San Diego Trip 2

I just got back Thursday night from my second trip out to San Diego. THIS IS HOW WE DO ITTTTTTT....... View from plane. I tried not to breathe too much - didn't need the pig flu. Two people in front of me were rocking the masks. I wanted to lean up and say: I saw on the news that those guys do not help at all.

The weather was awesome, the meetings went well, and I even had some time this trip to do some exploring. Wednesday morning I checked out the Cedros Design District in Solana Beach.

It was a very cute spot just north of San Diego. Thank goodness for the Garmin - that thing was a life-saver! I zipped into many of the cute shops - I was on a mission for great antiques and accessories. The accessories will be key during August when I do the installation.
Solo was a cute spot - lots of books, sort of gifty, but cool.

One of the little shops had these great outdoor rugs from Dash and Albert. I think these are a must-have for the new loggia! I asked, "how do you clean these?" The cute girl said: "You just hose 'em down!". Right answer.

I ate lunch at this really cute spot under ivy and umbrellas. I admit, I sort of longed for my husband or a friend at that point - it was so fun and beautiful that I wanted to share it with someone. Maybe next time. :) After lunch I met a (gorgeous) Italian man that owned Bellini's antique store - an importer of Italian antiques. He was super nice and directed me to 2 other stores in Encinitas. I typed the address in the garmin and off I went! I was VERY excited to discover C'est la Vie Antiques - it will be my go-to store from now on in San Diego....

Gorgeous, gorgeous!

The trip was great and I am just loving it out there. I can't wait to go back. I have also fallen in love with my client's four children, and I have to say, I think they love me too. Well, I know this because they SAID so!! Off to the Big D for a girl's weekend and a handbag show. Leaving the b-school bookworm behind - he's got exams.

This One's for Murray

I have neglected my poor little blog as of late (as my friend Murray reminded me via email this morning). I am thrilled to share that I have a new, wonderful project in sunny San Diego that has required every spare second of my time since the beginning of April. The last few weeks sort of went down as follows:

6 am flight to San Diego, California. This was my first time to SD and I was so pleasantly surprised. The first trip to see the house was quite a whirlwind, but when I go back next week I plan to do a bit more exploring. San Diego is beautiful!!

Mountainous, beach-y, etc. As one might imagine. I sure can't complain about having to "work" here!

On the way to lunch...

When I got back to Austin, it was the Thursday before Easter, and Lee's Mom, Dad, sister, and brother came out to ATX to spend the weekend with us. We had a great time, ate WAY too much, and spent one early evening out at the Oasis for cocktails at sunset.

Can you believe what you are seeing is in TEXAS? Again, totally feels European.

Lee's brother Colin, Lee, his Mom, Heather, and I...

The second everyone left I knew I had to get down to business. I spent two days drawing the house in AutoCAD. (took almost every bit of that!). 2 days later, I jumped in the car for the big D. I hit up showroom after showroom for fabrics, as well as some of the many beautiful antique stores in the design district. I rendezvous'd with my good friends Katy, Ellen, and Amanda to hear the latest of their lives working for the Superbowl Dallas (Katy), wrapping up a masters degree at SMU (Ellen), and the new job working at the Bush Library (Amanda). Never a dull moment with these smart ladies!

I loved Ceylon et Cie (image below). Fun, Fun! I know they have their goods on www.1stdibs.com.

This is my method of digital "note taking"...

Dougie told me to check out Stella Dallas. Very cute, and quite similar to PIECES in Atlanta.


These digs were a bit funky for the Spanish/Mediterranean house at hand, but it was lots of fun nonetheless!

LOOOOOOOOOVED this store near SMU, Vintage Living. I want everything IN IT! Please let's get out of b-school, PLEASE!!

Still, always on the lookout for the trips!
When I returned from Dallas and back home to my "office", you will see what happened next:
DISASTER!!!Two of my new clients: they look very demanding, don't they?
Gotta run, will write more soon, I promise!

Home Sweet Texas

Although my intention for this blog was more about design and less about my personal life, I will share the following if only for purposes of posterity. I was warned about this place before I came. I had quite a few friends from DC who spent their college years here in Austin at UT, and even one or two who grew up here. When Lee decided to attend UT, if I had a dollar every time I heard this: "Oh my gosh, you will LOOOOOOOOOOVE AUSTIN! It's THE coolest city! It's so unique, and so laid back!" - we might not even need that MBA! But, I have to say, I think my friends were quite right. With every week that passes, we love it here even more. This weekend was particularly fun. I took this photo last night - more to come below... Lee and I woke up early Saturday morning, and walked just about ten minutes down to Lake Austin. We stopped in at Mozart's Cafe, ordered huge lattes and sat outside by the lake. We decided that we felt like we were on vacation - not just on a morning walk ten minutes away from our home.

Mozart's on the lake -

Right next door to Mozart's is the Hula Hut. I did not take this photo (someone on a boat did), but it's a fun burger joint on the water.

I did take this photo. :)

As we walked back home after breakfast, I admired the sleepy dog under the swing in someone's yard. Many people were out walking their dogs, running, or biking. I swear we even got a few "Howdy!"'s!

Wisteria on Enfield Lane....

After breakfast, the sun came out and I wanted to check out UT's pool. As an Alabama graduate, I think the University of Texas might one-up us on this one. The Texas theory of "bigger is better" (hair, land, make-up, etc) rings true with their athletic facilities. I was very impressed. Check it out! After 3 hours of soaking in the sun under palm trees, we came home and got ready for the...RODEO!!!! (laugh laugh laugh). This my friends, was amazing for people watching!

It's especially fun to attend the Texas Pro Rodeo with two New Yorkers. I think we ordered 5 or 6 things "on a stick." Our friend Chris -

and his wife, my friend Abby...

I should contact the Austin Chamber of Commerce - They should pay me for all of this good press. :) If you have never visited Austin, I suggest you make plans to do so.

Signing off - it'll be 80 degrees again today.

GREEN Design

Hello my name is MCBREARTY.

Do you know what that means? I'm IRISH!!! At least, I married into an Irish family - these people that I'm now related to hail from Donegal, Ireland. My husband is one of four kids - all very Irish names: Heather, Michael (Lee), Sean, and Colin. And then there's me: Meredith. :) So, I decided to post about all things Green today in honor of my new heritage. Lee of course felt the need for a Guinness (or six)...
He is also making some sort of cabbage something or other in the kitchen as we speak. And green "guac" to go along with it. (Actually, the guac has nothing to do with St. Patty's Day, but more to do with the fact that we are simply fatties and have home-made guac about 3x a week now that we live in Texas).

The McB's have a huge party in Fairhope every year with about 100 attendees and a life-size stained-glass shamrock in the front window of their house. I have yet to attend this soiree, but plan to do so sometime. I found the following GREEN items - and I do not mean "environmentally friendly" but literally: green gorgeous things on the web: The following are from PIECES in Atlanta:

This lantern from C.Bell is adorable and was a consideration for the D3 nursery.

J'adore this 4-paneled Green Gracie screen from 1st Dibs!!

"Chopsticks" bedding from Leontine Linens...

A pair of directoire-style Italian ottomans from the 1950's - at http://www.1stdibs.com/...Happy St. Patrick's Day!

-Meredith McBrearty