my style.

i coined my styled "modern vintage" a while back... (aka anthropologie meets ikea).

and now there's a book about it: modern vintage style! (aka... i want it.)

tuesday tunes - LEAGUES.

oh man. am i excited for you guys to hear LEAGUES (website coming soon - so check out their fb page). you may be familiar with thad cockrell (if you're not - check out his solo stuff)... he has teamed up with some other nashville friends to form this new band, and i am loving their stuff. he sent me a little preview last week of their 3-song ep (available on itunes today!) and it's so good.

check out "magic", and then go buy the ep!

and here's a shaky video i found on youtube of their first show at the rutledge this past fall...

on my list.

tuesday tunes - elenowen

never have i ever listened to a band on repeat as much as i've listened to elenowen this week.

you guys... i might be slightly obsessed. this nashville-based husband + wife duo is so stinkin cute, it's ridiculous. i love their songs, their harmony, the whole deal.

they had an ep come out in early 2010, pulling back the veil... {and i adore every song}

"after about a year of living from paycheck to paycheck working at the same local coffee shop, Josh & Nicole started pursuing their dream by creating their debut album, pulling back the veil... a collection of eight original songs, written both individually & collectively to paint a picture of the road they have been on for the past year – a road filled with internal struggles to know truth, joyous triumphs over & through desire, & the awakening adjustments to married life..."

but it was getting on nbc's the voice that rocketed these guys to instant stardom. now they're working on new music and i'm so excited to see what's next. they just released a new single, "honey come home". you can't tell me you don't LOVE it...

pinterest.

omg you guys.

pinterest is all i'm hearing about lately on the internets... and let me just warn you - you will spend hours perusing lovely photos and wanting to "pin" them to your boards.

from food to style to decor to parties... it's a virtual pinboard for you to organize + share all of the beautiful things on the web.

see what you love and create your own board of favorites. i started some of my own - feel free to re-pin! {seriously though... it's addicting!}

are you guys pinterest-ing yet?

what do you think?

i love trader joe's cookbook.

we are all highly aware of my obsession love for trader joe's.

{see my "top 10" posts: part one, part two, part three, & part four.}

my friend laura, in tune with my love for all things TJ, gave me a wonderful gift recently: the i love trader joe's cookbook!! i finally got up the courage to try out some new recipes, and have LOVED it. everything you need for the recipe can be found at your local trader joe's, so i just bring my cookbook into the store with me to shop!

{while writing this post i discovered the "party" edition - um, whoever wants to get me a gift - take note!}

and she has a whole website because she loves trader joe's so much. i think we're destined to be friends.

california field trip to go to her cooking classes? hmmmmm.

happy shopping & cooking TJ lovelies...

tuesday tunes - bon iver.

bon iver. you say bon eee-ver, i say bon eye-ver. either way. he's good. ("he" being singer/songwriter justin vernon)...

and he's got some new music that you can listen to in it's entirety right now over at npr. the self-titled album comes out june 21 - but be the cool kid that already knows the songs.

{this album follows his 2008 highly-loved for emma, forever ago.}

and here's the BRAND NEW video (out today) for "calgary", from the new album..

art + soul of america.

nashville based anderson design group started out with the spirit of nashville prints. vintage-looking postcards & posters that showcase the best of what music city has to offer (some of my talented design friends even created a few of them!)

now they've expanded to other cities around the country...

check out the art + soul of america classic prints for your city!

here's just a taste...

my roots:

my present:

love it:

my all-time fav:

tuesday tunes - coldplay's new single!

it's been all a buzz this week... coldplay has a new song out! and just in time for summer festivals.

it's called "every teardrop is a waterfall" ...what do you think... are you a fan?

that time we went to texas and ate a lot.

jeff and i took an extra long weekend to go visit one of my best friends and her husband in texas. austin has been on the top of my list of US cities i hadn't been to, so it worked out great to fly into dallas (where the bryants live) & travel with them down to austin together. (all 4 of us in a mini cooper, might i add). besides the excellent company, of course, our trip can mostly be summarized in eating... a lot. so here are some highlights of how we ate our way through texas...

oddfellows - oak cliff {dallas} (reminds me a lot of eash nashville actually). we were in the neighborhood saying hi to my friend christine (and seeing her cute store - urban acres!). there were many lunch options to choose from, but i'm glad we landed here. from their incredible hand-crafted coffee to a fried green tomato sandwich to buffalo chicken mac & cheese... it was hard to pick just one thing on the menu. i landed on a big salad, because i just had to get the beignets as a starter.(long story, but we had a layover in new orleans & i had gotten my hopes up to get them in the airport but to no avail... so i was super stoked to see them on this menu the next day!) and the vibe of this place was killer... reclaimed wood benches + big open windows and a vintage decor. loved it.

breakfast tacos at maria's taco express. {austin} pretty good odds that at-least one meal in your day will involve tacos while in texas. this one happened to be breakfast. {i'll take coffee with that por favor.} we enjoyed our morning tacos on the colorful, eclectic patio along with the rest of austin (the place is apparently always packed!). and it all started with maria serving tacos out of a trailer 14 years ago, and has continued to grow year after year. gracias maria!!

it's not a trip to texas without some BBQ. and rudy's {austin} did not disappoint. connected to a convenience store, sold by the 1/2 pound (from turkey to brisket to pork), with good ol' white bread, and no plates in sight. side options include creamed corn and potato salad. banana pudding for dessert. and if you tell them you're a first-timer, they'll let you try everything to see what you like!

our first meal back in dallas was at a crazy good local burger joint twisted root burger company... beef to buffalo to turkey to anetelope - you have your choice of fine meat. oh, and don't even get me started on the sides - fried pickles, fried green beans, hand-cut sweet potato chips - yes, please. i got the turkey burger with buffalo sauce & a scoop of guac. i'd venture to say it was one of the best i've ever had.

the hula hut {austin}. it feels like you're at the beach, dining on the docks of lake austin to "mexican food with a surfer twist"... we had an hour wait, but didn't mind at all- with the plentiful waiting area on the dock, with drink service and bottomless self-serve chips + salsa. (austin definitely does "waiting" right!). i loved feeling like i escaped to a tropical paradise... and no humidity! oh, and the stuffed avocado? a little piece of heaven.

not pictured, but definitely worth noting:
- kirby lane cafe {austin} - we waited over an hour for brunch here, but those pancakes were totally worth it!

- maiko {austin} - we needed a break from the tacos and sushi hit the spot. we loved it.

- sauced {dallas} - wings + more. a friend of the bryants started this place, and with wings being one of jeff's favorite foods, we just had to try it. and we loved everything on the menu! including our complimentary cookie dough eggroll of course (inspired by nashville's jackson's bistro!)

everything's bigger in texas... including our appetites, apparently!

bossypants.

{ more to come on my long weekend in texas.. }

but i just have to share about the book i started + finished on my flights to & from the lone star state...

bossypants - by none other than ms. tina fey.

it's a memoir slash here's-what-has-happened-in-my-life-and-i'm-gonna-tell-you-my-opinions-about-it.

you know it's a gonna be good when the back cover copy has you laughing out loud... (full of fake self- deprecating quotes)

"totally worth it" -- trees

"i hope that's not really the cover. that's really going to hurt sales." -- don fey, father of tina fey

as npr calls it - "honest & intimate"... with "a comedic voice that is totally her own" says the ny times... and "loaded with personality" according to time.

bossypants is a reminder of what tina fey is so good at... writing.

(she was a writer for snl all of those years ya know) so grab a copy and laugh out loud for yourself.