Monthly Archives: September 2011

forgive us.

Doing what you love means a lot of sacrifices, blood, sweat, and tears. But in the end, you’re doing what you love and that’s all that matters. That being said, we’re going to be taking a much needed break.. but we will be back in a week! We have a LOT of things happening right now with work, deadlines, grad school, life, responsibilities, exciting opportunities, and fancy events. So rather than boring you with lame half-hearted posts, we’re going to ~~try not to die of stress~~ rest and recharge, because you guys deserve our very best! But don’t worry, when we come back we’ll have some exciting news, some worth-the-wait projects, and some behind the scenes action. So get excited! In the meantime check out our new favorite blog: Dear Photograph. That should keep you busy for a while.

awkward and awesome thursday

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shirt {old navy}, jeans {gap}, scarf {jcrew}, boots {enzo angiolini}, watch {michael kors}, bangles {thrifted}, ring {h&m}, earrings {kate spade}, headband {target}

The guy who literally set up shop at Starbucks. We’re talking a laptop, printer, 3 tables and 90% of the chairs. Where was he? Who knows. But his office was there waiting for his return.

Deciding not to eat somewhere after we’ve already gotten our waters and complimentary bread. So Derek faked an important phone call and we made up some bogus excuse about how we had to be somewhere. I imagined him as a doctor or something, when really he was just making reservations at a different place. Why the elaborate story? It’s what we do, to avoid awkward situations, we make them more awkward.

Visiting misc. high schools to meet with clients, and realizing A. I’m really old, B. 18 year olds look like infants.. I mean they were born in 1993, now who feels old? C. No one has dress codes anymore. I mean there were girls walking around in spanks and kinds making out everywhere. I mean that crap did not fly in my high school. We’d get sent to the office if our skin showed ever. Modest is hottest ladies, cover it up!

The whole are-we-about-to-shake-hands-or-just-smile debacle. There was an awkward staring and smiling and slight raising of the hand on their part, so I went for a full on hand shake, and they just stared at me, and then my hand, and then at me again.. and then after what felt like 15 days.. shook my hand. Grown ups are freaking weird sometimes.

I was about 5 seconds into a video (by one of ~~our~~ my favorite blogs) and Derek instantly shouted from the other room “Is that John and Sherry?” Is it sad that these guys are household names? It’s not. Because they’re awesome.

Tag teaming with Derek during a client meeting. We make a good team. Maybe we should take Your Modern Couple to the next level!

Derek taking the time to drive all over creation to help me find the perfect bike. Totally worth it.

The fact that tomorrow is officially fall.. hence the celebratory riding boots. Even though it’s still in the mid 90s here. Boo summer.

Did you know that TJMaxx carries legit high end brands now? We’re talking Juicy, Michael Kors, Dooney, Coach, Tory Burch.. It’s like an outlet mall but crammed into a tiny store and all mixed around! I guess I need to venture past HomeGoods more often and scope out some designer swag. Sadly I just bought Derek a pillow, and some Jonathan Adler wrapping paper [JONATHAN ADLER!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??] Anyway, this is a new discovery for me, and I am stoked. This saves me about 100 miles on my car, and boring Derek to death at our outlet haven.

What are some awkward/awesome things that have happened to you this week? Embracing the awkward makes you awesome!

cfs

getting a little graphic..

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Now I’ve never been a huge fan of wallpaper. It dates quickly, it’s a pain in the tookus to remove, and it’s never very modern. However, lately I’ve been a wee bit smitten over the idea of adding a little something graphic to my walls. I think when done right wallpaper can look very chic and expensive. You should only use it in small areas so that it doesn’t look like you’re living inside your grandmother’s side chair. And wallpaper has come a long way my friends. Check out these beauts I’ve been swooning over.

I love adding prints to unexpected places!

I seriously am obsessed with this. Imagine it in the dining room of a bachelor pad.

Um.. hi. I love you.

Are you dying yet? Sadly I live in an apartment, so I can’t do anything too permanent yet. But I’m thinking of possibly stenciling a pattern in my entryway or dining room or testing out this “renters” wallpaper from Sherwin Williams. What do you guys think? Do you love the look but hate the work? I think it can really pack a punch when done tastefully. Have any of you tried renters wallpaper? I’m very curious.

All images via Pinterest.

