Last Fall I hit a creative wall that I’ve been attempting to push past (climb?) over the previous eight months. Life with a toddler is no joke, the amount of patience, time and emotional energy it takes me to be present as a mother is humbling, challenging and sometimes overwhelming. My recent reality of traveling, working full time, and moving into and fixing up our new house has made carving out time and mental space to generate creative ideas nearly impossible. Is guilt (and wine) the only way to come to terms with the privilege of being both so blessed and so tired?
Hasn’t it been interesting to watch the once woo-woo philosophy of Wellness become such a cultural touchstone? The self-care lifestyle, meditation, juicing, jade rolling, aromatherapy and so on, proclaims to be the cure for our Hustle culture. Needing a cure myself, Wellness has inspired me to come up with some (belated!) creative resolutions for 2018, and to bring focus to creative maintenance instead of only artistic output.
Garden statues are a tricky item. Give me pagodas for days, metal, concrete, wood, but a whimsical animal, tread carefully lest you wander into gnome territory. One has to be bold to accept a decorative animal onto the lawn, but if done right, there is no more enviable find, spied across a friend’s grill-out or poolside party: “wherrrre did you get thaatttt??” jealousy barely concealed. This project is not for everyone, which is good because it’s one of a kind and a personal reward for a decade of saving (boardering on hoarding). Read on for my super simple, slightly strange (let’s go with avant-garde?) garden statue creation.
Are you ever mindlessly scrolling your Insta feed and suddenly a post makes you do the digital equivalent of a double-take, the fast scroll back- wait, what was that amazingness?? That’s what happened to me when I added illustrator Molly Egan’s Instagram account to my feed and time after time circled back to like, heart eye and ogle the back history. I love Molly’s bold use of color, unexpected cut-outs and layering and graphic shapes, but most of all I love how ebullient and seemingly effortless her illustrations are. @Mollytheillustrator makes me smile, think “I wish I did that,” and feel newly inspired, and after reading her unpretentious, glowy interview, I think you will too.
With the whole city officially back-to-school today and an unprecedented cold front in Dallas this weekend, for the first time all summer I find myself mourning summer.
This week I have been planning our last minute getaway to Napa Valley, so much planning goes into each of our trips, but none more than last year’s trip to Thailand. As I wrote in last week’s post reviewing our two beachside resorts, one budget, and one luxe, my mind kept wandering to the shoulda-woulda-coulda of our vacation.
When I stumbled upon this Bulgarian Etsy shop six months ago, (Etsy search: Kaftan, it’s always gooood) I never knew I would find some of my most crowd-pleasing ensembles ever…
So much planning went into our trip (over a year ago now!) to Railay Beach in the Krabi region of Thailand. Our three city trip clocked in at ten days, so it was a necessity to balance global luxury and quirky must-haves (i.e., budget friendly and Instagram enviable). Luckily, with its constant flow of wander lusting backpackers, Thailand, and Krabi in particular, have accommodations at all price points. We spent three nights in a mosquito net draped, textile rich, beachside treehouse and the next two in a meandering luxury resort. Read on for all the details.
It’s Friday, and down here in Dallas it’s a hot one! According to iPhone, we’re topping out at 102, but with my car claiming 105 and my plants jumping ship, I knew we needed to end the week with a sweating glass of a summertime classic. Last week I escaped to the air-conditioned inspiration of the rock store, today I’m beating the heat with frosty cocktails! This spiced cherry cola cocktail, our “Hometown Hero,” is an homage to our original hometown hero, Dr. Pepper. Though Dr. Pepper was created in Waco, Tx (and you can read all about it here), it moved to Dallas in the 1920’s and is headquartered here today. In the 1940’s my grandmother lead tours at HQ, always ending with a frosted glass of this unique soda.
Though Dr. Pepper did inspire this icy, rum-optional treat, I did not crack their top-secret formula, and super fans should not be disappointed when their first sip is not 100% duplication. Wacoites, to preserve the peace, you may also consider this your hometown hero, so crack open the rum and let’s start cooking!
I just love a crazy full, infinite Instagram feed, so I follow a lot of accounts, but there are a few stand-out Instagram accounts that I check in on a few times a week to make sure I haven’t missed a single post.ย @nadianizamudin is one of those accounts, I stumbled upon her work one evening and then had to browse her entire back history. I love her use of color, embroidered embellishment, and playful collage. In this new monthly feature, “Instagram Crush,” I had the privilege of asking this inspiring artist and Instagram creative about her work, process, and thoughts on marketing, balancing a day job with her creative passion and her advice on how to find the Muse when you’re stuck. She was so generous and thoughtful with her answers, I hope you’re as motivated by her devotion to keeping up with her artistic process even as she commutes between three cities, travels for a high-pressure job and spends time with her family! Read on for the interview and more images from her breathtaking Instagram account!
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