Don’t miss it!

Find more information on The Dallas Flea website.  ‘Like’ their Facebook page for updates on vendors that you’ll see!

My friend at Grass Roots Eco Cleaners is doing something really great during the month of April.  They are joining with the National Autism  Association of North Texas to raise awareness of autism in their community.  Owner Courtney Benson said, “Several of our clients have children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and find our toxin free dry cleaning services helpful when it comes to keeping their families healthy.  Because we are a company that likes to support small businesses (we sell really cool items made by small businesses here in DFW), we enlisted the help of a local business, The Umbrella Girl Shop, to create Hero Capes. The Hero Capes have been a really popular item that we have been carrying in the store, so we thought it was a perfect match for this great cause!”

For all Hero Capes sold during the month of April, Grass Roots Eco Cleaners will donate 20% of the proceeds to the National Association of Autism of North Texas.  Very cool!

For more information about Grass Roots Eco Cleaners, check out their Facebook page!

I feel like such a loser!  I haven’t read…or seen… The Hunger Games.  I literally… cross my heart… finished reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, last night!  (Great book, by the way!)

Even though I haven’t read The Hunger Games, I do know that the lead shoots a bow and arrow in the story.  It’s evident by all of the bow and arrows I’m seeing in design and fashion lately!  Here are a few examples…

via thesatorialist.com

via hookandmatter

This was actually a find on my last trip to Round Top!  It’s a vintage shooting target poster.

I bought this ring a few weeks ago.  You get two trends without spending tons of money!  Mint and and arrow!

vintage arrow valentine, via design sponge

via lawsonfenning.com

arrow light via urban outfitter

image via apartmenttherapy.com

via shopbop

Have you read The Hunger Games?  Should I download this book and start reading immediately?  Are you currently displaying a bow or an arrow on your person or in your home?

Recently I was contacted by Jim, from Bojt Studio, and he shared the story of their unique bentwood rings.  I think they’re lovely.

Jim said, “We are artisans who make custom Bentwood Rings in the traditional Scandinavian style. Bojt Studio Bentwood Rings are born of hardwood, then we replace the natural oils of the wood with durable acrylic to handcraft comfortable rings of incredible durability. Even without a protective finish, the rings will last for decades.

They are one of a handful of wood ring benders in the world.  I really like the idea of this version for a wedding band!

There are 54 species of wood to chose from!  Find their website here.

These ombre’ tights got my attention!  I totally love them and would totally wear them!  How about you?

Find them at BZR shop on Etzy!  $30

Chances are that you may have seen Ice Milk Aprons in O Magazine‘s January issue.  Like other “O approved” products, this created quiet a stir for the folks at Ice Milk Aprons.  The good news is that they are now able to pre-order those aprons that have recently been on back-order.

I LOVE aprons!  I wish that someone out there would start the trend of wearing outside the kitchen!  These are certainly cute enough, don’t you think?

You’ve got to check out their adorable site!

Do you like aprons?  Does anyone else love aprons, but doesn’t really like to cook, like me?  Who has a kitchen drawer full?  I do!

Amberly Washington (Jr League Event Coordinator and Sweethead accessories designer) has planned a different type of wedding market for all of you brides-to-be!  She’s rounded up 40 of the best earth-friendly vendors to create “The Swoon” that will take place on March 24 at South Side On Lamar from 4 to 9pm.

Join others for sips, music and bites to see vendors including Anna Routh Photography, Southern Fried Paper, Blue Eye, Brown Eye, Vera Green Productions, F is for Frank, Sweethead and more!  Oak Cliff’s Oil and Cotton will be on hand hosting wedding themed DIY craft sessions!

image via southern fried paper

You’ll want to stay for the fashion show at the end featuring The White Gown Showroom  and Cooper by Courtney Bridal, but don’t come late because the first 50 event shoppers will receive a swag bag full of goodies from the vendors that includes Emergency Bridal Kits and handmade jewelry by Cardinal House.

image via sweethead

Tickets can be purchased here through March 23 for $8 and at the door for $10.  Complimentary parking is available in Lot A.  For additional information visit http://theswoonevent.com.

Skip the dye!  Blogger Alisa Burke‘s beautiful doodles eggs are pretty enough in black and white!  Go grab a black Sharpie and go for it!

The hardest part will be poking the tiny holes and blowing the yolk out!

images via AlisaBurke

Would you be willing to skip the dye this year?  Do you make Easter Eggs every year?  How do you make your Easter Eggs special?

I found a new little gem in West Dallas while I attended the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge celebration on Saturday!

The Workroom is a curated collection of floral, arts, whimsical crafts and antiques put together by artist and designer, Nick Troilo and Jim Wright.  Starting with the colorful front porch, the atmosphere invites you to hang out for a while.

Inside is one amazing vignette after the other and packed full of unique finds, succulents and floral.  This space is much bigger than it appears from the outside!  Here’s a peak at what I found inside…

An amazing collection of globes was just one of the collections I found inside…

vintage planters with succulents…

a huge industrial gear…

textiles…

a great mosaic wall installation…

vintage finds…

a checkout counter where eye-candy abounds…

The side room will be used as an art gallery and a chic space for special events…

They also have limited edition Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge t-shirts!  Get yours before they’re gone!

When you make your way across the bridge look for The Workroom just a few blocks down on the left at 422 Singleton Blvd.  Their hours are Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6pm, or by appointment.  Be sure to follow them on Facebook here.

What’s your favorite spot on the West side?  Have you ever been to the West side of Dallas?

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!