Chair Envy

I have major chair envy.  My parents are in the process are remodeling their house (for the second time).  Most of the work is superficial: refinishing the wood floors, new carpet, repainting, changing out the door knobs and other fixtures.  It really looks good.  My dad's home office however is getting a full makeover.  They added built in bookcases, recessed lighting, and changed the wall color from a very, very light grey to a dark charcoal color.  It's a total man cave now!  (Sheen would like to make it known that he does not approve of the name "man cave" and does not agree with my assessment, but that is in fact what his office has become.)

The final touch to his new room is the Petrie leather chair from Crate and Barrel. 

I call it his Don Draper chair since it reminds me so much of the mod furniture you see in the offices of Sterling Cooper Draper Price.  The leather is soft and buttery and the perfect shade of camel.  To complete the look, they are going to hang a framed vintage Italian poster behind it.  The actual poster is for ice cream and says, "Rita," which was my grandmother's name, but here are a few examples that are similar:

I'm in love.  My chair envy is out of control.

Opera Ball After Party

One of the things I've done since moving back to Houston is get involved in organizations for young professionals.  I have yet to join the Junior League as is standard protocol for young Houston women like myself, but have joined Ballet Barre, a great organization that was co-founded by my friend Kristy Junco Bradshaw and supports the Houston Ballet.  I also recently signed on as a member of the Host Committee for Encore the after party for the annual Houston Grand Opera Ball. 

I'm so excited for this event.  The dress code is black or white tie for men and long dresses for women.  My coworkers and I scoured the internet looking for dresses and I think I've found the most beautiful dress!

 

The dress was ordered from Nordstrom and should arrive on Thursday.  Keep your fingers crossed that it fits (and looks good)!  In the meantime, I've been busy styling the entire look.  Here is some of my red carpet inspiration:

As for accessories, I've put together a few options.  The first is a little bit rock 'n roll.  It's definitely edgy, but that's sort of why I like it.  It's unexpected, especially for Houston.  You could pull it off with dark nail polish (Wicked from Essie or Lincoln Park After Dark from OPI) and a textured updo. The earrings are Tom Binns and the shoes are Brian Atwood.

 

The second look is more Hollywood glam.  Think french twist and cherry red nail polish--I would go Big Apple Red or Thrill of Brazil from OPI.  The shoes are Jimmy Choo and the earrings are by my cousin Elizabeth Showers.

 

Now I just to pick one and get a tan!

Egg Press

I realize it's been a long time since my last post, but things have been extremely busy.  I'm training for the MS150 and as the race is only a few weeks away, we've increased the distances for our weekend rides.  The benefit is that I've been making a lot of progress in my training.  When I started riding in January it was all I could do to keep up with the guys (and a few girls!) that I ride with.  But yesterday, we did a 50 mile ride to Bellville--a ride I could barely finish in December--and not only did I feel really strong the entire way, I kept up with everyone on the hills.  It was a huge accomplishment.

That being said though, riding for 3+ hours a day really takes it out of you.  When I am home on the weekends, I'm usually napping.  Everything else, including my blogging, has suffered as a consequence.  So let me get you up to speed.  A few weeks ago, I ordered some art for my bedroom.  You see, I inherited from my stepmother Barbara (if in fact you can inherit something from someone with whom you have no actual biological connection) a love of paper products and stationary. 

Barbara is the person who took me to New York for the very first time.  On our itinerary were visits to a number of her favorite stores including Fishs Eddy, a quirky housewares store that sells old restaurant place settings, and Kate's Paperie.  Back then there was only one location--the original near Union Square.  It was an entire store devoted to paper.  When I moved to New York a few years later, I would make trips to Greenwich Letterpress to stock up on birthday cards and thank you notes.  Now that I live in Houston, I like to go to Paper Source in the Highland Village shopping center.  They have an entire wall devoted to greeting cards!

There are a lot of printing methods you can use with paper.  My favorite is letterpress.  It's considered an old school method that was made popular again by Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, which features lots of letterpress wedding invitations.  Egg Press is a company located in Portland, Oregon (where my mom lives, making it all that much more special).  All of the stationary stores mentioned above sell cards from Egg Press.  I think they make the most beautiful cards.  Check out this video, which shows an up-close, behind the scenes view of the design and printing process and captures the sense of fun and creative energy that make up the daily inner workings of Egg Press.

 

Here's a look at the set of 3 posters I ordered.  I'm going to have them framed and hung above my bed.  An appropriate setting for posters that read, "Good morning," and "Good night," no?  I haven't had the framing done yet, but will probably go with something simple like museum white mat and white frame.  It will look great when it's done!

Nate Berkus

My mom was in town a few weeks ago and I took a day off to spend time with her.  While we were getting ready, we had the television tuned to the Today Show.  I watch the Today Show every morning as I get ready for work, but because I have to be at the office at 8:30, I rarely see anything beyond the first hour.  Well, if you watch the entire program, including the final hour with Hoda and Kathy Lee, the latter of which I think really might be crazy, you get to see Nate Berkus's new show.

I'll be honest, I kind of love Nate.  He's super cute (sorry ladies, he's gay), dates a shoe designer (Brian Atwood) and is BFFs with Oprah.  Plus, he has awesome taste when it comes to design.  I've seen clips of him on the Oprah show before.  He's great on television.  He even has a few good things in his line for the Home Shopping Network.

What I really love though is the work he does for his high end interior design clients.  It has a masculine, but refined look to it and it's eclectic, so it feels like it was collected over time.  A few years ago, the Oprah show did a piece on Nate's apartment in the Greenwich Village area of New York City--he also owns a home in his native Chicago.  In typical New York apartment fashion, it's small.  But, I love how he got creative--putting a television in a closet--to make it appear larger than it actually is.  Here are a few pictures:

Academy Awards Recap

I almost missed the Academy Awards since I was in Park City, Utah, this weekend, skiing with friends from college (more on that trip later). We did watch the show, but the drinking game we invented while hanging out in the hot tub apres ski--a chug every time someone thanked the Academy--meant I didn't REALLY watch the Awards until last night when my sister and I played it back on the DVR. What a boring awards show?!  Is it just me, or did it seem like James Franco wanted to be anywhere other than on that stage?  And as for Anne Hathaway, I've always thought she was slightly awkward, but her overt cheerleader act was really unappealing. They should have nixed whatever they had planned and kept Billy Crystal up there forever.

I'm very glad Colin Firth and The King's Speech won so many awards. It was my favorite movie of the year. (And quite frankly, I've had a crush on Colin Firth since he played Mr. Darcy in the six-hour BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.)

As for the red carpet, my best dressed star was Mila Kunis who knocked it out of the park in lavender Elie Saab.

The color and cut of the gown really compliment her shape and coloring. Overall, I've been very impressed by the clothes she's selected for the red carpet. Her Oscars look capped off a great awards season, starting with the green Vera Wang she wore to the Golden Globes. Here are my favorite Mila outfits from the past few months.