A Giveaway!

The Bunny Bungalow Blog is one year old.

I've had a year of loving your blogs and learning so much from you. You all are great blog pals and you have so enriched my life. So, let's celebrate!

To celebrate, I'm having a giveaway, which will run from Tuesday 4/28/09, 5AM (CST) until Tuesday 5/4/09, 7PM (CST) at which time I will pick two winners by drawing names from the entries.

To have a chance at winning, write a comment on this post, and if you have a blog, and if you are so inclined, you might mention this giveaway.

There will be a drawing to select two winners of the two (2) prizes. Each prize is a set of eight small, porcelain bunny spoons from the Houston Sur la Table. We use our bunny spoons to stir our tea or coffee. If you win, you could use yours to eat your lavender crème brulée.

I will post the names of the two winners on this blog on 5/5/09. Please check back to see if you won.

Good Luck! Thank you so much for visiting my blog.

Note: The giveaway has ended. Thanks to all who joined in.

I'm Rich!

I'm rich, for I have a fragrant, antique rose for the kitchen table...

fresh mint for my tea.

And delightful, tiny blooms on the Apple-scented geranium. (Oh, look, someone has had breakfast. See the nip out of the petal on the right?)

And the richest find of all: a father Mourning Dove, silhouetted against the morning sky, keeping watch over tiny eggs.

You have a great day. And I shall too, for I'm going to have a cup of mint tea while I relish my new-found riches, before I start my day.

Sweet Weekend

Have a great weekend!

Talking With Teens

Twins in Costume

Photo by Tall Son

Sometimes talking with teenagers can leave you feeling alien. Take the conversation that took place after Tall Husband and I left the Teen house to head back to Houston last weekend.  Oh, and double it, as these are Twin Teens.

Tall Son: "Oh, look, Mom forgot her tripod."

Sofia the Teen: "O-M-G, how horrible! Tita forgot her iPod! (for a teenager, forgetting an iPod is like losing a leg or something.)

Andrea the Teen: "O-M-G!"

Tall Son: "Not iPod. She forgot her tripod.

Me: Halfway to Houston: "O-M-G, I forgot my tripod! Turn back!" (For a blogger, forgetting a tripod is like losing a leg or something.)

Note: If my photos are a bit blurry, it is because my tripod is still in Austin. When the Twin Teens visit, they will bring it with them, if they remember! I am certain they will not leave their iPods behind or their cell phones with unlimited texting.

Vintage...Verging on Antique

Happy Birthday to Us!

Today is my birthday, which I share with thousands of others, passed and present. Here are a few of my favorites with whom I would love (excuse me Shakespeare: "with whom I should like...") to celebrate:

• Judy Davis, born in Perth Australia in 1955; actress; for her sheer acting talent and for growing more interesting and beautiful with each year.
  
• Shirley Temple, child actress and dancer; 1928 (There, but for the lack of talent, go I.)
• William Shakespeare, 1564, playwright, died on his birthday 52 years later and left us with questions to ponder, e.g., "To be or not to be?..."
  
• Halston, fashion designer; 1932. Hall of Fame in 1972. He taught us that black is the only chic color to throw on or off.
  
• Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, 1547; Spanish writer; wrote Don Quixote, inspiring many of us to confront our windmills.
• Max Planck, German Physicist, 1858; just because Physicists are so damn sexy!

Happy Birthday, Gang! Just imagine the party if we all got together.

Strange Thing: While checking out the new flowers in the garden at My Ranchburger early this morning, I felt compelled to look into the mailbox. No reason to, as I had already gotten the mail yesterday evening and the postal carrier had not made his rounds today. But there in the mail box was a birthday card from my sister. It must have been delivered to the wrong address yesterday and a good neighbor dropped it by...on my birthday.

We Love You, Mother Earth

Gifts from Mother Earth.

Earth Day

Earth Day 2009.

