Last Friday was my first visit of the season to the semiannual Round Top Flea Market. With fields of dusty goods as far as the eye can see, it is a heaven that requires several days to sort though. My normal wing-ladies, Hope, Jen and Erin were all indisposed with trips to Hawaii and new born babies so I brought a new copilot, Diana, who was a Round Top virgin. I must say, she did an excellent job keeping up with me as I darted through the fields, avoiding the vendors whom I know to have booths filled with over priced goods or hand painted crafts. Our trip began with a bang as we were greeted by this lovely fellow:

The purpose of this giant peacock remains unknown, but it certainly was a pleasure to cross his path. We felt the day was off to a good start and we were not wrong, shortly thereafter we stumbled across this pair of lamps:

At $50 for the set they were mine for the taking. Matt thinks they look like popcorn poppers, but I don't care because they look darling in my guest bedroom. Hopefully my visitors like to read under a nice orange glow.

The very same vendor had this odd little plastic seat, like the peacock, we could not determine it's function, but it was mighty cute all the same.

This little tulip table and chair set called my name, but, alas, I already have 3 extra tables in my house with no purpose what-so-ever, so I had to pass.

I spotted lots of stainless commercial kitchen goodies, which gave me hope and promise for the budget stainless kitchen remodel of my dreams.

I was truly smitten over this gigantic gold coin and even imagined a few prime spots for it in my house but I didn't trust it's authenticity of being vintage so I kept movin.

Only a few booths down from the giant coin was this Native American Head, oh how I loved it so. It was in a notoriously expensive booth so I didn't even bother inquiring about the price, though.

This hoop chair cost more than the bathroom remodel I'm planning, so I snapped a picture and ran.

Diana eagle-eyed this partition and imagined its possibilities as a headboard, I thought the idea was GENIUS, mostly because it is gold, but purchasing it would have drained her last dollar and it wasn't even noon yet.

I snapped a picture of this creepy taxidermy display in honor of Hope, who certainly would have spilled her ice-tea slushy down her shirt had she gotten the chance to see it.

This fearsome bust made me quite angry with myself for having passed up a similar statue only weeks ago at the thrift store. If only I'd thought about how darling he would look covered in a thousand million necklaces.

Now THIS piece was truly unbelievable and the photo does it no justice at all. It is a 3' tall lamp / fountain / vase and it totally and completely rocked my world. Had it not sported a $300 price tag, I would be typing beneath it's heavenly light right now.

I love old trophies, each of these wanted to come home with me, what they did not realize was that I already have quite the collection that I've won the hard way: by slamming down $2 to $3 at a time at my local thrift store.

The piece de resistance was most certainly this brass horse. Why was he so special you ask? Because he was THREE FEET TALL. Um hello! Our eyes met across the field and I ran to him as though caught by the ocean-side only a stone's throw from a long lost lover. The angels came down from the heavens and the trumpets shouted in triumph. Our romance was not to be, however. Like the star-crossed-lovers of yore, our love affair ended when he yielded a price-tag of $150. Well worth it, but, hey, I've got a bathroom to remodel.

It was the day of lamps. In addition to the popcorn popper pair I purchased, I also got the one pictured above...

... as well as this hanging lamp that has been poorly photographed on it's side. I only have room for one in my house and I couldn't decide between the 2 very different styles, so I haggled like a pro and got the set for $50, I figure I will sell which ever one doesn't make the cut.

So, that's that. Round Top day one complete. I'll be revisiting the flea this week with my homebound pal Erin and my visiting friend Patrick. You kids will get updates post haste.

Welcome to the first day of Spring, everyone. I know I was Debbie Downer mid week with all my talk of snow fall and icy slopes. But I got my fix and I'm ready to admit what the calendar tells me is true: it is officially spring. The Southern California-esque weather here in Austin is absolute perfection and I'm not so mad to see my plants coming back to life. Of course, I would be really, really not mad if my yard looked a thing like I want it to. While I am blessed with a lush layer of deeply saturated green grass, and have a few trees to hold up my hammock, my yard is light years away from the landscaped wonder of my dreams. While I have confidence in my interior design choices, landscaping is an entirely different story: plants and yard layouts are magical beasts that I can't quite figure out how to tame. Whenever I talk with one of my plant-friendly pals I simply say "I want my yard to look like the Hotel San Jose"

The San Jose is an adorable hotel made up of several bungalows here in Austin. The cocktail patio outback is open to all, not just hotel guests and is one of my favorite spots to get a drink (psst, try the champassion, it will rock your face off). Cool cocktails on hot summer nights are just a front: I really go to this place to admire the landscaping.

None of these photos do the space the justice it deserves, but trust me when I say: it is freekin awesome. Until now, I did not know who the genius was behind the landscaping, I didn't even think to look it up. I suppose I assumed that grounds so lovely just magically appeared after the Gods waved their hands over the land or something. I guess I was wrong. There is a designer, and he has a name:

Meet Mark Word. While I had never heard of him before today, almost every outdoor space in Austin that I adore can be traced back to him. His mix of wild grasses, over sized agave, and invasive (but stunning!!) ivy have me week at the knees.

Uhhhh!!! My dream front yard. My house is on a small hill, so this vision isn't totally unreasonable. Well, unless you factor in the whole Karly doesn't understand how to layout plants thing. I think it's a fair guess to assume that Mark's services are out of my price range, but what if I were to ply him with vodka?

I tore this image out of a magazine ages ago, not realizing that it was even in Austin, much less the work of my new yard hero. I would love to have a little cubby bench surrounding loose gravel behind my house.

Or, maybe a little grassy platform is right for me? I love how he mixes structured spaces with wild growth.

While several of you may be able to attest to my dislike for water features, especially when they involve fish or loud motors, but I find his custom metal pieces quite charming. Ok, I'm starting to see a formula surface: rusted industrial + minimal structure + some wild native Texas crap= Karly's heart literally bleeds. Maybe I can try to pull this off on my own?

Ok, maybe I can't do this myself. This is another picture I tore out ages ago, from a different magazine than the last one I pointed out. Seriously, how did I not figure out who this guy was? Oh, and just incase you're wondering, here's what the front of the house pictured above looks like:

Funny story: I actually made the final decision to buy the house I live in now because my entry walkway is not unlike the one pictured above. Just a thousand times less cool.

This seems a bit more attainable, but still light years beyond my landscaping ability. So if any of you readers out there happen to know Mr. Word, and, if, by chance he owes you a favor, how about you go ahead and hook a sister up?