So very proud of my gorgeous friend and super chic mama-to-be Cristina on the launch of Love Child, her awesome new website for modern mamas. There's so much love, thought, and detail that went into putting each sweet post together, and I can't wait to see what's in store for the future. Drop those gems of wisdom on me!

I may be a bit late to the party on this one, but here's a couple snapshots from our Memorial Day trip to Fort Worth. There were so many other spots that we wanted to check out, but lots of restaurants and shops were closed on Sunday and Memorial Day. Major bummer, but another reason to head back there soon. Here's some of our favorite sights and spots we discovered on our trip! 

Fireside Pies // Literally one of the best meals John and I have both had. It was pretty dark in the restaurant, so I didn't get any pictures....but not that I could have, because there is no way we could have waited to take those first bites anyways. From the appetizer to the dessert, each plate we ordered was perfection. We skipped lunch that day, so we went a little wild and ordered the roasted veggies (the pick of the day was beets) and the fancy house salad. We followed that with the buckwheat tagliatelle and mushroom pasta - they make the pasta fresh in house, and it was incredible. I don't even like pasta all that much, but this....oh my gosh, delicious. The wood-fired burrata pizza was literally one of the best pizzas I have had in the good ol' US of A. Even though we were stuffed, we got the chocolate torte for dessert. Oh, and the grapefruit Rickey cocktail is SO good. Just the right mix of tart and sweet!

AF&B //  After our meal at Fireside, we ventured to their sister restaurant for lunch the next day. It was American farm-to-table food with a creative kick, and it was delicious!

Kimbell Art Museum // We visited this museum to check out the architectural savvy of Louis Kahn and Renzo Piano. Oh, and the art. That Matisse that John is standing in front of was my favorite.

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth // I loved this museum! The architecture was so cool, and the art collection was oh-so-covetable. They were installing an entire new exhibit upstairs, so we only were able to see the first floor galleries....but consider me impressed! Oh, they had a great gift shop too....lots of Japanese tchotchkes and jewelry. I picked up that sweet gold arrow necklace for a cool $20, and John got a goofy keychain.

Stockyards // This place is like a movie set. It literally feels like Frontierland at Disneyland. Totally Texas, and totally touristy...but so much fun. We saw cowboys riding bulls (which gave me crazy anxiety), went to a huge honky tonk, watched the best two-steppers in the West, and caught a show by The Cadillac Three. Must remember to wear boots and a hat next time we go!

Sweet Sammies // A big selection of cookies smooching a big ol' scoop of any Bluebell flavor you want. It's not rocket science why we liked this place.

Wrare // A mecca of cool gifts and housewares, I thought this place was really well-curated and had a bunch of decor that could fit lots of different budgets.

Instead of the usual sleeping in from yet another exhausting week, I woke up with pep (and poodle hair!), quickly got ready, and zoomed on over to meet Celine at Elizabeth Street Cafe for breakfast on the patio. For those of you not yet acquainted with Celine or her blog, she is a Craigslist ninja, momma to an adorable fur baby named Archie, can whip up a mean donut cocktail on a whim, schools me on essential vocabulary terms like fauxdenza, and always knows about all the coolest events around town.

As we waited for her perfectly flaky croissant with jam and my scrambled egg and sausage banh mi to arrive, we chatted about our fave TV shows, flea markets, and the pregnancy epidemic that is taking over our Facebook feeds. Afterwards, we headed over to Candice and Trilby's macrame workshop at Mockingbird Domestics, where we each wove our own wall hanging. It was actually really therapeutic, knotting the white and indigo strings together into a loose diamond and chainlink pattern. Our stained indigo fingers, which we waved around spirit finger style, were like a badge of honor. We can weave, y'all!! I've got it hanging in our entryway now, and I'm already itching to make another one! 

After the workshop, I picked John up and headed to my parents house where we lounged by the pool, reminisced about the good ol' days while we went through a stack of childhood photos, feasted on caprese salad and salmon, and debated over which movie to watch while I commandeered the remote and clicked from movie to movie like a maniac. We ended up watching Rush (which was the initial plan...it just took an hour to hit play), which we all agreed was a total "saddle up" - code for an exciting two thumb's up film flick in our family.

I have lots to be grateful about - for that perfect, relaxing and sunny Saturday, filled with quality time with family, laughs with friends, and an epic crafternoon session with a group of inspiring creative ladies. Gosh, living in Austin is just the best.

Woke up to the sunshine streaming in through the trees in our backyard....loving how green everything is right now because of all this rain!

Added a handful of houseplants recently to freshen up the casa, and I'm making an earnest attempt to develop a green thumb. Trying to get in the habit of watering on Saturday AM. I'm ultra-paranoid about over-watering though, because apparently I potted all my plants totally wrong and root rot is an imminent threat of death. I just can't seem to win the war against murdering plants.

Speaking of houseplants, remember that disastrous DIY I mentioned on Instagram? Consider this hot mess of a gold-leafed planter project an eventual redo. "Good" from far, far from good, you know? I mean, the bald spots and splotchy lines give it character, riiiiiight?

 I hopped in the shower, and while I was singing at the top of my lungs and scrub-a-dub-dubbin', my husband Jacques Pepin John whipped up the most impressive breakfast! I'm talking freshly sauteed spinach, mini heirloom tomatoes, freshly picked basil and a touch of parmesan tossed into perfectly scrambled eggs. It was really hard to actually eat this meal because my jaw was on the floor. Bravo, John!

