Costumes: A Retrospective

Doss, 3 yrs old, Polar Express Conductor

Happy Halloween! 

This year Buggers is the Conductor from the Polar Express.  

He is pumped.  Seems like a good time to go through his Halloween costumes and remember the times.

Thanks to my mom for helping me with creative ideas, passing down a love of home made costumes, (never mind the gnome. bad year) and a bit of skill with scissors and glue. I can't believe he's almost 4yrs old.  What fun we have had! Have a wonderful and safe evening out trick or treating!

xx - m.m.

Doss, 2 yrs old, 1920s Weightlifter

Doss, 1.5 yrs old, Gnome

Doss, 10 mos old, Albert Einstein

Spotted [vii]: Harvest Tables

via inspire m.e.

I love a harvest table, don't you?  It's one of my favorite things about the Fall.  I spotted some lovely ideas for building a beautiful scene for your harvest celebration or Thanksgiving.  To me it's all about being rustic and refined at once - and these examples achieve that idea, each in a different but workable way.  Here's to creating an open, inviting table top where friends and family feel welcome to eat, talk, laugh, drink, and linger together this season.  xx - m.m.  

via BHG

via DesignSponge

via Style Me Pretty

via Country Living

Dreamer, Doer, Thinker

My notepad says it all. 

And holds my dreams. 

I aspire to be

A dreamer, doer, thinker

Seeing possibility everywhere.

Don't you?

View Points

Looking at things (any and all things) with a different point of view is a good thing.  It's important for perspective, right?  I was struck by this view in my new living room (yay!).  Sitting here and taking it in, my view point captured so many bits of favorite things - the best sofa ever (from the best shop in my 'hood - Neighborhood!), a colorful, textural pillow, the perfect vintage magazine rack, Ben's cruiser and guitar.  Taking a moment and looking at things in a new or different way reminds me to see the little things that matter, or find beauty is something unsuspecting.  Here are some more views I've noticed recently that I loved.  Try it.  xx - m.m. 

Looking down at a scrumptious funnel cake at the fair.  Yes, that is turf we are sitting on. 

Down the escalator.

Looking down at my preppy look.

Looking up at the historical depot in Baird, my hometown.

His and Hers--Nightstands

 The differences in all things "his and hers" has always fascinated me.  Ben and I were recently discussing how our nightstands are little microcosms about each of us. . . and it's so true.  Mine is all about dreaming and color. . . from the book Dare to Dream, to a sweet gift (handmade!) of a quote I love (from Pretty Woman) "...Everybody got a Dream!", to hopefully sweet dreams -- it's bright and happy. . . or is that kooky? Something like that.  His is all about the zen and the lit(erature).  From his tiny Buddha that is always there, to his Hemingway, to our current nighttime read (great book) a Bio of Ann Richards (so the front book is ever-changing), it's cohesive, clean and calm just like him.  Do your nightstands reflect your personality?  xx - m.m.

Instagram-able 10

Halloween is coming and I can't even believe it.  It's fall in the Cliff and we are super excited to see what the Halloween is all about down here. . . or get in our car and avoid the thousands for a quieter place.  We'll see.   The decorations in the front yards are in full effect, including my favorite, the "boards and baby dolls" house.  Wow.  Love seeing the passion and creativity, and every night on our walk it's a fright-fest for all.  Super fun.  Other than that, my Instagram/iPhone feed shows some fun outings from the fair to nights out to eat at our favorite local joints, to house decorating, music, and friends.  Not bad.  

I loved these chevron fabrics as I was scouting for coverings and such for the new place.  And, oh, that is Chris Robinson rocking out next to his incense owl - obsessed. Below is a reminder of the day we bought our house (seems like years ago), a wonderful love fest with my best gals, the most luscious latte ever on a visit to Fort Worth, Doss rocking out and Ben in a rock tee doing house work (he's cool like that).  Finally, a sweet moment with a little friend at the cutest super hero birthday party ever.  And. . . it does it every time.  No matter what, when I take the time to take a look back I'm always grateful.  xx - m.m.

smmidge Style: Checks Mix in the Kitchen

The makings of bad imagery: poor lighting - check; no make-up and stressful day - check; evening photos after said stressful day - check; photos taken while cooking dinner in a messy kitchen - check.  So here you go!  Horrible photos - but I loved the checks and stripes together in the same color palette and I felt cute (much) earlier in the day! Oh well. . . it is what it is.  Real life, peeps.  And in my pledge to be real even when I look awful (but the pattern mixing idea I'm really all about!), realize I'm aging (when did I get jowls?!?), and need to clean my house (more on that in another post) you are gonna see some less than lovely photos - but will work to do better next time.  But mostly it's about pattern play and how fun it can be.  It doesn't have to be over-the-top, crazy boho. . . here it's all about a tailored shirt buttoned up and coordinated stripe in the same palette.  You might cover a fun chair or add a pillow to your bed or sofa with the same philosophy.  Mixing it up is always fun.  Happy Friday!! xx - m.m.

