the decorating bug...

I've always enjoyed interior decorating and thought I had a natural eye for it, but for the last few years it's taken a back seat... maybe because I had too much stuff, or couldn't afford what I wanted... or feeling overwhelmed by all the amazing ideas on Pinterest knowing I'd never actually get around to them... but recently, I've been inspired and have acquired a few new pieces!!! yay! it will all come together, slowly but surely, in the new place in January.

I had a wonderful 7 year run with my Ikea couch, but alas, it is time to depart. Santa delivered this as an early Christmas present, and I love it. Classic brown leather, brass nail heads (obsessed), goes with everything... I think it's a great investment piece. Now I just need to get it from Houston to Austin... and down that narrow hallway... hmm...

Then there's this lil lady! I saw it in the store... took a photo... and just wasn't sure... was it TOO MUCH in way of colors?!?! i left... kept looking at it on my phone... drove back within an hour to buy. I've never been scared of color, so why the hell not! It'll be a focal point for the room. I can't wait to unroll it!

This lamp just screamed at me... I can't resist green, and from the brass nail heads above and the coffee table below, you can tell I have a little thing for brass too!

Photo from Overstock --- because the heavy ass box is still sitting in the trunk of my car... had it delivered to work, and no way can I carry that upstairs (hopefully the movers tomo are nice and will help a sista out!). I like that this isn't too bulky or solid and will show off the carpet... loving the mirrored tops along with the aged brass. Bonus... the two nesting tables can be used to expand the coffee table or as side tables. Nice to have options!

And not that these are new, but I still love them OH-SO-MUCH, my Richard Ashcroft prints. I'll attempt to hang them straight across again (because I love this look), but I may end up in tears, that was no easy feat!!!

So that's it for now, a couple of new pieces to mix in with what I already have. I think it's going to feel like a bit substantial of a change. I'm looking forward to a fresh feel!

The colors are a bit all over the place, but I'm hoping to pull it all together somehow... if not, that's just how I roll... colorful and all over the place! :-)

Room for Guests

finally! finally! finally! i'm movin' on up... well, really just around the corner in the same complex... but to a two bedroom! a small second bedroom, but hey... i'll take the extra closet space and somewhere for guests to crash.

the movers come at 9am... then i'm leaving the next day for a 3 week vacation... unpacking and decorating coming in 2014!!!

i invite you all to come and stay, i love house guests! :-)

Stuck in Reverse

***slight hiatus due to unexpected v.i.p.-ballin'-out-of-control SXSW week (updates soon). i want to go back a few weeks, as i was nearing the end of my nearly 2 week staycation.***

One evening/after/morning (it was all blending together), as I was wallowing in bed, listening to some tunes, Coldplay's Fix You began playing. A flood of thoughts and memories and associations began to fill my mind.

This song was released about a month before I moved to London, and I played it on repeat... non-stop.  I felt a strong emotional connection to the song for several reasons. Chris Martin wrote it for his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) after her father died. And while I was seeking an adventure, and loving London, there were certainly strong bouts of homesickness being so far away from my family & friends. And the weather... oh the gloomy skies! The next year, when I moved to Ireland, my lovely Scottish friend Louise would sing this song in the most beautiful way (I love associating this, along with a few other specific songs with her singing).

Side note: I.. yes, ME... discovered Coldplay before the rest of America while I was traveling in Ireland in 2000. I remember hearing Yellow and coming back to Texas telling my friends about this "amazing new band."

So... back to wallowing in bed... this song had me thinking and feeling that I have spent much of the last 6.5 years since I've returned to Austin feeling stuck in reverse. There have been many positive experiences being back in Texas, especially on the making genuinely wonderful friends and deepening my relationship with family front. But on the other hand, I feel like my time abroad developed me personally, emotionally, intellectually, professionally by leaps and bounds in such a short amount of time.

Maybe it was showing up alone, fending for myself, having no support system, etc. I believe those were major key factors, but I can't pinpoint here what is holding me back.

For a long time here, I've mostly felt stalled at a red-light (there's a good chance I literally was too in the good ole Olds), even at times rolling backwards. Now though, it's as if I want to move forward, the lights about to turn green... I just need to put it in 1st and GO (yeah, yeah. I drive a stick shift now). Where's this fear of stalling coming from???

That's it really, no great epiphany from it all, just that I need moving forward to happen... whatever that means and entails, I am unsure. I need to be responsible for putting that into motion.

the Pope

I mostly identify with religions in regards to culture... I consider myself 1/2 watered down WASP & 1/2 fallen Catholic, with some Cajun thrown in. Being that both of my parents came from more hardcore of the two, and were pretty much non-practicing themselves. That works, right?

