The Inspiration....

I'm taking a little rest 9 days after all bedroom heavy lifting prepping and painting.  I'm actually holding off painting the walls out of terror.  Yes.  Terror.  Not even fear.

I know it will take a little time to make my vision for the room happen, and we will be living in a very, well, white space until the "vision".   The paint is Benjamin Moore's Chantilly Lace which is white white.

I look at what's been done so far and feel so much satisfaction in the work.  Not perfect, but pretty darn good.

My inspiration really does come from this room by Sarah Richardson.... 

  

...mixed with a Wisteria catalogue that arrived at the house last year featuring this Phillip Jeffries African Raffia wallpaper on the top part of a living room walls with white wainscoting on the bottom. 

Like Missy E, I think I'll just reverse it! White on top, raffia on bottom--- Okay, I listened to a lot of Hip Hop and Rap while working, mostly Missy Elliot, Eminem, some old school LL Cool J, and Beastie Boys.

So, here are some rooms that I like when I think of what I want in color and texture:

                                                            {image via Sarah Richardson}

 {Tommy Smythe}

Love the brass mirror, the dresser's warm wood, and black and brass lamp, plus all artwork and masculine ram horns or whatever those are

 {image via Tommy Smythe}

I know it's a closet, but black, white, gold, brass = love

{Tommy Smythe - the man and his room}

LOVE this brass mirror and the gray with black.  Mike actually has an old brass bald eagle lamp (AT his office, of course!) and I can't let him see this or he'll say I love it and bring it home to live :0

Now, it is glaringly apparent, I am having a Richardson-Smythe attack.  One, so feminine.  One, so masculine.  In design that is.  I go back and forth over the accent color - yellow or green.  Yellow or green?

I DO know, I want white with some black, brass and warm wood, and an accent color through pillows.

On either side of my bed there are two large window and two that are on the opposing wall, an "L" of windows.  I currently have off white gauzy curtains on L shaped iron rods hand forged by the previous homeowner who took a class and made them.  I want built in side tables/seat benches with storage underneath that actually aren't built in but can come away from the wall.  

Something like this, but, of course it's not a kitchen nook:

Picture something similar to this on either side of the bed.  Originally, I wanted white linen textured seat cushions that would have black cording along the edges, but in case they are too difficult to wash (bleach the white, NOT the black).  

These are pillow ideas for the window seats:

Or, something like these if I go yellow:

"Is it worth it, let me work it...This the kinda beat that go ra-ta-ta Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta." Can't help it, Missy Elliot's in my room makeover head!  

M&M Bedroom Reno: Phase 1 = Torture

M&M Bedroom Reno:  Phase 1:

It started with an idea of a dreamy, white bedroom with black and natural elements and once my big investment and inspiration piece, the Matteo quilt (which we waited months and months on it's production) happened, there was no turning back.

Quatrefoil Quilt

Inspired by a four-leaf symbol of the same name, Quatrefoil is a beautiful collection of quilted shams and quilts featuring a pattern popular during the Gothic Revival and Renaissance. The use of white contrasting thread in the quilting pays homage to the skill of the original European masters by highlighting the complexity and intricate details of the quatrefoil pattern.

Life has been a zoo lately.  This is what I've been lookin' like:

We live in a 1941 bungalow and what seemed to be a simple idea to renovate our bedroom, starting with a little paint has turned into sheer torture.  Seriously.  

There are 5 windows,  4 walls of base boards, and 3 doors in our bedroom that all have 72 years of paint on them.  Sanding, sanding, and more sanding.  I've learned to be proficient with my hand sander, patch & paint, wood fill, and frog's tape (the best), all before the painting began.... over 20 hours of sanding and prepping which equals 4 days of sanding.  Literally.

The painting began 2 days ago and after today, the final coats will be done on all but the three biggies, the doors and then done.  Of course, then, I have to paint the actual walls after I sand down the imperfections, fill cracks, and reapply texture.  There are lots of bad patch jobs, raised areas, etc.

I've learned a few things I've wondered over the years of living in this cozy, little, old house.  

Question:  Can you ever get rid of the cracks and raised areas that are in the ceiling?  YES! Can you ever get rid of the cracks and weird places in the window sills?  YES!  Just sand them down a bit, fill in with patch & paint, and paint over.  If they need texture, you can buy it in a box, add it to your paint, and paint it on.  