Eeeesh, it had been a doozy of a day.  

I loved the pop of red with the swiss chard - yum!

Another pop of red with Dossy.

20 second "photo shoot" and I'm off! 

Pretty (Imperfect) Painted Pumpkins

Last year around this time I posted a pretty picture of perfectly painted pumpkins.  See here. This year, as we settle into our new home, I have been uber inspired to try my hand at it, as the painted pumpkin trend seems on fire. Now, in my younger days, just out of design classes in college (that included a basic course in painting with acrylics which I LOVED) I used to paint all sorts of things. . . primarily I painted (and then lost) a super cute series of found cabinet doors and vintage hard case luggage with colorful patterns (and one Santa as I recall. . .it was the early 2000s ok?) in acrylic paints.  One bag was in multi colored zig-zags (so ahead of my time!) and one was plaid.  I painstakingly taped out each stripe and delicately intertwined each color. . . oh to be 24 and have tons of time and creativity.  These days that love of acrylics and plaid and stripes came out in some rather sloppy, gloppy, unevenly painted pumpkins. . . but I love them just the same.  I also put our address numbers on one - first because I saw this in a Martha pic, and second because we don't have address numbers yet and nobody is sure what house we live in.  Voila - location service via pumpkins. The lesson here - don't be afraid to be imperfect even in the face of fabulous Pinterest images that make us all want to crawl in a hole.  Just do it!  Get your paints and let your creativity flow.  xx - m.m.

Fierce Independence & Other Inspiration

It's fall in Dallas, TX and that means the State Fair is in town.  This year was Doss's first trip to the Fair and this little guy tore it up.  He really loved all the people, activities and especially the midway with the train ride, the airplane ride, the flying elephant ride. . . But on the way out, as we strode along this huge place filled with children, games, rides, food, excitement of all kinds, Doss took to a huge pillar and announced he was going to have a quick game of hide and seek.  I was to stand to the side, watch him count and soon he would be finding me in plain sight.  The rules didn't matter.  The place didn't matter.  All that mattered was this was a moment, and his idea would be the focus. Confident it was exactly right.  This moment, as seen through the eyes of this child, showed me so much.  He taught me to remember to follow my heart, go with my gut, and even in the face of skepticism, see the idea through.  Pass or fail, see it through.  We all hold the key to our own vision and we can't expect anyone else to understand.  At any other time we might have said to him "really?" "hide and seek? we just rode 15 rides and there is x,y, z to do right here" - that would be a grumpy old adult who only knows what seems "right" in the moment,. bound by so-called rules of the world. And I don't want to be that for him, and I'm so happy we went with it (as tired and "over it" as we were) with only one or two groans. And I'm so thankful that he did this for me, unintentionally showing me how to be fiercely independent and creative like a child, once again.  And I wouldn't have missed this moment of pure inspiration for the world.  

Other Inspiration:

Nothing makes me feel free and resets my mind like an open highway.  Sometimes we need wide-open space to remember how small we are, how big we can be, and how we fit in.

Do you ever feel like your time has passed?  Like maybe you are too old, too tied down, too tired to chase your dreams?  Me too. . . every now and again.  But this jam group of amazing musicians all over the age of 60 reminded me that when I feel that way it's just plain ridiculous.  These guys formed this jam group not too long ago and they are faithful participants in some amazing music making.  They may not be famous musicians but they are musicians making music, serious music.  And that counts.  It's never too late.

I mean, who doesn't love a stack of colorful polka dots?  I love them.  And they inspire me.  It makes me think of a million outfits, a canvas I should fill with color and dots, a box I should wrap, a gift I should give.  Inspiration is everywhere if we just remember to be open to it.  xx - m.m.

The Lost Summer & My (Constant) Search

HELLO Folks!  Wow I've missed you. . . . well if you are still indeed out there dear readers (or were you a figment of my imagination?) I'm back!  I've missed blogging over the past few months.  I've been away, completely upending my life and that of my family's all the while still chasing the same dreams I've been after for years: living with purpose, creating things, questioning things (what are we doing? another baby? risk and reward? how to do better, be better? etc) and still fighting to become an entrepreneur, to design my life, and enjoy it all along with others. . . But before all that, there was the Lost Summer of 2012.

