Hi guys. I started writing another monster post on buying rugs but then I got overwhelmed and more than a little worried I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. When I began studying maps of the Middle East and researching the major rug weaving cities of Iran I realized I may have bitten off more than I could chew right now. I’m just a little OCD like that. I’ll get around to it soonish but I need to let things incubate for a while. In the meantime, I highly recommend this article on buying rugs.

Also, I am super busy because my kids have succumbed to cold #857 this year. Both are encrusted with all manner of viscous fluids and it’s a full time job keeping that bizness off my new rug.

It’s much prettier (darker and less contrasty) in person but I’m already stressing about how overwhelming it is in its new space. I foresee a major rug and furniture rearranging party on the horizon.

 Lest you think me a heartless bastard who only cares about my furnishings, here are my cute little people. It’s good that they are cute because they destroy everything I own.

Which is why my fabulous Jenny Andrews Anderson painting is still safely rolled up and not actually lying about on the floor like this. I can’t wait to get it stretched and hung over my fireplace because it is HUGE and I love it.

Speaking of art, I’m selling this large (4 ft) 70s abstract painting. Austinites, email me if you’re interested.

Still speaking of art, I’m slightly obsessed with this amazing gouache painting I didn’t buy. Why didn’t I buy this? Oh yeah — because I already spent all my fun money on art and rugs.

Strict budgeting is largely sponsored by the impending (soon? I hope?) kitchen redo we’re saving for. I’ve been to see Sanders for paint help and I think I’ve narrowed the cabinet colors down to three choices. We shall discuss this ad nauseum later, but for now just know that babies love Sanders.

Last but not least, I got new business cards! Bryan Keplesky designed the logos and Karly Hand designed the cards. I think they’re kind of President of the Illuminati awesome.

Publicly launching ones photography and decorating career at the end of a series of crappy phone pictures is undoubtedly a smooth move. Please do see my photo site here and my latest house tours here and here if you’re interested in hiring me to work for you.

You know where to find me.

Wow… I didn’t expect the Blue vote to be so unanimous! Seems you guys feel the best is yet to come for the nursery. However, Mazey is pretty surprised the race wasn’t tighter and isn’t quite ready to concede the election. Meanwhile Frenchie doesn’t give a shit because he just wants to smoke some pot and marry another Frenchie.

What? I’m only talking bout rugs, y’all.

Seriously, thanks for voting. For everything. For important stuff.

 Please keep me on your reader because I have lots of updates to share, including the new rug in situ (which will it be?!), and a MEGA CRAZY purchase that could be fabulous but might be 100% fail… Also I have gone on a pillow binge that shows no signs of stopping.

Oh yes I did.

And finally the hall wallpaper should be up soon…

Hooray me! Obviously I am the winnah here.

Later, taters. It was so awesome to hang out again!!!

See you soon.

Sorry for kind of dropping off the face of the earth for a while, but if you haven’t already figured it out, I had a baby. This post is going to be a bit wordy, so feel free to skip to the pictures if you want. They are pretty cute. Can’t say that I would blame you.

For those of you who enjoy Baby Story on TLC, here’s what happened: Wee Baby X was born on August 3 at 9:24 pm, which is a far more civilized hour than his big brother Ike chose (3am — thanks, bud!). Everything went swimmingly in the labor department, because apparently I shoot babies out like a potato gun. Everything did not go so swimmingly in the naming department, because as we all know I have commitment issues and choosing a name for a person to use his entire life is a little more stressful than choosing drapes (barely). And so Baby X remained nameless until the very last minute…

The minute at 2am when a random doctor woke us up and took our baby to another hospital’s NICU.

Not to be all melodramaculus, but watching a bunch of people wheel my baby away in one of those plexiglass boxes filled with IVs and tubes was possibly the worst moment of my life. And to top it off, they weren’t exactly sure what was wrong but suspected he would need major intestinal surgery.

We decided we better name the baby, and so he became Luke O’Connor Roy.

