I'm sure it's Fall somewhere...

Well hello old friends! Nice to see you again! How was your summer? Mine was exorbitantly hot. Then again, I do live in Houston and I suppose I should expect it- but I swear to you that every summer I am absolutely amazed at how hot it gets and that there are so many people who deal with it.

There are many, many things I love about Houston. Southern hospitality, southern accents, cheesy grits, guns, rodeo, cowboy boots... But the one thing I absolutely hate is the heat. Now you may think to yourself- why is she writing about heat in late October? Well I'll tell you. Because it's still hot. While many of my lovely friends in New England, on the east coast, or across the pond are bundled up and enjoying snow, I remain in my flipflops. Every once and a while I decide to dress for the season and not the weather, donning my boots and sweater and by 11 am with sweat dripping down my back, I sincerely regret that decision.

To make matters worse, I work in retail where Christmas is already upon us! Our store showcases, live christmas trees, fake snow, tinsel, christmas ornaments and lots of paper mache'd winterey woodland creatures. It makes you feel all warm and cozy inside til you open the front door and get blasted by hot air!

Still, I choose to live in Houston. I love my home. I probably won't leave anytime soon. But that will not stop me from my bi-annual I-hate-Houston's-lack-of-seasons rant.

Thank you for listening.

Love,
Magpie.

Spring Happenings

Holy crap.

Remember that time there was a cute little blog with actual posts on it every week or so?  What was that like?

So this spring has proven extraordinarily busy for both myself and Magpie.  When I say we have been busy, that wouldn't even begin to describe our situations.  I have been in over my head with school and life and everything in between.  School is kicking my arse to say the least.  The good news is there are only three weeks left.  The bad news is there are only three weeks to finish all of my final projects.

Things To Do before May:

1. Sew my evening gown for draping (there is a $2,000 tuition award for the best design and finished product - more on that later)

2. Finish, bind, and beat myself in the head with a fully detailed financial business plan for my hopefully future vintage shop

3. Finish a research paper on the presence of evil in our world

4.  Illustrate a collection complete with mood boards and tech flats (cue panic attack)

5.  Finish knitting my knitted sculptures for my sculpture class and photograph them all (dumb.)

6. Die

This semester has truly tested my ability to handle stress.  But I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and that's a beautiful thing.

Here is my mood board and illustration for my final evening gown.  I painted silk by hand on Monday to use for the dress.  I'm hoping this little (so not little) detail will help me win that $2,000.  That would be such a huge help in paying for school.  So say your little bird prayers for me!

I'll try and get pictures up of my silk as soon as possible.  As of now, it is wrapped in plastic and curing.  I will probably be able to rinse it tomorrow and see how it looks.  Very exciting. 

---

Even though I'm trudging through all of this wonderful stress, Spring is in fact my favorite season.  I'm a color freak so all of the blossoming plants and flowers give me enough creative juice to push through the other less colorful seasons of the year.  I love the weather (rainy and cool), the blooms and blossoms, everything. It's perfect.

So far this spring I've been all about the greens.  Of course, as a redhead, I love taking advantage of the green palette as often as possible, but emerald green has made a huge splash into the fashion world this spring and I love it.  I just bought some AMAZING revlon nail polish that is delightfully kelly green.  It's amazing.

Speaking of green, I was fortunate enough to travel to one of my favorite places in the entire world in March -- Ireland.  I booked a flight to Dublin a couple of months ago, fully anticipating how stressful this semester would be.  I knew I was going to need a HUGE incentive for moving forward.

I have a group of amazing friends in Dublin that I serendipitously ran into a couple of years ago when I was on vacation and we have been besties ever since. I felt oh-so-at-home in the land of green and quite honestly contemplated not coming back.  There is something special about being there.  I don't know if it's the accent, the beer, or the rolling green landscape, but my soul feels at rest there.  I could only hope to be so lucky as to spend more time there. Here are a few pics from my trip!

My plan is to try and intern in Ireland somewhere next summer.  I'm hoping maybe I can make my desire to live abroad come true, even if it's just for a couple of months.

And who knows - Maybe Magpie and I can make a trip across the pond together one day...!!?? 

