buy things that we don't need. 

Look at all of that empty space!  We threw some things away and there were some things that did not belong in the pantry, but it's amazing how having things organized gives you some more usable space that you never knew you had.  (Perfect for storing more Trader Joe's goodies that I will get on our upcoming San Diego trip!)  It really is nice now that everything has its place.  Before, that was clearly not the case -- as the pictures above demonstrate! 

We were able to add some additional wine storage in our pantry, which was greatly needed.  It also freed up some space for us to put a recycle bin in there.

Now that things are organized, it's so much easier to keep it nice and neat.  So a big thanks to Megan for being so sweet and helping me tackle the pantry! 

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!  We headed to Austin.  I'll be back with a recap!

Office Fabric.

I was all ready to make a decision for fabric for window treatments in our office.  After a couple of weeks of having the samples hung, I am no more certain today of which one I like better (possibly even less so) than I was on day one.  I keep waffling back and forth between two choices, but I'm ready to pull the trigger and get this show on the road!  So I thought I would ask my awesome readers for a little input.  Here are the two options . . .

Option 1:

Theo (in citrine) by P. Kaufman

Option 2:

Premier Prints Chipper

We will do drapes on this window and roman shades on the french doors that lead out to our back porch (which obviously aren't pictured here).  



And not to get sidetracked, but see the wooden "at" symbol below?  It's my latest HomeGoods find -- I couldn't pass it up for $12.99!

I think there are some pros and cons for each fabric, but I will keep those to myself so I don't sway any votes!  And one final picture . . .

So which fabric do you like the best?

Or if you have other ideas, feel free to let me know -- I'm all ears!  Thanks in advance for your input!

Guild Shop Chandelier.

Remember the chandelier from the Guild Shop I previously blogged about here and here?  Justin hung it this weekend!  I originally was going to hang it in our entry way, but after thinking about it some more, decided there may be better places where it would be more visible.  So we cruised around the house looking for other options.  Justin actually came up with the idea to hang it where we did.  And he was totally right -- he's a keeper!  He hung it on our second floor in the little area between our kitchen and dining room (and right outside of the powder room).  Here's the view of it as you get on the second floor.

I love the touch of glam it adds to an otherwise boring hallway.  In case you're curious, that archway over there to the left is where the powder room is.

This is the view from the opposite direction looking into the dining and living room from the kitchen.  If you look closely you can see Justin lounging in the living room admiring his handiwork.  (It's like a game of Where's Waldo without the red stripes and glasses!)  And for the record, our kitchen is not sherbet green -- the lighting wasn't ideal.

We ended up just replacing the candle covers and adding some more crystal prisms (there were quite a few missing).   There's now a mix of the old crystals and new ones, but since I was able to find nearly identical crystals online, you can't tell the difference.

{Side note: see those flowers in the background by the mirror?  I recently went to the dentist to get my first-ever cavity filled and was pretty nervous thanks to a terrible wisdom teeth removal experience.  Justin had a gorgeous bouquet of tulips, hydrangeas, roses and lilies delivered to my office before I went to help calm my nerves.  Super sweet!} 

But back to the chandy . . . as Justin said, "it's pretty baller to have a chandelier in your hallway."  And I couldn't agree more! 

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Houston Home Crush.

Remember this fabulous Houston home that I was still am slightly obsessed with?  Well, I recently came across another amazing Houston home, via the Newlywed Diaries, which was featured in Lonny last year.  Like the previous house, this one is also a perfect example of mixing traditional and modern.

I just want to sit down in the perfectly worn leather chair and read a book (or just admire the space).

The pops of pink work beautifully in this room! 

 
See that gorgeous antique secretary back there?  They repurposed it as a bar!  Genius!  I love that the stemware is displayed behind the glass.  And I spy gray and white stripey straws! 

How stunning is the dining room?  What an unexpected color, but it works so well with the white.  The table and chairs are lovely.  I am totally digging that chandelier. 

What a fabulous view looking back into the living room.  I would always want to sit on that side of the table!  How fun are the rug and the lamp globe in the entry way?  Everything works together so seamlessly.   

Of course, the kitchen is great too.  Love the open shelving and all of the natural light.  And check out the floor!

The bedroom is just fabulous.  The bedding is so pretty with the scalloped edging.  I'm also loving the gallery wall above the bed.

Who doesn't want a fireplace in the bedroom?  This one is styled just beautifully.

The wallpaper just screams glamorous!  And the glossy black door is a showstopper.  

One thing I noticed in nearly every room were well-styled vignettes (and fantastic gallery walls).  How pretty are these?
 

(photos: lonny)

It is so fun to get to peak inside some local homes that are absolutely gorgeous.  This house makes me want to put up several gallery walls, as well as scour craigslist and thrift stores for some antiques! 
 

West Elm.

How amazing has West Elm been recently?  There was a period of time when nothing really did anything for me there.  I am pretty sure the exact opposite is true now!  And it looks like I'm not the only one . . . Elsa, Michelle, and Cassie all did posts this last week on their West Elm favorites.  I have had my post in the works for a while now and thought it was so funny to see their posts too -- I guess great minds think alike.  (I thought about not doing my post any more after seeing theirs, but I enjoyed seeing what things catch everyone's eye.)

Here are some of the things that rock my world:

striped shower curtain

iznik bath mat

porcelain trays

porcelain tumblers

measuring cups

owl measuring cups

modernist mugs and bowls (these are very anthropologie-ie)

side table

tealight holders

ruffle pillow

pleated pillow

dhurrie rug

Some of these things have made their way into our house! I'm excited to show you them to you!