Friday Favorite- Texas pillow

MyBeardedPigeon

A number of design and decor sites have profiled the etsy shop my bearded pigeon recently. For good reason, the products are amazing. The artist, Cath agreed to create a Texas pillow for me and I just LOVE it. It's going to be the perfect addition to our living room. I can't wait until it arrives. She's got more Texas pillow covers in her shop, as well as tons of other maps. I can see the Paris map pillow or the vintage Vancouver or Canada pillows in my friend T's home. (T, go buy one now!) You can find more pillow covers here. If you don't see your state or area on the shop, just convo Cath, she's really easy to deal with and you won't be disappointed!

A custom Texas pillow-a Friday's Favorite for sure!

Hump Day Vacation Photo

Man, I had a day. It was hectic, stressful, crazy, and endless. Here is a snippet of a text conversation I had: "Had the worst day at work. I need an escape."

"Me too...tough week and it's only Tuesday!"

"Right. And I gave up drinking for Lent...OK, I gave up drinking during the week. But, still..."

But, tomorrow is going to be a great day. I have the day off (even though I will be very worried about a work project) to go shopping with a friend and Eddie Ross in Round Top. I am so excited. I love Eddie; I think he's sort of a genius. So, while I am off enjoying a great day shopping, I leave you with this image and hope it inspires you to have a great day. Or, at least dream about a great day.

Half Marathon-Done!

My Half Crazy Half Marathon

I finally managed to finish a half-marathon (Angie's Half Crazy! Half Marathon). Take that #32 on the Life List! After registering for (and missing) three other races, I actually managed to get to the starting line and finish a half-marathon. Thank God. I'm proud that I finished the race. That said, I'm an overachiever and know I have a lot of room for improvement- I was much slower than I wanted. I thought I ran my goal time of 2:30. (I would do the winning dance if I could run a 2:15.) It turns out that I was almost 10 minutes slower and ended up with a 2:39. Bummer. But, I was really dragging those last few miles, so that makes sense. I mean really dragging. D-r-a-g-g-i-n-g. I'm feeling really tired and sore, but happy that I finished my first half-marathon. I'm ready for the next race...just not too soon.

For those of you planning on running a half-marathon, here are a few things I learned along the way, besides the obvious ones like hydrate as much as possible: a cute running skirt will make you feel much better while racing, it doesn't make you run faster though..., A good running play list is essential, I'd still be on mile 9 without Ludacris, Britney, Eminem, and Kanye (I can't help it, I love 'em). The distance between miles 11-13.1 is longer than 2.1 miles. Truth.

Friday Favorite- T shirt Edition

Photo via Amazon.com
Buffy

Photo via musingsofamuse.com

or Wonder Woman.

Tough Choice. I don't even wear t-shirts, but I may have to make an exception.

Fun t-shirts, my Friday Favorite.

Bluebonnets & Texas

Bluebonnet Pictures & Perfect Photo Location

It turns out that a number of people find my blog by searching for bluebonnets, bluebonnet pictures, etc. (The rest of you find me by searching for Wonder Woman or Wonder Woman underoos, which is sort of awesome.) That means it must be time for a weekly bluebonnet picture update. These bluebonnet shots are all from my neighborhood. Aren't I lucky that we have great patches growing so close? But, for those of you looking for a field of bluebonnets perfect for picture taking, I suggest the Salem Lutheran Church grounds in Brenham. Awesome fields of flowers with a darling white church in the background and free.

Ah, bluebonnets, proof that God Blessed Texas!

Spring Color Combinations

I'm definitely in a color mood lately. But, it's OK because the colors are purple, yellow, and gray and they go so well together in both Fall and Spring. Look, the colors are everywhere (not to mention in my bedroom curtains, sheets, and decor!):

Anthropologie dress
Ruche top
J Crew Double Serge skirt (GREAT skirt, by the way)

Of course Kate Spade has so many lovely yellow and purple combinations, but they don't download well, see this, this, and this. I'm also in love with combining purple with blue and green like in this Target dress I just bought. The blue/purple/green combination reminds me of a field of wildflowers, just lovely. Even though I'm captivated by purple/yellow/gray, I still love looking for new color combinations in magazines, catalogs, and surprisingly on one of my favorite shows- Glee, recapped nicely at What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear. Where do you go for color inspiration and what colors are inspiring you this Spring?

Vacation View

Less than forty-eight hours ago this was my view...not too shabby. We returned home from vacation with lots of great stories, pictures, and a few sunburns (Oops. Next time pack rash guards, hats, and apply MORE sunscreen!). We also brought back a desire to eat Puerto Rican food and drink pitchers of Sangria. Mmm, some of the best food and drinks we've had in a long time. Needless to say, I'm catching up on work, laundry, and editing hundreds of pictures. I hope your Spring Break was full of sand/snow/relaxing fun. Any fun Spring Break stories to share?

Here, Deer, and Everywhere

I have had a whirlwind of a few days including two Buc-ee's stops, marathon work sessions, packing, unpacking, repacking, and culminating in my husband accidentally wiping my iPhone clean of EVERYTHING. So, instead of a big post, you get this. This is one of the only iPhone pictures I saved prior to tonight. It's kind of apropos, a doe with pearls. Sometimes I feel like the doe. Like, I don't really belong in this feed store, do I? Can't you just make things a little prettier? Maybe add some pearls? Oh yeah, much better. What is also much better is our beach vacation that starts tomorrow. I've heard there's no wi-fi where we're going, so it may be quiet around here for a few days. Have a great eek. If you don't hear from me, I'm off enjoying a few mojitos!

