TUESDAY: You, me, champagne + home decor!

The earliest childhood home I can remember - a second-floor, two-bedroom apartment in central San Antonio - had black and white cow spots painted on the cabinets, with loud splashes of turquoise, orange, and yellow painted on the trim.

This was courtesy of my mother.

The inside of our home looked NOTHING like my friends' houses, with heavy brick fireplaces, expensive beige furniture, and polished wooden floors.  I didn't know what to make of it.  I registered the same confusion each time I met a friend's dad, always outfitted in khaki pants and a pastel Lacoste shirt, and wondered: "Is my dad is the only dad who wears a t-shirt of the Pope playing electric guitar?"

He wore this t-shirt with black Hammer Pants.

I would eventually come to realize that as a family, we were just a bit ... different, and that the old money principles of our traditional community ended at our doorstep.  Which resulted in me begging my mother to take me shopping at Gap Kids and The Limited Too so I could fit in, but now?  My parents' eclectic taste and sense of humor inform my style in every way.  It's particularly true of home decor.

Me!  Photo shoot for Austin American-Statesman story, courtesy Deborah Cannon 

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I can proudly say that I've never lived in a home with white walls when presented with the opportunity to paint them.  Six years ago my sweet boyfriend, now husband, helped me paint my first apartment in Austin red and (not even joking) lilac purple.  Not all of my creations have been attractive.  But they've never been boring, either.  

This is why I was downright thrilled when Furnish 123 here in town asked me to design a signature space for them a few weeks ago.   It's in their window now, and next Tuesday, we are partying inside of it!

Maureen Stevens of Inglenook Decor also designed a signature space, and if you're in Austin, we would LOVE for you to come.  (PS, Maureen is the hands-down cutest and if you aren't reading her home decor blog yet, you totally should).  

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Please join us for champagne, desserts by Cornucopia and SugaPlump Catering on Tuesday, August 30 from 6-8pm at Furnish 123 (6601 Burnet Road, Ste 200).

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Each guest will be entered to win a free couch, dinette set, and chest of drawers.  If you write on the store's "Wall of Shame" - a playful shrine to BAD furniture - at the party, you'll immediately walk away with a free throw blanket. 

rsvp here!  

For all my big talk on color, my own room is looking very Hemingway at the moment.  We're talking wood and leather in absolute abundance. But don't worry - I threw in a zebra rug to spice things up.

Also neat?  Furnish 123 hosts local Austin artists and features their prints all over the store.  I spotted this cool piece of artwork last time I was there:

Isn't it weird and wonderful?  I love it!  Should I put it in my room?  

can't wait to see you there!