Alright little birds, it's late and I'm pooped.  Hopefully it won't be another two months before I'm here again ;)

-- Eagle

Oh, P.S. if you guys want to see super boring pictures of my life in fashion school, follow my instagram (I know, how so very hipster of me). I'm @ashnicolebald .

Whitney.

I know everyone and their mom is talking about Whitney Houston, but the loss of her is truly sad.  She was a true superstar, a true artist.  I believe that her voice was and will be untouchable. This performance was something that I saw a couple of years ago and it gave me the chills.  Now knowing what she went through and what may have happened in her final moments, this is even more intense.  One of the saddest things is when someone loses hope.  And for a moment during this performance, I felt that Whitney had hope.  I pray that she is in peace now.  And I pray that her family feels the peace and love that they deserve during this time.

Me Too!

Hello everyone! So Magpie finally broke the ice and threw up a post, and I thought I might as well throw one out there, too.

Firstly, apologies to our HUGE following that we have been semi MIA. ; )

I feel like I have a bit of an excuse seeing as I am taking 18 hours of classes, working 20 hours at the-corporate-coffee-shop-that-shall-not-be-named, working 10 hours at my school's publishing company, interning two days a week, and not to mention doing HOMEWORK. I'm swamped. And that's an understatement.

This semester has kicked my butt.  I'm struggling to stay on top of everything I have to do and IF I catch up  with everything I need to do, I'm still behind.

Every semester there is one class that seems to dangle the carrot of good grades in front of my face while I run mercilessly trying to eat it.  But I'm stuck on that darn treadmill and find myself not only chasing after something that I will never reach, but I have at least one anxiety attack in the process. This semester accounting is that class.  The information in accounting is not that hard.  In fact, I'm 100 % sure that I could sit down with an Accounting for Dummies book and figure out the information I need to know.  But for whatever reason, my class makes me feel like a complete idiot.  I feel like it is assumed that I'm just another stupid fashion student and I apparently have no idea how to run my future-business.  This makes me oh-so-angry.  So far, I've had to spend additional hours at home relearning the material from class just so that I can prove to my teacher and myself that I know what I'm talking about.

Let's just say that I'm already burned out.  I'm barely a month in and I want to quit school, pack a bag, and be a vagabond while knitting scarves to pay my way around the world.  This seems like a great solution to my problem.

Okay so maybe I won't do that.  But seriously, this semester is trying my patience and my sanity. The one thing keeping me afloat right now, though, is my spring break trip to Ireland.  That will not be here soon enough.  I desperately need to get out of here. And seeing some of my favorite people in the whole world wonn't hurt either.

I hope everyone is doing well out there! Try and stay less stressed than me ; )

-- Eagle

Hey Y'all!! Hope you didn't think I'd flown the coop! Regardless, I'm here now and I'm cooking up a storm! As you all might have picked up on, Eagle and I love to bake pies. In all honesty, I don't cook much else but a few days ago, I got an inkling for some quiche and it was definitely not for boring old Quiche Loraine. Now here's the trick to quiche: if you have the right egg/milk ratio, you can pretty much add anything else you might want to your shell. It's super easy! I decided to go for a feta, spinach, artichoke, sundried tomato, and chicken quiche. Doesn't that sound divine?

Here's the cast of characters:

I used a store bought crust- please don't shun me. These were my measurements, roundabouts...
-1 to 1.5 C fresh spinach
-1/2 C artichokes, chopped (i used the marinated kind from the jar because I don't know what to do with real ones...)
-1/4 to 1/2 C feta cheese
-1/4 to 1/2 C sun dried tomatoes, chopped
-1.5 C milk (whole is preferable, but any kind will do)
-1/2 C shredded chicken (optional)(I bought a rotisserie chicken and used the rest of it for other projects...)
-4 eggs
-Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all your add-ins in a bowl and distribute them evenly in the pie crust.

Whisk together your eggs, milk, salt and pepper and pour over the top. If your crust isn't filled properly, you can whisk together another egg and 1/2 C of milk to add. Don't worry- quiche are pretty flexible. Lastly, Pop it in the oven for about an hour. If your crust is burning, cover it with tin foil.

And Wah-Lah! A gorgeous, amazingly tasty quiche! It's super quick to assemble, perfect for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and has an air of class.

Bon Apetit, little birds!
Magpie

Soul Train

EVERYONE.

