San Antonio: Kathleen Trenchard

With Fiesta about the corner - pre-Fiesta events begin this Saturday - it's only fitting to post something about the talented Kathleen Trenchard, who is keeping the art of papel picado alive and well.

The streets of San Antonio will be draped with more papel than usual over the course of the next two weeks.
Trenchard's pieces are works of art and you can even commission a piece as a gift, for invitations, or decor.
She painstakingly hand-hammers all her pieces and will even do portraits. Such a good idea for a gift.

Austin: Criquet Polos

I'm intrigued by Criquet organic cotton polos out of Austin. The brainchild of Hobson Brown (how can you not love that name?) and Billy Nachman, the two men matriculated through all-boys schools in Manhattan where the preppy staple was a requisite of their uniform.

It took them years to find the perfect polo and they always happen to be either handed down or from thrift stores.
They decided it shouldn't be so hard to find a shirt that's both presentable (read: no frays from years of laundering and wear), medium weight, and slim cut. So they created their own.
The vibe is old money Texas country club meets Wes Anderson meets Lone Star Beer in a ice chest floating down the Guadalupe.
And they have women's.

Everywhere: Whole Foods Juice Bar

My latest daily addiction is 16 fresh-squeezed ounces of carrot, cucumber, apple, lemon, and ginger juice, aka Zinger, from the juice bar at Whole Foods Market.

I told you that I've been feeling sluggish and I'd like to stop relying on coffee to wind me up every morning. I'm not sure I can completely give up lattes, but my glass of Zinger has been helpful at staving off that itch. Anyone else out there trying to wean themselves off the bean? I need some tips.

Dallas: tiny DALLAS

New favorite go-to spot when I need some inspiring words about parenting in my hometown. I suggest you bookmark it right away - and not just because they've listed my favorites today.

Joslyn Taylor, Christine Visneau, and Sunny Logsdon teamed up to create this much-needed blog and I for one am so appreciative. Their philosophies about child-rearing are so in line with mine - click here read their credo - and I couldn't dream of a cooler group of moms to commiserate with over the ups, downs, crazy-pull-out-your-hair-times, and my-kids-are-the-best-times that are part of raising children.

San Antonio: Acrobats of God

Trilingual San Antonio-native Nicole Brundage is a super-talented shoe designer living in Milan. She went to St Mary's Hall, graduated with a BA in Art History from Stanford, interned at Zac Posen, and went on to design shoes for Manolo Blahnik. In 2007 I wrote about her and her eponymous shoe collection for Texas Monthly and since then she's launched another line, Acrobats of God.

AOG is available at Opening Ceremony in NYC and I'm now keeping up with Nicole by checking her blog here. I hope you're as taken with her as I am.

Everywhere: Viviana Volpicella

For the last year I've been obsessing over Viviana Volpicella, the assistant fashion editor at Vogue Nippon.

I find myself constantly looking for pictures of her rainbow-colored ensembles for personal wardrobe inspiration. She's to blame for my recent purchase of a pair of tangerine orange pants from Zara.
Aside from being a gorgeous Italian with the best ear-to-ear smile, she puts things together in a way that I just don't have the moxie for.
Doesn't she just exude joyfulness?
Who wouldn't wearing those colors?
I'm copying all these outfits immediately. Don't act like you don't want to also.

Austin: Helm Handmade

HELM Handmade's founder Joshua Bingaman introduces women's styles this month.

After countless ladies came in and ordered smaller sizes of the men's shoes, he decided it was time to expand.
But don't go thinking he's adding feminine flair to anything. All the styles are the same save for being made on narrower lasts.
Click here to see all the styles and here to see the story in F|D Luxe.

Dallas: sloan/hall pop up shop

Hold on to your knickers, ladies, cause sloan/hall is coming to town. Marcus Sloan and Shannon Hall have both a Houston and San Antonio boutique and every time I'm in one of those cities, I have to stop in to say hello and shop (The one in SA is my favorite). Think Forty Five Ten meets Grange Hall, i.e, gorgeous unusual jewelry, coffee table books, and home decor that's unlike anything you've ever seen before.