Friday Favorite- Etsy Necklaces

Image Tyrowild

Image Tyrowild

Image Tyrowild

I found this etsy shop through Twitter (and then clicked through Jane has a Job). I love Tyrowild's etsy shop. I think the pieces would be a great addition to any wardrobe. Necklaces like these are invaluable because they can easily transition from work to play. You can wear them with a suit or or even add a statement to a plain t-shirt and jeans. I love wearing necklaces like this since it makes dressing so easy and instantly elevates the look. In other words, you look much more put together with little effort. Score! The etsy shop is full of great items that are similar to what you'd see at Ban*na Republic or J. Crew or other retailers, but for a much more reasonable price point. If you click through Jane has a Job, there is a discount of 10% on any purchase from the etsy shop. Go, shop, and be pretty.

Reasonably priced nice jewelry, that's a Friday favorite!

Love Thursday-Little Loves

This photo encompasses most of my major loves- I Love these two girls; I Love how they love spending time together; I Love being out in the country (the girls are riding on a souped up golf cart); and I Love the boots. In short, it's a photo of all my little loves. Happy Love Thursday, hope today is full of your little loves.

A Big Change

Guess what this is?If you guessed about 26 inches of hair, you'd be right. My girls and I started growing our hair in August, to donate to Auntie Rachel*. It was my daughter Em's idea. I was really proud to join the effort. Proud until it became clear that I would need to actually cut my hair. Then I was sort of frightened. No, terrified. You see, I have this disease where I convince myself that I will like a short haircut. Every time I cut my hair, I immediately regret it. This time is no different. I can't blame the hairdresser, she did exactly what I asked. My girls look adorable. Me? Meh. I think I resemble Sally Field in Steel Magnolias- brown football helmet. Not happy. It does look slightly better curly, which is how I am wearing it today. However, my hair will grow back. And, next time I will know to grow my hair even longer so that I can still have longish hair after the big cut. I'm posting this as evidence that I am not one of those people who feels comfortable rocking a short cut. A number of my friends can, I just don't feel comfortable without my hair. So, then next time I feel like cutting my hair, hopefully I will see this post and remember to proceed with caution!

*We donated to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program because the program only requires 8 inches of hair versus 10 inches. Next time, we plan on donating to Wigs for Kids.

Bluebonnet Springtime!

It is finally Spring in Texas, the first Bluebonnets have been sighted. You should expect a weekly pictorial update until they disappear.

Bluebonnets are my favorite flowers. I love that they pop up in the most unexpected places.

These are from our front yard. But, soon, we'll see fields of wildflowers. They'll line the roads. They'll pop up in the country. It's a beautiful thing. Just had to share the first beauties with you.

Friday Favorite- Bath & Beautiful Edition

Photo-Lush

Lush Bath Bombs-I've heard great things about Lush. Their products are all natural, which is important to me. The girls and I did a little shopping the other day and passed by the Lush department, so I let each girl select one Lush Bath Bomb. What fun. One of the bath bombs had little bits of heart confetti and changed colors. One bomb changed colors and released glitter. Basically, the best thing you could ask for if you happen to be a little girl. They loved it. A relatively cheap way of bringing some fun to bathtime. Both bath bombs smelled wonderful. The Lush people gave me a free shampoo bar to try and, so far, I really like it.

Photo Sephora

Amore Pacific Lipstick-I get incredibly chapped lips. Really bad. My hypothesis is that I'm allergic to something that I love to eat-regularly. Since I'm too lazy to go to a physician and get an actual diagnosis, I'll just self treat. Anyhow, so extremely chapped lips. I've tried EVERYTHING. Cheap treatments, expensive treatments, everything in between. Vaseline, Kiehl's, La Mer, you name it. A while ago, Sarah suggested this lip treatment on Twitter. Sarah's beauty suggestions are always spot on, so I bought it. It is worth every penny. It completely heals my lips. It's sort of in between lipstick and lip gloss. It has great coverage and stays on for hours. Definitely a great find.

Friday favorites-Bath & Beauty edition.

Love Thursday- Cowgirl Up

It doesn't surprise anyone who knows me that I love Texas. I love living in this state of queso, river sitting, bluebonnets, and Bar-B-Q. I'm a breathing Texas Tourism ad. Neither my husband nor I are Texan by birth, but as many bumper stickers say "Texan by the grace of God." As a result, we are a Texas family. We are also a family overwhelmingly of girls. (Maybe this is why my husband goes hunting all the time, to escape the make-up and pink?!). Last week the girls got new boots (above) and haven't parted with them since. This is our life in a nutshell, two matching pairs of boots for my Texas girls, and a couple of well worn glitter shoes for good measure.

The boots signal rodeo season here in Houston. Rodeo is one of my favorite times of year. It used to mean the start of my husband's Barbecue cook-off time and all the fun that went with it. Now, it means that we'll "cowgirl up" (or cowboy up, as the case may be) and go to the Rodeo for a day of fun. It means a day of dreaming about our own piece of Texas ranch land...someday. A day of pig races, milking cows, petting baby animals, and eating everything fried on a stick that you can imagine. My husband chaperoned Em's class yesterday to the Rodeo and reported that the Texas pig beat all the others in the pig races yesterday, I'm taking that as a positive sign for the upcoming season. (PLEASE!!!). He also refused to buy me my own Longhorn. Pffft. That would have really shown me his love. I'm sure it would be right at home in our side yard. I even have a name all picked out- "Darrell Royal Earl Mack Lovely Longhorn of Awesomeness."

Happy Love Thursday. May your day be filled with boots, chaps, and yummy deep fried goodness.