I have a new obsession that is taking over my life.  THE 70s!!

Ok, ok.  I know.  I fully realize that the 70s have been taking over the trends for a few seasons now, but it is just now infesting my style.  I often find myself so enamored by the 50s and 60s that I ignore the decade of delightful tackiness. 

When I was little, I was actually obsessed with this decade.  I had a bedroom full of disco balls, smiley faces, blow-up furniture, and black lights. Yes, I had lots of friends. 

Anywho, when the 70s came back with a vengeance a couple of years ago, I was completely uninterested. I literally said to myself, "this is the one decade I will never get on board with."

I eat my words.  And they are good.

High-waisted flares? YES PLEASE. Huge hair parted down the middle? ABSOLUTELY.  Huge green sunglasses? OKAY.  Maxi dresses? DONE.  Huge-ass platforms?  DUH. 

Guys, it's about to get crazy.  If you need me, I'll be having a melt-down steeped in polyester leisure suits. 

-- Eagle

It's a New Year, Birds!

Happy New Year to everyone!

I don't know about you guys, but this year has been a doozy.  School was one hundred percent insanity for me.  I was holding down a part time job at a very corporate coffee shop, working a new internship with a fantastic artist, going to school 17 hours a week, and tossing in a hefty 30+ hours of homework. Not really sure how I survived, but alas I did.

Here are a some pictures of a few of my final projects.  The photography skills aren't super great, but it shall have to suffice.

For my Illustration class, I had to come up with a fantasy garment and then design ready-to-wear off of that garment.  I came up with the theme "Stepford Wives" and my fantasy garment is worn by a robot house wife whose human skin is starting to reveal itself.  Her skirt is made of a pie and her top is a picket fence.

These are some other illustrations from my class that weren't part of my final project, but part of my portfolio.

This is my final dress from my clothing construction class.  It's kind of hard to tell all of the details, but its a 1960s inspired dress that has a detachable box pleat on the back. I'm mildly obsessed with the leopard print fabric.

And this was my final project for my color theory class.  We had to pick a product out that had really unattractive packaging and then use our knowledge of color to redesign a package.  I picked out a box of pantyhose that looked like a really crappy box of tampons.  I decided that since the brand is called l'eggs it should be an egg carton of pantyhose that are dyed different colors.  I called this project "Christmas Stockings."

This semester is shaping up to be equally as insane, if not more so. I'm hoping and praying that I can handle it all for a few more months.  I'm also desperately trying to sneak in a trip abroad for spring break.  At least that way I'll have something to look forward to. I'm like a kid. I need gold stars for hard work. And in this case, gold stars are trips to Ireland.

The New Years holiday also brought some fantastic time spent with Magpie.  She was able to come to Nashville for a long weekend and we had oh so much catching up to do. I wouldn't have chosen a better way to bring in the new year.  Our trip mostly centered around food, naturally.  I'm pretty sure we both have enough food built up in our bodies to hibernate like little bears.

I'll let Magpie post all of her fantastic pictures of our trip, since she was documenting for the most part. This is a picture of us dining at McNamara's Irish Pub on New Years Eve. Great food.  Great beer.  

Well little birds, I can't wait to see what this year brings for us all. Here's to an exciting, creative, and productive 2012!

--Eagle

and this...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Happy Holidays all you little birds! Wether you celebrate Christmas or not, here's a blessing of happiness and peace on a special day. I hope you will be spending the day with family or relaxing in some way.

Today has been a fantastic day in Nashville.  It's a perfect Christmas day with so much food that I'm fighting an official food coma as we speak. Not that I'm complaining.  Surprisingly I haven't baked anything for the day, but my lovely aunt who is quite the baker brought tons of yummy sweets. And tonight we will be eating fried chicken and collard greens - just like any good southern family should.

2011 has been a fantastic year full of craziness and love. I am so incredibly thankful for all of my experiences this year and look forward to spending the next year furthering my career, my self, my relationships, and my creativity.

Happy Christmas, birds!

OH. And next week will be a fantastically special week. why? Because MAGPIE IS COMING TO NASHVILLE! So excited. We will be blogging as a duo, which is a rarity since we live so far apart.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!

