My Dream Portraits

I love the idea of formal portraits that look stiff and fake. 

And I am a sucker for images of Carolina Herrera and her daughters.

So many ball gowns and skirts.

Even their casual photos looks formal, swoon.

Magic Man is not a fan of portraits, let alone anything stiff and formal.  So bless his heart for indulging me once a year (and no one more that that).

I suppose if we want to do it right, next year we (READ: the adults) will ditch the smiles.  At least the kids figured that part out.    

From One Dream Locale to Another

So Magic Man and I packed up

And relocated from Meridian, MS 

to Austin, TX.

And although I wanted a tad more time in the Deep South (can you blame me?) . . . 

(why yes that is a peacock in our tree) 

And at my job at Coastal Living 

(I loved going to work everyday) . . . 

. . .I do adore Austin.

The day after we moved we were asked to submit a video as a possible location for Tig Notaro's Road Trip Documentary.  We didn't get picked but now we have a record of our first days in here.  

As you can see Here: 

and here:

And now starts a new chapter, where I can wake up at 6:00AM and drive 5 minutes to the nearest H&M (1 of 2 that were selected in Texas) and be the 5th person in line. . . .

to shop the Isabel Marant X H&M event.

This couldn't have happened in the Deep South and if I was still in NY or CA it would have sold out. 

I guess this classic song has it right:

  

Dream Animals that Aren't Alive

I'm not a fan of live animals but pieces of animals?   

Yes please.  

Like Burberry's Fox-head belt. 

 Yum.

Or the claw boot from Friends of Mine.

If I don't own this at some point, 

then I don't know what.

Alligator Jaws? 

Best purchase I made in Florida.

And I'd say moving to the South has given me plenty of exposure to non-living animals. 

(It's OK these are vintage and were actually used to keep innocent babies warm.)

They even have non-living animals when you grocery shop at your local market.

Yes, I mean Walmart.

  

I started talking about coveting things from Burberry and ended with shopping at Walmart.  

I'm still figuring out my new home.

With this guy:

So, it's cool. 

New Southern Dream Life

So now I have a new Southern gentleman husband . . . 

 . . . & four new kiddies (yes, 4), who I cannot stop taking photos of.  

I especially like it when they blend into my apartment.

Who knew the South would be so magical?

P.S. Someone sent me this necklace and I have no idea who but I love it more than kittens.

I dreamt I had money to buy an awesome sofa

I mean like real money, like ABC Carpet & Home money or Anthropologie money (don't act like they aren't high end - their prices and patterns are so alienating they screams 'high end').

But alas, I do not have said money, so I had to settle for a Rooms 2 Go sofa, which was tres comfy. 

And brown.

Again, like the Roll Top (not to be confused with Roll Tide), I do not have a before photo but you can imagine a plain (read: ugly) brown and black fabric-covered sofa.  I dare say it's made of terry.  

So I took two table cloths from World Market (my version of ABC Carpet & Home in AL) and stapled it to the back and bottom frame and wrapped two cushions in it.

Since it's backed against the wall, you can't even tell how horribly I stapled it to the back.
But soon that wasn't enough - with no experience and without reading about upholstery, I bought a few more table cloths and literally sewed it on the arms.

  Suddenly, a thimble sounded like the best invention in the world, but I was working with such bare bones material, I had to suffer instead.  

Of course, if you look closely you see seems don't meet or match but who's looking that closely?

Not this guy, he just wants to cuddle. 

Did I mention that in AL I met and married a MS boy?  He's so patient with my hobbies and interest as I am with his.

(I am still learning how to dress for these activities.)