Cupcake Detour - Bird Bakery San Antonio

After dinner the other night, the three of us were craving something sweet so the car veered us to a new bakery conveniently located near our home in Alamo Heights, Texas.  We were treated to the warm decor of Bird Bakery and the welcoming smiles of the beautiful Elizabeth Chambers, the owner of this brand spanking new establishment.

In a nutshell, the ambiance cannot be beat and I've been to my fair share of cupcake eateries (what?  I'm pregnant!).  There is still that chaotic newness about it and I can sense it will take some time to get broken in.  All the hype leading up to the opening gives it a lot to live up to and with that, I only wish it the best.

Little Mister was in cupcake heaven and was smitten by our gracious host to say the least.  We will be back.

photos taken by me using Instagram

Finally!

This came in the mail the other day and frankly, it couldn't have come at a better time.  I've held out with envy as the rest of my friends flaunted the iPhone 4 in my face.  But I was patient!

It was a good thing too, because just weeks before my phone fell 18" to the floor and when I picked it up, this was the state it was in.

Sad, isn't it?  What's worse is that I was cutting my finger on the shards of glass so I put packing tape over it.  Then the packing tape started to peel so I added more masking tape on top of it.  Be honest, you think it's trashy.  I do, too.  I promise that it wasn't on purpose but I'm sure others in my life might tell you otherwise.  (All lies!)  I'm still considering selling my phone to a place like Gazelle or Target.

I'm in the middle of making a snazzy cover for my new iPhone with inspiration from Purl Bee.  I don't have a lot of the colors that she recommended but that just gave me room to experiment a bit with what I have.

It's getting there!

Chair Swoon

As if I needed any more chairs.  DwellStudio in collaboration with Precedent has released a new furniture line.

via

swoon

ACL 2011

We had such a great time at the Austin City Limits Music Festival this year.  The weather was cooperative and the music was fab as always.  Going to ACL with a toddler is certainly a different experience for us - we were stocked with plenty of diapers, snacks, and baby wipes to get us through the day.  Little Mister had no interest in wearing ear protection as he promptly pulled it off so we stayed safely back from the loud speakers.  We also had to make the difficult decision not go on the last day of the festival since we still had to drive back to San Antonio and Matt and I had to work on Monday.  We didn't want to push Little Mister too far.  It was a good decision and we're still able to check out the highlights of Arcade Fire on YouTube. 

Austin skyline

watching Foster the People

i haven't seen grass this green in ages.  the grounds were beautiful!

i don't know who these guys were, i just thought their signs were funny

Little Mister managed to nap through all the noise

We had a great time with some good friends and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Tickets for next year go on sale NEXT WEEK.  Yes, we'll try our hardest to score early bird tickets.  See you all then!

Windy City Part 2

Here it is, the second installment to our trip to Chicago.  We had a blast and can't wait to visit again!  

Windy City Part 1

Happy September everyone!  Excuse the absence - me and the boys decided that it was high time to escape this heat so we headed north to Chicago.  And we had a real blast! We always try to visit the famous ballparks in the cities we visit so we started off the trip with a tour of Wrigley Field.

Do you love the Tom's shoes?  He's so stylin'.  

We spent just about all of our time outdoors while we were there.  I hear Chicago can get really humid and mucky but thankfully, it was just beautiful.  Our favorite part might have been the time we spent at Millenium Park. 

  

Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate was amazing and so interactive.

Yup, Little Mister is in his diaper in the middle of Jaume Plensa'a Crown Fountain.  He got so excited to be in the water that we had stripped him down right there otherwise he'd be soaking wet.  As you can see, he thought it was hilarious. 

August Break - Day 1: CRAVE

If you remember from this post, I told you about participating in the August Break 2011 where we are to post a picture every day about anything.  Sounds pretty open ended, yes?  Why not, says I - sounds like a challenge!  I will post a new picture every weekday (and weekends if I feel up for it).  Sometimes I will elaborate with a long rant about something or another, but most likely I'll spare you of my charms.  So lets kick this off shall we?

This weekend we visited Houston and one evening we had a mad craving for cupcakes and what do we happen upon?

Crave Cupcakes in Houston.

What are the odds?  I love their logo on the door. 

Michelle Suvunrungsi Stedman - Custom Schedule for ACL 2011

oooh yes

Custom Schedule for ACL 2011

Skinny LaMinx

I am taking a upholstery class in Austin soon (I can't wait to share that with you!) and we get to pick out our own fabric.  Of the many, many choices out there, I finally decided on this one from Skinny LaMinx.  I love it - the color and the pattern are perfect.  Heather Moore is the talent behind the line and I couldn't be more impressed with my selection.  Check her out!

