The Houston Experience (I met Joni!)

0ur Houston experience got off to a very rocky start last week.

Thanks to Air Canada cancelling our morning flight (leaving passengers scrambling), we arrived at our hotel at 3am on Thursday morning (instead of 4:30 pm on Wednesday, as planned). I had to get up 3.5 hours later for my Thursday class on highly technical engineering software. As you can well imagine, I had a totally rotten day, verging on a migraine all day due to lack of sleep, and was very upset with Air Canada (who were incredibly rude and entitled and arrogant).

Despite the lousy start, we enjoyed our hotel, the Marriott Westchase which was not super posh but was very nice and had friendly staff, a great restaurant for breakfast, wonderful beds and amazing pillows (from Pacific Coast)! While I attended class all day Thursday and Friday David got to see the sights (and Galveston!). In the evenings we wandered around Houston, visiting Whole Foods (I am envious), the wonderful Phoenicia market (also envious), and the Cypress outlet mall.

On Saturday, the real adventure began when I met Houston bloggers Joni, Tricia, and Paloma for lunch at Tiny Boxwoods, the cafe at Thompson + Hanson's garden center. I loved Tiny Boxwoods (what a sweet name) but the service was slooooow...Tiny Boxwoods is the tony spot to see and be seen, but don't stop there if you're in a hurry.

And now for the part you've been waiting for...I got to meet Joni from Cote de Texas, which was like meeting a celebrity. I was nervous to meet her, but she was very lovely and a little...shy? Joni is very witty and she and Paloma (from La Dolce Vita) regaled us with some great blogger gossip from the inner sanctum (i.e their very successful blogosphere!):

I also met Tricia, from Morning T who plied me with mojitos as we waited for our lunch!

Aren't they a great looking trio?

After our lunch, the four of us wandered down Saint St. to Indulge:

Indulge is a beautiful French-inspired shop that was chock full of to-die-for pretty things. Their central atrium has a high ceiling and amazing light, which totally complemented the gorgeous blue-painted plaster walls, which reminded me of being inside a cloud. I loved the little topiaries, which were everywhere:

Below is the central atrium, with wonderful light. I forgot to get a close-up of the birdcage to the right, with a pair of tiny blue finches (with pink beaks) inside. What sweet little birds...

Indulge has a large collection of beautiful bed linens, from luxury linen companies like Sferra.

There were also lots of beautiful reproduction headboards and sconces from companies like Blanc d'Ivoire, which I discovered in Paris and just l o v e. Look at these pretty sconces, not to mention the chandeliers...

After our visit at Indulge, Joni and Paloma had to run, so Tricia and I decided the only sensible thing to do was to keep shopping. She was a wonderful chauffeur and shopping buddy and took me all around. We visited Mecox Gardens, which we both enjoyed.

I admired everything at Mecox, but weirdly coveted nothing. Mecox is a very interesting shop. I found the look to be quite masculine and cosmopolitan, for lack of a better word. I liked just about everything here, including these amazing light fixtures:

The items at Mecox reminded me of a collection that a sophisticated world traveller might put together to reflect his travels to far-flung places. Everything seemed a little odd and exotic. For a more detailed post, check out Paloma's post on Mecox here.

There were some feminine touches. I loved these mauve linen chairs, which reminded me of chairs I spotted in Ina Garten's Hamptons barn. I also liked the little campaign-style tables:

A fab map of Paris flanked by found objets. So many pieces had a wonderful sculptural quality:

Subway signs and sea life:

Scores of interesting light fixtures. I would have no trouble shopping here (except that things are all too big for my house):

A light-coloured "room" with Gustavian-looking pieces and more sea life:

Tricia and I had a lovely time and I was sad to see it end! We visited Anthropologie and then slummed at Z Gallerie and visited Pottery Barn (which is 10x bigger than here). Such good fun!

Later that evening, David and I went and got very smoky eating barbeque at The Goode Co. (sorry, no photos). Then we went to the Galleria for a couple of hours where I shopped at J. Crew (which is not available in Canada) and ate Godiva milk-chocolate Oreo cookies.

On Sunday, David and I returned to the Thompson & Hanson garden center and shop, next to Tiny Boxwoods, for a closer look. The well-heeled are in good hands buying their plants and gourmet compost here:

We are lucky if our hydrangeas bloom in Calgary before it snows:

The Thompson + Hanson garden shop is G L O R I O U S. The ceilings are high and pitched and there are tons of windows, letting in gorgeous light. The decor is perfect:

As Joni said, I too could totally live in this store. Who needs a whole house when you have a room like this:

What gorgeous things! Every view was exquisite.

I love you, store. I miss you already.

Before heading to the airport, David and I took a quick detour to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston:

The museum has a very interesting underground tunnel, linking its two buildings. The tunnel reminded me of the one linking buildings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Here the colours in the tunnel change, to the delight of kids (and me):

Inside, I headed straight for the Sargent exhibit. His seaside works are incredible and naturally his portraits were delightful. I could not take photos inside, sadly, as I really wanted to capture his nautical blues.

