you made me, promises promises

Oh hey there.  I'm going to do an outfit post like I said I was going to.  Wait what?  That was back in March? 

Oops.

Moving on!  I bought these bright cobalt blue jeans from Old Navy in a moment of frivolity, and I haven't been quite sure what to do with them ever since.  They're hard to pair stuff with, at least for me.  All colors I've tried (in my head) seem too boring or too loud, until this camel sweater I picked up from Nordstrom:

Someone else wants to say 'hi' too, someone who is 10 months old today (how did that even happen?!?):

sweater: Trouve via Nordstrom, jeans: Old Navy, boots: Aldo, scarf: eBay, bow cuff: Etsy, necklace: self-made, baby: self-made :)

save the date

...and the living is easy

Hey hey, anyone still left out there following me (you deserve an award, really you do).  A few things going on in our little world this summer, other than trying not to melt in this god forsaken heat. 

1) I got new hair.



2) Eamon got even cuter.  I didn't think this was possible, but lookit!

He gets cuter by the day, it's ridic.  Note the Packer tee!

3) My parents moved to Texas!  Right in the middle of summer, which also merits some sort of award.  I'm so happy to have them here, and I can't believe it actually happened!  I flew up to Wisconsin last weekend to drive down with them, and it was a fun roadtrip.  The only thing that sucked was that my dad was in a separate car, although we kept him in the loop via phone whenever we saw something that made us laugh.  It was reminiscent of our trips to Arkansas when I was a kid & we used to visit my grandparents every summer.  We played "First to See the Arch" in St. Louis, Auto Bingo, and laughed at all the same road signs.  It's amazing how many things are exactly the same as they were 20+ years ago.  We always found the name of this city in Illinois humorous (don't ask me why, we are just weird), so we stopped & took a pic this time:

We actually tried to go into Glenarm (it was time for a break anyway), but the road to the town was completely closed!  So it remains an oddly-named mystery.  

I hope everyone is having a good summer and staying cool.  I'm ready for fall, but we're making the most of what we can while it's hot:



xoxo E

me & etsy dallas destash with "SUPPLIES ME!"

Get out of the triple digit heat tomorrow & come score some craft supplies for a great deal, courtesy of myself & other pack rat Etsy Dallas artists.  Details above, and more info at http://etsydallas.com/.

I'll have tons o' beads, some findings, and a bit of fabric as well, all priced to sell.  Hope to see you there!

[haute hardware] save the date ~ etsy dallas spring bash, saturday april 30th

Dallasites, it's almost that time again, time for the Etsy Dallas Spring Bash!  Mark your calendars for April 30th, and come see me and 60 hand-picked local artists at the South Side on Lamar building on Saturday April 30th from 11 am to 5 pm.  Click through the links or the Spring Bash ad in the upper right corner for more details. 

Some of what will be in store at my booth:

[adventures in domesticity] nursery additions

Well hello there!  I haven't totally forgotten about my little humble corner of the internets, although it's been a whirlwind of a month since I last posted.  This little guy keeps us running, that's for sure, but it's turning into quite a fun ride.

We were lucky enough to have Grandma visiting these past couple of weeks, which means that Eamon got tons of attention, mom & dad got a bit more rest, and projects got done.  Grandma was not messing around - she started making a 'to-do' list almost the minute she walked through the door, and we got almost everything on it done, starting with this mobile for Eamon's crib:

I bought the raw wooden cutouts recently (read: months & months ago) on eBay, and finally got around to getting the paint et al to finish the project.  To be honest, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to mount everything from until we were wandering through Hobby Lobby and saw that life saver (is that what it's called??!).  We had to repaint the red to make it match everything else, but otherwise it was perfect.  It's also styrofoam, so the entire thing is super lightweight.  We handpainted the cutouts, glued scrapbooking paper on the boats for the sails, and strung it all together with fishing wire.  I'm so happy with how it all turned out.

The other project that finally got finished was the dresser/changing table getting its fancy Anthropologie knobs:

Sorry for the not-so-great phone pic, but you get the gist - they look super swell.  

A few other highlights from the past week:

Eamon wore out Grandma...

...and Mom!

Eamon got ready for St. Patty's day, and Dad followed the instructions on his sleeper.  I can't get over the look on his face.  :)

I promise to post more soon, maybe even an outfit on a day that I make it out of sweats!  xoxo

happy birthday, Eamon James

It's taken me a little time to get on here to post, but I suspect I'll be forgiven with one look at this sweet face:

Rod and I welcomed Eamon James into the world on 1/31/11, at 11:24 p.m.  He weighed 8 lbs. 7 oz.,  was 20" long, and 100% perfect.

He made his arrival during some of the craziest weather I've ever seen in Texas:

It was pretty nice to be holed up in the hospital while the snow & ice were happening, with this little guy to keep us warm. 

That Friday, we were finally ready to brave the elements & head home.  The roads were still horrific, but Eamon was none the wiser - he slept through the entire journey!

We're all doing great and adjusting well to our new family life.  Thanks for reading, and I hope to get back to semi-regular posting soon!!

[haute mama] w39d1 ~ happy birthday to BHG

This past Friday the gals over at Badder Homes & Gardens threw a 2nd blog birthday soiree at Beauty Bar, and we rolled out (literally, in my case) to join in on the festivities.

Beauty Bar is really kitschy & cute - it's a bar, but all decked out like a 60s salon.  I really liked the ambiance and look forward to going back for Martinis & Manicures night when I can take advantage of the former!

Oh, and also?  I'm HUGE!  In case you didn't gather that from the photo.  As I write this post, I'm T minus 2 days from my due date, and I'm not sure my tummy can stretch much further.  Please send me non-late vibes!

