A Giveaway to Dine For

As Erin mentioned yesterday, next week we will be posting our world famous holiday gift guide.  Yep, 5 full days of non-stop recommended shopping action.  It's going to be massive.  In preparation for our extravaganza, I suggest you take note of the two shopping rules I live by:  1.  Never shop on an empty stomach and 2.  Always get something for yourself. In preparation for the e-commerce bloodbath, The Inglenook Decor is making sure you can check rules one and two off your to-do list.  The lovely ladies that run Inglenook contacted Erin and I offering up holiday plates for your dining, self keeping and overall holiday pleasure.

You dudes know the drill:  swoon, comment, and maybe maybe win.  La random number generator will pick a winner next monday and I'll contact you via email on Tuesday.

The winner gets his or her choice of either of these two lovely holiday plate sets:

Option 1:  Haute Holiday Dessert Plates, set of four* plates in a lovely gift box

*sorry, I had originally posted that there were nine plates but I was mistaken... the plates are 9" wide and come in a set of 4 :)

Option 2: Four Calling Bird Dessert Plates with 24 karat GOLD!!!!!!  Have I reminded you lately how I love gold?  Le sigh!  These babies come in a set of four.

If you just can't wait until we post our guide next week to get your holiday shop on, perhaps you could cross a few names off your list with any of these gems from the Inglenook (note, these items are NOT part of the give away, I just feel like showing them to you.  So there)

Clockwise from top:

Gold Leaf Metal Birds Nest With Silver Spoon, $26.00

Amelie Luster Glasses, Set of 6, $36.50

Brown Shanghai Links Needlepoint Pillow, $53.50

Avocado Bamboo Pillow, $77.50

Ok everyone, start your engines... Pick a plate set and leave a comment and hopefully all your holiday wishes will come true.

I Don't Actually Need Anything, But...

It's the Monday before Thanksgiving and I know what's on your collective mind: turkey and giblets. You were daydreaming about giblets, right? Because I really sense a giblet zeitgeist sweeping the nation... no? Well, I have been known to be wrong. Occasionally. Anyway, I should be preparing for the annual Thanksgiving trek, which will be made exponentially more interesting this year by the presence of a certain 4 month old someone during the six hour drive to Texarkana, but instead I have Black Friday on the brain. It's not that I believe sales are more important than family, it's just that I'm still on a decorating kick and I stumbled onto something I want, and damned if I'm paying full price for it (because I'm broke). Also, if you were trying to decide what to buy me for Christmas, here you go:

I know! It's so... normal. So reasonable at $68. So very much not a bedazzled reindeer skull. But this colorblock rug from Urban Outfitters represents a little slice of inspiration for me. I think I want to redo my bedroom. You know -- the bedroom I've never showed you because it's so two years ago. I could keep most of my furniture in my fantasy redo, but I'm going to need a new headboard and linens. And a new rug. Me likey this one. It feels kinda Bauhaus to me. But I need it to go on sale because that other stuff ain't gonna be free, and you know I just redid the dining room, and when The Hunny reads this he is going to KILLKILLKILL.

I digress. Sort of. You see, after I found this rug, I started looking at UO's other offerings, and you know -- they have some good stuff.

Like these pillows. I'll take the top one, and maybe if Karly is nice, she'll get the bottom one for a Christmas present. I'm a very giving person.

I would also like to give myself this origami quilt. I'm a bit concerned about the flowery underside, but I think overall it would do a swell job covering the futon in my office.

I could give this bench to Ike for his room, because I'm sure it tops every four month old's Christmas list.

I tell you, The Hunny has just been slavering over this cotton Rorschach rug a la Andy Warhol, and who am I to deny his dreams? Of course, I wouldn't put it on the floor. It would make a much better wall hanging or upholstery material.

I'm sure there's someone out there who really needs this Rya style shag rug, but no one's going to buy a 4x6 rug for $198, Urban Outfitters. Put that baby on sale!

I am really digging the arty prints and finishes on lots of UO's home goods. I wouldn't be mad if someone gave me this paint splatter vase.

However, I am wondering what you dudes think about this Painter's Chair, so called because it's covered in... paint. It's $298. Thoughts?

And, ok, I know it's not related to interiors, but I had to show you UO's Booty Buddy Blanket. THAT IS A SNUGGIE. And yet I find it repulsively compelling.... This confirms my suspicion that Snuggies might actually be awesome if they came in nicer prints.

