Weekend Recap

This weekend, I...

- Built 2 more Billy Bookcases for my living room and now, for the first time, I have more space than books! You know what that means... MORE BOOKS!!



- Had the most amazing brunch at South Congress Cafe with dear L who was in town visiting: crab cakes "benedict", carrot cake french toast (basically just carrot cake), and white wine sangrias infused with delicious watermelon juice




- Got my first "cake shake" at The Holy Cacao (red velvet + vanilla ice cream = pinkish shake). Laura got a frozen hot chocolate (although it wasn't very frozen). Cake was gooooood, but a little too liquid-y for me. Must try another time!





This week is a short one for me as I leave for Vancouver on Thursday. BUT there are some exciting things happening on Hang On Little Tomato this week as well so stay tuned!! Getting pampered on Tuesday with a much-needed pedicure and cut & color. Yay!

Hope y'all had a wonderful, relaxing and divine weekend. :)

Apt Therapy

I've been bitten by the design bug once again, and I can't stop drooling over gorgeous interiors, particularly those with multitudes of whites. As such, I am (naturally) contemplating such painting in my petite abode. My apartment's gone through countless transformations over the past 20 months, and while I don't intend on doing a dramatic overhaul, I am eagerly looking forward to some fresh change.

Mostly? I want to declutter, simplify and downsize. Luckily I recently became the owner of a storage unit across the hall from my apartment (negotiated with my apt manager since, um, THEY RAISED MY RENT), and today after work, I'm going to pick up the key and start hauling crap over there. Eventually I hope to sell or donate the "crap" I'm "storing", but that all takes time, and for now, I want it out of my apartment.

As for painting, there is a loooong wall that spans the entire length of my apartment (entry/dining/living room) that has never been painted. The current color is grey-ish (my apt is "loft"-y), which doesn't bother me too much (since it ain't beige), but I want a crisp clean white. I love white walls and white furniture with POPS of color. I have oodles of color in my apartment already, so a long white wall would fare nicely. Do you have any recommendations as to a good white paint? I'm a fan of Benjamin Moore. I also want to paint my bed white, but you knew that already. ;-)




I recently stumbled across Jennifer Ramos's lovely house tour. I love her home because it's so real, but still personalized, design-worthy, and beautiful. I also love her prints and recently made her I Love You, Blogs and Coffee one mine. I framed it over the weekend and will post pics as soon as I get my new dining table (that is currently sold out at IKEA - grrr).



I particularly love her office and *SO* wish I could get rid of all my standard (and BROWN) office furniture. Yuck.



What's your design aesthetic when it comes to your home?

Congratulations!!

Major CONGRATULATIONS to the darling Nina of naturally Nina! She got engaged to her adorable/incredible/super sweet/handsome Simon this past weekend, and I couldn't be happier for them. :) How cute are they??

My Weekend

indian takeout and vegging out on the couch

phone date avec dear amie from college

IKEA (woot!)

seeing Julie & Julia (yes, again!) avec another dear amie at my fave Alamo Drafthouse

yoga & running

seeing Wicked avec my the adorable Momma Park (who STILL reads this blog)!

*Wishlist*

I'm so extreme. On the one hand, I'm uber excited about downsizing and decluttering (these thoughts literally kept me up until 4 a.m. last night/this morning). On the other, I find myself trolling various blogs and retail sites finding all kinds of goodies. So, um, for the sake of some Friday fun, voila my wishlist!

Fuji Instax Instant Camera

First read about it here, then found it here whilst perusing Urban last night. Swoon indeed! This darling, DARLING camera is like a petit polaroid. I want!! Now, I know I bought that pink Holga awhile back and have yet to develop any pics, but that's because I need to finish the roll. I started it on my bday at Barton Springs, but want to take it to some fun Austin hotspots before I finish. See? It's not going to waste...