 

Blue

If you guys haven't figured out by now, Matt and I are really big fans of live music.  We are more selective of the shows we see since it's time spent away from Little Mister but when the opportunity to see Weezer perform the "Blue" album at Stubbs BBQ in Austin came up, I couldn't resist.

Blue

  "If you want to destroy my sweater (ohohwaoh) hold this thread as I walk away (as I walk away!)"

I cannot believe that was 17years ago.  As my good friend David says to me, "We is old."

I had a hard time seeing the show in the crowd (I'm a towering 4'-11 3/4" ... don't be jealous) so I relied on other peoples digital cameras and phones to see what was happening on stage.  And I had my trusty Hipstamtic app to capture the mood of the event. 

Fun times.

Garage of Good

I think this might be my new favorite San Antonio event.  Beautiful, spring (albeit humid) Texas morning?  Check!  Happy giggly Little Mister?  Why not?  Discount boutique shopping at the Pearl Brewery?  Count me in!

Welcome to the Garage of Good where I will wander into the foray of deep discounts and fashionable steals.  It's not just the shopping that is appealing, no way.  The nearly 40 vendors range from high end boutiques and vintage goods to independent artisans and vendors and a percentage of the proceeds go towards a local charity.  The event is held two or three times a year and although I haven't been able to attend in the past, I've been looking forward to this for a while.

As I'm always on the lookout for things for Little Mister, it is no surprise that I was immediately drawn to  these cute onsies and t-shirts from Adelle June by Jennifer June Martinson.  All the little wears are hand-dyed and patchwork sewn with care.  The creatures donning the outfits (particularly the monsters) kind of reminded me of the Little Mister during the sillier times.  Seriously cute and the colors were great - bright yet muted in an earthy tone.  Unfortunately, they didn't have anything in Little Mister's size but she gave me her business card and if you check out her website, she is also TLC's Homemade Millionaire Fashion Winner for her "Magic Dress."  How neat is that?  And she's local!  

There isn't a picture of the item that I coveted most of all - a vintage bar stool with orange (!) legs.  Why oh why did I pass it up?  Oh, I remember, I have limited space in our humble abode.  *sigh*   

Lucky us, it was also the weekly Farmer's Market at the Pearl.  We got there early enough to take in all the edible eye candy and beautiful produce.  Even without the sun shining, the colors just popped.  

We ended the morning with the tasty concoctions of Artisan Crepes.  Goodness, it was tasty.  We decided to go with the savory ham and emmental cheese with mesclun greens, tomato concasse, and aioli.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.  The crepes themselves were delicate and light with just a hint of sweetness.  The fillings for the other crepes were just as amazing.  The vegetable ingredients in particular are grown in their garden and they are conscious about composting their waste.  What also impressed me was how quickly and efficiently they were getting the crepes out to the hungry customers.  The whole process of creating each crepe was methodical and graceful at the same time.  While there is no real storefront at the moment, I think I may stalk them on their facebook page - I hope they don't mind. 

Until next time!

Ipad Needs a Warm Place to Sleep

I was generously gifted by my wonderful husband and son an Ipad for Mother's Day this year.  I couldn't believe it!  My sneaky boys stood in line to snag the last of the stock sold by Apple the Friday before Mother's Day.  I've been tinkering away at it ever since and finding all sorts of cool apps for us.

Matt also picked up the cool smart cover in orange, natch.  And it is really so beautiful and so well designed.  Aside from playing with the Ipad itself, the cover got equal billing in my book.  It's integration into the functionality of the Ipad really sets the bar for a cohesive and complete design package.  In a word: love.

Being the person that I am, I wanted to be sure that the Ipad (I think I'll call him "Slim") has a nice and cozy place to sleep while getting lugged around in my abyss of a bag.  The smart cover is great - but Slim's rear might get cold (and scratched!).  With Pinterest at the ready, I went in search of the perfect Ipad cozy.  Here is what I came up with:

The 100% wool felt is so lovely, and the strap to keep it closed is really sleek. by ccommeca

Miu Miu, How I love you!  While not really my style, I do love the ruffles. via herblog

I love that the intricate patterning serves as a nice juxtaposition to the protective nature of the cover. by toviecorrie

This one really evokes summertime for me.  I guess it doesn't hurt anything (but my wallet) if Slim has a few wardrobe changes based on the weather. via net-a-porter 

The offset pleats are so incredibly simple yet powerful at the same time.  It appeals to the architect in me.  by squark

Simple, green with a peek of neon pink.  What's not to like?  by mlmxoxo