Now, I had this in mind when we chose his name:

Cool Hand Luke will beat the shit out of any obstacle that stands in his way. Also he can eat 50 eggs. Also also, he is very hot.

Meanwhile, I think Ben had this in mind when we named the baby:

Hmmmmm.

Anyway, to make a long, sleep deprived and tear stained story short, after many crappy tests and poking and prodding my days old baby, they decided he had pyloric stenosis and required laproscopic surgery. By this point we were just glad to know what the problem was. They scheduled surgery immediately and a few days later Luke came home with us.

And then this happened:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww. My hormones are working overtime and I want another one already.

(Not going to happen)

We’re all happy and healthy now, and Ike is adjusting to the new situation fairly well… except that he keeps commanding Luke to start walking and talking.

I’m going to take a few more weeks off before returning to the blog, at which time you may find that an alarming number of posts about chocolate cake have replaced decorating decisions

Nursing makes you hungry.

If you’ve sent me an email lately and I haven’t replied, I apologize. But know that I have soaked up each and every one of your well wishes like a virgin pancake soaks up maple syrup.

Hungry.

Love you all and see you soon!

XO,

E

That title really draws you in, right? Oh the nostalgia. The oozing sentimentality. If you’re scared already, you’re really going to hate the rest of this post. If not, read on brave souls.

So today is my 36th birthday, and — not to put too fine a point on it — that sucks balls. How did I get so old? When Karly and I started this blog four (yes, FOUR) years ago, we were two young(ish) and carefree girls out on the town, boozing our way through shelter mags and thumbing our noses at chintz.

Well, chintz and Ruthie Sommers would like to know who’s laughing now… oh, how times have changed. Acid Wasp is back.

So I may have trolled the DC archives and come up with a “Where Was Erin On Her Birthday Back Then?” compendium of posts from days of old.

Check it.

In a fit of tortured self examination, four years ago I was lusting/questioning my lust for Julian Schnabel’s Gramercy Park Hotel.

So pretty! So full of amazing art!

So unbelievably pretentious. A friend and I made it to NY a year or so ago and checked in at the Gramercy for $50 drinks and terrible service. Blech.

And of course three years ago in July, I had Sweet Baby Ike. Apparently October is a special time for me and the hubs…

There he is, all of one week old. Cute as a button. Can’t believe I’m doing this again…

Luckily kids get older and the job becomes more rewarding, and also there are endless opportunities to redecorate their rooms.

At least that’s my overlong mantra for now.

And this did not happen on my birthday, but it did happen when I had some extra time whilst nursing tiny Ike and watching football movies (creepy baby hormones!), plus it’s still one of my favorite posts ever so you must read it:

I love moodboards, and just figured David Bowie’s labyrinth needed some sprucing up. Nothing special. Maybe I will redecorate the forests of Legend when I feed #2? You never know what might happen around here.

Anyhow, back to my timeline: two years ago we were still on the endless house hunt, perhaps thinking we may have found the one.

Oh it looks pretty, but don’t be fooled. Way out in the middle of nowhere, weird labyrinth of rooms on the ground floor (one of which opened into a real life CAVE), and then there were the worms in the toilets… broken septic line apparently. Eeeeeewwwww!

Have I ever mentioned that Austin real estate is murder?

Kinda like this house:

Oh yes, there is a tree in the middle of the kitchen.

And merely one year ago we were still in our old house and I was busy buying and selling beds.

Goodbye, old bed. I kinda sorta miss you, but you were really too much for me. I think I like the setup in our new house better:

Man, I really still need new lampshades. Can’t believe that craptacular whip stitch has survived as long as it has…

Trite though it may be, I suppose the more things change, the more they stay the same.

And that’s it for Nostalgia Cruise 2012.

Hope you didn’t get too seasick.

I do believe the weekend beat me 20 kinds of black and blue and now Monday is here to laugh in my face. On Saturday my baby boy turned THREE years old and I want to claw my eyes out just thinking about that. No more growing, kid. Also, no more birthday parties when I am 36 weeks pregnant and it’s 800 degrees outside.

But he was pretty excited about the mountain of presents he got, so we’ll call this one worth it.