PS: Funny sorry. As I was writing this post I was reminiscing this post of yore when I first mentioned my obsession with wallpaper. And when was it written? Last September. Go figure.

cfs

playing tourist: a thrifting we will go

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NAME: Vintage Furniture Shops on Hildebrand

LOCATION: anywhere along Hildebrand between Blanco & San Pedro (San Antonio, TX)

WHAT THEY DO: Resell amazing furniture and accessories that just need a little love

PRICE RANGE: $$

I’m a junk shop/thrift store conoisour and the shops along Hildebrand (and Blanco) don’t disappoint. Their hours are wonky, but if you drive by any there is furniture sitting out front, then you’re good to go! But once you go inside, be warned, it can be a little intimidating.

Talk about stuff!

And more stuff..

And even more stuff! (yes, this is all the same place)

Each store is seriously wall-to-wall furniture so you have to be patient, and thorough. Junction is one of my favorites because although it’s jam packed to the brim with vintage finds, it’s über cheap! There are other places along Hildebrand/Blanco that are also packed like sardines, that aren’t so cheap. So be careful! You shouldn’t have to pay high dollar for a sofa when you also have to dig it out from under 3 others. Always haggle, these people expect it.

That sofa was only $40. I mean seriously. And I’m still kicking myself for walking away from it, but I didn’t need two sofas. You’re kicking me now too aren’t you? Don’t worry, it was gone the next day. That’s the thing about these places. Stuff goes FAST!

The mirror was 40% off of $75 but I didn’t know if I really wanted it yet, until I got home. When I went back on my lunch hour the next day it had sold that morning. Typical. What’s the moral of this story? Go with your gut! Derek scored some sick Gunlocke chairs at The Leaky Cauldron on Blanco. Okay it’s not really called that, but I never know the names of these places so I’ve developed nicknames for them. I call it The Leaky Cauldron because I was there during a storm once and all of the furniture was soaked from all of the leaks. So needless to say you shouldn’t pay full price there for sure, which he didn’t! Thanks Steve!

I’m completely obsessed with these shops, as in I’m usually stalking them every other weekend or so because they go through inventory so quickly. These aren’t the only good junk shops in SA, but they’re definitely my faves. Have you been to any of these? Are you a big fan too? Or are you just to stressed out seeing all of the precarious piles? If you need any good junk shop/thrift store recommendations in the area I’m your girl! I’m telling you, it’s a sickness. Oh and if you see a cobalt tufted sofa running around, I’ll give you a kidney. What are your go-to cheap-o vintage furniture shops?

cfs

weekend update

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All week Derek had been planning a special date night for Friday, so we got gussied up and headed downtown. We didn’t know where we wanted to go, but we knew we wanted to try something new. We hiked down to the Riverwalk, but 5min with the tourists and we were out of there. Then Derek got the genius idea to have a shmancy dinner at the Tower of Americas, so he made reservations and we walked on over. We had an hour to kill before dinner so we went upstairs to the bar for drinks and appetizers. They had edamame hummus. My two favorite things mixed together. I just about died. It was such a romantic date dining above the city and needing out over the architecture, and future master plan of the city all night. It’s also just nice to treat ourselves to a fancy dinner every now and then.

Saturday afternoon we had client meetings at the same household. I was there to meet with the wife for some quick interior design updates in her living room, and to check out the progress of her bathroom. While Derek was there to meet with the Husband and bust out his IT skills. So it was Your Modern Couple to the rescue! But before we headed over to their home, we continued our cupcake search and tried out The Gourmet Cupcake [located in Huebner Oaks] and we are officially huge fans. That will definitely not be our last visit. After our client meeting we relaxed with pizza and a Mad Men marathon on Netflix. It was a perfect lazy Saturday evening.

Sunday afternoon we walked downtown for a quick coffee and some amazing people watching. Afterward we headed to Bike World so that Derek could get his bike chain looked at and after drooling over all of the bikes I decided to take the plunge and get one! I wanted a cruiser because I think they’re adorable, and I fall off road bikes [I don't do skinny tires]. Also, Derek and I both agreed that I needed hand brakes because if I’m going to be riding around with cars in Southtown I don’t want to rely on pedal brakes. So I decided to get a hybrid! I found this red and black [go tech!] beaut that had the perfect little basket on the back for my quinny, hand brakes, a nice comfy seat, and a bell! I mean, who can resist a bell? I can ring it at neighbors and force them to wave at me! Yes.. I’m that girl. So the second we brought it home we took our bikes out for a ride around the neighborhood. It was so nice getting to explore the King William area on a much larger scale. I can’t WAIT for fall weather! Oh! And it started pouring out, which if live here you know how significant this is, and if you don’t live here, I’m sure you watch the news so you definitely know. It was amazing and I didn’t even mind getting soaked just walking to my car from the porch.

How was your weekend? Was it nice and relaxing, busy busy, or a little bit of both? Who else is excited about fall?