The Catholic school girl that lives in my mom had us watching mid-night mass religiously on tv with the Pope and I've always been intrigued by the pomp, circumstance, and regalia of it all. As I got older (and read The Da Vinci Code on the beaches of Santorini) and more interested in reading the news and politics in general, I realized the great power the Pope has, and how this plays out across the world.

While studying in Salzburg, I had the opportunity to go to the Vatican City for Easter Sunday Mass (2nd to last one that Pope John Paul delivered). What led to my trip there is a story in and of itself (to be blogged about at a later time, b/c it's a good one). It's worth mentioning though because a) that lovely photo below was taken there and is one of my all time favs (that was a photo taken on what was then known as B&W film, I don't have a scanner, so just took a photo w/ my phone, crappy quality), and b) it piqued my interest even more once he died and the election of the new pope happened.

So fast forward.... RATZINGER RESIGNED!!! I read those headlines at 6am on my vacation in L.A. and was flabbergasted.  SAY WHAT??? A modern-pope hasn't resigned in over 600 years.... shizzznat be goin down in V-City!!!

So here we are... the election of a new pope, while another one is there in retirement. I've been following all kinds of articles about the speculation behind it. Is it a PR move? Is it to keep Pope Benedict from being tried in the ICC? Will they elect an African Pope to help spread Catholicism in Africa? --- soap box about the counter-productivity of the Catholic Church in Africa in regards to the fight to reduce HIV, and their abstinence only preaching in many countries that are plagued by rape and lack of knowledge of prevention, such as the use of condoms. 

I'm excited to see how this all plays out... to watch the smoke rise from Vatican signalling whether or not they have a decision; who will it be?

I'd like to have a Body & Blood Party (bread & wine), but I only know of one friend (NR) that would actually be interested in watching the "election results." Stay tuned...

So what's to this??

Good question.

I was walking around Pease Park with my friend CJ earlier, talkin' 'bout my blog... yadda yadda. What AM I go to write about? I dunno. Things... daily things, life, travel, ideas, books, thoughts (I do a lot of thinking into the wee hours), religion/philosophies/cults, etc.

I might do some "no-holds-barred" entries, we'll see. If you have any topics you'd like to see me address, throw 'em at me.

I figure it's just my close friends reading this once they've made it past their 13 Mormon blogs they follow... ohh... uhhhh....

Got an email from another friend, RS... will I allow guest bloggers? HELLZ YEAH.

So, onwards and upwards. Let us see if I can commit to something.

Homemade Organic Lip Scrub

I'm in the midst of my "staycation"... I don't want it to EVER end! I got out of bed at 2pm yesterday, then watched 6 episodes of Gossip Girl on my laptop... then decided I should join the human race, and do something to redeem my otherwise amazing embarrassing lazy day. I mosied on over to Central Market to get my favorite Asian salad, but the cafe closed at 9pm. (Yeah, I know... whose mid-day is 9pm?)

I then decided I would finally make this lip-scrub I pinned on Pinterest. Now, I'm not a big homemade type person, I love that stuff, but would rather someone do it for me. I'd like to work on that more.

What inspired a lip scrub? A few months back I was at Sephora, deciding on a new poppy lip color. An employee there was helping me and she was like "Lord have mercy... those lips are DRY!"... well not exactly those words, but she offered me a lip scrub. It worked miracles, but no way was I paying that price! Since Pinterest seems to hold the DIY answer to everything these days, I went home and found the perfect-for-me-recipe.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 tbsp Honey 
2 tsp Brown Sugar

Mix the coconut oil and honey until it is a nice consistency, then add the brown sugar and mix a little more.

Voila! Your own scrumptious lip scrub that really works.

(Rub on lips for about 30 seconds, then wipe of with warm water.)

I'm storing mine in a little tupperware container. The Pinterest post used a baby food jar with a cute label (of course!). It says you can store in the fridge up to 2 weeks.

Pucker up!

i'm back... maybe.

it's me... again! just over two THREE years later, and not a single post. well, i'm going to try and start blogging... journaling... documenting... what have you.

since i haven't had cable/tv for almost a year, i've decided i need to put my energy elsewhere than endless internet-surfing that just leads to destructive obsessions.

 so, with this lil diddy, i'll write about whatevs, then hopefully get around to spotlighting some of my travels :-)