How to get yourself to sleep.

Sleep is a very precious thing to me.  I was going to blog more about packing, but what is most on my mind when I woke up today is the need for more sleep.  These are the things I do to help myself sleep---what do you do?

1) Relax in the evening before heading up to bed.  This consists of: watching TV, cleaning up my house (this is relaxing to me :)), doing or putting away laundry, talking to my roommate, or taking a walk.

2) Stop with the caffeine by 3 pm!  This is hard for me, sometimes I push it to 4.  The afternoon "nap time" hour is hard for me and sometimes I run for cover with caffeine in hand

3) Clean up your room.  This starts in the morning by making my bed.  In the evening I try to straighten up so a messy room is not on my mind (it happens!)

4) Lock doors, set alarm, etc (do your routine to put the house to "sleep")

5) Get ready for bed (I don't do night showers because it wakes me up)

6) Read something calm (me: Jane Austen's Mansfield Park)

7) Drink tea.  I usually have the Rest and Relax Sampler by Yogi on hand.  It has a mix of bedtime, calming, Kava stress relief, and other teas that promote relaxation.  My sister swears by the stress relief.

8) Un-clutter your mind and say goodnight.

And trust me, if this doesn't work, don't keep snoozing in the morning.  It doesn't help much, and it could make you late.  Instead, wake up and make yourself a good breakfast (me: omelet with carrots and onions) and get your booty moving anyways.

Again---tips from you??

Look who's coming to town...

I die.  My sister Virginia was at Barnes and Noble today and saw that Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist is coming this month!  I cannot tell you how much I admire this documenter of fashion in daily life.  He writes in his biography "there was a disconnect between what I was selling in the showroom and what I was seeing real people (really cool people) wearing in real life".

(c) The Sartorialist

I am waiting in anticipation for his book signing.  Maybe Garance will join him??

(c) The Sartorialist

Breathe in, Sip, long sighhhh...

I'm sitting here with my Mac-daddy enjoying some tea and breakfast wondering what today holds.  I'm also realizing I'm in desperate need of groceries since I used the last tomato this morning...

Does anyone miss Domino Magazine besides moi?  Some magical person put together the Domino Magazine Files on Flickr.  Merci, merci!

I love sitting here perusing the files, imagining what my next home renovation project will be. And while I prefer a tangible magazine to browse, the online files will have to do until some genius decides to create a magazine that actually replaces the hole in my heart for Blueprint and Domino.  I've used both of those magazines for design help (and I just might have every Blueprint issue on my shelf...shhhhh).

Happy Monday!

Say Hello to Happy.

Tucked amidst the hustle-bustle of the City, two of my cousins, Cynthia and Erica, own a smashing yoga studio in Manhattan called Mang'Oh. Erica teaches a medly of yoga classes (lunchbox yoga anyone?) and Cynthia runs the business. Not only are they the cutest business owners ever, but they have a passion for everything that this is about.

They have owned the studio for two years and have done incredible things with it. The interior is so peaceful and zen. Our family has each done their part in making it what it is today, through hard labor or sewing or entertaining.

They offer unlimited yoga for $110 a month...I don't think that exists outside of Mang'Oh!

Stop by their site, which is also on my favorites. Stop by their studio, which is on your way to a new you.

How to Make Baked Brie

Last week I had some friends over for a little wine and cheese. My sister, Virginia, just moved back home with her family, so she shared her awesome baked brie recipe with me. She said it is a total crowd pleaser, and I believed her because I have been part of that crowd :)

The secret is -- it is SO easy!!! This is a great appetizer to prepare during the cooler months (is that going to happen in Texas?)

You will need:

1 tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls

1 jar of jam - we prefer preserves but we tried Pumpkin butter this time and it was fantastic!!

1 ounce of chopped almonds or nuts (you can chop them yourself and it is usually cheaper; I used almonds this time)

1 "round" of brie

rolling pin

cookie sheet

Directions:

Heat oven to *375. Sprinkle flour on the counter top and roll out the crescent roll dough. It is slightly difficult to do this since the dough has been perforated for the rolls and it not the easiest to roll out in general. Lay brie in the center. Make sure you have enough dough on the sides to pull up and over the brie and pinch together (but don't do that yet!). Spread preserves/pumpkin butter on top (I do it generously :)). Sprinkle nuts on top. Pull up and pinch sides of dough over the brie, preserves, and nuts and pinch to close. It is very important that it is closed! Bake for roughly 15ish minutes or until brownish/gold on top.

When serving, cut out a slice (like a pie) and leave it in the brie, or the cheese will run out. This will serve the purpose of cooling it a bit, and enticing your guests to go ahead and sample some! I made 2 baked Bries for 10 people, and had a bit left over. I was not able to take a snapshot of the end result :( But it should come out looking something like this...ours is usually pinched up to the center on the top, but still a good picture :)

Mini tea party?

How about a mini tea party with mini Eames chairs? I'll take it, since I cannot yet afford the life size ones. ( I posted about the wire one designed for Herman Miller that I'd like one day here )

Thank you for the idea of mini chairs, Nicole Balch from Making it Lovely!

State Fair of Texas

The State Fair rolls into town once a year for a few weeks. There's talk of making it permanent. I don't know if my waistline can handle more than once a year of eating the deep fried madness.

My friend Maggie came in town that day and I thought this was the PERFECT way to start her time in Texas!

Fried Oreos

Fried cookie dough

Fried butter anyone? We didn't try it either.

We rode the Ferris wheel, aka the Texas Star, which was much higher than we realized...currently the tallest in North America!

Success! I am finally taller than the height requirements!