Hint: Pay attention to what type of texture you have.  I realized there are 3 different textures in the 6 rooms of my house.  If you are in an older home that is a middle class home, you will also find LOTS of shoty work since, most likely, the previous owners did it themselves, kind of like me ;0

I am not a fan of wall texture but, I am not of the funds or state of mind to hire a contractor to redo the sheet rock completely.  I know myself too well.  I'd have these sleek, clean walls and want them in every room :)

Of course, after I did everything I found a great tutorial on painting window sills at Apartment Therapy.  Here it is for you!

So, with all that.  I put in some hefty hours raising funds and awareness for this little event so NARAL Pro-Choice Texas can combat some seriously gloomy bills in the Texas Leg this session that will try and take us all back 40 years.  

Feel free to donate here to protect women's choice in Texas.  You would be amazed that in our huge state, there is just this one organization with 1 full time employee and 1 lobbyist that is the political arm of choice in Texas.  NARAL Pro-Choice Texas organizes grassroots and campus organizing, lobbying and legislation, electoral work for pro-choice candidates, voter registration, leadership training, public education and community outreach.  

And, as if that wasn't enough, I got talked into being in my friend Kevin's play THIS FRIDAY for FronteraFest at Hyde Park Theater.  If you wanna come, you can buy tix here. It's a small part, but fun and kooky, kind of like me :).  I turned it down at first, "I don't have time, I'm drowning in kids, work, decorating, political activism, ......." but, secretly, I was happy to put my acting shoes back on.  

The last play I was in was literally when I got engaged onstage 8 1/2 years ago!  Some of you reading this might even have been there.  I know my friend Meredith was next to camera sobbing the entire time.  And, I love her for that.  Mike had all our relatives and friends in the audience and asked me to marry him onstage after the play was over.  We used to have the video on a site which is now defunct.  Oh, how I wish I could put that footage up.  

Oh yes, I forgot planning and having my awesome partner in crime, Mike's 40th Birthday Bash last Saturday!!  There was dinner, karaoke, old school Austin bar hopping and good times with great friends.  

Thankfully, he got a cappuccino machine for the big one and so, THIS is what has kept my January sanity together.

Anyhow... stay tuned for the renovation journey ahead! 

DIY mantel focal point that lasts Christmas through the New Year!

I've always loved this Christmas photo of my Dad playing with his train and my Aunt Donna playing with her baby doll.   It just seems like the quintessential '50's Christmas photo.  They are around the same age as my kiddos.  I would guess my Aunt is 5 and my Dad is 7.

So...finally.... I took it to the pros at Holland Photo and had them create an 11X14 print and bought a frame at Tarjay (Target) for $29.99.  Total project less than 50 bucks.  

Once I had this pretty holiday focal point for my mantel, I put Christmas pj photos of my nieces and Iris and Sam that we've taken over the years in complementary silver frames.  

It induces tears instantly from me to see how the family has grown in children and just how much they have changed from year to year.  No more little plump faces and plump arms.  They truly are all children now...no more babies.

At Christmas I had a church and small homes that were my Omie's and a few small deer.  The church and homes just scream 1950's decor.  Below is the mantel now and I intend to keep it through January because it just makes me... happy!

Happy New Year!!!

Flor Delight!!

Since this summer, I'd been thinking about doing something fun for the kids new bunk bed room makeover.  We've had the same shabby chic light pink 3.5X5.5 rug for 6 years and it was on it's last leg.  In fact, so embarrassingly bad I will NOT even post a photo.

We'd done Flor tiles about 7 years ago in our Shack (above) and really loved the concept of them but we weren't sure we wanted to attach them to our nice hardwood floors versus the shack's plywood.  

Then, GREAT news.  I found out from a friend they had updated them and the Flor tiles no longer stuck to what was below them, but had plastic circle stickers that attached the tiles to each other = no adhesive on your floors.  

Starting at about $10/tile with no rug pad needed makes them one of the least expensive rug options.   The ability to replace a bad tile and pick them up and clean them makes them perfect for any high traffic, high wearability area like a kid's room.

Flor has such a great site and is such a well designed product.  They make the process so simple with their FlorBuilder Design Tool area, you can see your design before you order, dimensions and all.

Here's my design using pink, burgundy, and green tiles from the Parallel Reality line.  

When I got my Flor box in the mail a few short days after ordering online.... butterflies and tingles all over with the anticipation of what our design would look like in the space.  

And, voila!  Kid approved!  Iris & Sam love them and we do too.  A burst of color to create instant fun!

Believe....my holiday wish for you

These are the kiddos in our family including my two.

As the holiday celebrations begin and families and friends gather near, my holiday wish for you is to believe.  

Believe in innocence, the good in the world, the magic of the human spirit, and even a fairy or two.

