Image / logo ideas

Goodness!  It's been a week since I've posted. Today brings an unexpected vacation day as the kids are out of school for Veteran's Day.  Although I just discovered this fact yesterday afternoon, I'm looking forward to a long weekend. I must get back to my parenting duties but in the meantime, thought I'd show you some image tests (merely tests) for Bolder.

Unfortunately, I can't get some of my favorite images to upload because they're too large. Even with these, I'm certain they will evolve and we'll eventually have our logo!

Don't forget...When in doubt, go BOLD!

Happy Friday all!

Enamored by...

I'm here to announce I'm sorry I've not been as good this week with the blog.  Work is of course insane (nothing different) and any spare time I have is spent working on getting the new blog - The Bolder the Better (we call it Bolder) up and going.  It's a lot more work than we anticipated but feel it will really pay off.  We have some really unique ideas and I seriously can't wait for the launch!

In the meantime, I realize Hola Lola is suffering but it will be back too.  I have several projects I can't wait to post and of course updates on the kiddos.  For now, I have to jump on a conference call in 12 minutes, so I leave you with some images that are inspiring to me....that I'm enamored by...

Via Kelly Wearstler - Ob-sessed with the chains.  LOVE!

Via Miss Moss bwo Honestly...WTF - The boldness of the colors and patterns in this image are beyond lovely.

  Via The Glamourai - I'm inspired by each and every pattern on these pillows.  Believe it or not, this was the setting / seats for a fashion show. .Love it!

Happy Friday all!!!

A Halloween to remember...

Halloween is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. The costumes, the parties, the candy, the jubilation...it's one day that's for the kids / all about the kids and I love it.  This Halloween was no exception, we had such a great time and I'm kind of sad it's behind us!

Just like every little 3 yr old girl, Lola wanted to be a princess but we wanted something a little more unique.  We were able to find this adorable buttercup fairy costume at Chasing Fireflies.  It had the tulle and all the frill Lola loves but was not pink and was not a princess (thank goodness).  Great compromise if I do say so myself!

Nice smile Lo!

Can you guess what G was?  A sock monkey! Note to self:  Don't buy a 1 yr old a costume with a hat....it doesn't stay on for any length of time!

And, then it was all about the good stuff....trick-or-treating.  We had such a blast!  Our great friends Kristen and Kev decided to come along for the ride with us this year (they're always such troopers).  Oh, and it was a wild ride! 

The trick-or-treating crew!

Lo was a little shy at times.

G wanted to hit up the houses himself.  Maybe next year!

We ended the night back at the compound hanging with neighbors and handing out candy to all the kids.  Lola and Gaines loved this part of the evening as it entailed lots of candy eating.  Needless to say, they were in hog heaven.

G discovered his love for suckers.  And I discovered if you give him a sucker it allows us a few moments of peace and quite.  I've also used this trick since this night. Bad I know!

 Loved this night and already can't wait until next year!

Old shoes turned new shoes

Lola and I took on a little project this past weekend and we turned some old shoes into new shoes.  How did we do this?!?!?!? By using a can of gold metallic spray paint. Love it!

Now, I must say, this was not my original idea.  The inspiration came from my very creative sister-in-law, Molly, who spray painted an old pair her shoes a while back.  I loved the idea so I decided to give it a go.

I used a pair of shoes I got from good 'ol JCP a few years ago.  I love the style of the shoe but I'm not crazy about the color so don't wear them as much as I'd like.

 The process went a little something like this....I taped the heels / inside of the shoe and just started spraying away with the metallic gold paint.  Easy stuff here!!!

Lola decided she wanted to spray a pair of hers too.  Why not?!?!?!

I grabbed some laces from American Apparel and I absolutely LOVE the result!

 

They're fabulous with jeans too...

So there you go!  I took a pair of shoes I really never wore and turned them into a shoe I'll wear like crazy!  I even got a few pair of laces which I can switch in and out depending on the outfit.  The great part about the laces is I'll put them in other shoes for both me and Lola.  If you don't want to go all the way with the spray paint, a new lace is another great way to spice up an old pair of shoes.

If you like this, you should also see where my inspiration came from via Smmidge.

Oh, and guess what?!?!?!  I have more fun projects up my sleeve.  Hopefully you'll see the result shortly.

Happy weekend all!!!

A baby is born!

I'm thrilled to announce my brother Adam and his adorable wife Brana (a.k.a Beans) had a little baby boy - Porter Davis Rope - on Tuesday evening around 8:00 p.m. He's a cutie isn't he!  I absolutely can't wait to get to Dallas to meet this new addition to our family!  More to come...

Enamored by...

