I’ve been working on my portfolio for most of the day. Remember when I blogged about it way back in March? I hadn’t touched it since then. How embarrassing.

I’ve been uploading new stuff all day and plan to shoot full campaigns tomorrow (if there’s good light). Eventually all will be done because I’ve found a few nice places to submit my pieces to and I’m getting excited!

I need to get out of this apartment before I go crazy. Sleeping in all morning and taking lazy walks around the park with Oliver really does loose its appeal after awhile.

I promise.

Okay, enough complaining. Take a peek at my portfolio in progress.

PS: Don’t you just love the felt balls? I picked these up in Dallas at CityCraft a few months ago. I hear they are expanding their space. Another reason to make a quick trip back home. Happy Labor Day!

It’s budget-friendly and their sizes run in my favor, unlike the Crew which usually doesn’t go over a size 12. And LOFT really embraces a tailored look for off-the-rack, and in my humble opinion, a truly feminine flair.

When I got an email this morning with a preview to their new Fall looks, I just had to share a few that really caught my eye. Flowers! Cardis! Stripes! Get them all here.

Happy weekend! I’m thinking maybe the beach since they are predicting it to get up to 91 degrees on Sunday. I hear it’s even lovely in Texas, so a win/win.

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I didn’t think much of it until we went to CB2 and got Dan a new desk for studying. We started sharing the one sad office chair I currently use (and more importantly hate!) and it got me thinking about the chair in the alley … and its possibilities.

So I swiftly grabbed it Saturday morning, and snuck into our basement where everyone does laundry. In there, I knew I had spotted what I’ll call the “community” paint from someone’s left-overs.

Yeehaw y’all, time to get to work!

I used some of the Patricia fabric I had on hand and went to town. (Remember this creation? I still wear is all the time. I just can’t get enough of the discontinued fabric from Ikea.)

In the end, it only took about three hours total, between lunch and AC breaks. There’s no air conditioner in the kitchen and it got up to almost 90 degrees this weekend, so it would get pretty warm in there.

BREAKDOWN
Chair: Free from the alley gods
Paint: “Community” Behr Paint, found in basement
Brushes: Already owned
Fabric: Patricia by Ikea ($9 per yard)
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Total cost: $9.

The best part is that we each have a chair since he can use my old one (planned that well, didn’t I?) and I got the something pretty chic to sit my booty on.

Oh, and did you notice the new sofa? We ended up getting the Corona and it’s perfection. :)

Now to the fun stuff … our fireplace. How did we get so lucky to have flames painted onto the brick? I’m pretty sure a couple of young guys lived here before us and made some pretty bold decorating choices.

Not to worry though. We are painting the walls gray and the brick an even darker gray. I’m still in the process of finding the right colors …

I can’t wait to show you the before and after photos. Clearly (as you can tell) everything is an unorganized mess right now. Boxes everywhere!

Order will prevail. I think.

The thing is, every time I set out to do these things, I never had a camera with me. Or if I did, photos were not snapped. So I will leave here with nothing shared, no insights of Big D wisdom to part with.

Except this. These are my cat’s legs. He LOVES having a yard. And I’m taking that away from him and it makes me kinda sad. But aren’t they just the cutest little legs ever? I’m pretty sure he’d prefer me over a patch of grass anyway, right?

For sarcasm’s (and my wallet’s) sake, let’s just call ‘I need this!’ and run with it. After all, it’s going to be something pretty a girl like me does need, but something a girl like me would never buy.

LL Bean Mariner Leather Tote $199.50

I’m not exactly looking to drop too much cash on an apartment fixture (of any kind, really), even if I plan to be there for awhile. After doing a bit of browsing online, I discovered the magical Schoolhouse Electric, a great sight that carries some reasonable vintage-inspired shades. Pardon the perspective, but I threw these shots together on the quick. So now I’m in decision-mode. Which to choose, which to choose …

PS: I promise this isn’t going to turn into a Chicago blog. I’m just super excited about our new adventure and our super cute apartment that goes with it. If you care to keep up with my design decisions, I’ve created a Flickr folder here. I’ll be adding more photos as the days lead up to our BIG move next month.

We stopped at Over Easy Cafe on Damen in Ravenswood in Chicago before we saw our future apartment. Yes, you just read that right: we are moving to Chicago in August! This is a very exciting time for us.

I didn’t want to make it official (but kind of hinted) until I had informed the essentials: parents, friends and employers. But now the cat is 100% out of the bag and I’m sharing it with the world. (Technically, I suppose this blog is read around the world, right?) More details to follow and some major “before” pictures of our new adobe to be posted later.