If you've never had the pleasure of visiting the boutique, do yourself a favor - even if it's just to look - and stop by the Sheppard King Suite at the Mansion on Turtle Creek this Thursday, March 24 from 11 am to 8 pm. They'll have a collection of gorgeous objects and jewelry for you to be inspired by.

Mesquite: Jerry Hall

Jerry Hall. Do I really need to say anything about her?

I'm inspired by her constantly - especially her modeling shots from the 70s and 80s - and I love that she still makes it back to Mesquite to visit her family.
Can you imagine going from North Mesquite High School to traveling the world and marrying Mick Jagger?
I swear she's one of the reason I won't cut my hair.

And now daughter, Georgia May Jagger, has just come out with her capsule collection for Hudson. All the styles inspired by her mother's denim. Click here to see the line, buy the line, and watch video.

Dallas: Exhale on Gilt Groupe

Loves, I'm back. And after much lying about and drinking vodka from a water bottle - I was trying to save some money - I feel like a slug. It's time to whip this body back into shape, so manana I hope you're doing what I'm doing which is logging onto Gilt Groupe at 11 am (CST) to snap up some killer deals at Exhale Spa in Dallas.

There will be nail and body therapy deals to be had, but I'm clicking on these, almost too good to be true:
Mind Body 10 Pack

$143 Gilt

$220 Retail

6 Weeks Core Evolution

6 weeks of unlimited classes + 6 nutrition sessions

$775 Gilt

$1,200 Retail

Hopefully we'll both be gritting our teeth together in an upcoming class.

Everywhere: Stubbs and Wooten

Nothing more to say than I love these.

Everywhere: Birthday shoes

Today will mark my 9th time on a plane in the last two weeks. To say the least, I'm tired, behind deadline, and really want to sleep for more than 6 hours. The two things below, lovely birthday gifts from my husband, are making me feel a little better.

He's very good at buying gifts and his forte is shoes and handbags. My first pair of Manolos. Kinda had a moment when I got these.
I became obsessed with these leopard Miu Miu sandals after seeing them repeatedly on ManRepeller.com (the funniest style blog EVER). Found them on BlueFly and immediately clicked Buy. They were on my doorstep yesterday afternoon. Unadulterated joy. Big time.

I'm now off to pack for a little mother/son spring break trip to the beach. You have anything planned for the week ahead or will you be hanging out locally? Whatever you do, I hope you have a great spring break. See you next week. xxx

Austin: Uchi Cookbook

You no longer have to suffer through the impossible wait for tuna and goat cheese sashimi at Uchi. Owner and chef Tyson Cole just released his first cookbook and now his tricks of the trade are in your nimble hands.

The forward was written by Lance Armstrong. Doesn't exactly make me want to buy it more. You?

Austin: Sisters of The Black Moon

A few months ago I discovered Sisters of The Black Moon, a trio of Austin-based fashion besties. I try to visit their blog daily for style inspiration and looking at their ebay store sends me into a Stevie Nicks zone like no other. A few of the items up for auction right now:

Off Shoulder White Dress

Navajo jacket
Gold sequin cropped jacket
Chain link bra
Read more about Sisters of the Black Moon here.

Photos courtesy of Sisters of The Black Moon

Everywhere: Rather Novel Fragrance Pencil

When I was in Miami this past week, I popped into Anthropologie on Lincoln Road and immediately fell in love with these beeswax fragrance pencils. I'm pretty dedicated to my secret signature scent that I've been wearing for a while, but the Silk Road Caravan fragrance was so good that I've been smearing it on my wrists and neck non-stop since I bought it on Thursday.

It's slim and short enough that it fits perfectly in any evening bag and travel is a breeze since it's a solid. I'm drawn to musky scents, but this is much lighter and and slightly floral; a good departure for the warmer months ahead.