Hello, Houston!

I'm just now recovering from my weekend in Houston...

G and I flew down Friday afternoon and spent the night and his parents' gorgeous house villa north of downtown. While I didn't get to see any armadillos (I'm curious, okay?) I did get to see their resident bunny hopping around. Their backyard looks out onto the Woodforest Golf Course, so I spent early Saturday morning lounging out enjoying the view and reading (I'm on book 3 of Hunger Games).

We headed into downtown after a late breakfast for drinks and catching up with friends. We then proceeded to get ready and scramble to the wedding. It was a great ceremony- short and sweet with personal touches. The bridesmaids all wore black chiffon J.Crew dresses, and the groomsman wore black cowboy boots. We headed across town to the Junior League of Houston for the reception.

As you can see, there were a lot of Aggies at the party! I was the only non-Aggie at my table- Texarkana- but at least I'm not a Longhorn :)

The venue was gorgeous- with huge crystal chandeliers scattered throughout, and several (open) bars so you never had to wait too long for a drink. After the party ended we created our own at Fung Fu Saloon.

Sunday morning was rough, but we made it over to the sketchy area of town for breakfast at Gerrardos so G could get his fix of barbacoa. I ate... blue powerade. We made it to the airport and I proceeded to sleep on the flights home.

Can't wait for Austin in June!

A Southern Weekend

Okay, okay so Texas isn't the real South. But it is south of where I currently live, so I'm calling it good. Besides, I'm sure I will be doing plenty of Southern things as I will be going to a wedding in Houston. One of G's best friends is getting married to his Vanderbilt sweetheart at the Junior League of Houston and I'm tagging along. We leave this afternoon! Houston, you better get ready!

I met the couple about a year and half ago when we crashed with them for Austin City Limits. Now I'm super excited to see them tie the knot, eat real Tex-Mex, and see G's parents.

I packed last night and fit everything I need in my Longchamp tote and my Kate Spade satchel. I'm packing 2 Lilly dresses, 1 Shoshanna cocktail dress, 2 pairs of heels, or pair of Jack Rodgers, makeup/ toiletries, underpinnings,  and my new obsession of the moment, Hunger Games (I'm halfway through Catching Fire). With all this time up in the air I hope I get a lot of reading done!

Did I mention it is going to be a delicious 80 degrees while we are there? So excited for the heat! I'll be back Sunday!

Inspire: Tea Party

One of my best friends is getting married in early June. I'm currently working with our other friend and the bride's mom on throwing a Tea Party to honor her.

Here are some of my inspirations (pulled from pinterest):

 I'm having the party at a cute tea shop in Austin, Texas! We're going to cater the event ourselves because so many people in the party have allergies. I ordered the invitations from Tag & Co. and they are simple and elegant (perfect). The bride loves pearls and cupcakes so I have to incorporate them into the general plan.

 Aren't these mint julep cups amazing? They're actually plastic and under $2 each.

 Her favorite color is purple, so I'll be using it and white throughout the venue.

I'll be making a banner with the bride's name!

Want: Kirribilla Dresses

I just stumbled across Kirribilla dresses, and I must say I LOVE THEM!

This is the one I first laid eyes on summer in the blogosphere:

It is made for the races! Too bad we don't have any racetracks near us.

But maybe I will hold a Derby Party so we can pretend we are on Millionaires Row while sipping on mint juleps!

 And that would totally justify buying a new dress, right?

Love: New Neighbors...

We got a new neighbor, just in time for warm weather... 

Blooming Dogwood tree

I went to water my pansies (which were looking pretty sad in their hanging baskets when a robin flew out in a flurry. So I got on my step stool and peered in to find...

So excited for baby robins! Don't worry I saw Mama Bird come back to her nest several times later in the day so I didn't scare her off for good!

Love seeing these on my walk home

Time for linen! Skirt by JCrew

Someone was pleased with the weather...

My favorite building on G's campus

Loved this combo in the hotel's atrium

I also went shopping while G was working on Saturday and out of the corner spotted Jack Rodgers. Too bad they are ripoffs (and the quality was sooo bad- not even worth the $30).

I did end up buying a pair of two-toned pumps that look like the classic Chanel ones, but were really cheap. Mine are from Franco Sarto, and only cost $22 (yay for clearance and size 6 feet). I found a photo on another blog that shows them off really well (here!).

Love: First Wedding of the Season!

We spent last weekend with good friends at their wedding at the Hotel Northampton.

 

 

It was fabulous! Highlights include the photobooth, best man's rap and dancing to 90's music. Also, apparently I'm obsessed with chandeliers. The groom works with robots (just like G) so the cake toppers were perfect (he also wore robot cufflinks). I wore my Kate Spade Dorothy dress, and got lots of compliments... :)

Inspire: Bridesmaid Hair

G and I have a whole bunch of weddings coming up- including my best friend's!

Now I've got to make sure I look good for the weddings come up (hellloooo, Texas) so I decided to start picking out what to do with my hair.

Enter Kate Middleton's mane:

Her hair is always classy and the look is timeless... so I think I'm going to try this look as a wedding guest, and in June as  bridesmaid. My hair stylist told me how to make the soft waves today, so hopefully I have enough time to perfect them by June!

Since I'll be a bridesmaid in a Texas wedding in June (aka the mercury will be pushing the 90s) I'll have to find a way to take the soft curls and throw them into a simple updo when I get too hot.

Now I need to buy a curling iron... yeah... I know... I don't have one.

Eek!

Pink & Green Thursdays

In the Office: 

When I first moved into my new desk it was functional, but not pretty. Over the past several months I've been trying to make it more colorful...

I wrapped my little plastic binder clip holders with some Lilly Pulitzer prints that I found online.

I framed some cute wrapping paper in pink to make a dry erase board. 

Some art prints I found on etsy framed in white make the space more personal. 

I also made a cute door sign for our office!

Inspire: Cookbooks

In the Kitchen...

I love cookbooks, and I can't help it. G and I have amassed a huge collection which might be unnecessary for many people- but we actually use them.

Our staples:

Barefoot Contessa series (Original, Back-to-Basics, Family Style)
Homesick Texan, Amazon
Joy of Cooking (I have my grandmother's 1964 copy), Amazon
Better Homes and Garden, Amazon
Beekman House Heirloom, Amazon
Produce Bible, on Amazon

Charlotte's Favorites:

Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen, Amazon
Alice Bay, Amazon apparently this is out of print... so the copies on Amazon are expensive
Pike Place Market, on Amazon
Toll House Recipes, on Amazon
Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, on Amazon








 

G's Favorites:

Don Strange of Texas, on Amazon
Star of Texas, on Amazon
Aggie Moms and Apple Pie (somebody is an Aggie), on Barnes & Noble
Talk About Good, on Amazon
Mad Hungry: Feeding Hungry Men and Boys, on Amazon






Funny how you can tell where a person is from based on their cookbooks :)