A Coldplay Christmas

Tis' the season for Coldplay and Christmas Lights.

Happy Holidays.

Bittersweet

Most of us have been through a difficult change in life, and change often brings with it pain. Pain that, at the time, seems as if it could swallow you whole and erase every remembrance you had of your past self.
Even if you have yet to experience this, we all have to face it sooner or later. Many are quick to hide-- holding their breath, finding distractions, and waiting. Waiting for the sting of reality to be washed away by the passing of time.
A dear friend of mine gave me this book that has forever altered the way I view a painful change in life, and the Lord's work in our every breath- however difficult that breath may be.




An excerpt from the book:
"This is what I've come to believe about change: it's good, in the way that childbirth is good, and heartbreak is good, and failure is good. I've learned the hard way that CHANGE is one of GOD'S greatest GIFTS, and most useful tools. Change can push us, pull us, rebuke us, and remake us. It can show us who we've become, in the worst ways, and also in the best ways. I've learned that it's not something to run away from. And in many cases, change is a function of God's graciousness, not life's cruelty. "

Embrace Change.

This music never fails to calm my heart and make the world quiet-- if only for a couple of minutes.

"When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest."
-Henry David Thoreau

Enjoy.

Perfect Sounds

Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain.

Thunder.

Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain.

Book. Tea. Playlist.

Teacup

I'll have one of each please.

Bare Feet

Growing up in a small town, I was blessed with the vast outdoors. I thought myself a modern day Pocahontas in a flower print dress( I refused to wear anything but dresses as a child, but my mom couldn't torture me into putting shoes on my feet ), and trying to have conversations with the animals around me was a regular pastime of mine. Needless to say, my fondest memories are of running barefoot in the beauty of wide open spaces-venturing to find the nearest bird to befriend.
I was free.

Completely Free.

Now that I am grown, that same feeling still comes back to me. Although my feet are usually in the latest high heel and my surroundings have changed to the urban, my heart belongs to the wild outdoors. I can still kick off my heels and find joy in what God has given us in nature: and have found the best places in Dallas for doing just that.

So take off your shoes and come with me.


1. White Rock Lake


Go on a Saturday morning walk here, or a late afternoon Kayak trip. Forget the busy and take a break.


2. The Parks of Park Cities


Yes, there is a reason it is called the Park Cities. Tucked away in most of the neighborhoods, there lies a haven of land that has not been stuffed with enormous homes. Try Williams Park to start off, it's a gem.




3. Trinity River Audubon Center

This is 8 minutes from downtown, and has 4 miles of nature trails on 6,000 acres. Get out of the city in just a few minutes and feel as if you are a world away.



4.The Arboretum

Breathtaking- and right at our fingertips. Flowers, Gardens, fountains...ahhhh.


Get out. Soak up the sun and let go.
Be Free.

Mad World

Lightening the mood a bit. Because it's Friday. And because I love you.

For those of you that don't watch Mad Men, you need to stop reading this immediately, give yourself a slap in the face, and get with the program. This triple Golden Globe winner has your 100% viewing satisfaction written all over it. Based in the 1960's, the show headlines a Rico Suave named Don Draper who is a head at a Ad firm(Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce) on Madison Avenue, and who spends his days juggling career and women* all with drink in hand.

I stumbled upon these old adds this morning, and in reading each one, thought to myself,
" What would Don Draper Do?"

Today, you are hired at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Your Assignment: Enjoyment. Easiest job you ever had.




"Goodnight sweetie... oh, and here's your revolver to snuggle up with."





Can anyone tell me where I can get some of these? Who doesn't want a pill that makes you slave away with the result of looking cute for your husband?!




Yeah... you tell me.





Why Lane Bryant doesn't still have this add is beyond me.





I just hope my Doctor smokes Camels... Doctors these days are just not what they used to be.




This is just plain wrong. There is no other way around it.

Would Don have approved? I guess we will never know. But here is one thing I know he would have approved of ...

The Classic Martini

2½ oz gin

1½ oz dry vermouth

3 Green Olives

It's a Mad World.
Happy Friday.

I'm Late. Where are my keys? Forgot to send a bill. Two projects due tomorrow. I'm so tired. Can't slow down...Going, going, going, on and on and on and....

DEEP BREATH.
STOP.

There are few moments in my life when I feel complete stillness. Not just in my physical body, but in my whole being. It is a moment that, if only for a split second, convinces you that everything is exactly as it should be in the world. REST.
I find rest in the beauty of this world; when I truly let myself break away from the clockwork.

