The Lou | Weekend Recap

This past weekend, we took a quick trip across the lovely state of Missouri to visit St. Louis.  This was my first time in this lovely metropolis, and I had a great time thanks to some wonderful recommendations!

Our first stop was, of course, the Gateway Arch!  We traveled all the way to the top and got a great view of the city - I had no idea this was possible before I started researching.  But beware, this little trip up to the top is not for the claustrophobic!  You travel by steel pod (with only 4 foot doors) using some sort of pulley system that is a mix between an elevator, escalator, and maybe a forklift.

Next, we hit up the Central West End area - this is an uppity little area with great food and shopping.  We had brunch at a little spot called Crepes Etc.  I didn't get any photos of our food because I was starving and forgot.  Oopsies!  But, believe you me, this place is delish!  I had a savory crepe filled with sun-dried tomatoes, chicken, goat cheese and topped with gravy. YUM.

Next, we joined the rest of Garrett's family to watch the National Cross Country Championships that his dad and brother were officiating.  Those were some fast people, y'all!  And one guy was running without shoes on in sub-20 degree weather (the wind chills were below zero)! You can probably tell how cold I am in the photos... I was doing my best to use my hubby as a wind blockade.

 

{btw, you can totally see my 'ombre' hair in this photo} 

Following the race, we did a little shopping on the Delmar Loop. Highly recommend!  Then, we headed to a place called The Scottish Arms for dinner.  This restaurant, as alluded to by the name, serves wonderful Scottish fare (think pork, lamb, haggis) and has a huge selection of Scotch. Oh, and all the waiters wear KILTS.  Pretty amazing.

Phew!  We fit a lot into one day!  But I'm glad we made the trip, and I look forward to going back... maybe sometime when it's warmer.

Hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's day!  I'm looking forward to dinner at home with the husbalicious!

Underwater Dogs!

Look at these awesome photos of dogs from underwater by Seth Casteel!  They are spectacular!  Some of the pups look like ferocious sharks, while others look a little more confused like their owners just threw them in.  See more of Seth's work right here.

Hope this gives you a good smile on a Friday!  This weekend, I'm headed to St. Louis for the first time ever.  Can't wait!

Music Mondays | Big Easy Express

My friend Meagan just sent me the trailer for Big Easy Express, and boy, does it look good!  Not only does it include three great bluegrass-y bands - Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show - it was filmed during their Railroad Revival Tour where they traveled by train to each city from San Fran to New Orleans.

This tour also came through Kansas City this past summer, so it makes me extra excited!  The film will be released at SXSW Film Festival this March in Austin, and I'll be hoping for a wider release very soon after that!

Enjoy!

Big Easy Express Official Trailer from S2BN Films on Vimeo.

House in Progress

So, last September we moved into our lovely new house.  We absolutely love the house, but there was one minor aesthetic problem - the wallpaper in the master bedroom.  It was toile. Red toile.  I actually really like toile patterns (and we are keeping the black version of this in the master bathroom), but the entire master was a little much. And the red color made the walls look somewhat pinkish.  The husband was NOT a fan.

Because the master bedroom was recently remodeled and the wallpaper was the first layer on brand new sheet rock, we were timid to try and remove the wallpaper.  So, after doing some research and talking with friends and family, we decided to paint over the wallpaper (gasp!).  The main issue with this is you have to do an oil-based primer so the paint will grip on top of the wallpaper.  And believe you me - oil primer is a pain in the booty to work with.  BIG PAIN.  Finally, I enlisted some help in my parents.  They came in town for the week to help me address this wallpaper thing.  Here are a few shots before the final transformation took place:

We chose a dark taupe-y grey to compliment our new Dwell Studio comforter.  We also added some Safavieh Lamps because our current lamps clashed with the new wall color (besides, they were from Ikea anyways).Here's the after!

Since the walls were done, I also finally got the chance to set up my vanity!  I found an image on Pinterest of antlers used as necklace hooks.  Not only do I have more necklaces than any one person should ever own, I'm also on an antler/deer kick. Here are a few shots of my deer-inspired accessories!

