33.

Trucking along & thanking the Lord for everyday for this little mini.

Dana for W.E.

Loving the new West Elm Holiday Catalog adorned with Dana Tanamachi's the chalk art... I finally set down to look at it last night, recognized her amazing work immediately, & started drooling. {However, my eye was drawn more to the art & styling, versus the merchandise... not sure if thats a great thing for West Elm, but sure was lovely for my eye. Merch should ALWAYS speak louder than props & styling. Golden Rule No. 1 in Visual 2D & 3D world, eh?}

Nonetheless, her works of art are always beautiful, graphically proportioned, and perfectly detailed... I would love to have her come work some magic on our big kitchen chalkboard one day. :)

gold capped.

AWESOME tutorial on sayYes!tohoboken. These are a must on my "ever- growing, must-do, extra long, overly- ambitious Craft List. Always love me some metallic.

Happy, Happy Monday... the Holidays are officially here with a vengeance & I love it.

Giveaway over at S&S.

Sadie and Stella is doing a week of AWESOME giveaways on their blog for their one year birthday! They kindly asked if I wanted to participate... so head on over to their blog to win "a custom event design logo {In digital format} from MF Creative Designs. This logo can pop onto cupcake toppers, koozies, napkins, signs, etc... whatever the winner chooses to do with it, the sky's the limit." I LOVE their blog, sense of style, and great ideas... so to even have MF Creative Designs mentioned on their blog was flattering enough! Thanks you two! Can't wait to partner with the winner! Good Luck!

Word as Image.

I am a true sucker for clever typography... well, heck, just beautiful typography & lettering in general. (Just one step in our home & this is confirmed with "letters" everywhere. Can't wait to show the nursery! eeekk!) I digress, Ji Lee, former Creative Director at Google, & NOW the Creative Director at Facebook, (whhhaaattt!? who is this man?) wrote Word as Image.

His rules: 1) Create an image out of a word, using only the letters in the word itself. 2) Use only graphic elements in the letters without adding outside parts.

His result is absolutely brilliant, witty, and innovative... this book is definitely moved to the top of my Christmas wish list. Ahem, Santa?!

{Images via here. Love her reviews.}

beyond thrilled...

Gaultier at the DMA... can-not wait! (Nov. 13, 2011 - Feb. 12, 2012)
The exhibition is called "From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk"... What an absolute treat for the city of Dallas!
Jean Paul Gaultier's work is nothing short of exquisite... I can't wait to see his detailed works of art up close & personal.
Happy Hump Day!

Thursday.

First, I can't get enough of Coldplay's new album... really, they are back in their groove. It is on constant replay. Go buy it. So great.

Second, I saw this tear sheet, "Decorating Mantras to Live By," on Marta Writes, and LOVE & agree with it all. I especially enjoyed, "Honoring the acts of daily living. If its a habit, make it beautiful..." The thought of making everyday acts, chores, habits, & surroundings just as beautiful as you would for company, an event, a party, or a holiday has always enticed & intrigued me. I wish I could say I do this more.... finding a balance is definitely the key, though & not having the focus be ON your possessions and materials, but rather enjoying them & appreciating them fully. Using your china & nice serving pieces for Kraft mac & cheese, pulling out fancy wine & cheese just to enjoy on a Tuesday night, popping over a "thinking of you" letter on your linen, monogrammed stationary to a friend just because, and burning your "expensive" candles while watching Modern Family all fall in this category for me.

How can you not also love, "Life should sparkle, every house needs bling." Little ole me over here & my metallic obsession can definitely back this thought up. Love me some sparkling decor... I think I love it because it adds a pop while still staying neutral. Neutrals, greys, golds, & silvers are loved a bit too much over at the Frazier household.

Here's to living your Thursday beautifully. :) Again, Coldplay should help with that.

oh baby.

First off, in the most important news - CREWCUTS launched a baby line!! (envision me grinning ear to ear.) Check it out here. I die. really. I believe this apparel might be up there with Janie & Jack, for me now. My love for The Crew continues. (Sorry, I really should just start tallying my J.Crew/ Jenna posts & keep them to a minimum, but this was just TOO GOOD.)

{images from here, here, here, & here.}

These whimsical wallcovering options are just some of my favs & I have had them flagged for quite some time... we contemplated incorporating them into the nursery, however, with not knowing our longevity at this home & investing in something that we might not get to enjoy very long, would be a crying shame. So, instead, we opted for the dog silhouette fabric, "Man's Best Friend" in Cinnamon by John Lewis. It pulls in our creme, greys, & pops of red, still has some whimsy, and the scale still feels light & airy enough to not feel too busy. It is only being used in a few subtle spots so as not to get to "themey" but I am in love with it... plus, it is an ode to our sweet Senga.