We miss so much beauty everyday because we are slaves to time.
So slow down. Stop. Notice.

Surrender.

How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank,
Here we all sit, and let the sounds of music
Creep into our ears, soft stillness, and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.
-William Shakespeare

A Work of Art

Art comes in many forms. It might be a painting , a piece of music, a poem, or anything that, upon experiencing it, can make your heart skip a beat.
Right now (I mean this literally, because I have an exam tomorrow), I am studying some of the greats: Bernini, Caravaggio, Picasso, Manet...the list goes on .
The genius of artists such as these makes me so aware of the capabilities of man: how a single person can make his or her mark on a world in dire need of color and inspiration.

You might want to be sitting down to see this. Here we go...








Gianlorenzo Bernini

" The [Taking] of Proserpina" Italian Baroque
Bernini is known as one of the greatest masters in sculpture of all time. In looking at this piece, it is beyond belief that this was once one solid block of marble. Take a look at that detail and tell me you are not in awe..


Caravaggio

" The Crucifiction of St. Peter" Italian Baroque
This is one of those times I wish I had ruby slippers. "There is no place like Rome, there is no place like Rome" The scale and detail of Caravaggio's work could stop even the least interested in their tracks (you know the ones: dragging their feet behind their wives in an art museum searching for a nonexistant beer kiosk) Yes, it would even get those.



John Everett Millais

" Ophelia" English, Realism
Millais became obsessed with every detail of this tragic story, even having a friend lie in a heated bathtub full of water for hours at a stretch to capture the art of floating. How many times can I sigh deeply? Looking at this painting, I think it's one for the record books...



Pablo Picasso


"The Three Musicians" Spanish, Cubism
It is sometimes difficult without having studied Picasso to fully appreciate his artistic genius. To better give you an idea of the talent of this one man, He painted the work on the left at 14 years old. The evolution of his work epitomized modernism in his enduring quest to find new ways of representing the world around him. Fun fact: Picasso completed nearly 10,000 works in his lifetime. Speechless? mmmhhhmmm.


Art is everywhere, just open your eyes.
Be inspired.

Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.
-Pablo Picasso

A Little Bit of Perspective

We want to believe the world is understandable.
That life is fair.
That things make sense.
We want to believe that if we're careful enough, work hard enough, try hard enough, we and those we love will be safe from anything bad.
It's one of the biggest questions humans wrestle with-why things sometimes aren't fair.
But even though we don't always have a neat answer to why things happen, we do have each other...
and we have our faith.
Just a simple kind of faith that somehow, someday, suffering will end, good will be rewarded, love will endure, pain will be forgotten, light will scatter darkness, and our spirits will go on.

Poem By Catherine Slater

Dear Fall..

I don't know about ya'll, but after a Summer of feeling like I was locked in a tanning bed for 3 months, I'm ready for cooler weather. I don't know if there is anything worse than feeling like your whole body is in a convection oven when you step outside.
Too hot to go anywhere, too hot to enjoy the weather, to hot to utter a word.

In order to get us through these last few weeks of what Hell most likely feels like, I have compiled some of the joys of Fall for us to grasp onto... Because I, as well as most of Texas, have reached the end of my rope with this whole Summer thing. OVER AND OUT.


Let in the Fresh Air


Finally being able to let fresh air in to the house is good for the soul. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.... ahhhhh.



Curl up with the Essentials


The essentials of Fall: a blanket, hot tea, and a good book. Snuggle up inside or out. If you are a fellow tea lover, click here to stock up with the most glorious selection of you've ever tasted.



Have Happy Holidays


Trick or Treat?!! Fall sparkles with great holidays. I might just go pull out one of my many costumes in anticipation and wear it in protest of the hot weather. If you see Little Red Riding Hood at your local grocery, don't be alarmed-at least I didn't decide on Zena Warrior Princess.



Entertaining


Its time to bring out the linen and china... There is no better time to entertain than the holiday season. I can't wait to raise a glass to the celebration of the end of Summer and the beginning of sanity.


Dear Fall,
Please save us all from this misery. We are all melting...Slowly.
Yours loyally,
Kate and all the victims of the heat index

A Fairly Tale in Tennessee

Important Memo: this blog's subject content contains material that could lead you to be dissatisfied with your current location. Proceed with Caution.

On my parents' 30th wedding anniversary 3 years ago, they traveled to a fairy- tale land far, far away. Tucked deep in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Mom and Pops ventured to a place called Blackberry Farm, and their world was forever changed by this charming place. With the endless gardens, outdoor activities, cooking classes, and farm animals, Blackberry Farm is a self sustaining wonderland that would be worthy of gracing the pages of a story book.

