In the mood?

I love putting together mood boards for people.  Design boards, idea boards.  Whatever you want to call it, I love it.  Give me the choice between a chocolate cake and spending hours and hours decorating someone's house, and I'll choose to go hungry. 

I rarely start with a blank room, unless I'm just being creative for the hell of it.  I always start with the basics..pieces of furniture or accessories that my friends own and want to keep.  It ranges from rug selection to redecorating an entire bedroom.  And most of what I put together is available to purchase for a reasonable price.  Unless you have an unlimited budget or just want ideas.  And then I go crazy. 

Here are a few that I've put together lately. If you are interested, let me know!

Allison asked me for help with a new rug in her living room.  She has the sofa and chair, and she had just gotten an accent chair upholstered in the black and white zig zag fabric.  Just for fun, I threw in a few other accessories that she loved!   

Noel is dying to have this leather sofa from Restoration Hardware, so I thought it would be fun to put together a room around it.  I fell in love with the Red Cross flag from Emily Henderson's house and I thought it would be perfect for them. 

My friend Lindsay is expecting a baby boy soon and asked me for help with the nursery.  One of their rooms already has a log-cabin-type wallpaper that they wanted to keep so I went with the rustic camping look without going too crazy and themey.  I hate themey.  I think I just made that word up.

Brandon and Lindsey (a different Lindsey) are in the process of redecorating their bedroom.  I put together a few different looks for them, and then found the floral fabric at Calico Corner and decided to go with it.  They have already purchased the bedding, reupholstered a chaise in the floral fabric and purchased lamps.  When we're done I'll post before and after pics! 

Thank you, DVR.

I feel the need to review the Grammy's.  If for no other reason than the fact that it was a trainwreck.  You know me, I love a good trainwreck. 

And no, I'm not going to comment on Barbara Streisand.  I don't like her.  At one point in my life, I was told I looked like her.  More specifically, I think they said "you have her nose."  I'm not sure, because at that point, I was already hyterically crying and I couldn't hear what else was coming out of their mouth.  And just for that, ole Barb went into the small little black place in my heart with other people I don't like.  Like Andie McDowell. 

My top 10 Grammy thoughts of 2011:

1.  There was no need for the hour long Aretha Franklin montage.  Snooze fest.  The best part about it was when Christina fell at the end.  I thought, surely she is going to knock it out of the park, seeing as she needed to make up for the Superbowl fiasco.  But nope, the song ends and she busts her ass.  HILARIOUS!  We even rewound it to watch it again.  My sister said she must have been tripped by the ghost of Francis Scott Key.  Love it.

2.  Aretha needs to fire her stylist.  Honey, you are too old and big for a white strapless dress.  End of story.

3.  We get it Lady Gaga.  You're weird.  I could care less that you arrived in an egg.  I could care less that you hatched on stage and had some freaky horns coming out of your head and shoulders.  But you are going to get up there and thank Whitney Houston??  Miss Crack Head??  Seriously?? 

4.  I like Justin Beiber.  I'm not scared to admit it.  But the performance with Usher was a cluster.  Now, I felt bad for Usher when he lost his sunglasses, because I don' think he knows how to function without them. And I liked watching the Fresh Prince have a Proud Papa moment.  But the rest was just bad.  HOWEVER.  Did anyone see the dancer do a flip on the stage and get hurt?  I rewound it to watch again.  It was great.  Clearly, I receive great joy in watching other people fall.    Don't judge.

5.  Cee Low Green and Gwenyth Paltrow was just strange.  And then they threw the Muppets into the mix.  I'm just confused about the entire thing.  I did find out that she sang that song on Glee, but that doesn't make it any better.  Confused.

6.  I realize that Ricky Martin came out of the closet this year, and I'm sure he feels free to be who he is in front of the entire world, but Ricky, put the silver pants back in the closet.  Or give them to Noel.  I'm sure he would love you forever. 

7.  John Mayer is starting to look like Johnny Depp.  Did anyone else think this?  It's not necessarily a bad thing though.  I'd let them eat crackers in my bed anyday. 

8.  I could say a million things about Jenny from the Block and her husband, or whatever he is.  But I won't.  I'm not even going to go there, because I would just look like a bad, bad person (I know you are all thinking the same things, too).  I'll just say this:  Mr and Mrs Lopez are not funny.

9.  Who the Hell is Esperanza Spalding?

10.  Mumford and Sons and The Avett Brothers.  Hands down, the BEST part of the show.  And then Bob Dylan took the stage and ruined it. 

 

Cheese!

I think it's safe to say that the photo booth at our New Year's Eve party was a hit. Slightly. Maybe just a tad. And this may come as a surprise to people that know me the best, but I think I found someone who likes to take pictures of himself as much as I do. You may notice a common theme below. His name is Steven. Steven Hood. Richard Simmons himself. And his wife Nicole. Breaking it down in the pink leotard. SEXY.

Holy Snow Day!

I feel like I need to say something about the snow day in Texas.  Everyone's doing it.  First of all, let me just start out by saying that snow days would be much better if I actually got to participate.  While everyone else is playing outside with the kids, drinking hot toddys, and going to late lunches with cocktails, I'm stuck at home working.  Maybe it's my punishment for getting to go to Miami earlier this week.  Oh well, it's not snowing in Latin America, which means the show must go on.   