While I'm busy twiddling my thumbs waiting for some of this stuff to go on sale, you might want to head over and check out the home goods UO already has on sale, like Alexander Girard quilts for DIRT CHEAP (if you like that sort of thing),  good deals on kilim rugs, and cute lamps. It's never to early to start Christmas shopping. For yourself. I mean for others.

Superfriends Unite!

Ok, I think I've finally gotten enough sleep to ably recount the awesomeness of this past weekend, which Karly and I enjoyed with blog buddies Molly and Raina. We spent much of the trip shop shop shopping, with a healthy dose of boozing and shooting added in.

Molly and Raina, looking all cute and sassy at Opal Divine's downtown location.

The ladies arrived late Thursday night and shacked up with Karly, since baby Ike makes me go to bed freakishly early. On Friday, we kicked off the day with Mexican martinis at Austin chain Trudy's... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Delicious. Then, we couldn't let our friends leave Austin without visiting paint guru Sanders, so off to Benjamin Moore we went. After our paint powwow, we headed to South Congress to satiate the shopping bug, where we indulged in a day of vintage. Uncommon Objects took most of our time there with its elephantine selection of curiosities, but we also visited Prototype, New Bohemia and Feathers, all run by lovely Austin bizness women.

Image courtesy of Uncommon Objects.

Then we headed across the river with baby Ike in tow, to Threshold Interiors -- which I actually did not set foot in since the Ikester decided it was time to fuel up. But it sure looked pretty from the windows.

Image courtesy of Threshold Interiors.

I'll definitely be back someday, hopefully to nab that little gnome for the baby's room.

After Threshold, Ike cried all the way back across the river until he got home to nap. Later that evening, we all headed over to Karly's for an evening of steak and booze. Well, everyone boozed except for House of Slappy blogger Andrea, who's due to provide Ike with a brand spanking new playmate in February.

On Saturday, we rose at the crack of noon to do some thrifting, then headed towards the skeet shooting range out in the rural wilds of east Austin. That's right -- us lady bloggers pack heat.

And if you mess with us, Karly will bust a cap in your ass.

I'm not sure how we ended up skeet shooting, but when in Texas, right? I can't wait for my dad to see this, because he is gonna LAUGH HIS ASS OFF. He's been trying to get me to shoot something for the last 33 years (yes, I was born with a pistol in my tiny baby hand).

Well, here I am, Dad, doing my best Annie Oakley Calamity Jane impression. Actually, he'll be proud to know that I hit my very first target our instructor let fly. Not only that, but after shooting several clay pigeons, I had the strange urge to shoot anything that moved... including butterflies that fluttered by. Maybe I best avoid the gunslinging lifestyle.

Although I did respectably well, I would never engage in a gunfight with Raina. LADY HAS MAD SKILLS. Like, scary good. Stay out of her way, mean people.

Have I mentioned yet that we are the very best dressed skeet shooters in Texas? This is Molly, hitting targets in four inch heels. In case you were wondering, no one really noticed when we walked onto the shooting range. Ok. We got a few looks.

Because we are badasses, that's why.

After getting our redneck on, the ladies went out to shop downtown. Ligne Roset had Raina rolling around on Togos like a wild pony in hay. Sadly, no footage of this exists -- it's a travesty that can only be corrected by another visit. In the meantime, enjoy this stock photo of the store:

In addition to Ligne Roset, the ladies hit Mercury Design Studio:

They have a gorgeous store with stunning merchandise, but they obviously need to hire me to shoot it (with a camera, not a shotgun), since they don't have any pictures on their website and I had to steal this old image from the internets.

After shopping, we dined downtown. I headed home early like a good mommy, but Karly and the girls went out clubbing. I can't really provide any details, but I hear that men in underwear were involved. I think Raina has further information for those of you with inquiring minds.

Molly flew out the next afternoon, but Raina's flight didn't leave until the evening, so we hit Room Service, where I found this guy waiting for me:

I may be watching too much Deadwood... nah. That's impossible.

After tacos from Torchy's (don't get the turkey special, Austinites!) and some family time around the tv, it was time for Raina to board her plane. Karly and I were both sad to see our guests go, but we already have plans to visit New York and Denver. Thank Jeebus our buds have good taste in places to call home... not sure we'd be so ready to set out for North Dakota. Just kidding North Dakotans. And just kidding, Molly and Raina. We'd be happy to hang with you anywhere!