A new friend of mine, Adrian Ramos, is in Haiti. You can read his BLOG and enjoy his simple yet challenging perspective. Here is an excerpt:

Food, art, music, philosophy, religion, are all so different in so many corners of the globe. Everytime we interact with these things we expand our perspective, and hopefully we are humbled as we realize that the thing we are trying to understand and define is much larger than we gave it credit for.
Here, to see people suffer daily in unimaginable ways, to see them struggle and survive, to learn their customs, reminds me that each night I struggle to fall asleep because my heater is turned up too high, someone in the world is sleeping on the ground and praying it doesnt rain. This doesn’t cause me guilt, but reminds me that the world is big, and that being human is not synonymous with having luxuries and sophisticating oneself. To be human is to have dignity, honor, love, hope, joy, pain, and loyalty; and these things are deeper, stronger, and older than clothes, soap, and air conditioning. They were embedded deep within our blueprints and withstand oppression and flourish in cruel environments. - Adrian Ramos

happy weekend!

off to fort worth to see these 2 great friends get married!

cowtown run

Look at the sign Natalie made Ryan! She ROCKS.

This past weekend a group of us ran in the Cowtown Marathon! It was so much fun, my first 5k. Scott, Ryan, Nick and Paco ran the half marathon and Anne, Blaire, Natalie and I ran the 5k. I am proud of the boys! It was a fun thing to all do together...

two things i love : black and white stripes and a tufted sofa.

image from a life's design

Thanks to the Somers, and their Williams Sonoma baking cookbook wedding gift, I have learned to bake! It is so much fun for me, so relaxing, makes me feel accomplished. This afternoon, I made Devil's Food Chocolate cupcakes from scratch!

I think that one of the most satisfying and joyful areas of my life is getting lost in knowing others. Whether that's a friendship, relationship, work friend, family member, boss, or client, it's really beautiful. I've felt the joy of taking my eyes off myself and stepping into the lives of others. I find it to challenge my thoughts, prejudices, experiences, and allow to share life and encourage people. I think in doing that, it requires a lot of question asking.

aaaaand, we're off! tomorrow, scott and i are headed to fort worth to meet up with great friends and run the Cowtown Marathon! Wish Scott luck in his first half marathon!!

image from darkmatter's flikr

image from chartno's3 flikr

poolside paradise

How much fun would it be if this was your concept for an outdoor lounge area? A tufted upholstery wall inside a cabana where you could sit at have a cocktail while at the pool? Wish I had a pool...and a million dollars to build something like this!

image from atlanta home and lifestyles

scott and i were thinking of ways to get rid of the armoire we have in our living room. but after seeing this image, im excited to have a reason to keep it! it would be dreamy to have a closet big enough to put the armoire in, and fill it with organized clothing!

sorry scott....i think we have to keep it now...

image from a lifes design

design thoughts

when i think of interior design, i think about the architectural aspects of a room. what can you do to accentuate the elelments, what can you add architecturally to the space to make it dramatically memorable? lighting, finishes..... and furniture is just the cherry on top.

in this space, they have accentuated a simple architectural feature, the doors to a room. and look at how wonderfully dramatic this can be!

image from elements of style

the grand ceilings and architecture of the entry is rellished here with a formal wallcovering. it shows off the ceiling and highlights the trim mouldings.

image from atlanta home and lifestyle

I was just at a baby shower this past weekend, held in the home of one of my professors at TCU. Gale VanAckeren. She's a wonderful person. The hallway to her study was a skinny, white box with floor to ceiling windows on the outside wall. So the space felt very light and airy. She had accented the ceiling by painting it a pale blue color, which was just lovely. She didn't take away from the windows, but instead included a way to direct your eye down the path you were traveling. Small ways to make a statment. Small ways to highlight the architecture. Love it.