-- Eagle

The True Meaning of Christmas

It is 3 pm on Christmas Eve. I am spending the holidays at my parents house where my grandparents, my uncle, and 2 cousins have also organized. I've got a toddy in my hand, peanut butter cookies in the oven, my most festive vintage party dress on, and this is exactly how I love spending my Christmas Eve. In about 2 hours, I'll head off to church and in the midst of all the cozy merry-making, despite my efforts not to forgot, I hope the Lord will take me by the shoulders and remind me very firmly and clearly that the reason I live is to glorify Him. I'm praying for such a reminder for all of you dear readers :)

God's Love to All of You!!
-Magpie

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Butter Cookies

Alright yall. It's officially cookie baking time. I want to share with you my favorite cookie recipe. It's super easy and super delicious and I just know you will love it.

This is originally a recipe a la Paula Deen. That woman makes the most magical baked goods. I think its because she is not afraid of butter. Here we go:

The cast of characters:
-A box of fudgy chocolate cake mix
-A stick of butter (softened)
-A block of cream cheese (softened)
-1 egg

Mix all your ingredients together in a bowl and chill for at least 30 minutes. Next, roll the dough into 1" balls and roll in powdered sugar. *Warning* This is a messy cookie to make. You will get your hands dirty. Don't let that stop you!!

Bake for about 15-20 minutes. These are supposed to be really soft and fluffly cookies so don't be tempted to over cook them. You do, however, want to make sure that they are not gooey in the centers.

Finally- cool them off and display them on something adorable, like the cake plate you made after last week's tutorial! ;) And try not to eat the entire batch in one go. Have milk on hand.

Happy Baking Little Birds!
Love,
Magpie

DIY Cakestands!

Hello little birds! Firstly, I should let you all know that I'm obsessed with cake stands. Cake stands and tea pots are my downfall, really. And today, as I was meandering through my local Anthropologie store, they had some really beautiful plates and stemware on sale. I don't even use the stemware I already own and the plates match nothing in my kitchen but they were too pretty to pass up! And they were on sale! Plus 30% off!

So I decided to buy them and turn them into cake stands! I got two glasses of varying heights and two dessert plates for just under $20. Using some E6000, I glued the bottom of the glasses to the center of the bottom of each plate and Wah-Lah! Cake Stands!

Here's the finished product:

So easy and adorable! Now I just need to entertain!

Au Revior!
Magpie

Brrrrr!!! This morning, Houston, TX hit 29 degrees! That's probably the coldest we're going to see all winter and I couldn't be more content! I may have mentioned this recently, but I love the cold!

With the weather shift, comes a whole new slew of wardrobe and beauty malfunctions that we as women ought to be prepared for (if not for ourselves, then for the poor girl at the office who did not think ahead)! Here's what's in my arsenal (aka my purse):

1. Clear Nail Polish- It's been cold enough to wear tights for approximately 3 weeks and I've snagged approximately 3 pairs of tights in that window. Clear nail polish will stop the snag from worsening as the day progresses.

2. Cherry Chapstik- cold wind equals parched lips and you just never know when someone might want a kiss!

3. A Hankerchief- stop your runny nose in the classiest way possible

4. Hand Cream- dry parched hands do not beg to be held.

5. Sweet knit or leather gloves- to seal in the moisture from your lotion and fight off the dry cold!

6. Nail clippers- you don't want your jagged nail causing a snag in your tights!

7. A dryer sheet (only on days when static cling is an issue)- rub a dryer sheet over the static-y skirt of your dress or tuck it in your waistband (out of sight-of course!) to ward of cling! You'll smell fresh too!

8. A bottle of water- hydration in the winter is soooooo imperative!

9. A tea bag or packet of instant coffee- a cup of coffee is my favorite accessory and you just never know when a caffiene fit may come on, be it summer or winter.

10. A silk scarf- weather I'm using it to keep my neck warm or my hair in place, I almost always have one on hand.

And now, I'm drafting an agreement for everyone to sign. The four rules of winter will be: 

1. I will NOT blast the heater in my car or house, pointing directly at me- this will cause my skin and hair to dry out even worse than what the cold does. I will direct heat toward my feet and let it engulf me- even if it means I have to be cold for an extra 30 seconds.

