Friends are great

 Really enjoying this latest season of friends. Such a blessing. 

Here we are hanging out at the Green, listening to some good live music (There were many more people here, the photo happened at the end of the night.). Downtown Houston is pretty cool. We are really happy here, this second time around. After that year of wanderlusting, we were sure we'd find a cooler place to live, but family and work brought us back. People make the place, don't they? And these are some pretty great peeps.

 More great peoples at Girl Breaky- the best way to start a day. We meet up before work, get morning quinoa porridge (SO freaking yum!) and some java (see below... how can I resist a cheat here and there?), listen to French music. we chatter, we giggle, we talk about plans for the day. It's lovely. So very lovely.

soy latte, so delicious.

Aren't people great? :)

xoxo,


 

Hello Teecino

My friends and family know of my long lived addiction to coffee. I mean, I love it in any form and  have sipped it ritually every morning since I was 14. We even had Starbucks cater our wedding 4 years ago (it. was. awesome.)!

enjoying my java

So when T and I decided to embark on an alkalizing health journey after reading The pH Miracle, I knew my cherished acidic beverage habit may be in danger. If you want to read about the benefits of an alkalizing diet, I recommend this article.... or go ahead and dig into the pH Miracle or Crazy Sexy Diet. 

Also, as a final push into veganism, we watched Forks Over Knives (a movie explaining the findings of that giant book that every vegan talks about called The China Study... we smarties over here like to watch our books if there's an option. lazy). So we are committed to reclaiming our health through a vegan, alkaline diet which means green alkaline plant-based foods! Hooray!

Anyways, so check out this chart:

alkalinesisters

Coffee... you're a -25 in the acid range? 

*sniff sniff*

I'm not convinced about giving coffee up forever (I love it so!), but at least while we are working on kick-starting our alkaline lifestyle, it doesn't make sense to keep drinking my fave acidic bev. 

Here's where Teecino comes in:

Y'alls... this one is good. My baby took me to Whole Foods yesterday to grab this stuff (10 bucks a pound, which isn't much different from coffee), so I could try it this morning. I bought the loose grounds so I could make it in my French press... and it's good! I guess the most delicious part is the smell. This stuff smells like sweet chocolate candy with a coffee edge. Sign me up!

I'm sipping the stuff as we speak. While it's not exactly like coffee, it tastes good enough to act as a stand-in for the time being. 

This little coffee addict might just be ok....

xoxo,

Welcome to ... Fall

I HATE the smell of burnt popcorn.

Hate.

Like, worst smell ever.

And right now, my apartment is FILLED with the stench because I tried making my own *from scratch* (ie, in oil over the stove) to be healthier. UGH!

I've really been trying to be healthy (recipes I've been hoarding on Pinterest). Why is that always a struggle? Why is eating junk SO much easier?

Anyway....

Enough griping. Life is beautiful. Life is full! My summer has been wonderful! Here's what I did all summer:




-Spent a ton of time with friends and family, here, there, and everywhere

- Joined a new church that I am gaga over!

- Joined the YMCA and am loving BodyPump.

- Vacationed in Puerto Vallarta with my darling for a cousin's wedding- FANTASTIC. (
We lived in that pool.)

- Remembered the existence of libraries and have been/am reading a zillion books- mostly on gardening, herbal remedies, raw/vegan lifestyles, and natural childbirth (HEY, I'm just going my research!)

- Bought a water ionizer (they are CRAZY good for you- hello, alkalinity!)

- Worked on decorating a LOT of people's homes with my design job- rich people are crazy, yo.

- Had my 4 year anniversary with my INCREDIBLE husband! I am so googely-eyed for him.

- Watched the entire collection of seasons of Scrubs with my guy.

- Suffered from a summer over 100 degrees for a million consecutive days in a row (too hot to even swim).

- Tried giving up coffee.... and failed. I love the fricking stuff too much.







Those are my highlights..... onward to fall!



xoxo,

 

Green House

Came across this article about a sustainable home in Venice Beach, CA. I think it's pretty cool looking and I'm always a sucker for design that maximizes cooling (check out all the windows and the atrium- bet you can get a killer breeze in there!).

A great view of Venice Beach wouldn't be too shabby either. ;)

How do you feel about green homes?



xoxo,

 

Clever

Creative, French, Perrier = all things I love.

xoxo,

 

Summertime

polaroid via

 I've been spending some time laying out by a pool recently- it's done wonders for my soul! There's something magical about summer sunlight. It causes me to wake up excited about the day, wanting to hurry up and get my work done so I can be spend all my extra time outside! And the summer evenings... oh the summer evenings. After about 7pm, the breeze picks up and everything cools down a bit- and it's light out until 8:30 or 9! 

I am just SO enjoying summertime right now. Are you?

Anyway, one of my favorite blogs is Brick House (Morgan's writing is hilarious and her MCM vintage flea-market chic style is bad-A). 

Exhibit A 

(CHECK OUT HER LIVING ROOM!!!!)

Anyways, she had the genius idea of making a pool for her backyard that doesn't cost 5 digits to install. 

This is hers:

GREAT IDEA, RIGHT?!?!?! She wrote that the 10' tank cost about $500. You can then plumb it out and add a filtration system, like this and you have a real live pool! Texans, this is for you. 

Check out these sexy pics of a gorgeous tank pool:

That deck built around it is perfect. Add a couple lounge chairs and I'd be in heaven! Filing this project away for when I've got a yard. :)

 Thanks, Morgan for sharing your brilliant idea with the rest of us!

xoxo,

 

Laziness

Pinterest has taken all of my blogging time. I'm newly obsessed with pinning all the cool things I see online to my Pinterest (check mine out!), rather than blogging about them. Sorry, y'all. Bad, blogger, bad! I hope you forgive me.

My guy and I have been rethinking the old apartment. It's ridiculously tiny, but we are perhaps thinking we could make it a small/cool space, a la Apartment Therapy. 

Have a peek at fellow Houstonian and the most recent small/cool award winner's space. It's rad, I know you'll love it (It's all about good bones, I tell ya!).

{wide angle view}

{he space planned everything himself}

{Tiny Bedroom separated w/a screen}

{kitchen/bar table eating area}

{screen also acts as a movie screen- genius}

Just takes some fore-thought. 

And a wide open space. :)

What are your favorite space-saving tricks and tips? 

Have you ever lived in a space that was teeny, like this guy's 400 square foot pad?

xoxo,