. . . or perhaps more fitting "The Summer of Loss".  We moved from our very first, and quite beloved, home in Lake Highlands to a new (old) home in North Oak Cliff (a dream of ours - so that was a good thing).  But moving is no joke.  It tested us like nothing else.  Moving every worldly possession in your life is serious and leaving a place where you built your family is emotional. Living for a month with no home (bad timing) is also no joke. We are good like that.  No. Home. For. A. Month.  Bad news. The loss of moving from our first home rocked us all to our core. . . it was saying good bye to a happy and fruitful part of our lives which can be a little sad.  And being vagabonds was not all it seemed to be cracked up to be when we were younger and fancied ourselves Bohemian.  Oh well. . .  But settling into a new home and neighborhood is feeling better and better everyday.   It's definitely the right place for us.  But then, I quit my job.  Yep.  Right after we moved(ish) into our new home, I -quit- my- job. You heard me. Again - I quit my job. Genius move on my part.  Sarcasm intentional - atleast in terms of timing.  But when you gotta go you gotta go. . . but I did experience some feelings of loss once again.  And after that I promptly totaled my car.  Another loss.  By this point we were the most frazzled, strung out messes you have ever seen. . . desperate to keep it together for Doss and for us all. . . and failing miserably everyday. Oh the tears.  But luckily there were some over-the-top supportive friends - even through our constant angst - that helped us survive.  And other than that it was just stubborn will that got us through it.  Not beautifully or gracefully oh no, and some things suffered more than others (from relationships to bad hair), but down and dirty survival prevailed.  Now through all of this loss and angst, we are now emerging on the other side.  My horoscope says that today Saturn leaves one of my houses (?) after being there for 3 years bringing test after test after test. . . today is new and brings new opportunities.  The new moon is supposed to reset all things.  Isn't that nice? There is hope even after the Lost Summer of 2012.  Bye-bye Saturn. . . Now time to reflect and move forward.

All of us, still in the midst of move-in craziness, but seeing the light at the end o' the tunnel.

Which brings me to my constant search. . . I started blogging in Feb of 2008 on another little blog called The Momo Dance (inspired by my first entrepreneurial venture momoFandango - which was to become a successful line of baby blankets. . . successful being the operative word and the past tense should give away the ending. . .  it didn't last).  But alas, it started me blogging which has been a nice creative outlet even through my [to date] failed attempts at designing my life and becoming a successful entrepreneur.  And my very first blog post says it all.  It's pre baby Doss, but other than that it is still quite accurate for the me of today. Only almost 5 years later.  Atleast I know myself well, right? Even if I haven't quite got it figured out. . . and I do believe there is real hope in that.  Stick with me here and will bring out some new fun projects, and keep you posted on the ever-changing landscape of our lives from home to place to work. . .and dig in together which is when it all really counts. . . but in the meantime, from past to present, there is Music in the Morning xx - m.m.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

music in the morning

boy, do I love a slow morning when i can just move at my own pace.  it is so rare these days. . . city life brings the unavoidable scheduling of activities, because if you neglect to fit "it" into your schedule "it" won't happen.  seeing your friends, visiting your family and your beautiful new niece, walking your precious dog,  trying recipes, organizing your closet, writing down your deepest thoughts, moving through the morning hours in yoga pants, with music in the background, sipping a cup of coffee--if you don't slow down and clear your calendar for these things, I'm realizing you wake up and the days have slipped by in a blur without favorite things filling them.  or worse, the favorite things have occurred, but the memory of them is fuzzy or just not there.  scary.  

this blog is my attempt to not only fit time in for my favorite things, but really contemplate them by writing them or showing them here.  maybe it will allow for breathing and feeling life more than I have been recently.  don't misunderstand; I have a fantastic life with my incomparable husband, Ben; my scruffy, loyal dog, Guthrie; the most wonderful dynamic friends in the world that include family and a new niece and new muse, Lola Ruth;  a fledgling business called momoFandango, that will no doubt be the subject of this blog quite often.  I'm lucky, I just want to take the time to remember that I am. . . 

And my profile from back then. . . it still fits!:

About Me

the momo dance

I'm a designer sharing my journey to work on a business, be a mom, recognize my inspirations, groovy design, my search to find a balanced life, and the things, people, moments that make me stop and breathe and think.