Emmy Dress Favorites

I’m not watching the Emmy’s this year, but these dresses sure are pretty…

Images via instyle.com

Smitten.

Found it. Dream house. Every room is perfection. Located in one of Houston’s most loved neighborhoods, West University, this home has everything! I love the owner (or decorator’s) impeccable style.

Here are some pics:

Front of House – Adorable, but I think it could use some shutters. In black.

Master bedroom; being used as an office – look at how organized it is. I die.

Dining Room

Living Room

Second living area

Modern Kitchen

Guest bath

Master bathroom

Back porch – so cute!

Pictures via har.com

Ready for Fall

Fun styles from J.Crew’s Fall collection…

Listen:: Home

Loving this song! The lyrics are really sweet. Thanks to Meagan and May for introducing it!

Other songs I'm listening to right now:

Giving Up the Gun by Vampire Weekend
Dynamite by Taio Cruz
Anything by Jack Johnson after his dreamy concert last week :)



What are you listening to right now?

Gorgeous video

Check out this beautiful French wedding video. The music itself is moving... A longer version can be found here. Omg, I love her dress.

Coco + James // Teaser from Americana Cinema on Vimeo.

Product::Best (Cheap) Mascara Ever

So after getting tired of spending over $25 a tube on DiorShow mascara and having it run out every 2-3 weeks, I’ve made the switch to the drugstore kind.

Maybelline's latest The Falsies Volum' Express Mascara is awesome. It makes eyelashes super thick and long, especially after they have been curled with a Shu Uemera lash curler. My only complaint is it’s so thick, it’s hard to get off at night (even with makeup remover), and you may risk waking up looking like a raccoon. Small price to pay for a $7 tube of eye-opening perfection.

Falsies

Curler (Hint: heat it up for 10 seconds with a hairdryer for more curl – just be careful not to burn your eyelids!)

I Love Wine (country)!

Coming back from vacation is always a mixed bag usually involving some degree of sadness, relief at being able to sleep in your own bed, and good memories. That has definitely what I’ve felt all week after our trip to Sonoma/Napa and San Fran. If you haven’t been to that part of the country, I STRONGLY recommend it. The weather is amazing (especially Sonoma/Napa which is more inland than San Fran,) and the scenery is beautiful.

I think many people are concerned about how expensive a trip like that is, so here are some tips to save money:

1. Rent a car outside the airport – most of the time when you rent a car, the most convenient place to do it is at the airport. Lee explained this is rip off and rented a bad@ss jeep at a city location. This involved about a 1.5 mile hike with my luggage (aka “Big Green”) through some shady parts of San Fran, but the savings were worth it.
2. Stay in Sonoma – it’s less expensive than Napa, but has all the wine country charm. In fact, many people (ok – travel guides) prefer it over Napa because of it’s “quaintness”.
3. Look for deals on Jetsetter or Travelzoo. We have used both in the past and have been extremely happy with the results!
4. Share wine tastings – trust me, you will be drinking plenty of wine while you’re there. Cut your expenses in half by sharing tastings.
5. Eat like a local – there are amazing, high-profile restaurants throughout San Fran and the wine country, but you can also get delicious food at a hole in the wall. One of the best meals we ate was at a cheap, tiny Thai place just outside of Union Square.

Another great wine country resource is Jenna at Eat, Live, Run. Wow – what a life she lives! I had just started reading her before we left, but she’s great, and her daily posts could serve as an amazing travel guide.

Here are some pics from the trip:

At Plumpjack winery

Discovering the macro feature on our camera

Muir Woods

Cutest.Store.Ever

Auberge du Soleil – a “must see” for the view itself

Gorgeous

Proud Stage Mom!

Just a quick post because Kitty’s picture was featured on one of my favorite blogs Desire to Inspire in their Pets on Furniture series!  I’m probably a little too proud.

Here’s the winning picture:

On another note, we’re in Sonoma, and it’s AMAZING!  I’ll post pics when we get back.

Have a refreshing weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! This week went by really fast. I’m going to copy some of my fave bloggers and share some links and posts that caught my eye this week:

The best hot dog ever

Great, another new show to my recent Bravo obsession list

Controversial Vogue shoot – models acting like dead wildlife from oil spill. Weird.

Who knew pinwheels could look so pretty?

My Super crafty – DIY cousin-in-law

The perfect sandwich

Have a good one! I’ll share pictures from our Cali trip next week!

From Sea to Shining Sea

We’ve been very fortunate this summer to be able to travel around the country for various, fun celebrations. Last weekend, we spent sometime north of Boston for our dear friends, Ed and May’s gorgeous wedding. The weather couldn’t have been nicer, and it was so fun to see this long time couple tie the knot. Here are a couple pics:

Sunday we were able to spend some time in Beantown, and basically ate our way through it. One place we wound up at is the adorable Bistro du Midi, thanks to the recommendation of one of my favorite bloggers, Erin of Elements of Style.

This weekend, we are headed to the other side of the country – touring San Fran, Sonoma and Napa. I cannot wait! Thanks to Jetsetter and priceline we got a great deal at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn for four nights and 3 nights at the Parc Wyndham 55 in San Fran. We have a rather aggressive itinerary in terms of number of restaurants and wineries we (okay, I) want to see, but I love the planning process so much, I couldn’t stop! Some of the places that came recommended to us are below. I doubt we’ll be able to hit these 100%, but it will be fun trying =).

Restaurants

1. Girl and the Fig (Sonoma)
2. Auberge du Soleil (Napa) for cocktails at Sunset!
3. Market (St. Helena)
4. Slanted Door (San Francisco)
5. A 16 (San Francisco)

Wineries

1. Sonoma: Chateau St. Jean, Ravenswood, Jacuzzi Family/Cline Cellars BR Cohn, Buena Vista Carneros
2. Napa/St. Helena: Plumpjack, Cakebread, Sequoia Grove, Frog’s Leap, Peju, Del Dotto, Frank Family winery, Franciscan

Let me know if you’re headed to the area soon, and I’d be happy to share my thoughts and recommendations with you!

Happy Summer!