The Closet Series (Worley House)

Happy Friday y'all!!  It's gonna be a great weekend!  I'm getting together on Saturday afternoon with two of my closest girlfriends to celebrate one of their birthdays.  We'll be sitting on a patio enjoying this beautiful, sunny Houston weather and enjoying some cocktails and lots of girl talk.  These are my forever friends, the ones you can share everything with, no judgment, just love and honesty--and lots of laughs. The best.

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Also, my friend Andrea's closet series is up and running and she's kind enough to feature my closet today.  Many of you may have already seen it, but I'm also sharing some of my favorite places to shop for clothes.  If you aren't familiar with Andrea's blog, Worley House, head on over.  She is so sweet and has the most adorable daughter, Ava, who is near my son's age.  I'm sure she'd love it if you'd pay her a visit:)

My Favorite Boutique and New Goodies

Shame on me for having this blog for nearly a year and a half and never sharing with you my favorite boutique!  I first found this woman's playground while in NYC with my best guy friend Joey over 15 years ago.  The store is filled with three glorious levels of makeup, skin care products, fragrances, unique accessories, jewelry, sunglasses, bags, scarves, travel bags, and clothing.  They even carry pet accessories.  Ladies, I present you: Henri Bendel.

Every time I go to NY, I make it a point to stop in, even if it's just to look around.  The last time I was there with my hubby, he had to work, so I got to spend an obscene amount of time browsing around, getting a makeup application (they sell Mally cosmetics, which I love) and trying not to droll over everything in sight. 

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Unfortunately, there is no Henri Bendel in Houston, however, they opened one in Dallas' Northpark Mall a couple years ago, so naturally we had to go there when we went to Dallas last weekend- I had never been. The Dallas store is much smaller than the flagship 5th Avenue store, but fun nonetheless.  

I came home with these goodies:

A clutch purse in the signature Henri Bendel brown and white stripe.  It's purple on the inside.

A giant coffee mug and two bracelets (the striped bangle bracelets were purchased at a previous trip to the NY store).  They have every color and lots of prints to choose from too.  I love my new white one and it's smaller than the striped bracelets so it fits my wrist better.

The black leather and gold studded bracelet is awesome too and comes with a HB gold and silver charm.

And I chose this classic round keychain, but they have lots of other styles too.

I have a few of their cosmetic bags too, so they deserve a mention:)

I loved this store and the memories of visiting NY so much (it's the first place Jimmy and I traveled to) that we even named our first babies "Henry" and "Bendel".  Okay, I named them and my husband went along with it.  (Sadly, our dogs are no longer with us in case you're wondering why I've never mentioned them before, but in their honor, I just couldn't leave them out of this post:) 

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Do y'all have a special store you like to visit?  Please share!

Homemade Gift- Vanilla

Since we went out of town last weekend, my SIL kept James for us and our friends let us stay with them.  As a token of thankfulness, I gave each of them a little gift, which fit their personalities perfectly!  I figured my SIL could really use this after caring for an 8 year old, two babies under age 2, and 3 dogs while we were gone!

Although I simply purchased the gift, I really enjoy the act of giving.  And isn't it sometimes even better when the gift is homemade?  I saw this homemade vanilla on WhipperBerry and thought it was just perfect.  So easy to make and the adorable fabric label elevates the gift to a beautiful level.  If you go to their website, they have a free printable and explain how they made it.

Are you a fan of homemade gifts?  Do you give them? Like to receive them?  We all know the holidays are approaching and about now seems to be the time I start thinking of gift giving.  I usually buy presents, but I like to include a baked goodie (like chocolate covered toffee) to accompany the gift.

Weekend Fun

As I alluded to on Friday and shared on Twitter, my hubby and I took a little road trip last weekend to Dallas and attended the Texas State Fair and Texas vs. OU college football game.  My hubby knows college football isn't my thing, but some time away with him is and getting to hook up with one of my blog besties made the trip wholly worthwhile!

