Miss America

Fireworks, parades, picnics, baseball games, barbecue and celebrating freedom. Make it a good one, America!

[photo by Thayer Allyson Gowdy.]

Viva La India, Again

Stumbling upon another bit of Indian inspiration proves that good things do come in three's [see first and second]. If you live in Louisiana—or close enough for a worthy road trip—head straight to Discoveries and go wild in 25,000 square feet of global furnishings and found objects.

Pretty Young Thing

15 year old photographer prodigy Mike Bailey is hot on the heels of our beloved Olivia Bee. What exactly did these genius youngsters have in their Cheerios that I missed out on?

Open House: Enid's Lara and Tim Bobo

After being introduced to Enid and falling for their modern and folksy aesthetic [gotta love anyone that can effortlessly combine those two styles!], I asked owners Lara and Tim Bobo to take us inside their home. With Tim's father contracting the house and the couple doing most of the work themselves, the Bobo's had a mission: to design a house that was simple and clean with wide open spaces and tall ceilings. What a perfectly charming outcome!

[I love the idea of floating my seating area in the middle of the living space. The chair and couch we got at Crate and Barrel at their end of the year sale. The square walnut and steel coffee table is from Tim's table collection, T. Bobo. I choose a large 9' x 12' rug to soften the concrete floor and layered a zebra rug on top to add excitement. The leaning bookshelves are from Crate and Barrel; I choose white so they would almost disappear. The ikat pillows are from our shop. My favorite things in the room are the colt sculpture by my grandfather Frederick and the butterfly boxes on the coffee table and bookshelves. We discovered the handmade butterfly collections on our honeymoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico and we now sell them at Enid.]


[When it came to the kitchen I was certain I wanted shelving instead of closed cabinets. I have quite a collection of pottery, wooden bowls, mugs, and glasses that would be a shame to hide behind cabinet doors. On the far left is my spice cabinet which is an old galvanized bread pantry that I bought at an antique show. In distressed lettering it says "Pastry Queen" on the front. The dinning chairs are original Wishbone chairs that belonged to my grandmother, Enid.]


[For the bathroom, I was set on incorporating glass subway tiles. Tim welded the counter base and poured the concrete top. Again, instead of using cabinet doors we left it open and used Crate and Barrel baskets to hide necessities. Tim made the shelves out of scraps from our wooden mantle. We choose a West Elm medicine cabinet for our mirror because of its practical storage space. My favorite thing about the bathroom is the mix of the Victorian claw foot bath tub with the modern and sleek metal counter, sink and light fixtures.]


[The Ashley Grey paint is a perfect compliment to the bright pops of color, such as the turquoise frame or the apple green flocked linen curtains from Anthropologie. I choose a round jute rug to counteract the squareness of the space. For extra clothing storage, I purchased the dresser from a local antique shop. The Loose Lips might Sink Ships print I brought home from Enid. The blue lamps are finds from a resale shop and the side tables are also part of Tim's table collection. The orange pillow is Urban Outfitters and the armadillo pillow was my grandmother, Enid's.]


[Tim and I always wanted a loft. We also wanted a space to put the TV other than next to the fireplace. The rest of the house has a sealed concrete floor so the loft was my opportunity to have a painted wood floor, which I love. To make the couch look less like Ikea, I found some simple dark wood legs and traded them out for the ones that came with the couch. The blue vintage chair came from a garage sale and the white side table was Enid's. We currently only use half the loft. Someday it will become either a creative workspace or some form of a guest bedroom.]

Wheel of Fortune

On July 15th MADSEN Cycles is giving away not one, but two of their precious cargo bikes and anyone with a web presence [blog, website, Twitter, Facebook, whathaveyou] can win! Just link to MADSEN Cycles.com to enter—and click for me too because there's more than one to go around! I've always dreamed of pedaling around with a basket large enough to tote...well, anything and everything.

Holi Smoke

It seems everywhere I turn around, Indian Summer inspiration is starring back at me. I'm finally realizing this is a surefire sign to book our trip for the Holi Festival in March.

[Vogue India May 2009 via Smile.]

Pins and Needles

I came across a vintage collection of Burmese tattoo needles and was instantly gripped by their raw intriguing beauty. The metal pins are weighted on top with a rendered casting of a deity or Nat, a Burmese spirit, and stand a little over 15 inches tall. Without a doubt my newest obsession and what's currently topping the Birthday Wish List [T-minus 28 days, just saying].


P.S. Pardon my elementary camera skills, but it's impossible to take National Geographic-worthy photos after a near Sensory Overload meltdown.

In General

Sure, Portland General Store sells women's goods too, but it's hard to tear myself away from scents like Turkish fig with hints of cranberry and orange or Cedar mixed with vetiver and vanilla. But to be completely honest, it's the minimal pharmacy-like packaging that sends me into a tizzy.

Something Old, Something New

002 Houston's June issue includes a bridal feature showcasing the work of my friend and vintage dealer, Dawn Bell. Photos were shot inside the beloved Installations and Dawn's dresses still managed to take center stage! One glance at the image below and I shot her an "I must own this" email faster than you can say "vintage withdrawal." It's true I don't have a pending ball requiring the need for such attire, but I'm sure to find something, anything in KL worth getting this dolled up!

To score something fabulous for yourself, bookmark Dawn's new Etsy shop—she's working fast and furious to upload all of her unique finds and new jewelry line.

Roti-ness is next to Godliness

Yesterday I discovered a way to savor all the wonderful things I'm missing in American cuisine and today my gastro-thoughts are chanting American food, Schmerican food. I just returned from the Chow Kit Market where I ate my first—and subsequently second—roti canai [Malay translation: to knead bread]. Dipped in copious amounts of curry, locals eat this doughy goodness for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Me? I'm also adding hors d'oeuvre and dessert to the list of appropriate options. Heavenly!

[photos by Christ tell.]

In Houston, check out Banana Leaf to give roti canai and other sassy Malaysian dishes a try.

Jai Ho

When Valerie posted photos from this British Vogue editorial, I immediately got the envie [non-Cajuns, see translation here] to have an Indian Summer myself.

[photos by Patrick Demarchelier.]

Make Shoes, Not War

While on a mad hunt for fabric, I managed to came home with a batik printed robe, 3 pareos and a silk tie-dyed scarf. And now I'm lusting after these. Not sure what's happening, but I'm beginning to channel the inner never-existed-before hippie in me.

Daily Eats

Living in the land of laksas and curries, one glance at Bon Appetit's 365 Days of Eating American takes me home with just a double-click. The digital page-a-day calendar shares recipes, historical anecdotes, and scoop on legendary food events nationwide. But don't think you're getting gypped for half a year, the calendar runs through April 2010.

Field Trip

I'd love to take a field trip to Erie Basin.


Rummage through and drool over trays of candy ripe for the pickin'...


...and walk away with something as beautiful as these two rings.

Beautiful People

Head-turning portraits by Atlanta-based photographer Alex Martinez.