Holy Smokes!  This year’s Design Bloggers Conference was twice as big and tons of fun!  Those of us that attended the inaugural event got a bit spoiled at the first conference, as we felt as if we could get to know almost everyone and be part of a small group that came together, but the reality is that this is an amazing event and word has traveled fast!  It’s just going to grow and get bigger and I’ve embraced the positive aspects of that whole “the bigger the better” concept!

I think I get more star struck seeing designers that I admire than Hollywood stars!  Martyn Lawrence Bullard is one of those design stars that gave me butterflies!  I loved his funny stories about coming to Hollywood to be a ‘star of the stage and screen’…never intending to end up being a designer to the stars!  It all started when he ended up helping out someone decorate for a wedding at the last minute and ended up being invited to stay for the wedding and landing a seat beside Cheryl Teigs.  The rest is history!  Martyn had spent a long night prior to his presentation at Elton John’s (one of his clients) Oscar party.  I’m so glad he didn’t over-do it!  He was incredibly inspirational and charming and I wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home!

Bunny Williams was is another design star in my eyes (and many others)!  Here I am, with my good friend Amy of House of Wentworth, telling her how much I admire her  generosity in sharing so much of her knowledge about design. I know that I was totally over-talking and she was thinking “Who is this girl?”, but she acted like she was interested and, for that, I love her more!

Bunny’s knowledge of all areas of design is astounding and her design versatility is second to none, in my book.  This was such a special treat!

I lost count of the parties that we attended in a three day time period.  They were all amazing and many were held at gorgeous showrooms like Suzanne Rheinsteins’s Hollyhock and Grace Home, featuring Currey & Company.

Once again, Adam Japko, did not disappoint in the wine department.  This is a picture of dinner on Monday night with some of the speakers and design bloggers at Drago in downtown LA.  There are no mirrors in this picture, friends…there was a lot of tasting going on.  Thanks again, Adam!!

This year’s event was held in the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel, where the original Oscar awards were held and recently Betty White’s 90th birthday party celebration took place.  The old detail was phenomenal.

I’m really excited that there may be a European Design Bloggers Conference in addition to next year’s event!  I think that means I could be planning a trip across the pond!  I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping it’s in Paris!

Who wants to join me for the next conference?  Do you read any other bloggers that attended this conference?  What design icon would you like to meet?

OK, blogging friends…I’m happy to announce the 2nd Annual Private Bloggers Luncheon to kick off Round Top Antique Week!

If you attended last luncheon at Rachel Ashwell’s The Prairie, you know what a special time this is to gather together with other creative bloggers for amazing Texas design inspiration!  This time we’ll gather at Bud’s Royers Cafe to have another delicious lunch and hear the iconic Carol Hicks Bolton talk about what inspires her and hear the latest about her new shop, Carol Hicks Bolton’s Antiquities Laboratoire de Design in Fredricksburg!

Dallas Market Center is a sponsor of this event and will share about the new section at Dallas Market Center dedicated to vintage sales that I recently participated  in at the last show (info posted here).  Bud Royer was also a part of this show and I can assure you, it’s going to do nothing but grow to be a place where people come from across the country to purchase quality vintage finds.  It’s a great opportunity for any vintage dealers to get in on the ground floor of something very special!

I’m also happy that this event will support Dwell With Dignity again!  You won’t believe the amazing things that have happened since Lisa and Kim spoke at the last luncheon!

Be sure to sign up fast with Michaela…some of you may have met her at The Praire…from Dallas Market Center.  Space is limited!   I hope to see you at Bud’s!

Who’s going to come?  Do you have a friend that sells quality vintage products that you will share this opportunity with?

image credits (1), (2)

I’ve got so much to share, I hardly know where to begin!  Last week was full of inspiration and exceptional things!  I think I’ll start with what everyone in Dallas is talking about…the opening of Dallas’ Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge!

My incredibly passionate and talented neighbors, Jeff Herrington and Randall White, orchestrated Bridge-o-Rama, one of three of the celebrations surrounding the opening; so I was very excited to see the fruits of their labor!  The results were nothing less than spectacular!

It was very surreal standing in the center of the amazing construction that I have watched on a daily basis for so long…a construction I will likely never have the opportunity to stand, and walk along, ever again…but plan to drive on many times a week.  Watching the Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, walk past me as I reveled in the glory of the structure was especially exciting!  He was followed by the construction workers that made it all happen

It was the Parade of Giants (featured in an earlier post here), the brainchild of Randall White, that was the highlight for me!  These giant structures created by many area artist represented historical figures important  to the development of West Dallas.  La Reunion curated the project overseen by their executive director, Catherine Horsey…15 artists working with 14 community groups to tell the story of West Dallas.