Yes, we love Senga that much, she makes the nursery, and all our pregger pics. :) We have tried to take these every few weeks so we will have a series that look like these at the end. Yes, I finally posted this after many requests... we'll see if this actually happens again. ha Can't wait to meet our little mini man.

Happy Tuesday, but wishing I was outside enjoying this amazing weather!

monday musings.

See that beautiful Kate Spade wall above... how great would this application be in a powder bath one day? Its just Dura-Lar film cut & applied in strips. I have this filed away for the non-existent said powder bath one day... In my book, Metallic + Stripes = perfection. (via here.)

I REALLY want to replicate this photo shoot one day, I absolutely LOVE it... the coloring & texture of the images are beautiful. I love it so much I think I'll just straight up copy it... maybe next fall with mini Frazier in the world? Does it help I have her shirt & boots... its a start. :) (source unknown.)

Check out this DIY wreath by Madiganmade... so simple & chic & CHEAP. Perfect for fall or the Holidays... its just gold thumbtacks. I wish I thought of it. Brilliant, people, just brilliant.

Confession: I STILL love MK & Ash... they just do what they feel & rock what they want. I know I know... most people are over them, but I still can't get enough. I loved stumbling across some of these paparazzi shots of them... they always seem to be in their own world.

(via here.)

I look at this Kravet Bansuri Ikat fabric pretty much all the time & still keep coming back to it... any color wave is awesome. I want it for some project... some day; Maybe for the Mini's nursery... I'll work on that & get back with you. I know, I know, I am trying to get away from my love of greys & neutrals... I'll stop after this?

I made my first Teddy's Apple cake last week of the season... the one from the New York Times in 1973. It is still requested for re-print to this day... it is that. good. people. I typically make it a few times each fall with Honey crisp apples (an obsession)... it is perfect for breakfast, as well as dessert. (Try a brown sugar glaze on it.) I made it with this Deen Brother's Lasagna Soup, and it did not disappoint, either.

Happy Happy Fall & Happy start to the week!

gasp -worthy.

I audibly gasped out loud when I saw this sweater... soft metallic gold leather elbow patches & grey neutral cashmere... this sweater is right up my alley. {however, its absurd price is not.} I am on a mission already to figure out how to make this myself... I really want it that bad.

On another note, this lantern festival is pretty "gasp-worthy" as well... I would love to attend one of these in person. {one can dream, right?} Can you imagine sitting on a blanket in the grass with a glass of wine staring up at this... sigh. Maybe I would be wearing the aforementioned sweater. ha.

Happy Weekend! More nursery working is on the docket this weekend... I was already born with an overly obsessed impulse to nest & now it is at an embarrassing all time high. really. Just ask my mother how many times my room changed throughout my life... now, with a babe on the way, it is truly scary. :)

First Official Day of Fall!

Eureka! I have found the perfect banana bread... finally. I know I have shared my harrowing quest for the perfect recipe & have succeeded with no avail until last night. Tyler Florence's Banana Bread is PERFECTION. I made some homemade honey-butter (3/4 stick melted salted butter / to half parts honey) and schmeared it over a large, thick slice this morning for breakfast next to my first Pumpkin Spice latte of the season... oh, welcome fall & all you have to bring!

Happy First day of Fall! We'll be decorating the house for fall & nesting in the nursery this weekend & I could not be more excited! Date night at La Duni tonight & making these Pumpkin Gingerbread waffles to kick of the fall weekend tomorrow morning...

Happy Happy Friday!

Art Walk.

Downtown Dallas had a little Art Walk on Main Street today... I absolutely love the concept, thought process, & effort behind it. People just rented out the metered parking spaces, set up booths & got everyone out of their offices/ building for just a bit to enjoy the weather. Such a nice change of pace.

There was live music to be heard, small flower/ succulent gardens, a miniature recycled library to "take & share" from, & small art installations to see. Many of the booths passed out literature on their cause or focused on recycling efforts for the city. They had a Hatch Chile booth where you watched the chilies being grilled, steam bathed, and peeled.... and oh it smelled heavenly. I feel like I learned a little bit about the variety, as well. The company funding this was passing various typed of chilies to try, prepared in different ways. {Ahem, the panko battered, deep fried, bacon & melted cheese topped Chile was my fav... no surprise there.}

It was a fun little getaway from the day on our lunch break... yummy pizza for lunch, art browsing, and hatch chilies for dessert. :) Now I'm ready for the weekend.

Happiest of Fridays! Go check it out this weekend if you get a chance & live in Dallas... I was not able to find information online about it, but maybe you'll have better luck!