E.A.S.T. - Art for your home is closer than you think

Every home needs art...art that moves you, gives those who know you a glimpse of who you really are.

My favorite thing about living in east Austin is that you never know who lives next to you from the movie director, musician, activist, or artist and, it turns out, there are quite a few all around me.

I discovered East Austin Studio Tour a few years ago by basically walking out my front door, and the insane talent of my neighbors lay before me.  My backyard neighbor and fellow pre-school mom Jennifer Balkan has become one of my very favorite artists in Austin.  These below, I love:

My neighbor a few homes down is sculptor Roger Foster who hosted Karen Maness that year.  Karen lives a few streets down and she had two paintings I've never gotten out of my head.

With small kids in tow, I've only been able to do EAST in small doses.  Last year, it was contained to the studios and art exhibits at my husband Mike's east Austin studio complex.  This year, we met up with Iris's friend Scout and her dad John for a Cesar Chavez run of East exhibits.

Here were my favorites:

{Daphne Holland paints in encaustic with layered wax}

 {Jenny Granberry's watercolors were my very favorite pieces this year, AND she teaches children's art classes and does a $40 BYOB art class to do with your friends.  What a great ladies night idea!}

{Taylor Browning's self portrait with a friend in the Alps}

{Another of Taylor's - I could see this lady staring down my Kathy Womack women in my dining room but, then realized, she'd be staring them down the wrong way.  Still love it.}

And then, we walked into a small room filled with these intricate drawings from illustrator Sophie Roach.  She sat in the corner, working, drawing a black and white piece, and it was a little miracle.  She was kind and open very young.  And, she was happy to let Iris and Sam really see how an artist works.  

{Sophie Roach}

My dream is to do an entire end to end tour of EAST on a moped with my baby, the big one, Mike :) sans kiddos.  That is what I would LOVE to do next year.  

The West Texas Road Trip that went down in Hewlett Nicholson History!

I KNOW!!!  I've been M.I.A.  Between volunteer work, work, and Kindergarten, I've been under water.

So, when I got a text from John Hewlett:  "Also thinking about a trip out to Marfa and McDonald Observatory for a star party with the fam over Labor Day weekend if you guys aren't booked...It's the Marfa Lights Festival and there is a $99 special at the Lajitas Resort.  With #3 on the way, I think we gotta do it."

I knew it shouldn't even cross my mind.  West Texas for little kiddos, not so much.  That's what we always said, after we fell head over heals in love with the this magical place two years ago on a sans kiddos trip.  Labor Day weekend, the very first moment of relief after the first week of Kindergarten.  I already was a ball of nerves and tingles thinking about all the changes ahead and knowing this was in store:

Iris & Sam's first day away from each other
at different schools :(

Meet the Teacher Day, Iris & Ms. Metcalf

Sam's first day in the Older Class with his
buddy Evan, taking care of Sam the Man.

Bittersweet moment for Momma - 1st day of Kindergarten!

Everybody said, Kindergarten will kick your ass!  And a couple of months in, it still is.  Early mornings, rigid nighttime schedules, picking up your starving child who had a half hour lunch and a half hour recess and who is literally a stressed, little emotional wreck.  It's a lot - even for my 6 year old whose had 5 1/2 years of the most amazing preschool.

That being said, this was THE perfect trip, exactly what we needed to get through the month ahead of us.  The West Texas skies, somehow bluer with more billowy clouds, the air somehow fresher, the nighttime skies crystal clear so you could actually experience the universe, and then, there's "mañana."

From El Cosmico's website:  "Mañana cannot generally be found in cities with more than one stoplight. Mañana doesn't care about email or normal hours of operation. Mañana recognizes that we can't all have everything we want at any given moment, like peaches in January or cell phone reception in West Texas. Mañana is the anticipation that it might happen today, and it might just as likely not, and really either way it's not that big of a deal."

   {John & Harlon at Balmorhea Springs - see the sly smile.  SO Jim Carey}

And, to have someone else plan the ENTIRE trip!  Enter John:  an outdoor enthusiast and adventure man who has been to West Texas on manly guy bonding trips 10 times!  And, who lives for planning vacations for his family.  I mean, he built a canoe, by himself.  Is there any other endorsement that says, go with this guy on a whirlwind trip to West Texas???

Then, there's my guy Mike who's  been working his tail off.  When I saw mischievous looks like the one below come over his face as he was googling West Texas info while we continued to say this plan was crazy....

...I knew that no matter how tired we were, how horribly wrong a 4 day jaunt with 4 kids, 1 pregnant lady (not me!), and 15 hours of driving the first week after Kindergarten could be, we were going for it! 

