Urban lifestyles that make sense
urban style
August Dog Rescue
Nov 7th
I went to a great event the other day at Gold’s Gym in Dallas – August Dog Rescue had some beautiful rescue animals there that were looking for new homes. How could you not love these angels? I know at least one of them found a new home so it was a great day – they just need more homes so they can rescue more animals.
Blind Sided by the USA Film Festival
Nov 6th
One of the great benefits of being a member of the USA Film Festival is the incredible screenings that you are invited to all year long. Most of the films haven’t opened at the theaters yet and many have people from the film in attendance. I was able to go and see Julie and Julia a few months ago and absolutely loved it, so when I got an invitation for The Blind Side I thought it looked like a great evening.
It’s so easy to have a pity party these days – unemployment everywhere, businesses and clients going out of business, foreclosures… just when you think you have it bad there’s a great film like this to snap you out of it and remind you what life is all about. It is a true story that takes place in Memphis and some of it is about a part of Memphis that I’ve driven through on my way to doing home shows in Tunica. Poverty is everywhere, it’s just many of us chose to ignore it.
Sandra Bullock plays the mother in this film and she was absolutely incredible! This film will change any perception that you have of her, and I really believe her performance is Oscar-worthy. Director and Texas native John Lee Hancock was in attendance and delightful. What’s so cool about USA Film Festival screenings is that after the film the guests typically hold Q&A sessions and you get to hear inside stories about the actors and what was involved in making the film. Really great stories about Sandra Bullock and it was wonderful to know what a true professional she is and how much she made sure to stay true to the real person she was playing.
The film opens on November 20th, and is from Warner Brothers. If nothing else, make this the film your family goes and sees Thanksgiving evening – it will change the way you look at the holidays.
Simply Summer
Jun 3rd
Summer is here! I was fortunate enough to start mine off with my kids and grandbabies in 
Florida last weekend and it reminded me of those wonderful innocent summers I enjoyed when I was growing up. Special days of running free at my grandparents farm sitting in the raspberry patch stuffing ourselves with delectible juicy fruits, spending time on the rocky shores of Lake Erie floating under the summer sun in an innertube with not a care in the world, and evenings of family dinners featuring fruits and vegetables that we had helped raise and pick on the farm.
Spending time with the kids reminded me how uncomplicated life can be sometimes if we let it and that the more simple our lives are the more sometimes we can enjoy those special times.
Counting the Days Until Savor Dallas
May 24th
I was looking thru some of my photographs the other day trying yet again to organize them and came across the amazing photos that Lisa Stewart Photography shot during the 5 years of Savor Dallas. It is such a fun event, and I swear I go into Savor withdrawal during the 51 weeks until the event.
Jim and Vicki White do such an amazing job orchestrating the event and bring some of the finest wine and spirit makers and restaurants to Dallas. The education that I get every year is amazing and it gives me a year’s worth of new wines and restaurants to try out until the next event. Plus the Savor Dallas website features tasting notes that are a tremendous resource that can be used year round.
The Whites also believe in giving back and supporting our community. HomeAid is a very special group that is very close to my heart – I’m involved in the chapter that is part of the Dallas Home Builders Association. HomeAid raises money and support to help build housing for abused children and families – it would be a dream if this type of housing wasn’t needed, but unfortunately it seems we can’t build housing fast enough to help this escalating part of our population. When I asked Jim if Savor Dallas could donate an auction item for our upcoming event he didn’t even hesitate but immediately offered whatever we needed. I know bidding is going to be fierce on this item, and if you would like to try and outbid the others on this item, please contact me and I’d be happy to add your bid.
Please also take a look at the Savor Dallas website and help me to thank Jim and Vicki for all that they do. And also be sure to mark the dates for Savor Dallas 2010 on your calendar – we’ll see you there!
Vertical Living
Apr 9th
Next week is going to be a really fun week – I’m off to Las Vegas to speak at the Manufactured Housing Congress and at the meeting for the Las Vegas High Rise and Condo Association
. It’s really beginning to feel like the housing market has hot bottom and people are starting to think about buying their dream home again.
The Vegas market is amazing, and I love visiting the new high-rise communities and learning more about vertical living. There are so many advantages, and I’m excited to see the latest and greatest. They are fascinated with my Lifestylist brand, and I’ll also be sharing with them what the heck a Lifestylist is and how we approach the design and marketing process.
Seeing Green
Mar 15th
One of my favorite activities that keeps me sane is gardening, and every year I can’t wait for the weather to start warming up so I can get my gardens in. With our crazy economy and the new quastions about where our foods are coming from and how they are grown, vegetable gardening is a great activity. I’ve gotten much better about growing the thinsg that I love or my friends ask for, and I’ve also learned what grows better where. I had soil brought in for my raised garden, and it has produced beautifully.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and dill are my favorites, and I started a little too early this year – we got a frost after I planted my first few plants – but the last planting was timed perfectly and we got a week of rain shortly afterwards – something we hadn’t had yet this year.