Next I headed upstairs to see the Europeans. They are always reliable. I was delighted to see a Chagall (second from left):

And this Modigliani:

Plus lots of other wonderful works. What a lovely gallery. If I lived in Houston, I would be here all the time.

On the way back through the tunnel, the colour had turned to red for our departure:

Then off to the airport we went. What a great trip!

Vacation Post #1: DC Blogger Party with Eddie Ross!

I know I am absurdly late writing about this party, but hey...I just got back from two weeks vacation!

If you haven't read about it here or here or here (among other places!) you should know about the wonderful, astounding, lovely and altogether-perfect party that Michele of My Notting Hill threw on September 18th for Eddie Ross and Jaithan Kochar at her lovely home in Arlington!!

Here is the hostess with the mostest, Michele, with Eddie Ross himself (Jaithan was in the kitchen!):  

David and I just happened to be travelling to Washington DC the week of Michele's party and several months ago I happened to mention this to her in an email.  To my delight, she invited me to her DC blogger party, which was attended by an astounding array of talented DC-area designers, bloggers, writers, and decor-lovers. It was a total coup to attend this party!  And who wouldn't love meeting Eddie and Jaithan?

Here I am with Eddie, my new BFF: 

Eddie is positively delightful and witty, insanely talented, has wonderful opinions and is handsome and blonde and stylish!  Who could ask for more?!  I wish I'd had more time to pick his incredible brain about design and what he loves and hates.  He has amazing talent, wit, and wonderful opinions - I like nothing better than that combination in a person!

Next here I am with Michele, who is the most gracious hostess:  

Michele is a relaxed, easy-going and super smart lady with a great design mind.  She was so welcoming...I felt totally at home in her house, which she shares with her marvellous husband Dan (the amazing chef du jour) and two beautiful, well-mannered children!

Michele has a really beautiful house that she has not shown us nearly enough of!  I loved her style and wished I had stolen a few snaps of her exquisite decor.

One of the highlights of my evening was meeting Lauren from Pure Style Home.  Here she is with her good friend Eddie:  

Lauren was exactly as I expected.  Not only is she beautiful, but also funny and kind and charming and self-deprecating and oh-so-talented.  I felt like I've known her forever!  If I lived closer to Lauren I would say to heck with decorating and just hire her!  Her husband Dave was also soooo nice - smart, handsome, articulate, and a real DIY god!  They are a perfect pair!

Here we are, me and my decor hero:

Here's another handsome pair: Bob Murphy from the ever-fascinating blog Homer's Odd Isn't He and lovely Linda from Haven on Hanover.  

Bob is a fascinating fellow (and I didn't talk to him nearly long enough), and Linda is such a sweet and interesting lady.  She and her husband Dave (an engineer!) are renovating a great old home in Richmond, which she is currently documenting on her wonderful blog.   She also works for a great design firm and shares her talents on her blog!

Here is a photo of Linda's husband Dave and I having a rare engineering conversation:

(photo from Bob Murphy)

And here are a few more of the usual suspects:

From left to right are Jenn (Department of the Interior), Michele our hostesss, Linda, Bob, Eddie, and Pat from Pat's Addition. It was also great meeting Jenn, whose list of Georgetown shops I followed very closely while shopping that afternoon!

Here are a few more party-goers:  Eddie and Jaithan are next to Beth from Chinoserie Chic (who was so funny as she told me how much she hates the white, spare interiors I love!)  Beth was wearing a great dress but I have forgotten the designer!  To the right of Jaithan is Meg from Pigtown Design, with her sister-in-law Gabi (who was very sweet).  Meg is such an interesting lady and I wish I'd gotten to chat with her longer - she has such a sweet manner, a great mind for design, and a superb blog!

I actually had a great long chat with Jaithan, who is smart, handsome, stylish and also has talent to spare! He and Eddie are a real dynamic duo, and I was honoured that Jaithan took so much time to chat with me about their projects and perspectives.  He is a very sweet fellow. 

Here are the same folks, along with Thomas from My White Shirt (on the right) who was so nice!

Here is the talented Stefan from Architect Design (who I chatted with over asparagus and pork roast) and the ever-lovely Meg:

The redhead, blonde, brunette trio:  Jenn, moi, Michele:

Bob with his very funny friend, along with our Linda:

Trouble in the kitchen:  Jaithan, Beth, me and Meg

Jaithan and Eddie are a wonderful couple and I wish them great success with their endeavours!

I also loved meeting the beautiful and talented blogger Leila from In the Tweeds, and her Mom Sue who gave me some great sightseeing advice.  I wish I'd gotten a photo with them!

Michele and Dan threw a wonderful party and I cannot thank them enough. I had such fun and felt like I was with family.  I've never been in a room with so many people I already love!  I felt like everyone "got me" and it was such a treat to spend the evening with kindred spirits, brilliant talents, and to drink Michele and Dan's wine.

A perfect evening!