Now, time to order some more wall hangings, etc. All in all, a huge weight has been lifted!  Goodbye french farmers, hello clean crisp looking walls.

The United States (as seen by NYers)

In honor of the Giants making it to the big game, I thought I'd share this fun map depicting how the lovely folks from New York City view the good ole US of A.   Being from Texas, and having lived in NYC for 5 years, I can attest to the fact that this map is rather accurate.

And in all honestly, I started to somewhat assimilate to this view of our lovely country - well, except for Texas, of course!  After all, we (Texas) were once our OWN country (read: we got LOTS of state pride, and do not include ourselves in "The South").  Hope this gives you a good chuckle!  Happy Friday!

{click to enlarge}

Golden Globes 2012 Recap

The Golden Globes red carpet is always the best... maybe a close 2nd to the Met Gala. Either way, this is an event where celebrities take chances.  Sometimes it works... and sometimes it doesn't.  Here are some examples of each, in my opinion.

Rocker Chic - these ladies put a little extra 'bad ass' into their looks on Sunday!

Selma Hayek in Gucci

Claire Dane in J Mendel

Rooney Mara in Nina Ricci

Weird. Sorry. - these are the looks that were just horrible.  Chances gone wrong, perhaps?  Or just bad stylists...

Kelly Osbourne in Zac Posen - unflattering. gray hair. that is all.

Piper Perabo in Theyskens' Theory - she seemed drunk on the red carpet, but at least she was having fun!

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Monique Lhullier - I love a good tie dye, but not in an evening gown.

Angelina Jolie in Versace - I know a lot of people probably disagree with me here, but I just do NOT like this combination of Ivory and Red.  I think it washes her out and she's not curvy enough to pull off that cut.

Simply elegant - just beautiful ladies in simply beautiful dresses!

Emma Stone in Lanvin - the make up, the color, the accessories! Love. Her.

Charlize Theron in Dior

Heidi Klum in Calvin Klein

We'll see if I get around to recapping any of the other award shows... Happy Tuesday!

Happy Twenty Twelve!

Music Mondays | Best of 2011

I've seen some great 2011 new music recaps online so far this month.  Here are some of the highlights and faves from each!  So, basically... this is a recaps of recaps. Awesome, right?

Paste Magazine's Best New Bands of 2011

The Lumineers

Flowers in Your Hair

The Belle Brigade

My Old Home (Demo)

Of Monsters and Men

Little Talks

Seryn

Of Ded Moroz

Rhapsody's Top 25 Indie Albums of 2011

TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light

Wolf Like Me

Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

Posters

The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient

Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2011

Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

Youth Knows No Pain

Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo

Jesus Fever

Real Estate - Days

It's Real

Western Wedding

So, I've been working on my wedding album with my photographer all week, and it's made really start to reminisce...

Then, the thought of weddings made me think of these amazing wedding photos I saw a couple weeks ago!  The below photos are of David Lauren's (son of Ralph Lauren) wedding to Lauren Bush (granddaughter to President Bush Sr.).  The ceremony and reception took place at the Lauren Family's Double RL Ranch in Colorado (relatively close to where we got married).

Isn't that dress (by Ralph Lauren, of course) just immaculate?!

The reason to get married in the mountains.

Horse and buggy, duh!

The same photo gallery included some absolutely gorgeous engagement photos.  I love the simplicity of these images - very classic without any sort of gimmick needed.

All photos featured in Vogue

All in all, stunning photos. But one question remains... is her name now Lauren Lauren??  Somebody had to ask!  Have a great weekend, y'all.

Music Mondays | Ben Howard

Last week, I got a great music recommendation from my friend Kristin that I would love to share!  His name is Ben Howard, and his album Every Kingdom is rather addictive.  For me, he falls somewhere in between Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes.  Howard uses quick tempo-ed lyrics against soft acoustic riffs to create a very calming, yet interesting, sound.

Here's the official video for the lead song on this album, "Old Pine"..