a belated weekend

 

*images from Sarah Gee

Apparently I got caught up in all my weekend festivities I didn't even post on Friday!  My friends have been in town two weekends in a row and I've been showing them around town.  Last week was Sarah (pictured above), this week is Cathy and her friend Mai.  Anyhow, here are some belated links for your weekend!  Caution: lots of Texas pride in this post!

+ If you're throwing a party and not sure how to set it up and style it, check out EveryGirl's how-to on the matter here.  I think it's a great guide!

+ I'm a proud Texan.  And a proud Wildcat.  I worked my butt off in high school, probably harder than I ever worked in college.  That's because our school district ranks #2 in the nation of Most Posh Public School Systems in America.  Following us is a school district in Bethesda, near where I work now, and Houston, the city of my alma mater.

+ For all the typography nuts out there (or if you're just bored this Monday), play this web game called I Shot the Serif.  Haha, so much fun!

+ Who are you following on Pinterest?  Most likely not too many males, but there are actually quite a few out there.  Here's Mashable's Top 10 Men on Pinterest list - 2 of them are from Texas (Dallas and Austin), and of course my favorite Will of Bright Bazaar.

+ Love this super slow motion video of ballet dancers in 1000 frames per second called Le Vent.

Happy Friday!

The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom - hooray!  It's a bit early (so I hear), but I'm happy to see things growing on the bare branches again.  Here are some links for your weekend!

whoa, it's 2012.

I can hardly believe it.  The end of last year went by like a whirlwind, and now it's the beginning of another. I know it's been a while, so here are some highlights from the last few months:

• I got the wonderful opportunity to start working at Holly Chapple Flowers with some of these amazing ladies (and man!).  On a side note, I am so sad dahlia season is over.
• I experienced the most gorgeous autumn ever!  I also hiked at Shenandoah National Park for the first time.

{on the road} ready, set, go!

In 2 hours, I'll be on the road to my new home in Arlington, Virginia, some 20 hours away.

The past 4 days since the previous post have been absolutely insane. The amount of packing and unpacking I've done is ridiculous, and I have proof, but first - here's a tid bit about packing:


Over the years of moving and traveling, I've found that the most efficient way to pack a suitcase is to roll up tees and tanks into the crevices of the luggage.

p-p-p-party every day

Who doesn't love a good party? I believe there is always a reason to celebrate. In this case, it was to celebrate the end of a season. Cathy and I decided to throw an intimate party for our friend's band, Tim Be Told (check them out if you haven't!) as they closed their tour in Houston.

We made a map plotting the cities they had gone to & made labels for the food and beverages on chalkboard paper. You can find these 4x6" postcards at Paper Source (Cathy and I's frequented favorite store).

Eric graciously individually squeezed each lemon to make a delicious watermelon lemonade (smitten kitchen). So, enough of the prep pics -- here are some snaps from the party!

 

The main menu included honey barbecue ribs, oven-roasted asparagus, mixed salad, mashed potatoes, fried eggrolls, korean ribs, kim chi & seaweed.

renegade craft fair: austin {recap}

This weekend I had the great pleasure of going to the renegade craft fair in Austin (and, of course, I dragged some reluctant friends there as well). I met so many talented artists and was definitely inspired to (maybe) start an etsy of sorts for myself. Magnolia Photobooth Co set up a booth there with lots of props, so my friends and I took the liberty of getting some free prints. (:

I can honestly say that every booth there was full of talent and innovation. I can't believe I didn't go last year! There's not enough room to display all the talent in this post, but here are a few of my favorites that I saw at the show.

feast your eyes: macarons

{photo by Joline Fransson}

{photo by anitah}

{photo by Katie Snookums}

indeed, macaroons are a delectable french treat.
i tried some americanized ones this past weekend in austin, texas at a shop called la boîte, which had more exotic flavors, but my favorite was the chocolate pistachio. there's just something about the texture that was still different from the ones in France.

my favorites so far that i've tried are from ladurée or pierre hermé, but the real experience was what I had last summer during my study abroad in France. i got a chance to live with a wonderfully charming French family and lived with 2 brothers and a sister. what luck that my 14-year-old brother was in school and learning to be a chef. they rotate between classes (where he learns english, too!) and working a restaurant. needless to say, he made some a-mazing desserts.

with my limited French, we still managed to make macaroons together one afternoon.

delicious apricot macaroons made by a 14-year-old and an amateur French speaker. not too shabby, right?

superbowl sunday recap

i'll admit i wasn't super excited for the big game this year. in fact, i hardly even knew what teams were playing. regardless, it was a great excuse to cook and try out a few recipes i've had on my list.

first up was smitten kitchen's sweet & smoky oven spareribs which, let me tell you, was a handful. it takes 6 hours to bake + prepping, which ended up taking about 7 hours. i gathered a couple friends to help me out with the manual labor. we made about 6-7 lbs of ribs (even though we bought 10)

and the final product :)

 also on the menu was pioneer woman's fancy macaroni which was deelish and very very cheesy. the menu calls for 4 different kinds of cheeses, but i couldn't find fontina cheese and substituted it for mozerella. i'm not a huge fan of bacon either, but it worked well with the dish.

 and a little personal update - i got a haircut!

i cut off 8", added some layers, and a little bang action.

for you houstonians, i had it cut at venus salon for $20.

 

b h l d n

i am so excited for anthropologie slash urban outfitters new line for WEDDINGS launching on, of course, valentine's day - february 14th! here are some sneak peak photos of the line called b h l d n (pronounced "beholden")

  

 

 GASP! so wonderful. this is most definitely what i'm looking forward to most this valentine's day.

Ivory Bridal Atelier | Houston

Check out this exquisite new bridal boutique in Houston called Ivory Bridal Atelier located in Upper Kirby. It is just gorgeous with dark wood floors and mirrors everywhere.

Photo via (Morgan Lynn Photography)

They also feature 2 large dressing suites that any bride-to-be would feel right at home, but you have to make an appointment to snag one! This chic bridal boutique was founded by two sisters, Ronit & Sharon Levy. Check out an article about their new store in Houston Modern Luxury Brides magazine.

This is definitely on my list of boutiques to visit when that special day comes around.

welcome, guests

So here I am, opening up a new chapter of life. With you!

My best friends came in town from Austin, Texas last weekend and I made some treats to prepare for their arrival. It was Vickie and Tina’s birthday last week, so I bought some blueberry pie from House of Pies for Vickie and I made this toasted almond granola found on Joy the Baker’s blog. It was dee-lish.

I also pooled some of my own resources to make these popsicle stick name flags to label each cup of granola.

What a great, refreshing weekend with the girls.

My hopes for this blog is to post something new each day whether it be design, typography, weddings, decor, travel, photography, food, or deals to save you some $$. I can’t wait to share with you the little things in life that I enjoy - and I hope you enjoy it too!

<3 meg