I Am a Camera

Last week, Tall Husband and I went to Austin, Texas to attend the opening of the Ligne Roset Boutique, the first of its kind. These photos are from that event and other photos with a posting are on My Ranchburger.


Often, looking through the lens of my camera and through the resultant photographs, I become curious about the people and their lives. Beneath the party chatter, what are their stories? Who in this crowd is approaching a difficult birthday? Who has just learned that they have a terminal illness? Or worse, a loved one does. Who has just learned that they are about to become a parent? Who has lost a loved one? Who has just found the job they dreamed of? Who is having an affair? What do their futures hold? I find myself making up stories for them. Go ahead, have a go at it; make up your own stories.

Unknown at the moment of this shot: Someone in this crowd would later sell me a purse with a bunny on it.

Known: She was on time. He was late.

Known: The man on the left is the owner of Ligne Roset Houston and Ligne Roset Boutique and is multi-lingual.

Can you see the photographer in the background? I would love to see that shot and hear what he heard. Known: the young woman on the left speaks both French and English like a native speaker.

What is she thinking about? Or is she thinking up a story for someone across the room?

Known: This five-year-old's mom let her choose her own shoes for the evening. Great choice; Great Mom!

Known: The man on the right sold an Arts & Crafts bungalow in California four years ago and is still missing that bungalow.

Known: These people asked to have their photograph taken...well the woman did and the men went along.

So...what are your stories?

Mercury Design Studio in Austin

Mercury Design Studio in Austin's Second Street District is full of wonderful urban chic for the home; however, it was the edgy items that lured Tall Husband and me...the cabinet of curiosities sort of look.  All over Houston there are signs with the imperative, "Keep Austin weird!" I think that Steve Shuck and Bobby Johns, owners of Mercury, are keeping Austin wild.

Love their humor: mercury water?!

Tall Husband photographed Big Bird, as I wasn't tall enough.

Need a hand?

Sweet!

This is a most unusual catalog of a designer's work. By lifting any small lid, one can view a category of photographs of Barry Jelinski's creations. This is pure adventure!

I feel like this some mornings!

The wonderful coquillage mirror is by Barry Jelinski.

This ethereal construction, using a found bird, is by Steve Shuck.

Here's looking at you, Babe!

This glass-top, maze coffee table is by Barry Jelinski.

Thanks to Steve Shuck and Bobby Johns, charming and talented owners of Mercury Design Studio, for letting us photograph their wonderful shop.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Saara's Biscotti

Saara's home-baked almond biscotti.

We are back at The Bunny Bungalow after our trip to Austin.  Saara, our daughter-in-law, sent us home with a warm loaf of her home baked biscotti and instructions on slicing and re-baking. Having her biscotti with coffee this morning was like warm hugs from home.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Bunny Darko

Scout Handbag by Ransom & Scout

After a photo shoot, Tall Husband and I were walking down West 2nd Street in Austin, when something caught my eye. There, in a display window, was a strange, funky handbag with a bunny character decorating it. The shop was Beyond Tradition and that bag was beyond weird. As you may know, I love a certain type of bunny. And this bunny is just that type, primitive and edgy. The owner was fantastic and let me photograph his bunnies.

This line of leather goods is new to Beyond Tradition and is by the design company Ransom+Scout.

These wallets are quite wonderful in soft luxurious leather, as is the entire line. Even the quality of the workmanship is scary because it's so nearly perfect.

Here is a larger bag. And wouldn't you know, I just couldn't leave the shop without the small shoulder bag for evenings of gallery hopping. As my birthday is this month, Tall Husband gave me the one from the display window; the one in the top photo with Scout the bunny looking out at you. Love it!

As you can see, the bag came with unexpected details...

A storage bag with a leather carrot at the tip of its drawstring.

A tiny leather carrot attached to the inside zipper.

And a story of its own. You know how we love stories!

Note: If you can't get to Austin to shop at Beyond Tradition, Sloan Hall in Houston carries the Ransom+Scout line in their store.  Beyond Tradition will soon have on-line ordering.