The rest of the weekend we spent cleaning closets and preparing for the arrival of Number Two, who is growing so fast I frequently have to haul myself out of bed at 5am to eat more. Ugh.

Meanwhile, the house is shaping up (mostly). The front room is in danger of looking pretty good, so no pictures until I get a couple of finishing touches in there. I’ll try to take a survey of some other rooms todayish.

The baby nursery may be an utter failure, though. Not enough wallpaper, not sure about upholstery, custom blinds are stupid expensive… too whipped to fully discuss right now.

Ike is back at summer camp today. Off to make the most of my remaining three hours of freedom!

Today marks the second visit of the cleaning lady, and I’m pretty sure she’s going to mutiny when she sees how dirty this place has gotten in two weeks. Little does she know that my cat attracts leaves like velcro and paint in the sink is a state of being over here. But she might also notice that since the last time she was here, new curtains were boughten and the bedroom has been painted and my shelves for the front room are back, sporting a fresh coat of glossy paint.

Good things. Things that will appear in pictures soon. I promise.

Some bad things might have happened, too. Things like our fancy marble dining table arrived cracked down the middle. And I didn’t order enough wallpaper for the baby’s room. And I’m 99% sure I didn’t order enough wallpaper for the powder room, either… did someone say wallpaper calculator? Who? Wha?

I don’t know — maybe it’s the fact that I’m dead tired and HUGE, but I just don’t care anymore.

That’s why they call me mellow yellow…

today.

Tomorrow I will assuredly have a nervous breakdown since I’ve been with Ike all day all summer with no school, plus his birthday party is this Saturday and I haven’t prepped AT ALL.

Oh and the baby will be here in a month.

Mellow yellow, dudes.

Mellow.

[pinterest]

Last night Ben sat me down and said something to the effect of, Honey — I think you have a  problem. Except that’s not exactly what he said, because husbands who call their wives Honey are kinda icky. Anyway, how dare he criticize my obsessive need to endlessly repaint swatches on the wall, my 800 trips to return failed curtains, my seeming inability to make a single decision on my own?

How dare he care about my happiness?

I must admit to getting a little caught up in timetables, in the hormonal rush of nesting on the clock. And like some commenters noted yesterday, rushing has definitely brought on mistakes — nothing catastrophic or terribly expensive yet, but mistakes nonetheless.

I also admit to enjoying decorating as a spectator sport. I LOVE showing you guys what I’m working on, but it’s pretty grueling to turn something out once a week. Or even once a month.

Add to this the fact that even the pros disagree on decorating “rules” (have you seen House Beautiful’s 101 Decorator Secrets? SO MANY of them directly contradict each other. Awesome!), and I find myself rudderless, aswim at sea. Too few parameters and too many variables.

I like order, dammit. Tidiness. Mathematical certainty, objective truth. That may seem a little weird for someone schooled in the arts, but I will remind you that photography is filled with mathematical formulae and sciencey stuff. I love the unbroken line of cause and effect. I struggle against the nihilism of anything goes.

Order. Symmetry. Complementary. Happy.

So I will busy myself with finding a way to work, because I do enjoy solving problems (and trust me — my patchwork paint swatched bedroom of horror IS a problem), but forgive me if my updates come a little fewer and further between.

Things will get done, but perhaps progress will happen on a more geologic scale.

Also I am tired and huge and the baby is punching my cervix 24/7.

That’ll slow a girl down, too.

You already know AB Chao, although you may have trouble placing her face. That’s because she looks like this:

Yeah, she’s kinda famous for her headless self portraits. But she’s even more famous for this:

You can’t even google the words “farrow” and “ball” without this room coming up. EVERYONE has seen it — even Kelly Wearstler. And she liked it. A lot.

But AB Chao has made other things, too. Like this:

And this:

And even this glamazing garage redo:

Pretty awesome.

And sure — you might hate her a little. She’s tiny and even peppier than her teenage daughter, she used to write for fancy tv shows, and her clothes are always cute. Even her husband is cute.

