bird of paradise

here is a photo and some close-ups of a commission i just finished painting, not my usual kind of subject matter so it was interesting and different to do. now that i am looking at it unattached i realize it needs more detail in the petals of the blooms, and i would like to add some very subtle leaf textures to the background. we'll see when i will get to this, let it be a lesson in discipline, something i tend to lack.

datura dreamland

i had to dedicate one whole post to the amazing datura plants i found at the botanical gardens. i have never seen such an enourmous group of them before, it was really amazing. they were slightly tricky to grow in new orleans, for me at least. anyway, they are one of my favorite blooms(actually, the double one with the purple exterior and white interior is my very fav). enjoy!

bat face

ok, how funny is this??? i always thought i got the "bat-faced" cuphea before, but no. not until i got home yesterday and looked through all my pictures and saw this tiny face looking at me did i really, truly get the name!! how funny! i love it.

anyone who knows me well knows that i am obsessed with bats and am super happy to be living in a bat city with a bunch of other crazy, bat-obsessed people. so here's to austin, being a cool bat-friendly city and all.

these were blooms on one of the water plants in the front pond at the gardens, i love the contrast of the very yellow-lime green stem in the background next to the lavender and purples.

and i really will never tire of looking at the passion flower blooms, so very geometric and amazingly complex. i wish the red one had been blooming as well, it was full of buds but no blooms.

eggplant blooms are another of my favorite flowers, just so pretty and sweet

cactus thingy. cool and spikey. don't you love how technical i am with the names??

zilker botanical gardens

in between the mosquitos eating me for breakfast i managed to get some decent shots at the botanical gardens. here are the water scenes, taken at the front pond at the entrance and the koi in the japanese gardens. more later.

a life question

WHAT WOULD YOU ATTEMPT TO DO IF YOU KNEW YOU COULD NOT FAIL?

scary thought. my list is way too long for my liking. about to change all that though.

patio

as promised, here are some pics of my patio. difficult to photograph because of the small size of it and i wanted to get my water dragon in there--gotta have a good balance: water and dry right? yes, it's all about balance. yin and yang. black and white. it's all there...

some shots of my new pots. i really love the complementary color scheme, especially since the plants are a bluish green-excellent combination. makes me want to paint.

i couldn't resist putting in this shot of the aloe with the afternoon sun casting nice shadows on it and really highlighting the different shades of greens and blues and accenting the little spikes that add so much interest to the shape of the leaves.

Zilker botanical gardens cacti sale

i found exactly what i was looking for at the plant sale--great agaves and as an added bonus an aloe and a cute little cactus. i spent more money than i planned to but my patio is now beautiful and who can put a price on beauty??? i hung the finishing touch after it started getting dark out so i will post pics of the whole patio tomorrow. below is the aloe, little did i know they came this spikey and dangerous looking!

aloe peglarae

the adorable cactus i neglected to get the name of

whale's tongue??

and apparently the most photogenic of the group agave potatorum. funny name.

after shopping the plant sale i went to "the great outdoors" and got some really great italian terra cotta pots for a steal! if you're looking for some simple, sleek pots run over there tomorrow, there were still some left! very cool and a bargain.

another great day in texas

ok, are we all getting that i totally love it here and right now am obsessed with all things texas? that's right, bring on the cowboys! ok, just kidding-unless they look like heath ledger(in his cowboy role). and yes, i did buy texas wine today at whole foods(started in austin). ok, so, today i headed downtown for IF+D, one of the coolest shops here-great art, furniture, stuff, etc... super friendly staff and customers! they are having a sale right now too!! i did buy two bar chairs and am trying to talk myself into my new art table...i'll let you know how that one goes. well, after spending a good bit of time there i ate lunch at jo's--amazing burger and some of the best fries i've ever had. i even ate outside and enjoyed the texas heat, it really wasn't that bad today.

even the birds were hanging out at jo's, getting free drinks from this dog bowl! i don't think he liked having his picture taken--get a close-up look at this guy's face! some serious eyes going on there...

so tomorrow is the plant sale at the botanical gardens, hopefully it will not be super crowded although i'm sure i will be. i love crowds. if i come home with a kick-ass agave it will all be worth it.

AUSTIN TEXAS!

today is my one week anniversary of my relocation to austin, texas! my favorite city in the world!! i have to admit i am not the world traveller but of all the places i have been i love it here the most. a dear friend of mine started her blog today and inspired me to put up this post, i didn't think i had anything great to blog about so i'll just tell bits and pieces of the story of my move... here is my car that was filled to the gills with me, my stuff and my 3 cats! we all survived the nine hour drive, thank god that's over!

a view of the austin skyline from just south of downtown

a new favorite and what will be a regular culinary indulgence:dessert crepes made and served out of a super cool airstream trailer right here in central austin. these were nutella with bananas and that is my delish iced coffee in the background. yum!


this was a cheese plate i got at a wonderful little wine bar not too far from my place, yes, i have already had lots of yummy food--bbq from Rudy's, gourmet shrimp flautas, fish tacos, but tomorrow i am searching out the frozen avocado margaritas i have heard about. i will also be checking out the cacti and succulent sale that i believe starts tomorrow at the zilker park botanical gardens, i really want an agave for my patio! :)

thanks to christina for inspiring me to find the energy to put up this first little post of my new home! :) please check out christina's blog the blushing bride for advice, beauty, etiquette and all things wedding!