Peacocks Please!

According to my little sister, "peacocks are the new owls". I love owls, but I think she's right! You sure can't beat there beautiful feathers. Here are a few things I have picked up lately.



two perching birds: estate sale, postcard: estate sale, iron wall hanging: flea market, fan: blue windows of long beach

Do the Cha Cha!

Who was the 22nd president? Why do shrimp turn red when you cook them? What color undies am I wearing?

Gotta question? Cha Cha has your answer. They are a free text messaging service that answers questions about EVERYTHING under the sun. I apologize in advance, because you will be addicted to this for the rest of the day. Just text your question to 242242 (chacha spelled out)

Here are some of the questions I sent them for funzies:

What's the most popular bar in Houston? 6th Street Bar and Grill

What's the best Mexican restaurant in Houston? Teala's and Pico's Mex-Mex

Will Christian Bale and I get married in the future? When the chemistry is good, the love is solid and you are both ready for it, then yes you'll get married. (Wow who needs a therapist when you have these guys?)

Is Houston a good place to live? Houston has a thriving job market, but lots of it has to do with personal taste. (They are located in Indiana, what do they know?)

How many of you people work at Cha Cha? 60 employees and thousands of Guides are behind the 50 million answers we've given.

What color undies am I wearing? Polka dotted pink with purple elephants..my favorite (oh how witty you are Cha Cha!)

FREE Colorfly Card for Everyone!

Jennifer DeDenato over at Colorfly Studio, is dishing out free goodies for you! Everyone who posts a comment below will receive 1 Follow In The Direction Of Your Dreams (5 x 6.5 in.) card! All of her original creations are made of exquisite paper cut outs. Talk about a steady hand! Go check out her etsy shop, and let me know which piece is your favorite!

*comment by April 6th, 2009 to receive your free card

Pink Paradise

This is when Pepto Bismol acts as design inspiration for a home and actually turns out well. Ok, so it's a bit over the top, but I would expect no less from the queen of pink, Betsey Johnson.




pictures from www.stylefrizz.com

Get Girly with Ronald McDonald

( The house...not the clown guy that hangs out with the Hamburglar)

The Friends of Houston's Ronald McDonald House are holding a smashing fundraiser called Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...in Monte Carlo. You and your gal pals can enjoy a night of dinnner, shopping, hairstyling, massages, even tarot card/palm reading. Help out the kids, and see into your future in one fell swoop!

The event will be held on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel beginning at 6:00 p.m. To purchase a ticket or table click here.

The Cutest Face in Houston

Someone new is coming to the Houston Zoo! On March 28th, Toby the red panda, will make his official debut. Originally from the Lincoln Zoo, this fuzzy face is the first red panda we have had in 15 years! The zoo is hoping to find him a girlfriend in the near future, which hopefully will result in lots of little baby Tobys. I highly recommend taking a half day from work to miss the crowds. C'mon, are those TPS reports really that important?

Printable Pretties

I'm loving these Printable PDF notepads from Thompson Designs. You just buy the digital file and you can print them as many times as you'd like. I love this because so many times I am looking for beautiful stationary that is printed on recycled paper, this way I can print on any paper I choose. There are also lots of other styles to chose from in the shop.

Get Your Bonnet On

I'm a northeastern girl at heart, so I'm always fascinated by little Texas-isms. The latest phenomenon that has me all giddy, is the celebration of the bluebonnets. While driving down 290 this past weekend, there were hoards of Moms, Dads, kids, and puppy dogs pulled over on the interstate, rolling around in the wild flowers, and taking photographs. Commonplace to many, but completely new to me! Now I am obsessed with taking my own furry family for a photo shoot. So where are some of the best places to do this? The best resource I've found is Lone-star.net. They have a bulletin board where people can post wildflower sightings. Anyone else have a stellar resource?

A New Look...

My Etsy Shop has a new look, check it out here!

My 5 Favorite Things

After a luxurious week in Sin City, it is back to business as usual. I'm sure I am the only person left on earth who had not yet been, but never-the-less, here are my 5 favorite things about Las Vegas.

The Beatles LOVE Cirque du Soleil show

It was heaven being surrounded by designer stores I've only read about in magazines...or seen at the Galleria. I really, really wanted to buy this Diane Von Furstenberg orchid/crocus dream print frock. Due to the fact I'm incredibility frugal (read: cheap), I stepped away from the checkout counter.

The Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris Casino with an amazing view of the Bellagio fountain was a knock out.

Multiple places to buy chocolate crepes

And finally...we had way too much fun at Madame Tussaud's wax museum

This Old House

I went to an estate sale at this beautiful Victorian home from 1880 in Riverside last weekend. Unfortunately, my camera battery died when I went to take the first picture. Oops, too many pictures of Ruby! I was able to get a few decent ones on my cell phone, but I wish I could have shown you the inside.

FLEA MARKET FINDS

LITTLE GIRL THINGS...


BIG GIRL THINGS...

Video from Beyonce on the Vogue Shoot...

I heart Buffalo Exchange

On Saturday I went to my favorite resale store, Buffalo Exchange. Seeing as none of my clothes fit, I needed a few things. Jeans were essential and I found some great dark, flared jeans by J Brand. They need to be hemmed, but they fit perfectly otherwise. I found two fabulous pairs of shoes, which is great because I know they will always fit! My feet went back to their normal size a few weeks after delivery. I found platforms by Frye that look like they have never been worn and some cream strappy pumps by Nine West. My favorite item of the day was the slip dress by Free People, it has the sweetest little red flowers on it. I absolutely adore slip dresses because you can layer them and wear them so many different ways!