But back to Over Easy … This little diner is major on the fabulous factor. I imagine Dan and I will spend many a morning here since it’s just a few short blocks away, too. If the decor and charm aren’t enough to lure you in, the food is AMAZING. And I speak from experience: breakfast foods are my all time fav., so I consider myself a bit of an expert.

Sadly, I didn’t photograph my plate, as it was a modest meal of two eggs over easy and toast. I kept it pretty simple that day since we were doing quite a bit of walking, looking at many rental locals and all. But this was Dan’s over the top “Sassy Eggs.” Could the name be more appropriate?

Seriously, brinner any day of the week for me.

(Some photos were provided by Flickr members, linked accordingly.)

As you all know, we’ve been moving around a lot and have done some major downgrading lately. In fact, there’s a yard sale in the mix in the next couple of weeks. It’s left me with little furnishings, so I’ve been daydreaming about my next sofa. A lot.

I’m really in love with the Avec sofa from CB2, but with a nearly $1,200 price tag, it’s probably out of my range at the moment.

However, Macy’s has it’s only twist on the MCM sofa: the Corona. And at $700?! Let’s just say I know a bargain when I see one. Hopefully you’ll catch me drinking a Corona on my Corona soon. Sometimes daydreams become reality, right?

Oh! And check out the Flickr pool! It seems that this is one popular sitter.

Crazy.

I can’t wait to get away from the heat here in Dallas. Seriously, it’s predicted to reach up to 104 degrees this weekend and it’s just the first weekend of June; not even summer!

While I’m not particularly a huge vacation planner, we are doing a bit of sightseeing at the usual places: the Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park and, of course, the Willis Tower. (Formally known as the Sears Tower.)

Oh! And we’re seeing She & Him on Monday is said park. We’ve also got some top secret missions in the mix, too. (No, not a wedding or anything, but some pretty BIG news.) I’m already missing my Spenc and Oli.

PS: I’ve had a crush on this Ork poster for awhile. Perhaps it will end up in my living room soon?

The funny part is, after sending out a tweet this afternoon, a fellow Twitter friend fell in love too, and ordered away. Alyssa at the Rehab sent me a message back and it looks like she sold seven today. Oh, the mysteries of social networking …

(Photo from BROOKLYN Rehab)

Things aren’t 100% yet, (WordPress is confusing!) but it’s on the way to something great. Eventually I will even launch my portfolio site. One day, people. One day.

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Moving on (literally), time is just flying by at a very chaotic time in my life. It’s good chaos, but still. It’s left little time to blog or read blogs. Boo! My parents have purchased a house in Ft. Worth, near a gorgeous lake and weekends have been occupied with helping them pack and move. They have a TON of stuff, considering the last time they moved was 1984.

And drum roll please! We are moving in two weeks to the old house, yes my childhood home, to do a bit of saving over the summer. Needless to say, I’m doing some major downsizing and purging and it feels pretty good to get rid of so much stuff.

It’s also been a lot of fun to find pictures from high school at my parents house, too. Hmm … I’m really going to have to spend some major time in front of the scanner soon. Another day …

(Illustration from Akacorleone)

Seriously, at 270 calories for per pair, they are reasonably healthy and taste just scrumptious. Really, I can’t sound more like a commercial for PJ’s and you can grab them at Newflower Market here in East Dallas. Gluten free, to boot! (Recipe below.)

The charming embroidered tea towel was a present from boyfriend’s mother. It’s so sweet and lady-like.

Cinco de Mayo Sabor
Veggie Mix
1 or 2 small sweet potatoes, cut in cubes
1 can black beans
1 package of frozen corn
Half an onion, diced
Pressed garlic
1 Red bell pepper, cut in strips
Garlic powder, chipotle peppers, cilantro, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
PJ’s Organic Chicken Taquitos
Avocado, sour cream are optional
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Boil sweet potatoes, until almost cooked through. Drain and chop. Preheat oven and drop in the taquitos to bake, following the instructions. Heat pan, while mixing extra virgin olive oil and spices together. Combine all veggies with oil mixture, cooking on medium-high until potatoes are creamy in texture. Slice avocado, add leftover pressed garlic, cilantro and lemon to taste. Make a gorgeous plate and feast!

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So it was fun to be lost on the Philadelphia subway system, way back when we visited in February. We somehow ended up below The Gallery, which was this mall right in the city center. The station was so gorgeous that despite the fact that we were kinda turned around and wasted something to the effect of $15, it was worth it just to see all of the colorful subway tiles. Just magical …