Checked out

I'm hitting the friendly skies today.

Heading to the east coast where all things are cool and crisp (temps in the low 50s). You can bet I'll be packing jeans, boots, scarves and cardigans~ yipee!

I'll spend the weekend with my New York bestie. We've been through thick and thin together and one thing's for certain ~ our get-togethers are priceless.

Her charming house has been in her hubby's family for over 100 years and it's perched up on a hillside in Grandview NY. You can see the Hudson river from her porch. I promise to take lots of pictures for you.

Some of our get-togethers are for special occasions {celebrating the arrival of Denver bestie's baby last fall, here}: And celebrating my dad's life with all of my family high up in the Rocky Mountains last summer, here: And when she visited us just after we moved to Houston to meet our sweet girl for the first time:
But most of our yearly get-togethers are just for fun {she met us in NYC for our weekend getaway last year, here}:
I haven't been to her home in 4 years. Here's a shot of us having lunch alongside the Hudson in Piermont, NY during my last visit:
She is my soul sister and I can truly be myself with her. We have so many inside jokes and laugh hysterically at the most ridiculous stories we create which go on, and on.

Our love of the supernatural and metaphysics has taken us on some crazy escapades to haunted hotels and psychics [yeah, we're kooky like that].
Well this trip will be no different. We have a scary movie to see:Shopping to do:

And of course wine to drink:
All with this beautiful scenery surrounding us:
I'll make it home on Sunday morning, just in time to take this little goblin out for some much needed candy.
Happy Halloween weekend everyone. Stay safe and have fun!

Autumn in the South

This is my 7th year to experience autumn in Houston.

Some of you may ask "Is there really such a thing as fall in Houston?"

This time of year is quite strange for me and I'm still not used to it. I can only compare it to Springtime in Colorado.

The roof is open for Texans games at Reliant Stadium.

All of the outdoor art festivals are starting up.

School carnivals and field day events take place in the fall.

It's actually cool enough in the evenings to sit outside and eat ice cream after dinner.
Nail salons are at still bustling.

And the ghouls and goblins are out in full force visiting the parks, museums, pumpkin patch and the zoo. You can't fool the animals in the zoo though. While they may have their own Halloween decor inside...

...and there might be ghouls running here and there...
...it's still way too hot outside to be fall, let alone almost time for Halloween, isn't it?!
Even though we stay pretty green here year round,
there are golden leaves a plenty,
the sun is filtered in that way that I love,
and the air is a wee-bit dryer~ so,
it must be so.
Aside from the occasional movie or stop at Build a Bear, we've been spending lots of time outdoors these past few weekends.

People are cheerful and giddy this time of year.

They are outside planting their fall gardens, exercising, washing their cars, taking their kids to the playground...stuff you folks up North typically do in the Spring and Summer.

We're supposed to get a mini cool front this weekend and get into the 70s- YAHOO!

At least the little ones won't be sweating it out in their costumes on Sunday night.

**Cheers to autumn in the South and the good ole outdoors**

PS- Picnik.com has some great tools for hiding the faces of your neighbors kids just in case you didn't get their approval before posting on your blog...

The farm life

Of the French kind.

What do you think? Will this suit your needs and wants?

Here's to a dreamy new week all!

xoxo~

T

Click here for the rest of the tour

Behind the lens...

I have the most talented group of friends. While I may not have met most of them in person, I have seen their homes, I hear about their struggles and successes in life, and I tap into their creative outlets {aka: blogs} almost daily.

While each of these women have various design styles, writing styles, and personalities...they all share one thing.
Extraordinary photography skills.
Whether they edit their photos or not before posting, the composition and natural light can't be altered or denied.

Linsey

Terri

Kimberly

Susan

Heather
Tracey

Maria

Lulu

Trina

Anne

Here's to capturing the weekend events with your own lens.

Make it a great one!

xoxo~

T

Real moments

I've had a good week. Not the kind of week where you win millions in the lottery, or you suddenly fit into your skinny jeans, or you got stuck in an elevator with George Clooney, or you're invited to spend a day on the set of Breaking Dawn kind of week.

No, it's been more of an 'I'm actually living in the moment' kind of good week.
Upon reflecting on the past week I realized~

I haven't felt my heart rate speed up while seeing the seconds tick past on the clock in the morning. I haven't cursed the traffic light for turning red while I approach. I haven't even mentally chastised the man in the elevator for not holding the door for me.

Nope. Some strange, carefree and easy going woman has taken over my body. This woman even got us to school 5 minutes BEFORE the first bell this morning, enough time to run and play on the playground.

Yep, something in me has shifted. I'm much more focused and calm.

Is it the season? Or the fact that I created a written schedule to help us get out the door on time every day? Maybe all of that ooey gooey new age motivational stuff I periodically feed you has turned around and is working on me. Whatever it is I'm not going to waste another minute trying to shed light on how or why.

I just hope it's not short lived. They say that it takes only 3 weeks to form a habit and I know that we can re-train the neural pathways in our brain to take a different route {the route of remaining calm when under stressful situations versus impatience and freaking out}. Consider me 'in training' for the moment.
I plan to continue to ride this wave of peace for as long as I can.

Two days in a row I cuddled with my little one and watched movies on the Disney Channel. Not a DIY project, laptop, or outside obligation in sight. Just me, my happy little bug, and our pooch hanging out together while the gulf breeze blew the tarnished leaves off of the trees in our backyard. The distant sound of football surrounded us and hubby made his periodic appearance in the sun room to swipe our popcorn.

Breathe deep, live in the moment and dream big my friends. ;)

Hugs~

T

Images 1 & 2 - YYellowbird
3- Cabbages & Roses Beach
4- Sandy Nicholson

Pure genius

Have you visited Anthropologie online lately? While we all know and love their creative store fronts and visual merchandising inside the stores, their most recent online marketing campaign is simply genius. Check it out here.
From the sketched scenes for layering fabulous fall pieces...
....to the visually stimulating video tour of street savvy ensembles categorized by your favorite stops.

For a casual bike stroll.
To a stop in the local bakery.
The perfect outfit for an afternoon bite at the cafe down the street.
Mustn't forget the critically elegant stop at the florist.
And the final stop at the bookstore is a casual one.
You really have to see how cute their home page is~ right here.

It's all about lifestyle at Anthropologie.
Even the home accessories and furniture are parsed out by style.


Are you a cozy modern cabin person?
Or perhaps more of a cottage girl?
This chair from the artists loft is too cool.
And this beauty from the cottage home is a keeper.
I don't know about you but almost every time I peruse the Anthro site I somehow escape into the mood and background of the chic Anthro woman and home.

Keep up the good work Anthro~ you tempt me time and again and as long as I don't step foot into your stores, I'm pretty safe at this distance.