Oh, Hey! How's your summer been?

 

 Mine has been pure awesomeness. My blog, however, has suffered. But you already may have noticed. So back to my awesome summer, since I don't like to dwell on the negative. Here is what I have done in a nutshell: 

1. Traveled the entire month of July (except 3 days) but got to enjoy seriously mouthwatering in-season Georgia peaches. 
2. Went to an Atlanta Braves game, and to the Aquarium (not pictured)
3. Bachlorette party in Myrtle Beach, SC
4. Set up 3 showrooms: Dallas, Atlanta, Las Vegas
5. Gazed at Las Vegas architecture, wild huh?
6. Went to Le Reve- amazing!
7. Did a little vintage shopping
8. Zip Lined down Fremont street in LV
9. Attended a Moroccan pool party thrown by a very talented host (and friend) Carlos Cardoza
10. popped over to the Rue Magazine Texas launch party (the whole issue is Texas!) and has lots of my favorite Dallas girls featured. :)
11. oh.... and watched as much Olympics as I could!

And summer isn't even over yet!!! I have a few more things up my sleeve, and a big announcement. .

Being a tourist in your own town:: staycation!!

I travel alot for work and it is really nice to stay in Dallas and enjoy every once in a while. It's easier to do when you are trying to show some super awesome college friends what Dallas is made of!
Our friends CJ and Wes came Into town and we had an awesome time, i hope they did. The itinerary consisted of a trip to Chicken Scratch/ the Foundey, drinks at The Belmont, a sculpture tour of Deep Ellum and Pioneer's Plaza, real longhorns at Fuel City (and tacos... Duh), more tacos at Good to Go, a wedding at the Nasher, and to round off the trip... an afternoon at the FOE and a proper Ben/erin dinner party.
So what do you think.... What did we leave out for next time?

Clearly I was just trying to pretend I was on my before mentioned Vespa, as the same photos I took were similar to the ones I wanted in my Pinterest board. A Honda Fit is kinda like a Vespa... Right?!

Mint Battle and other outdoor musings

The weather in Dallas is perfect right now. B and I have had many a outdoor meals this week. Our (and by our, I mean Ben's) garden is growing like mad, producing all sorts of edible goodies. The back planter is reserved for my Mint Battle. Above is a photo... stay tuned for the YouTube update this weekend.
Here are a few other shots of our outdoor buddies:

A colorful outdoor weekend

Among other things, Ben and I worked out in the yard Saturday, getting our backyard in order. I think it is coming together rather nice. Imagine white rocks around the bottoms of the teal planters and the benches on the table being painted the same color as the Moroso Supernatural chairs we scored a couple weekends ago. **note, the top left photo has been filtered on Instagram It's not that bright. :) see Ben's post for accuracy. Ben is also pretty handy and whipped out some planters for our garden

I also went by the Hoopty Sale at Mary's Finds and got that cute little lamp and dress. Sunday we had a fun outdoor brunch in which my friend, Nico took me out on his Vespa for a spin around the hood. It was an amazing weekend. How was yours?

ABC Kitchen

 We popped over to ABC kitchen for lunch yesterday. Good food, great atmosphere and Beautiful space. Then of course we popped in for a really quick walk through ABC Home. When in Rome, right?!
I love the paint textures on the walls... swoon.

A lovely Sunday in NYC

Sunday we had a day off in NY since the building is closed so Seth and I decided to go play in the city.  Started the day with this lovely view from our hotel window... you can see the Freedom Tower being built in the middle at the very back of the photo. Then we met my friend Jen and went to the Guggenheim to see the Maurizio Cattelan exhibit. Pretty dark and humorous stuff, totally interesting and I highly recommend it.

Then we went for a run/walk through Central Park where we got to make these GIANT bubbles...(the photo below is our demonstrator... the guy runnin the bubble show).

 

The morning of athletics was quickly ruined when we stopped for Pop Burger then headed to Brooklyn to wander around... including SmorgasBrewery at the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg. 

 

 We rounded out the day with a pop into one of my faves Artists and Fleas (where we had an unexpected participation in the filming of the web documentary Failure Club). Then onto a lovely dinner at the Two Door Tavern with Jess.

Fish, Eat, Shoot, Eat, Fashion, Fashion, Muppets [in that order]

The Thanksgiving holiday was restful, busy, inspirational and awesome. We went out to have our first Thanksgiving with Ben's family. That consisted of B catching a giant bass, me shooting (apparently I am a natural per Ben's Dad), and eating ALOT. We ended the night watching Bill Cunningham New York (after I saw Hilary's post on it... thanks for the suggestion!).

 Then onto Friday where we had our second Thanksgiving at Joslyn's (we have a TON to be Thankful for).