Father Sebastian Valles led the way in the parade and in envisioning the first Catholic School of West Dallas in the 1930′s.

Mattie Nash was a long time West Dallas community activist and sat on the Dallas City Council from 1991 – 1993…

Victor Considerant was an explorer who founded the French-speaking La Réunion colony in what is today West Dallas… I got a huge high-5 from Victor!

Bettie Odom was a long-time West Dallas businesswoman and restaurateur who for many years was the proprietor of Odom’s Barbecue on Singleton Boulevard. Yum!

Bonnie Parker, of 30′s gangster duo ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ fame, carried a dark cloud over her head…

Clyde Barrow, followed close behind his beloved Bonnie…  Clyde is actually buried at Western Heights Cemetery on Fort Worth Ave., just blocks from the bridge…

Judge Harold Barefoot Sanders steered the Dallas ISD through the long process of desegregation…

Of course, Barefoot Sanders had bare feet!

Andrea Flores Cervantes, a Los Barrios Unidos clinic founder, established the first free summer lunch program for West Dallas children and threw many kisses along the parade route…

Hattie Rankin was a  church worker who was so moved by the poverty in West Dallas in the 1930s, she started the Eagle Ford Mission…

Judge Jerry Buchmeyer was best known for his 1985 ruling that forever transformed living conditions in West Dallas’s public housing projects…

Julien Reverchon was one of the La Reunion colonists who also taught botany at what today is Baylor University Medical Center…

Rhoda Dragoo, a Methodist deaconess, won the right for Mexican children to attend Dallas public schools in 1915…

Myrtle Davis, a late-20th-century community and political leader, was one of the namesakes of the largest recreation complex in West Dallas…

Sarah Cockrell opened and managed the first bridge over the Trinity River in 1872, linking West Dallas for the first time with all major roads north and east.

I can’t imagine how proud all of these West Dallas leaders would have felt to see this celebration…

This could quiet possibly be my longest post ever, but I just had to share all of these cool works of art!

Did you visit the bridge celebration this weekend?  What did you enjoy the most?

Tomorrow I’m going to share my favorite new shop just blocks across the west side of the bridge!

I’ve been waiting for this weekend for a whole year!  I’m headed to LA for the Design Blogger’s Conference…

This year I’m most excited about seeing all of my blogging friends that I met last year.  We’ve been following each other’s blogs for a year and keeping in touch.  There’s nothing like seeing each other face to face and sharing a hug!

This year we’ll stay at the beautiful Millennium Biltmore Hotel, known for hosting the Academy Awards at one time.  This makes it all the more exciting to be there on Sunday night during the Academy Awards!

I’m heading to LA a bit earlier this year so I’ll have time to hit the flea market on Melrose on Sunday before attending a cocktail party honoring my sweet friend, Ronda Carman, at Suzanne Rheinstein’s Hollyhock.

My blogging buddy, good friend and neighbor, Amy, of House of Wentworth, along with Lisa and Kim, from Dwell With Dignity ,will keep you posted on all of the fun this week!  I can’t wait to meet new friends and share their inspirational blogs with you!  Follow #DBC2012 on Twitter for updates!

image via 1) 2) 3)

The amount of goodies awaiting you at the Bridge-o-Rama, one of the celebrations surrounding the opening of Dallas’ Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, just keeps growing and getting better!

Recently 500 West joined in to feature drawings, paintings, video, photography, sound, sculpture and site-specific installations by Master of Fine Arts candidates in art programs at SMU, TCU, UNT, UTA and UTD.  You’ll find these displays at one of the fabulous warehouses on the West side.

You’ll not only enjoy great tunes from the Wold Music Stage (find the line-up here), but you’ll also be able to taste the delicious food that the area has to offer including soon to be neighbors,  Cox Farms Market (coming soon to Sylvan/Thirty),  Four Corners Brewery and Matador Meat Company.

Those of you that have never ventured West of the Trinity will find some of the best restaurants in Dallas just blocks away from the bridge!  Plan to spend the day “on the other side” and check out some of my favorites!

SMOKE sits just below the hot, historic Belmont Hotel and has been written up in publications from Food and Wine to Bon Appetite!  They’re known for lip-smakin’ BBQ, unlike any you’ve had before!  Check out this video to see what you’ve been missing.