So try on your glass slippers and take a look..







Maybe happily ever after isn't so far away after all.

For more information on BF, click here.

I tunes, U tunes

Music is one of those things in life that just makes me happy. The steady beat of a tune never fails to soothe my heart and give me inspiration.

Right now, my CD of choice is The Weepies- Hideaway. This husband- wife duo are such a breath of fresh air.

And... you are in luck. I just obtained a free listen of their newest CD, Be My Thrill , coming out next week.
Just copy and paste this into your browser.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/entity/The-Weepies/B00197K670?ie=UTF8&ref_=sr_tc_img_2&qid=1282180735&sr=8-2-ent&tag=vglnk-c9-20

You're welcome.

Sweet Tea and Such

The South. Even word makes me want to put on my seersucker dress and sip on a glass of sweet tea while lounging in the nearest Adirondack Chair...
Even though Texas is torn between South and Southwest, I will always, I repeat ALWAYS, consider myself a Southerner. The thought of being categorized with Westerners makes me a bit squeemish, thus causing me to sink deeper into the joys of all the former Confederacy has to offer.

Let me take you on a trip to Southern Comfort.


Garden and Gun Magazine

Love love love this magazine. I can assure you, if you ran to buy up all the ammunition on earth when Obama went into office, or just enjoy some skeet shooting now and then, this is the magazine for you. It has everything from recipes to the best hunting in the South.


Billy Reid

One step in this Alabama based clothing designer's store and you will be frolicking in a field of bow ties and button downs. The decor is a step back into a home of the late 1800's, and makes you never want to leave.


Monogramming

Napkins, Clothing, Chairs, Pillows, Shoes... the list goes on and on. I think if Southern Girls had a choice, every inch of personal space would bear their own initials.


Magnolia Trees

You know you are in the South when the sweet smell of magnolias fills the air. When I catch the scent, I am consumed with the memory of being a little girl climbing their branches and cutting their flowers for a supper center piece.


Soul Food

A Sunday lunch with a spread of fried chicken, Mac and Cheese, Collard Greens, and Cobbler is how my family spent many a Sabbath. I can still taste my Gran- Gran's cobbler. No wonder I was a chubby adolescent. No regrets whatsoever.


God Bless the memories, and God Bless the South.

Bookworm

"I love the solitude of reading. I love

the deep dive into someone

else's story, the delicious ache of a last page."

-Naomi Shihab Nye

I'm taking a vacation... a literary vacation--and I am elated.

Happy Weekend, and Happy Reading.

Must Love Dogs.

It's no secret that I am a dog lover. As should everyone be. I'm so much of a dog lover that I have to downplay my excitement when seeing one in public as not to embarrass the friends accompanying me.

There are often times, more times than I would care to admit, that I see a stranger and compare them to a breed of dog. I mean, dogs do tend to favor people. ( Admit it, you know you've spotted a few Bichon Frises or Dachshunds around at your local neighborhood grocery. )

So I decided to put this talent to use and pair some adorable canines to their respective spaces of interior design... So here goes nothin.

Standard Poodle and layers of silk refinement in a Bedroom
























For a dog such as this, you have to have a feminine, elegant space. Albert Hadley, one of the world's great designers, and Harry Heissman are responsible for the design on the bedroom. It's Venetian canopy and luxurious fabrics make it a comfortable home for even the most posh of dogs.




Brussels Griffon and a cool color paletted Living Area

I think I'm going to start caring a picture of this little guy around in my wallet to show when people are having a bad day...These Griffons bark fun and loveable energy, and Jonathan Adler doesn't do so bad himself in this colorful room.

Doberman Pincer and Rico Suave's Office



I have respect for this dog, just like I have respect for the design of this office. The person occupying the office,however, could quite possibly fit under the category of overindulgent tool. I guess I have to hope for the best and say he is a kind fellow who enjoys a good fur chair every once in a while.

King Charles Spaniel and a Classic Living Area



I saved the best for last. Of course, I am partial to the king Charles because my family has three of them, but these dogs are the the definition of elegance and sophistication. I can see this regal puppy perched right up on that beautiful sofa, making himself right at home.

Wags.

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."

-Unknown

Thank you, P & A

Occasionally, I will throw you for a loop and give you a number like this little piece of perfection:


If this is wrong, I don't want to be right.
Thank you, Pup and baby Asian for making my day and hopefully yours.