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.

Happy Easter

The basket with flowers, moss and eggs is a gift from my friend Sharon.

Happy Easter from The Bunny Bungalow!

A Bunny a Day Keeps the Blues Away

Here's a new arrival at The Bunny Bungalow, a vintage cement garden rabbit, with plenty of personality and patina.

A dear old lop eared bunny found Tall Husband and me, while we were hanging out at a local Antique shop. He was hidden under an oak table with a silly red bow around his head when he beckoned to us. We love his cap and little split-tail jacket. But it's too bad that he has his walking stick instead of an umbrella, 'cause it looks like rain today.

Blogging Business: Update

Coming soon to a card holder near you! Next week, my card holder won't have blanks in it. Kirk Baxter of Designage and I met this week to decide on the final design of the business card for The Bunny Bungalow Blog. Kirk did a fantastic job on the design. Next, the printer will print the cards. The card will be adorable! I can't wait to show you. (Remember? In a previous blog I pointed out that when a woman reaches a certain age there are two things she can do again: wear pink and be silly.)

Pepper, Kirk's house bunny also attended the meeting. She is a beautiful, black lop-eared bunny. Kirk says he's going to "put her to answering the phone" at Designage.

Photo above: Bunny business card holder from Adkins Antiques, Houston, Texas. It can also be ordered online from The Busy Bunny.

Hare Today

Here is the great stone bunny who was hanging out in the garden of Adkins Antiques. Now he lives at The Bunny Bungalow. When we first spotted him, sitting on a old stone bench, under an oak tree, my hands flew to cover my heart. At that moment, Tall Husband knew to refrain from asking, "And where will we put him?" He instead, reached down and took the bunny by his ears and carried him inside to the register.

I can't wait 'till the grandchildren come to visit and discover him, guarding a child's tiny chair in the guest bathroom.

Summer Time

Charles of Bering's

Charles, placing the rocker for the best morning shade and view

Ahhh, Summer Time!

Guard Bunny: Watch your toes, Bunny!

Some things just go together, like summer time, a front porch and a big rocking chair. Tall Husband had Bering's of Houston deliver this one to The Bunny Bungalow today and this rocker is now Blog Central. Thanks, Tall Husband; thanks, Bering's; and thanks, Charles!

Nesting With Freud

An Abandoned Nest, Taken from a Holly Bush

Faux Eggs Under a Glass Cloche

Faux Nest With Porcelain Chicken Eggs

Why are birds' nests and eggs so appealing? The owner of The Antiquarium, a purveyor of antique prints here in Houston, was telling me that prints of eggs and nests are quite popular and that he sells as many of these prints to men as he does to women. Though he loves these representations of nature himself, he could not fathom the reason for the attraction.

Perhaps eggs and nests are metaphors for a hopeful future or remind us of an idealized home, a place where our needs and even whims are fulfilled.

We all know why we love mushrooms and any representation of same. But we will not speak of that Freudian obsession here. Sometimes a mushroom is not just a mushroom.

More Bunnies

Antique reproduction, cast iron bunny holding the door is from Adkins.

Kitchen Bunnies: Cast aluminum bunnies are from Smith & Hawken.

Antique reproduction, cast iron bunny, guarding a bedroom door, is from Adkins.

Bunny doorstop is from Busy Bunny

Small cast iron bunny from Adkins; Porcelain bunny spoons are from Sur la Table, glass cloche is from Beadboard UpCountry; eggs from Installations Antiques.

Preview of Bunnies

Here is a preview of the bunny collection from Bunny Bungalow. Some are antiques, some reproductions.

A Magic Bungalow

It's an addiction. I fall in love with houses. Not usually castles or mansions but small, interesting places that tempt me with their history, with a promise to reveal secrets held within their walls. If such a place needs repair, the attraction is exponential. If I suspect it is haunted, I'm hopelessly under its spell. We find each other through a fortuitous glimpse of a photograph in a magazine at the dentist's office, my being lost in the car or a friend's innocent mention of a house they chanced upon. Tall Husband, indulges me in this illness. On weekends he will drive me to see my latest infatuation. He has gone with me to appointments with real estate agents and has comforted me as I sobbed after a lost bid. He even accompanied me on an adventure to Paris in search of a three-storied glass and concrete house designed by a favorite French designer, Philippe Starck.

I am vintage, verging on antique so I am saddened to report that I had never lived in a house I loved, until recently.

Two years ago, we were looking to purchase a place for an allegedly needy uncle who had been long-lost (we now wish he had remained long lost but that is another story.) To continue with this story: It was December, not a great month to be house hunting and our agent had just left for holiday. However, a co-worker whom our agent had asked to assist us in her absence, e-mailed a photo of a charming bungalow. The blurb stated that this was an updated 1920's craftsman bungalow in the Historic Heights. An hour later, Tall Husband and I followed an agent up the generous front porch. With no breeze to propel it, the porch swing was swaying back and forth. When we stepped through the front door, I could feel the magic and I have always believed in magic. The house cat greeted us with a purr as she brushed against our legs. We immediately offered the asking price.

After a miserable year of a resident relative who was abusive to the Bungalow and to us, we asked him to please get lost again. We moved in and now call The Bunny Bungalow home. And the magic is still here.

Drop by later to find out how this house became known as The Bunny Bungalow.