Vegas Baby

I'm headed to the entertainment capital of the world! See you all when I get back!

Beyonce Covers Vogue Magazine

Isn't this wonderful? Vogue has put Beyonce on the April 2009 issue of Vogue magazine making it two black women to be featured consecutively on the cover (last month was Michelle Obama). Look out for Bey on the cover of the iconic magazine's annual 'shape' issue looking nothing short of fabulous. The headline you'll notice reads, "Real Women Have Curves" - does this mean that Vogue is making a conscious effort to include more realistic images of women amongst its pages? I doubt it. But this is a nice gesture. Be sure to pick up your copy when it comes out next month.

Dreaming of Spring

Spring is quickly approaching and with the exception of a few random daffodils and a lot of weeds, my garden is non-existent. Therefore I must buy flowers and pretend I picked them from my garden. I bought these beautiful ranunculus' for $3.99 at Trader Joe's and divided them up among several small vases in my dining room. A very small splurge makes a very BIG difference.

VOTE for Dal!

Of course I always have to help out my favorite artist in the whole wide world. Dallas is up for the cover of Dujour magazine. To vote, go here, and leave a comment..she is #5.

Bibs

Have you ever seen a trend that you like, but are fairly sure you could never pull it off, and society as a whole might even judge you for trying? That's how I feel about the fun (but very bold) Spring trend of bib necklaces. I secretly love them a little. What do you guys think about it?

Just to clarify, I'm talking about styles like this:

Not so much like this:

Sorry Mr. Vuitton, this looks like the outfit worn by the futuristic people on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Grand Opening: MARKET PUBLIQUE

Watch out Ebay and Etsy, there is a new website in town. Market Publique is a Vintage Marketplace where you can search for vintage clothing and accessories exclusively. No more sifting through thousands of items to find that one vintage piece you love. It's just getting started, so the shop isn't full yet, but Salvage Life had five items on there already with starting bids of only $9.99.

Moth Man

While leafing through the recent Lucky mag, I came across this really cool moth ring by Farrah Dragon. That's right Buffalo Bill, it's a moth. Keeping in theme with her natural work, all of Miss Farrah's jewerly is made from 100% recycled metals and materials. Tragically for my pocketbook, it runs about $660 for 18k, and $440 in sterling for this little winged friend. Though I whole heartedly support Farrah Dragon's eco-consciousness, I'd also like to offer a few other (less pricey) insect alternatives, all under $60. Maybe these will satisfy your Silence of the Lambs appetite (Yes, it will, Precious, won't it? It will get the hose!)

From the top: Moth by Farrah Dragon, Butterfly Alights Ring by Kira Ferrer, Moth by Elegant Insects, Tiffany Dragonfly from Tiffanylife

Adventures of a Mom/Business Owner

Yesterday Ruby and I went on an adventure with our dear friend Camille. Salvage Life's clothing was being featured in a photo shoot that will be competing for a spread in 944 magazine. The shoot was at the Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre. We stopped to get lunch while the rest of the crew went on ahead of us, so once we got to the location we had no idea where they were. I packed Ruby into the Baby Bjorn and we started hiking. It was absolutely beautiful there, but I was a little out of breath by the time we found them. After all, this was the most exercise I had gotten in a long time, and I needed it!


Camille took this photo of us, Ruby is such a trooper! I will post the final photos once I receive them, as well as a lit of those involved. In the meantime, here is a sneak peak.

Everybody Wins in the Kristine Noel Giveaway!!

The winner of the 8x10 print (courtesy of a random number generator) is....Janine Godwin! Congrats Janine! Don't fret my little chickadees, we wouldn't end this giveaway on a sour note. Due to the overwhelming response of lemon lovers, Kristine will be sending a sample of her 4x5 lemon notes to anyone who posted a comment. I love when everyone wins! If you haven't already, email me your contact information so you can redeem your prize. Have a great day everyone!

Shopping Fate

Do you believe in shopping fate? I do. Shopping fate takes on many forms, but this particular instance was just so peculiar, I had to share it with you. Just for funzies, last week I started searching online for a vintage dress. I had no idea what style (or decade) of dress I was looking for, but I knew I wanted to wear it on an upcoming Vegas trip. I stumbled upon this 1970's goddess dress, and fell in love. My excitement quickly turned to dissapointment when I realized my bits and pieces are a few inches larger than the measurements listed for the gown. I didn't want to risk buying a "so tight I look like a sausage" dress, so my only hope was a stellar return policy. So here's where the fashion gods really started to intervene.

While contacting the seller about returns, I notice that they happend to be located in Houston. Chicka chicka yeah! What are the odds? So I emailed the seller, and much to my surprise, they are actually a vintage shop in the Heights that I've been dying to visit: Wear it Again Sam!! I live nowhere near the heights, but last week, coincidentally, work just happened to send me to a location within miles of Wear it Again Sam.

All of these occurrences would be worthless stitches in time if the dress wasn't a keeper. So I tried it on, the heavens opened up, the zipper comfortably reached the top, and it fit like a glove. Oh yeah, and it was only $40. Thank you shopping gods.

Now is where I could use your help... What accessories should I wear to modernize it a bit?

Ebay Win: TEA SET!!!

I just won this adorable child's tea set from the 1950's on ebay! I am so excited because it is plastic, but has the prettiest details. Ruby is going to love it when she is old enough to know what a tea set is.

Salvage Life in NEET Magazine

Check out Salvage Life in the new issue of N.E.E.T. Magazine, March 2009.