The day was full of lots of food- the fair is known for all their fried concoctions so we indulged in a few.  My favorite is the funnel cake, but for kicks we tried the fried butter (which tasted like a buttery biscuit with a big warm pat of butter inside) and fried cookie dough.  Both were too rich for me, but lots of people go ga-ga for them.  The corn dogs are another favorite, but I passed those up.

The night before the big game, we got a chance to go to dinner with Cassie (Hi Sugarplum) and her husband, who is absolutely hilarious!  I was so relieved that our husbands got along so well and were able to hold their own conversation so Cass and I could chat uninterrupted for awhile:)

I've told y'all before, but Cassie is just like you would imagine she'd be from reading her blog.  She's sassy and sweet, witty and funny, and one of those girlfriends that every woman needs in her life.  She'll be honest with you and encouraging at the same time and she is completely genuine and "real".  I so appreciate her take on the big things, like parenthood, since her kiddos are older than mine so she's got more experience on her side.  And I loved that she wanted the chocolate cake too:)  

Kitchen Organization

As many of you know, I'm quite obsessed with keeping organized.  I love things all neat and tidy, not just for prettiness' sake, but also for efficiency and general ease of life.  I'm showing you today how I keep my most frequently used kitchen essentials close at hand near my stove top.

I'm using two silver containers from Bed, Bath and Beyond to hold my kitchen tools- wooden spoons and whisks in one and spatulas and tongs in the other.  I find myself reaching for these tools all the time when I'm cooking so I don't like to keep them buried away in the drawer.  Salt and pepper is also close at hand as is the olive oil and spoon holder.  I like the bigger salt containers for when I need a "pinch" or a wide mouth to dip a measuring spoon in.  The cute salt and pepper labels were graciously given to me by House of Smiths and you can order them here.  The simple wooden tray from Container Store keeps things looking neat and clean.   

Hope this gives you a quick little organization fix to kick off your weekend!

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How happy are you for the weekend?!  My honey and I are planning to spend some alone adult time together and I couldn't be more excited- it's been a long time!!  What are y'all up to??

Alphabet Print for Baby/Kid Room

A few weeks ago on a visit to Z Gallerie, I spotted a really cute alphabet print that I thought would be perfect for my son's room.  It's a good size, but $99, so I refrained from purchasing it.  When I saw the framed print again last weekend, I loved it as much as the first time so I went ahead and brought it home.

I needed something for the wall above James' crib. I originally had my DIY book art up there, but it was hung with Command hooks and 2 of the prints ended up falling after nearly a year.  (They fell to the floor, not into the crib, which is about a foot from the wall, and no one was hurt).  I could've ruhung them, but I was ready for something new and will probably move the book art to James' bathroom.

James loves to sing the A-B-C's so I thought this art was particularly appropriate for his age.  Also, I love that it has animals depicting each letter.  So cute!!

A few new things

Hi guys!  How was your weekend?  Is there ever enough weekend time?  I think not!  I had planned to go to High Fashion Home to look for fabric, but didn't make it.  I managed to get a couple of hours to myself on a particularly beautiful Saturday afternoon while James was napping and do some shopping at Houston's Highland Village.  It's a stretch of road near the Galleria that houses some great restaurants and stores.  On  such a gorgeous day, it's great to get to enjoy outdoor shopping, going from place to place.

Of course, I started at Starbuck's with a little caffeine to fuel the trip:)  Here are some of the goodies I scored:

How cute are these mini potted boxwood plants from Crate & Barrel?  They are only $6.95 each.  I originally thought they'd go in the living room media center, but for now I like them in the kitchen.

And from Pottery Barn, I added two new small cable knit throw pillows (similar to these) and a cable knit throw blanket.  I'm ready for those cozy nights!

Also from PB, is this round mother of pearl frame.  My photo doesn't do it justice, but I couldn't find it on their website.  

I also found something for James' room that I'll have to show you tomorrow!