This bright living room featuring bold patterns galore.  It doesn't get much better than this!  I mean...the green couch....the rugs...the aztec/stripe chair...there are no words!

Via  Oracle Fox  

I'm absolutely in love with this jean silleoutte by Olivier Theysken.  Need I say more...

Via  Vogue.com

How A-dorable is this handmade Halloween costume????  I wish I had talent like this!

 Via Tiny Dallas

Finally, what about these knitting Eames wire chairs.  I DIE!!!  I'm adding this project to my "to do" list.  How fun will this be?!?!?!?

Via Flickr

More good news!  I know many of you like the fashion, music, art posts on this blog and some family members just want to see updates on the kids so I've found a solution to all the madness...I'm starting a new blog titled The Bolder the Better (my motto) which will feature all my fashion inspirations!  I'm excited and hope to launch it within the next 60 days.  Then Hola Lola will go back to being all about the kids and the "madness" in this household.  More to come!

Coffee table turned chalk board

I hate our coffee table.  For years I've been on a hunt for a new one but haven't found the perfect fit for our living room yet.  I really want a mid-century modern vintage table but anytime I find the "perfect" one, it doesn't fit in our budget.  So, we continue to keep the same table in hopes that one day (soon) we'll find "the one" that is within our budget.

Since I don't care for this coffee table much, I typically don't fret when the kids are drawing and just so happen to run the marker, crayon, pen, etc onto the table.  There are days when the entire table has marks all over it from the kids.  And then there are those days when I can't handle it anymore and I scrub the table clean...only to stay clean for a few hours of course.

One day when I was scrubbing all the kids marks off, I had an epiphany....instead of constantly asking the kids not to draw on the table, why don't I make it to where they can draw on it?!?!?!?  At the very least, it's one less thing for me to scream at the kids about. Hmmmm...now that's a thought.  So here's what we did.

Before...

Please disregard all the clutter that slips under the couch. I guess I need to get under there and clean that out!  That's a good job for Clay. 

The process...

G ran out and went straight for the table before we could catch him.  Oops!

After...

Kind of fun huh!!!!

Free People + Austin Style = Fashion Frenzy

I'm certain all my fellow blog readers know exactly how obsessed I am with Free People.  If not, you can see some examples of my obsession here and here and here and this outfit here.  I think we all get the point!  So, when I saw Free People was putting on a contest to show your "Free People style", I couldn't resist.

The contest was to submit a picture showing yourself in a favorite Free People fall fashion look (easy) and write a quick something noting why you love Free People (even easier). Despite the fact that I'm not too keen on photos of myself, I just went for it...

Free People denim shorts, Free people blouse, Free People shawl, Sam Edelman boots via Free People.  Did I mention I like Free People????

So there it is! I would like to say this was a blast but unfortunately it was not all fun and games. The submission was due at 10:59 p.m. tonight and I hit submit at 10:51 p.m. only to realize I did not submit all the pictures.  I immediately tried to resubmit but it would not allow me to do this so I quickly set up a new Facebook page then submitted again with all photos.  Unfortunately, I didn't get it all in on time.  STRESS!  At least we tried.  Thanks to my fabulous hubby for helping with the photography and putting all this together and also for pushing me to go for it. Keep your fingers crossed!

Utopia Fest Recap

We had a fantastic time at Utopia Fest with the kiddos.  What's better than camping in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, hanging with groovy people and listening to phenomenal music???  Here's a little recap of the fun!

The campsite had breathe taking views!

Lola quickly met friends which she ran around with all weekend (thanks to our strategic scoping of where to set up camp...always by another tent with kids). BTW...we were obsessed with the tepees around the venue!  We plan to build one right in our yard.  Too cool!

Gaines chomping down on a banana. He felt like a "big man" in his little chair.

Hanging out day after the shows.  About to go in for a kiss right on this lovable little boys cheek!

The music scene! 

Have I mentioned that I'm ABSOLUTELY OB-SESSED with Blitzen Trapper.  I loved them before but seeing them live took my obsession to another level. I was front row joe and in hog heaven listening to their fabulous tunes.  TO. DIE. FOR!

Gaines with his headphones getting ready to hit the sack.  He slept great in the stoller while we rocked out despite the loud music!

Lola also sporting her headphones getting ready to jam out with the other kids.

 As much as we didn't want to, we all had to go to sleep in our snugly tent. 

The day and night went so well, we decided not to push it.  Instead of spending another night out at the fest, we went out to explore the hill country.  Here's a setting we loved. 

There is really nothing not to love about the Texas Hill Country and everything that comes along with it!  SUCH a great trip that will go down in the memory book!