Flowers in the Window

I saw these flowers today and they were so beautiful I had to buy them. They came in a bouquet of six and every single one was perfect! Since it's my birthday week, I decided flowers in the window was appropriate.

It also seemed like a flowers in the window kind of week because the last few days have been so wonderful I can't imagine this week could be at all bad!

It started last Thursday when my dad and brother flew home from NYC into the airport in Shreveport (which is just an hour from me). Ross (aforementioned little brother and super-talented photographer- check out his work here) was hired to do a photo shoot there...and he lives in Louisiana, so that's a long way! Anyway, my Dad met him there after the photoshoot and spent a couple of days seeing the sites as well. Since they were flying home together (Shreveport's right in the middle of all three of us- an hour from me, an hour from Mom and Dad and an hour from Ross...and, yes, we all live in different towns!) I met Mom and we spent the afternoon shopping, then met their flight and we all went out to dinner (Josh had to work :( so he missed out). Anyway it was a really, really nice day...like a one day vacation for me! The day was made even better by the fact that Ross, my best and most favorite brother (okay, he's the only one I have...but he's awesome nonetheless) brought me all sorts of goodies from New York!! It was like Christmas! He's really great at picking out stuff I'd like so it was like having a personal shopper in NYC shopping just for me! I simply must boast- here's what he brought me:

* this oh so sweet book from Anthropologie full of recipes and gorgeous pics of cupcakes...

* also from Anthropologie, this darling apron which, as it happens, perfectly matches my favorite yellow shoes and my brand new yellow pan! * this Dior mascara Ross said was recommended by the bride he went to NYC to take pictures of so he brought me some and it's amazing! I highly recommend it. Plus he also brought this lipfusion lip color he said some woman at Sephora suggested I'd like...and she was right! It's a deep scarlet (which I'm told is the new look these days...very simple make-up except for an uplay of the eyes and lips).It feels very vintage-chic...I feel I should don my black dress and pearls every time I wear it! Here's a self- portrait of yours truly in said mascara and lipshine...this will definitely just be my special occasion look! * at my request he made a trip to Tinsel Trading. He brought back lots of this beautiful glass glitter and these amazing vintage cut-outs- I can't wait to use them! Aren't they wonderful?* I fully intend to devote an entire post one day to lomography, but here's a pic of just the camera...this is definitely one of the most exciting souvenirs...I dropped off the first roll I took today so I'll post some of the pics when they come in. * This yummy strawberry lipgloss came in such a sweet vintage-looking little tin! See the strawberry vine detail?*And, finally, this adorable lollipop from F.A.O Shwartz- Ross picked it up because it's my favorite color combination! I also got a copy of Marie Claire Maison...which was awesome. I love the Marie Claire publications, especially Marie Claire Idees, but you can't just pick one up around here...so I have to put in special requests with the travellers in my life! :)So- a BIG THANKS and a BIG HUG to my most favorite little brother.

Then starting Friday, Josh and I went to Dallas for an early Anniversary getaway! We had a fabulous time! It was really nice to have a little mini-vacation! While we were there, I got to shop some of my favorite places...among them Ikea where I got these play pretties among other things...(how precious is this crewel lamp shade? I'd seen it in a magazine, though for the life of me I can't remember which one...and was super-excited to find it in store!) Here's a detail:...and these jumbo juice boxes I just had to try. (Both were delicious, by the way!)And Anthropologie (which may, in fact, be my favorite store ever) where I scored these two adorable tea-towels:

We even made the drive home part of the vacation...we stopped in Tyler and visited the big rose garden there (Tyler's known for their roses). Those pics are lovely, but I'll save them for another post. We also stopped at the Russell Stover factory in Terrell and went to their outlet store. It's a great place to get gifts because they have chocolate extra-cheap. You can also buy bags or boxes of "bloopers"- chocolates that weren't quite perfect enough for gift-boxes...but still taste just as good! Here's a close up of a little box I bought for me:So early Happy Anniversary and thanks for such a happy weekend to my best-in-the-whole-world husband!

And I suppose for now that's all there is...there isn't anymore. (But really, I couldn't ask for any more! :)

Here's wishing you a flowers-in-the-window week as well!

sweetly, happily, and artfully yours,

randi