Gaga for this version of Paparazzi

I once posted about Tavi the brilliant young blogger who is just as obsessed with fashion and writing as I am. There was no other explanation for our likeness than to assume she was the child I never knew that I had (at 14). Today, I came across the son I hope to have someday. Meet Greyson. His favorite artists are Lady Gaga and Augustana (talented and wise beyond his sixth grade years):



I can just image it! Together, this pretend son and I will travel the country to American Idol and Glee auditions (with style, class, and dignity.. of course, I'd never become the next Dina Lohan), fighting off crazed tween fans, and Tavi will tag along to blog about our zany family adventures.

Young at Heart

I have come across yet another artistic phenom. She was profiled on the blog of my original young wonder, Tavi. Meet Eleanor Hardwick, or Lenaah as she's known on Flickr, 15 year old photographer.

Her photos communicate ideas far beyond her years. I find them dark, ironic, humorous at times, but mostly beautiful. What a natural talent she has!

"Ophelia is Drowned" from her Modern Shakespeare series

"Alice in Wonderland"

"Gorilla"


"Fat as a Pig" from her School Life series, based around perception on the surface and behind closed doors


"No", a sign she found on her way home from school.


"Leo" from the Zodiac series



"Winter"

All That Glitters

If I ever open a shop of my own, it would look something like the Beauty Bar, a club in downtown Austin. I drive by it almost everyday and last weekend, we finally made it inside.

The windows outside

It's a pink glitter wonderland!

And speaking of sparkles, there is a local artist who is well represented at restaurants around town. Sue Zola, aka the "Glitter Diva" works solely with glitter on canvas. Last night at the Keep Christmas Bizarre, I finally found her contact information to order a piece of her work. She makes both original pieces and reproductions of famous works. LOVE it!

Arts: A Midsummer Night's Dream at Work

I actually have two postings for today's "theme".

The second coincides with my new job :)

Starting Monday, I will be working at Neiman Marcus in their Dress Collections department as a Sales/ Stylist. There were many things to consider when taking this position. The first was stepping into retail. I'm so accustomed to corporate jobs, where being productive means sitting at my computer everyday.

I also can't count the amount of times I have been asked "Are you going to use your FIDM degree and go into fashion?" Well there's no time like the present. Although sales is a portion of my job, the other part is attending the store's fashion events, growing personal clientele, and working with them directly as a stylist. I'm hoping this new role will segway in one of two directions. Either I build a wonderful fashion career with Neiman, or this paves my way to become an independent stylist (how cool would it be to live like Rachel Zoe?) I'd also like to eventually merge fashion with my other two loves, writing and marketing.

Only time will tell what lies ahead for this girl.

Not to get too off the topic. This is what I get to see everyday I come into work:

Hanging from the ceiling over the escalators are hundreds of feather butterflies accented with silver discs which catch the sunlight making the whole thing shimmer. The butterflies are hung just low enough to feel like your ascending into them. My description doesn't do this visual fixture justice, it's so beautiful!

Arts: Antique Roadshow

While meandering around on South Congress last weekend (for non-Austinites, its an eclectic neighborhood with great shops, dining, and music... also the street where Nick's old apartment was), we popped into a great antique shop Uncommon Objects. While I was trying to convince Nick how cool it would be to hang a random old faucet on the wall, he spotted a panoramic photo of Paris. For $25 bones we thought it would be kind of cool to hang somewhere in the house.


We got to the front to pay, when the owner gasped "I didn't realize this was a Goldbeck"... err, yeah sure, he's so great? Apparently Eugene Goldbeck is a famous panoramic photographer from the early 20th century. I'm guessing he didn't mean to price the photo so low, but that's the beauty of antique finds!



My crappy camera obviously couldn't capture the whole thing, but at least it shows off some of the photo. You can kind of tell the picture isn't in the best shape with some scratches and water damage. With a new frame, I think this will be a great focal point to the living room.