Just up the hill beside SMOKE is Bar Belmont, home of the best view of the Dallas skyline – and now the new Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge!  This is truly one of those places that you don’t want everyone to know about because you don’t want to wait for hours to get in when everyone discovers this amazing place!  They have a great drink menu, as well as hearty appetizers via SMOKE.

The Foundry Bar is a new venture by the owners of SMOKE and Bar Belmont, so it’s sure to be a hit!  Located in the cool 3 acre lot at Fort Worth Ave. and Pittman, this indoor/outdoor venue is the place we’ll all want to be in a few weeks when patio season hits!    I’m looking forward to kicking back here  and listening to some live music with friends..

Just a few more blocks south and you’re in the Bishop Arts District…which is another full post of shopping and restaurant favorites!  (Go to my archives and search Bishop Arts District for more info)

Please contact me if you have any questions about the area!  I love sharing my favorites!

Will I see you at Bridge-o-Rama?

If you’re planning to come in from out of town and need a hotel for the weekend, the Hilton Anatole is offering a special $89 a night Bridge-o-Rama rate!

image of bridge via TxFilmNerd

Mark your calendar for one of my favorite events in Oak Cliff…the annual Mardi Gras Parade!  It’s this coming weekend, Feb. 19th, from 4-6pm.

This even grows bigger and better every year because once you go, you won’t miss it again!  Find all of the info you need for next weekend’s Dash For the Beads (5K and more), Masquerade Ball, and the parade at Mardi Gras Oak Cliff!

Find photos from last year’s event here.

Will I see you there?

Who doesn’t love Adele after Sunday night’s Grammy’s?  Don’t you just want to call her up and meet her at the pub to chat about the night?

I love that she swept the night with her voice.  No team of dancers, over the top set design or outrageous costume necessary…  I have tremendous appreciation for creative expression, but Lady Gaga has got to be rethinking sitting there all night with that net over her face… I would have had that thing off after the first act!

Another highlight for me was Sir Paul…  My first thought (and FB status update) after watching his last performance was “I’ll have some of whatever Sir Paul is having…”  Seriously!  I’m not young and he could be my dad! I think he’s pretty amazing!

So what was your favorite Grammy moment?  What could you have lived without?  Did any of the performances cause you to download anything from iTunes?

images via MTV and Hypervocal

It’s a little less than a month away from the opening of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and I’m so excited!  One of the reasons I’m excited is a bit selfish…I’ll no longer have to deal with the traffic that feeds off of Woodall Rogers onto I35!  This could quiet possibly bring on a similar reaction as Kristin Bell’s recent sloth meltdown.  It’s that big for me!

I’m also pumped about all of the celebrations that will be going on the weekend of the opening…specifically the Bridge-o-Rama’s Parade of Giants!

Today many artists from the non-profit organization, La Reunion TX, gathered to build 15 giant puppets representing historical figures important to the development of West Dallas.

I can’t wait to see the finished products!  Can you?

Make plans now to attend the celebrations for the opening of Dallas’ new bridge.  Here are links to the three celebrations taking place March 2-4.

Bridge-o-Rama presented by Texas Capital Bank

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Opening Celebration presented by The Trinity Trust and featuring Lyle Lovett (love him!!)

Trinity River Levee Run sponsored by Trinity Commons Foundation and Dallas Running Club

all photos via Nicole Horn

You’re all invited to check out one of our favorite local screen printer’s new digs!

Dylan and Pamela have been working on their new studio since December and can’t wait to show it off!  Be sure to be there between 7 and 8pm!   They’ll be debuting their new t-shirt design and you’ll have the opportunity to select your very own tee color and watch them screen print it on the spot!  Find all of the details here.

Here’s your chance to step inside some of Dallas most beautiful modern homes!

On Saturday, January 28, 2012, the first ever Dallas Modern Home Tour will take place. Nearly ten architecturally progressive and contemporary homes in central Dallas will open their doors from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM. The self-guided driving tour will feature innovative homes that exemplify modern living, addressing issues from sustainability to ergonomics.

Discover how homes are pushing the boundaries of design by incorporating recycled materials, rainwater collection systems and natural ventilation while maintaining the clean lines, simple shapes and lightness associated with the Modern architecture movement.

Ingrid Spencer, former managing editor and current contributing editor for Architectural Record magazine in New York City, curated the homes for the Dallas Modern Home Tour.  Find the list of homes here.

Tickets are $25 in advance and can be purchased  here and picked up at designated will call locations. Tickets will also be available at select properties for $30 the day of the tour.