I mean — dammit, AB. You need to quit it with the cuteness.

But here’s the thing:  I’ve known her for years and she’s a really nice, really real person who knows how to make something out of nothing (those curtains in the top shot? first dropcloth curtain diy I know about). This is important because being an average middle class wage earner should not be an impediment to style.

And now you can join her Dewit Design Camp and be like AB.

Dudes, AB Chao is coming to Austin from June 30-July 1 to school you! Learn this stuff:

• Basic principles of design
• Creating inspiration boards
• Drawing layouts
• Paint, wall coverings, lighting, window treatments, furniture, art
• Using and repurposing existing items
• Decorating on a budget
• Common mistakes
• Putting it all together
• Styling
• Shooting interiors
• Q & A

Plus you will get to eat yummy food and hang out at Meredith Pardue‘s fancy new art studio. You know Mer:

She makes those paintings that are in all the glossy magazines.

She lives in Austin, too.

Austin is cool.

Cool people live here.

Be even cooler and meet Misses Chao and Pardue in person and soak up their coolness by osmosis.

Sign up for Dewit Design Camp right HERE.

I might even show up if I don’t drop a baby first.

Curtain talk tomorrow.

Comment if you have any Dewit questions today.

As I awoke to the sweet strains of Old McDonald and BINGO!, I realized with a start that today is the first day of Ike’s summer vacation. Moms everywhere know what this means — basically that time for showers, house cleaning, and blogging is suddenly diminished to the point of non existence. Le sigh. So while you may not see me more than a few times a week while Ike is running rampant through the house, smearing jelly on anything that will stand still, be not afraid (at least that’s what I’m telling myself). I’ll still be around.

I also want to say a big huge sloppy THANK YOU for all your kind and generous comments last week. It’s amazingly comforting to hear from people I both know and don’t know — many of whom have been there, done that, and lived to tell the tale. And for those of you without kids, don’t worry too much. It’s not all tears and sleep deprivation. It’s also a lot of hugs and sweet baby kisses and funny stories about legos and pizza that make no sense.

So, short post today. But I’ll probably be  back tomorrow and until then I need for you to put your heads together and figure out how to make my kitchen look like this. It could happen, right?

Ike’s room is almost done, the nursery has been painted, curtains just got boughten for the fireplace wall, I’ve made 8000 trips to Ikea recently, and I still need help with the master bedroom and kitchen.

We have lots to discuss. Stay tuned.

So yesterday I went to the outlets again in search of more mongolian fur pillows, but they were all gone — probably because I broadcast the message of cheap West Elm stuff far and wide, which was incredibly altruistic of me. But also maybe not so smart for a bargain hoarder. Anyhow, I ended up buying this:

[Not my house! See the entire nursery here]

While it would be a total score if I could walk into an outlet and buy this whole room, I was still pretty happy about snagging that  bassinet for half price:

Isn’t it cute? So cute that no fewer than five middle aged women told me how their ovaries just melted before I could even stuff it into the car.

So I wheeled my fancy new bassinet into the bedroom next to the bed, where I plan to house Baby X after I hit the ejector seat, and then I went to sleep.

And then the nightmares started.

This whole pregnancy, throughout all the complications and bed rest, I’ve been in total denial that we actually have a baby coming. I didn’t want to get too attached in the beginning because Baby X might not make it. And also my experience with Little Infant Ike was not exactly a cakewalk — he wouldn’t eat or sleep. He colic cried for four months straight. My nipples cracked and blistered and bled until he was six months old. He slept (or didn’t sleep) for eight months in our bed. I did everything I could to be a “good mom,” but I seemed to fail miserably. Still he was cute and smart as all get out, and most importantly he was healthy, so I just buckled down and made it work because that’s what parents do…

Now there is a crib in our bedroom again.

When I woke up at 3am and looked over, it reminded me of nothing so much as a lawnmower, coming straight at me Stephen King style. I tossed and turned for hours, wondering how I’m going to make this work again. I finally have a kid that is relatively self sufficient, and now I’m starting all over? W. T. F.