GO BIG OR GO HOME:  DAY 1 FRIDAY - BALMORHEA, ARRIVAL MIDNIGHT

You know it's West Texas when you show up near midnight and it's all man.  El Oso Flojo, or as John calls it "The Tootin' Bear."  Men hanging on their balconies drinking cheap light beer and inviting you to join.  Not just any men.  Huntin' men.  Guys who get away from the world to the West Texas desert.

DAY 2 SATURDAY MORNING - BALMORHEA SPRINGS

With spring fed water, fishes galore, divers and snorkelers looking through the twenty foot deep areas of this spring fed pool, the experience was unforgettable.  It was refreshing, relaxing, and the mountains over the horizon and West Texas sky made me forget everything and just soak up the sun and breathe in everything.

 {Iris & Scout in heaven}

{WEE!!}

DAY 2 SATURDAY AFTERNOON - MARFA

We visited the Marfa Lights Festival and no trip to Marfa is complete without a visit to El Paisano steeped in the cinematic history of Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean's Giant.  This is where we learned the deep down secret...that John had actually stayed in the Elizabeth Taylor suite with his man crew.

Next stop, El Cosmico:  A world in it's own and what personifies the Marfa style to me.  

If you crave communal living, simplicity with a peek of modern decor, jump out of your box and shower under the stars in the light of the full moon at El Cosmico. The West Texas elevation and the cool 60's nights are perfect on a little cheek taking a warm shower and breathing.  Not breathing because you are hyper ventilating from stress but because the air is cool and crisp and pure good.

I mean, how cool would it be to stay in one of their two teepees?  From the outside not so much, but a quick peak inside revealed a chic, modern space. 

I think I'm all in for a safari tent next time for a mere $65.  To, me the safari tent IS Marfa style: modern, simple, utilitarian, and refreshing.

El Cosmico has 6 choices of renovated 1950's trailers.  Here's an inside look.

These were our digs -- the 1949 Spartan Mansion.  That's Sam checkin' it out.  You would know even if it wasn't the biggest, Mike found the only trailer with an A/C!  I loved every minute of this but, the best part was the outdoor shower.  I felt a little timid at first, but took two steps out of my backdoor to the shower, threw that towel over the hook, and hopped on in.  It was covered on four sides by a tarp material with the top wide open, and I knew God must be real because he gave me the crispist 60's night with a big full moon and the dark, dark West Texas sky sprinkled with a million stars above.  The best shower of my life.

The Hewlett's were living large in the 1953 Vagabond.  It even had a tub indoors!  Almost all trailers had a deck, picnic table, and outdoor shower and/or claw foot tub.  Imagine that same sky a little before 7am when we got up for the Sunrise Service at The Chinati Foundation.

DAY 3 SUNDAY 7AM SUNRISE AT THE CHINATI FOUNDATION

Knock.  Knock.  Knock.  Somehow I knew John Hewlett would be at the door right on time.  Yes, it was early, but the best kind of early. Walking down the dirt road to Chinati...an adventure awaiting us.  I had butterflies remembering the installations that moved my soul, took me somewhere else, other worldly.  I wondered what Iris and Sam would think of Chinati.  I wondered if it would affect them nearly the way it affected me.

Gorgeous isn't it?  The Judd installation was quiet and felt almost like church.   Watch.  Enjoy.  Look.  But, for God's sake, DON'T touch!  Our kiddos didn't because they are little art aficionados, but they had the attendants nervous.  They definitely weren't used to children at Chinati.

{Sam, 3 1/2 capturing art}

The most surreal moment was coming out of the fort and seeing the herd of antelope in the distance along the horizon running through the modern Judd cement cube installations as the sun rose below.  

{Scout, John, Allie, Harlon}

And onto the luxury of Lajitas Resort to relax in this pool with the awe inspiring views!

we explored movie sets (below), dipped in the Rio Grande, and ate at The Starlight in Terlingua.

DAY 4  BIG BEND HIKE AND HOME TO AUSTIN, TEXAS

John did not disappoint.  The hike was perfect in every way - distance, views, difficulty.  We were a little late and it was a little hot, but I cannot convey how refreshing the waters of the Rio Grande felt on our salty, sweaty skin.  The best prize.  Just being in the middle of the Rio Grande felt surreal.  That river is not just any river.  Two nations.  Two people.  Texas.  It felt strange and wonderful to stand in the midst of it. 

And, yet.... I think, maybe this whole trip came down to... the necklaces.  Check it.  For all adventurers, they keep you cool and just might be, the ONE thing.