Crate & Barrel Colette Bed


I am so over my Hemnes bed. Unfortunately it was a biatch to assemble, and I've only had it for about 2 years, sooo I won't be getting rid of it anytime soon. But when it does come time for me to buy a new bed, I'd love the Colette Bed. You might be thinking, "wow that's a bit tame for Carolyn's taste," and well, you'd be right. But this bed ain't cheap, and I'd want it to last forever. The classic shape + super fun nailhead trim would be tres chic for decades to come.

Note: I might paint my bed a fun glossy white comme ca. Oh Domino... I miss you.

Taschen's Travel Books
You've probably spotted these babies at Anthropologie. Everytime I see them, I die a little. (Drama queen, much?) Because they ain't cheap (around $50 a pop), and I want all 3!

Paris & London Maps

And speaking of my fave European cities, I've been eyeing these darling Paris & London maps since they hit the world wide web. But again, I want both, and at $50 a pop plus shipping, they're just not in my budget right now. Le sad I am.

Journal + Crafts

As a child I began journal after journal (normally of the Sanrio variety avec adorable locks and keys and maybe 6 lines per page), but usually abandoned them after a couple of days. My intentions were sincere, but well, as a kid I preferred riding my bike and playing with barbies.

I didn't take another serious stab at journaling until my 2nd year of law school. It was the Spring of 2007, and I just had recently returned to school after a semester of withdrawal. I thought, what better time than now, as a recovering depression-holic to start a journal? Looking back I'm pretty unimpressed with my first choice - a boring black spiral-bound one from Barnes & Noble that had a tree and quote on the cover. Since then my journals have gotten prettier, and I've amassed quite an interesting collection. There have been ebbs and flows, naturally, but I've been an avid and consistent journaler since that Spring. I'm hooked.

Recently I've taken my journal in new and (exciting to moi) directions. I've started collaging, painting un peu, and even doodling in them (je suis a terrible artist). Today I stumbled across this journal on etsy and kicked myself for having missed out on the chance to purchase it for myself.



But as I looked at it, I realized hey, this is something I could sort of attempt to make my own. I mean, I'm a smart gal. And avec the magic that is the google search engine, I could make a pretty fun and fab and customized journal! Then a fellow Tweeter tweeted about this fab etsy shop and got even MORE ideas! I mean check out this fun French Market Vintage Journal kit -

Isn't it sooo fun? I adore all her petit embellishments, and I think I might indulge in some. :)

Anyhoo, have you guys ever tried something like this? How hard is it to, um, punch holes in bookcovers?? And what other fun (and EASY) bookbinding techniques are there? I know there are some that involve sewing, and I gotta say, that's not my cup of tea (yet). I'd love any ideas/suggestions you have, my darlings!!

Oh and speaking of gorgeous things, how much do you adore PaPaYa Art? I LOVE all their stuff!!! And they have a gorgeous workspace and warehouse which you can see here at decor8. Enjoy!

What's Cookin'?

In the spirit of cooking and delicious food and all things Julia Child (I'm currently reading My Life In France and seeing Julie & Julia again this weekend!), here's a glimpse into what I plan on making in the next couple of weeks...

This AMAZING corn soup & roasted corn guacamole recipe from Bunny Bites. I love love LOVE corn, and it's been my favorite food for as long as I can remember. (Weird, huh?) I've never made any sort of corn soup or chowder before, but this looks easy enough. Yum!

Right up there in my "favorites" category is goat cheese. Oh how I adore le chevre, and for moi, the strongier/tangier, the better! When I stumbled upon this gorgeous tomato & goat cheese tart on one of my fave food blogs, fresh365, I knew I had to add it to my repertoire.


And finally, I find myself strangely fascinated with red lentils lately. I've never cooked with lentils of any variety before, but I've been hearing an awful lot of good things about them. And since I'm no longer eating meat, I need some good sources of protein. A simple google search pulled up this yummy-looking & seemingly easy recipe for red lentil curry. The uber fabulous City Girl also shared avec moi 2 of her favorite red lentil recipes (Curried Lentils with Sweet potatoes and Swiss Chard and Masoor Dal) both of which sound delectable.


Have you cooked with lentils before? Do you know where I can find curry paste??

Are you hungry yet?