2. I will NOT honk my nose, no matter how bad my cold is. Ladies never honk.

3. I will drink water obsessively, even more than I drank to stay hydrated during the summer!

4. I will take full advantage of all of the best winter accessories- scarves, ascots, gloves, hats, tights, etc. I WILL properly accessorize.

Did I miss anything? What are your winter rules to live by?

Stay Warm, Little Birds!
Love,
Magpie

Haul Out the Holly and All of your Wonderful Black Clothes!

It’s December! It’s December! While I know that the holidays freak a bunch of people out, I on the other hand, thrive during the holiday season. First and foremost, it’s almost Christmas which is the best holiday ever, what with all its cheer, delicious smells, reasons to be crafty, and of course, the birth of our Savior! But more than Christmas, I am just such a fan of winter! I despise hot weather and here in Texas, it finally drops below 70 degrees in December. Coats, sweaters, and boots, come out and swim suits get stuffed away (praise the Lord!) Black makes a reappearance accompanied by a myriad of colorful, patterned tights and scarves. Hair colors go darker and pale skin is social acceptable!

Before you people in snowy states get all crazy on me, telling me that winter in Texas isn’t really winter and I should try one where it REALLY gets cold, let me tell you- I have and I loved every minute of it, save for a few slippery car-ice situations. So there! *sticks tongue out*

I thought I would share with you an ode to my black turtleneck, which I am currently wearing and will wear religiously throughout the remainder of the cold months and likely into the months where it should still be cold but gets unseasonably warm anyway.

Ah the color black.

You hug the curves you should, and

Make the rest look flat.

Warm  wishes,

Magpie

Gobble, Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving from us Birds!

May your day be filled with loving family and friends, parades, dog shows, and pie! We are so thankful for all of our many blessings, but especially for each other!

Love,

The Birds

Time for Tea (And a Recipe)!

Hello Little Birds!
This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my church's Ladies Winter Tea. It was such a lovely time for fellowship with my sisters in Christ, but even more importantly, proceeds from the tea went to Redeemed Ministries which rescues women trapped in the sex trafficking industry here in Houston. For those of you who don't know- Houston is the largest human trafficking port in the United States which is an absolute atrocity. I am so grateful for groups like Redeemed Ministries.

Anywho- the tea. I am a very old soul. A classy event like an afternoon tea is right up my ally. What's more, is that for this tea, women in the church were allowed to 'adopt' one of the tables to set however they liked, so that other ladies might have a unique and beautifully set place to eat. I have lots of memories of my mom and grandmothers pulling out their beautiful china for various teas and I was so excited to adopt a table of my own. Here's what I did with my table:

I got to use my great-grandmother's china (which is my favorite of all the china patterns floating around my mom's house) AND my Mason jars, which made it perfectly eclectic. My sister helped me to pick out fresh flowers this morning and we were both beyond excited to incorporate some fabulous purple thistles into the mix. I wish the pictures did them justice! I even worked in some of my jadeite collection and some favorite vintage etiquette books to prop up flower arrangements. Over all, I was extremely pleased and proud to sit at my adorable table.

I also did a little baking for the tea. I made a bunch of really tasty apple-pear hand pies, but I also decided that since I was channeling my grandmother and great-grandmother with the china, that I should also make some of grandma's bourbon balls- one of her holiday favorites. They are so tasty and so so easy so I wanted to share the recipe with you all! Here we go:

Here's the cast of characters.

-A box of Nilla wafers (about 3 cups crushed) 

-1 cup of powdered sugar

- 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

-1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts

- 3 tablespoons of lite corn syrup

- 1/2 cup of bourbon

Crush your nilla wafers in a food processor or in a plastic bag using a rolling pin- old school style. That's how I do it. Then combine all of your ingredients. 

Don't judge my use of a cake pan as a mixing bowl. My bowls were in the dishwasher and I just didn't have time to wait for them! After everything is all mixed, roll small spoon-fulls into balls and then roll in powdered sugar.  If your mix is too dry when you try to roll it, add a little more corn syrup. It should pull everything right together. 

Needless to say, they were delicious. They are a perfect throwback treat. For all of you little retro birds who are planning mod Christmas cocktail parties- Bourbon Balls are a must. 

Happy Season's Baking to you all!
Love, Magpie