I may live in the city, but by making the best use of all of the areas I have and buying plants that are designed for smaller areas my garden rivals many. I also love romantice, fragrant old-time flower gardens and my hollyhocks now come up every year with my sunflowers and daisies. They are just starting to green up – I’ll share photos when they start blooming.
The much needed rain also turned my yard into a sea of emerald green instead of the dreary brown that’s it’s been all winter – I think Spring may finally be here!
Scene at Savor Dallas
Mar 6th
Savor Dallas is finally here again and it was a perfect evening! If you weren’t able to attend you truly missed out, but at least you still have a chance to enjoy the Grand and Reserve tastings tomorrow.
People truly had the opportunity to “stroll” during the arts stroll that visited the Nasher Sculpture Gardens, Dallas Museum of Art and the Meyerson Symphony Center. Fine wine paired with incredible art – how could life get any better?
We all moved on to Victory where there was an abundance of opportunities to sample great wines, spirits and food offerings while listening to great music and enjoying the evening.
Photographer Lisa Stewart did another amazing job of getting great shots, and there were so many choices it was hard to choose which ones to share here. Be sure to check out her site to see others.
Great Things Can Come in Small Packages
Sep 14th
There has been a lot of press about housing footprints becoming smaller, and a recent article that I found in the New York Times backs up the fact that this type of home is here to stay.
Smaller homes are ideal for vacation housing as well as for just a getaway in your own back yard. “Casitas” are a very popular item in the Southwest and many new home builders offer them as an option in their communities. With gas prices soaring, many people who were entranced by the “Go RV’ing” movement are now seeing this type of housing as a better alternative for their winter journeys.
Home is the Most Important Place in the World
Aug 30th
I am crazy about IKEA’s new ad campaign – Home is the Most Important Place in the World, especially since it is exactly what I believe, build my life and my business around. The photography of the campaign as always is spectacular, and love that some of the images are of “trailers”.
So besides the possibility of it being someone’s most important place in the world, what is a trailer? My definition is that it’s probably one of the most misused terms in regards to housing, and technically describes a recreational vehicle more than a manufactured home. Today’s manufactured housing is not made to be moved once it is in place, and should be set on a permanent foundation.
Trailer parks and house trailers became popular in the 1950’s when people who’s lifestyles were more mobile were looking for a way to take their homes with them. A hybrid of a travel trailer, these original units were inexpensive and in 1956 technology made it possible to build a 10ft wide unit offering the homeowner more space, and making the unit more spacious for spending longer periods of time in. A “trailer” was typically a home that could be pulled buy a car or truck, but the mobile homes that became popular in the 60’s had to be pulled by a professional truck company.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The winds of Katrina brought a new version of the trailer into our lives – the FEMA trailer. They were everywhere in the news, and it was our government’s answer on how to house the people who had lost their homes. The manufactured housing and recreational vehicle companies stepped up and did everything possible to provide the homes – it was a time in my life I’ll never forget. I worked with Patriot Homes to furnish 2,500 homes, and I only hope that whoever received them is enjoying them.
Now two years later there is a lot of discussion about Formaldehyde in the FEMA trailers, but the homes that they are discussing aren’t to my knowledge the manufactured homes, but the recreational vehicles. Just another example of how much difference a name can make.
I love trailers – that’s why I’m the Trailer Diva. But my idea of the ultimate trailer is an Aluminum bullet from the 60’s that I have lovingly restored, not a manufactured home. My dream manufactured home will be the one that is on some land in Arizona – stay tuned!
Lifestylist Design – It’s all about You
May 30th
Happy Memorial Day! This was a wonderful family filled one for me – I drove up to Oklahoma City to spend the day with my parents, sisters, and their families.
This month I’ve been very busy doing model homes across the country for Patriot, and also working on my new Lifestylist Design products that will be launching in January. It’s been really exciting to see the Lifestylist program come full circle, and to see how people have embraced the concept and made it their own.
My sister is the perfect example of what Lifestylist Design is all about. It should be about you – your life, your loves, your discoveries, not some designer or other persons interpretation of how they think you should live. I was finally able to get up here to see the new home that she and her family have been working on, and it’s spectacular! And the best thing about it is that when I walk in the home, or even when I drive up to the home there is no question that this is an active outgoing family who loves life and are individuals. From the start my sister refused to get “typecast” into a specific style or theme. Instead she incorporated things that they saw on various trips, items that were gifts on very special occasions, and was wise enough to encourage her subcontractors to be partners with her on this journey. The result is a marriage of craftsmanship and character that will never be replicated the same way again, just as my sister is a one of a kind.
“Rules” are meant to be broken, especially in the design world. The next time someone tells you what you can or can’t do with your home tell them that you practice the Lifestylist Design philosophy where what you love is never put in question.