Sarah & I

All three fab BHG ladies, plus Sarah's awesome family

my duds: top & bubble necklace: JCrew, jeans: Old Navy, boots: Seychelles, clutch: H&M

Thanks for the great party, ladies, and here's to many more years of wit & snark!

Hope to be posting some news SOOOOON.... 

stalking success

Remember how I cursed Anthropologie for their overpriced drawer pulls in my last post?  I take it all back - the very ones I've been eyeing for months went on sale for $2.95 (from $10 a pop)!  I'm so glad I held out all the times that I nearly caved & bought them at full price.

Coiled Rope Knob, $2.95

Won't these look perfect on our blue dresser/changing table?

Sorry for my harsh words, Anthropologie, let's be friends, 'k?

[adventures in domesticity] our nursery

I'm so excited to finally reveal the finished nursery!  It's been a work in progress for a long time, but I love it even more for the time we took and the care we put into the details.  Nothing in the room is part of a set*, which gives each piece of furniture & accent more of an eclectic, hand-picked feel.  But yet it all ties together so nicely.  Sorry to be tooting my own decorating horn here, but I'm so in love with this room that I can't help it.  I've been sneaking in there to sit in the glider and admire everything.  And of course to imagine being in there with the final sweet thing that's missing...!

It's difficult (if not impossible) to get a shot of the entire room at once, so I'm starting with the view as you walk into the room.

Here's the opposite view, from the glider:

...and the view from over by the shelves:

Now for the details!  The crib - here is where my asterisk comes in - the bedding is the only set in this room, from Pottery Barn Kids.  I originally didn't want to do a bedding set, but this one was a little too perfect for our nautical theme:

The art above the crib is from Etsy (Keep Calm Shop), an original pointillism piece by a close friend of my grandparents (the lighthouse), and a rusty anchor from a local antique shop.

Moving across the room, I love this Ikea Expedit shelving as both a display and storage unit.  The shelf above it with hooks is also from Ikea:

The red rocker, like the rusty anchor, came from Alston's Antiques in Garland, TX.  Alston's is one of my favorite antique shops in the DFW area.  It houses endless treasures, and this chair was certainly one of them.  We didn't paint it or anything - this is how we found it, and we knew we had to have it.  A couple other detail details - art is from Etsy again, Studio Lyon for the alphabet chart, and African Grey for the narwhal and otter prints on the wall.  The other frames on the Expedit shelf were custom created for me by my friend Cassie of Hi Sugarplum and are awaiting pics of the little guy to fill them!

Speaking of Cassie, she was awesome enough to hand us down her glider since her babies are not so tiny anymore (and she's totally overhauling her daughter's room - stay tuned to her blog for the big reveal SOON, I hope! :).  I can't resist a good before & after, so here's a shot of the chair when we adopted it:

It was cute to begin with, but the yellow didn't tie in with our nursery...and Cass won't mind me saying that light colored fabric needed a little TLC after two kids!  $10 worth of Ikea fabric later, et voila:

It's pretty hard for me to pick a favorite piece in this room, but this one's a real contender.  My mom and I (okay, mostly my mom) recovered this baby in about 2 hours, and I still can't get over how great it turned out.  The oar side table is from Christmas Tree Shops, and the rug from World Market.

Another DIY gem in this room is the changing table.  We picked this up at a thrift store in Oak Cliff for all of $40, and it was glossy black, tagged with graffiti on the back.  We left the graffiti because it's kind of humorous (and not visible), but Rod covered the hideous black with a couple coats of Behr Paint + Primer in an inky blue.  I want to add some pulls eventually, but the ones I love currently are from Anthropologie and cost twice what the dresser did.  Screw them and their stupid prices - the search continues.

And since I can't resist jumping in a photo, an outfit shot in the nursery...this was sometime in my 36th week:

dress: Gap, cardigan: C&C California, boots: Steve Madden, headband: Lacoste, leggings: Target

Finally, I'd be completely remiss if I didn't mention the great help I had in the creation of this stunner of a room, especially in the final stages.  First, my mom who recovered, assembled, painted, moved & lifted heavy stuff, etc. etc. etc.

...and Bill who helped my mom paint on his day off so that I could avoid fumes and backache...

...and last but not least, Rod who painted, assembled, hung stuff up, endured shopping with me and most importantly, had opinions & took an interest in this stuff!  Love you.  :)

Thanks for taking the tour with me!  We are beside ourselves with excitement at this point...hopefully I'll be posting soon with some big news!!

should auld acquaintance be forgot

Is it too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year?  We're only 9 days in, so I think I'm okay.  I hope you all had great holidays and are recovered from all of the festivities & excitement.  There was no travel for yours truly, so we had our first Christmas in the new home.  My parents flew in from the Great White North of Wisconsin, and we did a lot of eating, relaxing and working on the nursery (post to come!).  We also threw a little soiree for New Year's Eve and my mom's birthday:

 Me 'n' the tree...36 weeks!

Cute, cute parents.  Happy Birthday to Jean!

 Sarah of Badder Homes and her festive frock & self-made tiara.

 Sarah's awesome mini-pie maker, a very important guest at the party.

 Great pic of Bill.  He needs to write a novel & put this on the back cover.

 Dad & I stationed by the food. 

 Me & my boo.

El Bebe's first New Year's kiss from grandma at midnight.

All of these photos are from our amazing new camera, courtesy of my parents for Christmas.  We're still plugging our way through all the bells & whistles (i.e. Rod is reading every single page of the manual and giving me the highlights I'll be most likely to remember/use), and will hopefully be pros by the time el bebe makes his arrival.  It's less than 3 weeks away at this point...I can hardly believe it.  

Happy 2011, y'all!  Stay tuned for a nursery tour later this week.