a grey day

Courteney (I never realized she spelled her name that way) Cox (note the Arquette has been dropped) must have been in a grey mood when she began remodeling her Malibu home. I love the minimalism and mix of materials, but I think the home could use a little more color. Especially in Malibu! Maybe daughter Coco has a pink bedroom that's not pictured, but I could use a little more sunshine. Images from Elle Decor.

peekaboo

I'm always joking that since I'm the "team photographer," I don't have any pictures of myself with the kids. I want them to see one day when I'm old and fat and dorky (okay, maybe not fat but definitely old and dorky) that I used to be kind of cute when they were babies. On Friday Scout was home sick from school, so I thought this would be my perfect opportunity to have a little photo session with the two of us. Note to self: a "photo session" with an 11-month old when you are photographer and subject of the picture is virtually impossible. Scout loves the swish-click of a digital camera--she turns her head and grabs for the zoom lens before you can press the "on" button (which you sometimes get confused with the "shutter" button as you're trying to keep your child from falling off the sofa while simultaneously perfecting your effortlessly cool/content/this-photo-transcends-time face). 

snapshots from the road

This weekend during his trip to Austin, Alex discovered what is sure to become my new favorite coffee shop: Ruta Maya. Here are the things I already love about this place without ever having seen it in person 1) it abandons the Seattle coffee shop mentality of dark rooms and cozy spaces for a wide open, warehouse look featuring industrial furniture and exposed ductwork 2) it serves organic, shade-grown coffee 3) there's free music performances for kids on Sunday mornings and 4) Ruta Maya offers free yoga classes with a cafe purchase of $3 or more [note: number four is spoken by the future, hippie-Austin me].

austin sky

This is the view from Alex's hotel room in Austin right now. I know everything looks cooler when the sun is setting and there's a vintage-y window reflection thing going on, but it still looks pretty awesome, verdad? Tomorrow morning he has a 7:00am swim date at Barton Springs (images below). So what if it's 100 degrees if you can go swimming here, right?!

scouting season

Alex is about to board a plane headed to Austin, TX. As luck would have it, when assignments came down for college baseball playoffs this week, Alex was handed Austin. So in between 12-hour work days and catered lunches in an 18-wheeler, I've picked out a few houses that I would like Alex to check out while he's there. Actually, I'm really more interested in neighborhood (or street) reports at this point, but I'm really looking forward to all the great images he's sure to capture on his new iPhone 4.

In the meantime, I've done a little research on my own and have discovered some great places I can't wait to check out once our ship has sailed.

Malaga Tapas Bar

by george

Zilker Park

Barton Creek Farmer's Market

Annie's Cafe Bar

Jo's Coffee

oh...deer

UrbanRoad, from etsy

Maybe I'm still thinking about my Saturday morning visitors. Or I could just be thinking about my upcoming move to Texas. It's kind of funny when I think about moving to Texas. It's one thing to say Austin, but when you think about the state of Texas, that conjures up a whole series of images involving cowboys and mechanical bulls and tumbleweed and antlers. Oh yeah, that's where I was going with this: antlers. I figure I need to have some sort of antler representation when we make the big move, so this is top on my list right now. It's funky. It's art. It's Texas. In case I get over the painting before we ever find a house in Austin, here are some more antler-themed artifacts that I discovered on etsy:

sewluckygirl

TangerineHome

YoungsTwistedAntlers

guerilla showing

Tonight Alex and Catcher were outside checking out some big dog they had spotted in the neighborhood when Alex poked his head in the front door saying, "Honey? Are you decent?" This isn't an unusual question considering I'm usually in my nightgown by 6:15pm, but tonight I happened to be wearing a tee shirt and sweatpants. "Yeah. What's going on?" I peeked my head out from the kitchen and saw Alex leading a tall stranger into our home. "Come on in C--," he said enthusiastically. I should have guessed: it was another guerilla showing by Alex.

Apparently the dog that Alex and Catcher were stalking had an owner who had a boyfriend who is looking to buy a home in our neighborhood, so Alex welcomed him in and told him all the great things about this house (the lot, the lot, the lot). Our visitor was most impressed, however, with the double-paned windows. Apparently decent windows are hard to come by in the older homes in this neighborhood, so that's a plus. He also mentioned that he's been looking at condos Uptown, but he'd really like "some property" (good Southern boy!). I almost told him we'd throw in the TV--or the iPad--if he bought the house, but I held back. I didn't want to appear too desperate.

After he left, Alex and I were feeling a little proud of ourselves and wondering if we would get the .03% commission that should be ours if he bought the house. I also could't help but notice that today is 6/6, so maybe there is something to all this six business. I'm thinking I should send Alex out for a lotto ticket.