On Sunday, I checked out Feliz while John was working the AIA tour. I went on a mini shopping spree and picked up a gorgeous Miranda Bennett scarf, a teeny tiny pair of baguette earrings by Erica Weiner via Olive Vintage, two Oui candles, and some birthday cards from Great Lakes Goods. So much amazing stuff in such a little space. I want it alllll.

 I love me some Uchi, so I gave James' version of their sweet chili Brussels sprouts recipe a try this weekend. Yep....she's right. These are friggin' delicious.

Later that afternoon, I met up with my mom and John so we could all hit a few homes on the architecture tour. My two cents? Shiflet Group Architects blew them all out of the water....with and without my little bias since that is where the hubs works, after all. ;)

Photo from my birthday breakfast!

Happy weekend, chickadees! I know it's been rather quiet up on this here blog lately, and well....I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed and energy-zapped lately. Wanted to squeeze this post in since it's Friday, woohoo! This two day respite is certainly welcome.

John and I are heading to a wedding on Saturday, followed by an all-day onion soup making session with my mom on Sunday. With a new-found and much-loved nip in the air (hooray for fall - finally!), John and I have been craving some. Her onion soup is legit, y'all. Every other onion soup recipe is total and complete rubbish. I am not even exaggerating in the slightest. I've had a few failed attempts at making my own, so I'm going to study up while observing the master at work...and if y'all are lucky, I'll get the right techniques and share my mom's recipe that makes all other onion soup recipes pale in comparison.

I also plan on wrapping up a few spray paint DIYs I have going on on Sunday while those onions get their caramelization on, framing pictures, planting our snake plant, and figuring out how in the heck to decorate our blasted dining room. It's an awkward unused eating/work/clutter collecting space...I have no freakin' clue what to do with it. We did hand curtains last week though, and....meh. Time to go down the black hole that is Pinterest and get a raging case of inspiration-hunting-turned-house-envy.

What are y'all up to?

Well, it's my birthday today and I've got to say that 26 was a pretty epic year...the hubs and I took a grown-up leap and bought a house, a sweet nephew was added to the family roster, I got a great new job, traveled here and there to explore our great state and visit family and friends - which included celebrating my bestie getting married, worked on some really rad freelance projects with amazing friends, and so much more that I can't remember because I'm getting old. Thank goodness for this blog! I think digging through my archives has got to be one of my favorite things about blogging. Reviewing those little moments frozen in time that I would otherwise hazily recall.

Welcome, 27. Let's do this. Ringing it in at Olive & June tonight with the fam, too. Excited to try that place!

Photo by Oliver Schwarzwald // Graphics by me

...and talked about one of my most favorite topics ever: THE RAMIFICATIONS OUR FOREIGN POLICY HAS ON THE ECONOMY. Har har har, did you also know I moonlight as a comedian?? ;) For real though, I had the pleasure of filming a segment on the 4th of July with our friends at KXAN on behalf of Maya Star and Co-Star, and shared some of our favorite pieces in the stores that will keep you looking cool this summer, even as the temps creep upwards of 100 degrees. Check out the clip to see the one and only Hangerface Stoddard in action (my TV debut!), get the scoop on what's trending this summer, and stylish tips for how to wear it!

See something you just have to have? All you have to do is come visit us at Co-Star on 1708 S. Congress Ave...or email me and we can arrage to have it shipped if it's not on the website yet! I heart my new job.

Hip hip hooray, I'm super excited to finally spill the deets on the new gig! You're looking at the new e-commerce and social media/pr manager at Maya Star and Co-Star boutiques, thankyouverymuch. So far, I really like it....it's a good blend of creative/tech, so it appeals to my artsy fartsy and OCD nerdy computer geek side. I mean, I take pictures of really cool products from brands like Elizabeth and James, Thierry Lasry, Ya, Free People, Fred Perry, Rivieras, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Parker, Vince, Charlie Jade, and Flying Tomato, edit them to look all purdy, add them to the website so you can snap them up and support the local small businesses that keep our economy afloat, offer up my 2 cents to chatty folks on Twitter/Facebook, keep the Instagram and Pinterest accounts poppin', design marketing materials, author blog posts, work with media- shall I continue or are you bored yet? I think you get the picture...I'll refrain from further embellishment. ;)

Highlight thus far? Coming back from lunch, and spying one of my all-time fave interior designers, Cortney Novogratz, getting her shop on. I geeked out a little bit, I'll admit it. She's just too fab, and I really admire her amazing style.

If you are ever in Austin and find yourself shopping it up on South Congress, be sure to stop in both of these shops - lots of racks full of pretty items that fit any budget while you soak up some well-deserved AC. Or, if you want to help a sistah out, order that shizz online. It'll make me look really good. And you'll look really good too because both stores have uber-cute stuff. Win-win.

After a full day of icky airports and listening to wailing babies bust a lung on the plane (as much as I'd prefer my ears to be filled with Bob Marley and The Wailers for 4 hours, I really do sympathize on this one), waking up to this scene is literally my idea of bliss. Click the link below to get the full scoop on our FL adventures!