I worried about the blog — who’s going to take over while I’m recovering? Will anyone read when I come back? Does it even make sense for me to blog at all anymore?

I worried about my livelihood, not just for money but for my sense of self worth — I haven’t taken a photo or decor job since I went on bed rest.

I worried about Ike — he’s not going to be happy to share the spotlight.

I worried about our marriage — having a newborn is stressful.

I worried about my mental health — I don’t think I need to elaborate on this one.

I’m 10 weeks away from my due date, and of course I’m still worrying about furniture and paint and wallpaper and kitchen cabinets, because those are things I can control (barely). There’s progress in there somewhere.

So I apologize if I sound crazy and stressed and wishy washy. And if it seems like I’m incapable of making decisions for myself, it’s because I am.

I just wanted to say thank you for being here and reading, for indulging my hysteria (using that term with the original root in mind). It helps more than you know. I feel a little ridiculous and sappy sentimental saying that, but it’s true.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone. I hope we can all engage in some much needed R&R.

See you Tuesday, ready to talk decor.

[Isabel Lopez Quesada]

I have the urge to purge. Ok, and the need to bring the benjamins, because I have to pay for my fancy new table somehow. You know, the table which I have not yet ordered. Sorry to disappoint you guys — I’ve been busy, but hoping to order asap.

Anyhow, if you live in the Austin area and are interested in any of my fine wares, please leave a comment or respond to the craigslist ad and I’ll make you a sweet deal.

First up, I still have this stupid table. I have gotten a trillion emails about it, but no takers. Please come get it.

Craigslist ad HERE.

Oh, I also have a pair (yes, TWO) of those Knoll executive chairs for sale, but they’re not posted on the Craig. They look like this but with five legs:

Upholstery is a gray green wool in good condition, although there are some spots. Casters are a bit sticky. Knoll labels still intact. Sorry I’m too lazy to take new pictures. Make me an offer.

Next up, vintage cube table.

Craigslist ad HERE.

It’s in pretty good shape, and it’s taking up valuable real estate in my living room.

Next I have a pair of (TWO) Lane walnut end tables.

Craigslist ad HERE.

You can kind of sort of see both of them here:

These are dope. Solid walnut, inlaid edges. A few nicks and one spot in the finish pictured.

Buy them before I change my mind…

And then there is this brass console table, for which I have only hideous pictures.

Craigslist ad HERE.

Um, yeah. That is a shamefully bad picture. But hopefully you can see through the glare to the majesty within.

Brassy is as brassy does.

What else? Oh yes — this:

The infamous blue velvet and chrome rocker. She’s Italian, I think. Sexy as all get out. But if I can get the right price, out the door she goes.

A lot of people have expressed interest, but I’m going to try to sell her locally if possible. If you live in the area, make me an offer.

That’s all I have for now.

Buy my stuff, please.

Ahhhh, Monday — it’s like a vacation from the weekend. Seriously, I am burnt. Toasted. Saturday we frantically ran errands and car shopped all day (not fun). Sunday we painted until I thought I might die (also not fun). And for all that back breaking work, there was little sad little fruit of our difficult labors. We still have no car (anyone have a Rav4 and like it?), and I hate the paint I picked for the guest bedroom/office — it looks like a band aid factory exploded onto a porn set. But we did get two things accomplished:

1) Cinco de Mayo.

I thought I had a bitchin video of Ike doing the Macarena with some awesome Mexican lady dancers, but apparently in my pregnant fugue state I forgot to press record. FAIL. Still, Cinco de Mayo was pretty fun (although margaritas would have made it funner).

2) Matt ripped out the ugly built in desk and we painted the kitchen.

Matt did SUCH AN AMAZING job removing the old built in behemoth and replacing the tiles underneath. You would never know it was ever there. Meanwhile, I got tired of painting swatches and decided to just pick something and go for it.

Y’all are going to think I swallowed a Guatemalan insanity pepper. Here’s a hint:

Kinda kidding. Kinda not.

We will discuss tomorrow. Have your wits sharpened and pencils prepared.