Saturday morning B took me to see the Gaultier exhibit at the DMA which was pretty amazing. If you make it to Dallas, this is a must see!!
A quick bite at the Nammi Truck and then we went to see the Muppets!!
I have been singing Manah Manah for dayssssss. The Muppets were so good. And isn't that Eric Slager Muppet (at top) interpretation rad? You can buy it here.

Hong Kong: Night Squiggles & a Local Food Outing

Remember THIS post about B and I making Night Squggles? Well, I tried it out on the Hong Kong Skyline, and man there were waaaaay more colors. Sooo cool. Plus the HK tourism board puts on a light show with music and narration every night at 8 PM. Go to Harbor City for the best view. 

For lunch today, our showroom manager Cliff took us to this authentic local HK eatery. She described it as a chinese food court... we thought it was more of a cafeteria. Let's put it this way, we were the only white people in there and HK is a pretty international melting pot. It was pretty good. I have no idea what i ate except that it was some kinda noodle dish.

Mod Monday- Mod Men Party

Happy Halloween!! I thought that it was only appropriate to post a themed party today, in case you are struggling for last minute ideas.
A few months ago, with the help from a few friends (thank you Gregg Lovell and Eric Bivins for your house and styling help and The Dallas Smoke group for your spot-on character cast) we put together a really fun Mod Men themed party for soon to debut online magazine DeerDallas. The lovely and very talented Rachael Laine (founder of DeerDallas) photographed the entire thing.

 

There was decade appropriate food, drinks, and music:: Cuba Libre, French 75 and Classic Martini for drinks. Meatballs, Cheese plate and crudites for food. Music, set your Pandora station to your favorite 60's or 50's group and let it play!

You can Check out more photos over on the DeerDallas Facebook page. Be sure to "like" them while you are at it!!

This party is totally usable not during Halloween... Perhaps an upcoming Mad Men premiere?!

I love gnocchi

I would venture to say that gnocchi is one of my favorite foods. Here are a few variations on my list to make. from top left going clockwise: Gnocchi Mac and Cheese, Gnocchi Pomodoro, Gnocchi with Squash and Kale, Pumpkin Gnocchi with browned butter and Sage.
now... who's hungry?

A perfect Saturday afternoon

After much cleaning of the house this morning, I have settled in with a Circus boy and the new book from Erin Morgenstern The Night Circus. You should try this beer and DEFINITELY read this book.

Also....
a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my MOM!!!! who I will be seeing in a couple days. :)




Me with brown hair and a great photo of my lovely Momma. Love you!!

Ring cookies...mmm

How adorable are these cookies that Laura made me? sooo cute. Thanks Laura.

A weekend at the farm

A rejuvenating weekend at the farm in VA. Bonding with the girls on my mom's side, avoidance of Irene (we got a lil wind but no rain), a hike through the woods, some damn good crockpot mac and cheese, delicious Box wine (seriously), and to add even more delight.... a visit with my Dad, brothers and some old friends. Overall proved to be a nice time away... Aside from the chigger bites. But I've got a plan for that. :)

What did you do this weekend?

Chinese Dinner Party

If you are planning on doing a Chinese themed dinner party anytime soon, I suggest that if you are a novice, not to try soup dumplings on your first go. However, Scallion Pancakes are a real crowd pleaser. And Asian cucumbers are a sure bet as well.

For the Asian cucumbers:

3 peeled and sliced cucumbers
1 cup rice vinegar
4 tablespoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons Soy sauce
Combine and Soak for a few hours Serve!




We also decided to turn our Asian party into a pickling/canning party (cause that makes sense). And used this Fridge pickle recipe, preparing the jars and brine ahead of time. At the end of the party guests put together a jar of accoutrements and spices, tightened the jar and taDa! Easy fun party favor!! A lot of dill and garlic made ours DELICIOUS! Just finished snacking on one.

Great trip in NYC!! Especially Williamsburg

I got back yesterday from a week long trip in NYC, and a fantastic one it was. I went for the NYIGF and our launch party for DwellStudio by GV. I ate tons of delicious food (my body thanked me for Gym trip today) and even got some fun free time to knock around Williamsburg (Brooklyn)... twice. Once for dinner then back on saturday for shopping and.... Eating (it was Smorgasbord after all!




With the advice of my friend Jess, Saturday was really fun having pastries and coffee at the smorgasbord. Then just wandering the streets.




This place was a goldmine.



A couple groovy necklaces I picked up.



Rad graffiti.



The most brilliant store... CatBird and they have an online shop!



I coulda bought the entire store... But I did pick up some Lavender simple syrup for cocktails





Cute merchandising at a cheese shop.

 A serendipitous meeting with Joslyn and crazytown good food at Eataly kicked off the trip. and look! they are opening a marimekko store.





I went to Long Island one night to watch a movie by the river in a park with my friend Jen.




Another highlight of the trip was Cacio e Pepe. I can taste the most delicious pasta now... And yes he is mixing it in a big wheel of cheese. Mmmm


I bought a hat too but will do an entirely separate post for that one. ;)