Because it's true in Texas..

http://www.nataliedee.com/

“Who has but once dined his friends, has tasted what it is to be Caesar.” - Herman Mellville, 'Moby Dick' 1851

Dinner at Megan and Lee's last night. So good. Fajitas, good beer, and good people. Very good Wednesday.

The roses are out! Thanks, Summer :)

I love the porch. Only good conversations happen out here.

Lee making delicious fajitas!

Houston at night, on the way home. I-45 and Allen Parkway with view of Aquarium Ferris Wheel.

One of my favorite paragraphs from "eat, pray, love"

I think i am ready to pry the Twilight series out of my hands and get some new reads for the summer...

I saw this on NPR.org this morning:

Follow Me, by Joanna Scott, Little Brown, Hardcover, 432 pages, List Price: $24.99

Joanna Scott's Follow Me also revolves around the telling of a life story, but hers is more slippery with half-truths and obfuscation. A 60-something Sally is recounting her life's journey to her granddaughter — it begins in the 1940s, with her being knocked up by a cousin, and winds its way through town after town and mishap after mishap. The only problem is, Sally's own son — her granddaughter's estranged father — shows up and contradicts the tale. Scott, the author of Tourmaline and Everybody Loves Somebody, is a skilled storyteller, as well as a Lannan Award winner and MacArthur Fellowship recipient. She keeps her grip on the narrative even when it threatens to spiral into nonsense. Sally's life is a strange one, and it's the telling of it that is fun, even when you're not sure who to believe.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104268860

I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by its cover.. but thats a really... good red.

"Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York. Especially in the summer of 1912."- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

Anthem for my time in Brooklyn:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104024009

Scroll down and listen to "To Kingdom Come" by Passion Pit- Thanks Nina Su!


Vacations are always looked forward to for months, weeks, and then the time always passes in a whirlwind and I regret not going a little slower, taking it all in and not taking enough (more, a million) photos. Here are the few I did manage to get in.

Below you'll see:

Beautiful views of the New York City & Brooklyn from the plane and Amy's rooftop (Amy's rooftop shots of Brooklyn are my favorite shots), murals and graffiti, shots of Manhattan i.e. Empire state and the Flatiron Building, and my first (and favorite) meal of the visit: late night Shawarma, stuffed grape leaves and baklava!

I had a fantastic, fast-moving time and I feel really lucky that I have wonderful friends that live in amazing places. Wherever I am, my door will always be open for you!

it's true what they say about the city that never sleeps...

...you don't get any sleep.

I'll be posting photos today, but i'm more tired than i think i even realize and i feel like i need a week to recuperate from 4 whirlwind days in new york..

Including but not limited to:
- wine on rooftop with beautiful view of manhattan
- backyard brooklyn bbqs (2X) veggie kabobbbbsss mmmmm
- meeting good people at macri park
- amazing shawarma and stuffed grape leaves @ Manna (from the heavens)
- champagne and wine purchased everyday from the nice russian men down the street -Do svidaniya!
- fantastic Greek omelet @ the Lodge (2 for one mimosas and bloody marys)
- Bedford and Grand
- Pop Boutique, skirts, owl pillows, sacred hearts
- St Jerome's smoke machine
- way too many rum and cokes
- tranny bar
- bagels and cream cheese
- killians on roof top bars in manhattan
- amazing views of empire state
- laughing way too hard with amy
- making new friends
- Lorimer stop
- Williamsburg
- a very crowded bar called home sweet home
- magazine launch party (got there too late!)
- BYO modelos on a rainy sunday afternoon
- bloody marys that didnt stay too long in the belly after a night of debauchery that ended around 630 AM.
- mexican potlock night @ Jake, Lindsay and Nina's- only expat texans!
- pop up shoe shop with kristine
- bars that close @ 4am.
- typical Brooklyn landlords and their bizarre stories
- "what is this city doing to me?"


back to work/reality for now.

Sigh.

I've been waiting for this since March 9th...

..when bought this plane ticket. :) VERY excited. I can't wait to look out of my plane window and see the New York skyline...This is gonna be a great weekend and I feel so lucky to be able to go on adventures like this. Also, very strange to be flying into another airport besides Eppley. Will be posting lots of photos next Tuesday.

Have a wonderful memorial holiday weekend!

neat things i found today

http://www.etsy.com/ is a dangerous place at the end of a pay period.

Kind of in love with..

Swedish illustrator Stina Persson.

http://www.stinapersson.com/

Thus prompting a watercolor and heavy paper combo purchase today.

Hairz

Thanks to Leidi for making me dig the curling iron out for the first time since 1999. http://soaksalon.com/

832-623-8309

“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.”

Beaaacccchhhhhhh

So ready to lay on the beach, sip sangria and read in the sun. I haven't been to Galveston since April of '08, before the hurricane, so I probably owe it a visit...maybe buy a souvenir and contibute a bit to the local economy.
I am so excted to stick my feet in salt water and get a little sun on my face. Should be a wonderful, recharging weekend and it's much needed. May is lovely! So many adventures!

i love plane ticket puchase confirmations.

sometimes i think i miss san marcos/austin. especially during the summer...

because the city leaves nice notes for you written on walls on South Congress. Although, Houston leaves sweet notes on telephone poles..

Tuesday afternoons should be spent this way..

2.50 Shiner blacks and lots of sunshine

It's been a really long time since I painted anything...

So I'm going to hobby lobby for lunch to see if i can make anything out of this.. I'm thinking extra bright colors, reds, yellows, oranges.... I know it looks a bit childish, but maybe...

I should probably be working instead of drawing..?

I'm Ready, Brooklyn!

Dear Williamsburg,
I'm coming over next week.

I haven't been to N'Yak since 2004 and a visit/ new memories are well overdue. I couldn't be visiting a better lady, too. There will be so much to see and do and taste, I hope I can keep up! I should start going to bed @ 7:30 PM so I can store energy reserves, but I think my lovely hostess will allow for naps, given our past travel history ("nah.. we don't want to go to Fisherman's Wharf... we need naps..").

LISTEN:
Roxy Cottontail - You Don't See NYC

"If a June night could talk, it would probably boast that it invented romance" - Bern Williams

OH! The things to look forward to now! It's been years since my last trip to San Antonio and never for Ryan so for birthday festivities, we're going to the Riverwalk and the Alamo ( so we can remember it..)

Definately making a stop into Dolores Del Rio, a perfect Italian restaurant named after this fancy lady:

If you ever need to be cheered...

this'll do it: Barnaby's is @ 604 Fairview @ Hopkins.

"Dost thou love life? Then waste not time; for time is the stuff that life is made of" Ben Franklin

Once again, another Omaha visit has passed and these Mondays are always the worst. I'm ready for a new countdown now. The weather was perfect this weekend... sunny, high 70s.. perfect. We spend so much time outside. Found this wonderful antique shop where I bought so many great present things, including a pink yard flamingo whose name is Professor Mingus. I am afraid to put him in the yard just yet as recently I had 2 hanging plants stolen from my patio (WAS FURIOUS!). I walked two airports with that flamingo in my arms

[mingo]

I'm not about to leave him for the thieves. The botanical garden complex was huge and I don't think we even saw half of it. Visited all the favorite spots and found alot of new ones, too. Enjoyed a lunchtime sandwich and guinness combo at dundee dell where we dominated the juke box and introduced Ryan to the refreshing glory that is the Mojito...

i love summertime.