I feel like I'm beginning to sound like a broken record with this orange velvet fabric, but I can't give it up.  When I get something stuck in my head, it stays.  It sits there and brews until I have a big fat mess in my mind, and there's no way I can come up with any other ideas.  That is the ONE AND ONLY.  This is it people...I can't let it go: 

I was starting to get discouraged.  I was scouring the internet for orange velvet, paying $2 per sample to have them mailed to me, and the selections were just bad.  Horrible.  I have enough samples of T-for-Terrible orange velvet that I could sew a lovely 3 year old jazz dance costume together.  Then I found a Jonathan Adler fabric that was the perfect color.  The problem?  $95 per yard.  Yeah, I'd consider that a big problem when I need 7 yards.  I ordered the swatch anyways and thought it would be my "inspiration swatch."  You know, you find the $5000 chair and then see if you can match it with a $500 chair that is just as beautiful but without looking like you stepped off of an episode of Trading Spaces. 

So, my Jonathan Adler Melon Velvet I Am Perfect Please Buy Me swatch has been sitting on my kitchen counter, teasing me.  And then I found an orange velvet on ebay.  Scary, right?  Because I could bid on this stuff and then end up with enough fabric to sew the dance costumes for the entire class.  The seller was nice enough to mail me a swatch, and guess what peeps???  HOLY SHIT IT MATCHES!!!

Awesome, right?  You know what's even more awesome?  It's only $5.99 per yard.  YUP....FIVE DOLLARS AND NINETY-NINE CENTS!!  Turns out, this guy owns an upholstery shop in North Carolina and this is left over from a big job. 

This little project of mine is getting better by the day.  So, free chair + $50 fabric + $150 reupholtster fee = yummy goodness.  A little piece of Heaven to sit your ass in. 

Friday Find

I found this quote while blog surfing today. It's from Mimi + Meg, and for some reason, this really hit home with me.  I constantly struggle with where'd I'd like to go in life and how in the hell will I ever get there.  I'm not a big risk taker, which is part of my problem.  So I sit, content, doing the same thing day after day.  This is mainly regarding my professional career, but this could apply to all aspects of life.  And I know a few people (not naming names) that need to read this, print it out, write it on their hand in permanent marker, and pin it to their shirt.

Also, I'm going to admit that I had to look up J. Pierpont Morgan.  Um, yeah, maybe I shouldn't admit that.

Running through my mind...

I’ve become a runner. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? It’s shocking to most people. It’s even more shocking to me. I still can’t believe I ran a ½ marathon in November. I’m the girl that hated running. With. A. Passion. When I first started, all I could think about while I was running was running. I can hear myself breathing, my legs are aching, I can’t swallow, why is my knee hurting, I need to spit, where is the water fountain, how much longer, oh my God I am dying, I am dying, I am dying. I couldn’t think about normal things, like what I was going to do that day, what’s on my grocery list, and how I was going to tackle the upstairs closet. Nope, just how miserable I was, which makes you even more miserable. 

Then, something weird happened. I started thinking about other things. Normally this is a good thing, but I have developed Runners ADD. Maybe it’s even ADHD. And now the random thoughts that go through my head make me crazy. They almost make my heart beat faster, which isn’t good. Sometimes I think my head is going to explode.

1. Did I make the right decision by cutting my bangs? Why is this always so hard for me…bangs, no bangs, bangs, no bangs. The story of my life. Do I look cute with bangs? Or do I look young? Or is it both, because if it’s both, I’ll take that and keep the bangs.

2. Holy shit, what am I going to do if that big ass Rottweiler jumps the fence and kills me. Is Lance (the guy behind me) going to save me or run the other way? Is Donna (Lance’s wife in front of me) going to hear me screaming? I am going to be on the news tonight for dying from a dog attack in the barrio. Damn Nicole for not being here today. She could use her new found dog whispering skills and save me. I need to run faster.

3. I think I should go into the office today. Should I? I am presenting in a meeting so I need to be there. Damn, I’m going to have to get dressed. Can I wear my boots again, or did I wear them too much last week? What did I wear last week. Oh wait, I only went to the office twice, so I should be good.

4. How is it that I get up every morning at 5:15am to run and I can’t get my ass to work on time? I’m going to be on time today. I’m going to be on time today. (I wasn’t)

5. Where am I going to find orange velvet fabric that I can afford?

6. Wow, I am the shortest person in the Fab 5. That never happens. I’m usually not even in the middle. Hmmm….it’s kind of nice to be short for once. Well, maybe not. What’s better, shorter and more squatty, or taller and beastly? I need to run faster so I don’t feel squatty or beastly.

7. Oh, good song. I need to run faster.

8. I need to remember to download Empire of the Sun. I’m totally going to forget. I’m going to forget. How am I going to make myself remember?

9. Where am I going to find orange velvet fabric that I can afford? Seriously.

10. I need to run faster.

That was just the first ¼ of a mile this morning. I had 3.75 more miles of this, but I won’t bore you with details. Most of it was about the stupid orange velvet fabric.  And telling myself to run faster, which never happens. 

Friday Find: Jackson Wright Photography

A few months ago, I finally had professional pictures taken of Grafton.  I say finally, like it's a requirement of parenthood, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it before.  However, it seems like it's a nonwritten rule in the Parenting Handbook of the South, so I figured I needed to jump on the bandwagon.

A friend of mine from work is also a photographer, and has his own company, Jackson Wright Photography.  We were chatting at the office one day, and something came over me and I booked an appointment.  This was big for me people.  I had committed to pay money for cheesey photos!

Cory (his name isn't Jackson Wright) came up to Georgetown in November and met us on the square to take pictures.  It was early and cold and I was nervous that my kid was going to have a complete meltdown or tantrum or whatever 2 year olds do when they don't want to be somewhere.  But, Cory was great with Grafton and I think the photos turned out fabulous!  The session was primarily for the kid, but he ended up taking a few of the three of us.  (Note to self for next time:  get a haircut and wear lipstick.)

They were so great that we had him come back during the holidays to take pics of the entire Burleson clan. 

Cory has VERY reasonable prices and is located in the Austin area.  Definitely look him up the next time you need a family photo shoot....or wedding pics...or senior pictures....or whatever you want to take pictures of.