Austin: Apiece Apart

One of the most anticipated spring collections for me is from Apiece Apart.

 I discovered the line in the fall of 2008, but for the last year and a half, maybe even two, designers Starr Hout and Laura Cramer took a brief hiatus - babies can do that - from production and design. I stayed in touch with their clean-lined aesthetic through their blog and with random email check-ins ("hi. me again. when will the line be back?")

 I'm happy to report that not only is the line back for Spring 2013 - which will hit stores in January - but it's better than ever. I'm flipping out over the deceptively simple silhouettes, the edited color palettes, and the understated sexiness of it all. 

 Want to flip out over it yourself? Click here for the entire collection and review on Style.com

And do yourself a favor. Bookmark the blog. It's so good. 

Austin: Stag

Here's the deal: I'm screwed. It's Thursday, I owe someone 500 words, my kids holiday program is today, and there is zero, zilch, nada under the tree addressed to my husband. He is the most difficult person to shop for. Why you may ask? Three things: He's abnormally tall so clothes are always out of the question, he buys whatever he wants throughout the year, and he's in a phase - which I'm hoping to get to - where he wants for nothing. But dammit, he's going to get something from me whether he likes it or not and here's what I'm thinking:

 A handsome Billykirk leather carryall

 A Bill Adler leather belt

 Garrett Light sunglasses

 A Hillside pocket square

And a Bison bottle opener. Now if I can just get Stag to ship everything up to Dallas for Monday delivery that'd be swell. Of course, I wouldn't have that issue if there was a store like this in Dallas. 

Austin: Camille Styles

A big thanks for everyone at Camille Styles for the lovely gift guide feature. 

Head over to one of my favorite entertaining and style blogs to read about my must-haves for the season as well as all the other gift guides from assorted style scribes. 

Dallas: Rag & Bone

You know where I'm going today? 

 The new Rag & Bone boutique in Highland Park Village. 

 This week I watched as they quickly filled the store with merch and put the rag & bone name on the windows. 

 All done with such intent and precision that it went from empty shell to full-on store in a matter of four days.

 And everything I've posted here is on my shopping list. Perfectly subtle, I'm not trying-too-hard pieces that I'll wear over and over until people will think they're the only clothes I own. 

Especially this grey tank. There couldn't possibly be a better topper for all my rag & bone jeans spilling out of my closet. 

Dallas: Blushington

Just in time for the holidays, Blushington opens Saturday, December 15. Located right next door to the Dry Bar in The Shops at Highland Park, it's the only place in Dallas where you can pop in, have makeup professionally applied by choosing from a catalog of looks, and leave with a mere $40 less in your pocket. 

It's brilliant, really. I mean when's the last time you pined for a look you tore from a magazine only to muck it up trying to DIY, and then quickly and frustratingly reverting back to your old, boring standby so you wouldn't be late to where ever.

Love this idea. And what a perfect location right next door to Dry Bar? Two-stop shop, kid. 

Dallas: Escada & Highland Park Village

Another little love letter to Escada for this amazing navy blue leather jacket. The silhouette? Think Members Only jacket circa 1983 gone chic in buttery leather with laser cut floral designs.

 I brought things from my personal wardrobe to style with Escada's fall and resort collections and based this look around my favorite Manolos, a pair of two-tone suede numbers I bought a few weeks ago that I've worn non-stop.

I have a fun event at Highland Park Village tonight and can't wait to give you a recap of some fun holiday finds tomorrow. Stay tuned. 

Dallas: Pebble + Pine

Yesterday I had a late lunch at Oddfellows and afterwards I popped in new men's store Pebble + Pine. 

 Owner and PGA golf pro Nick Griffin recently opened his well-appointed shop where the emphasis is on American-made items.

 There were bow ties, 

 organic cotton shirts by Austin's Criquet, leather and canvas bags by Billykirk,

 handmade bottle openers and pretty silver flasks, 

 and a wall of Baxter of California men's grooming products. 

Along with all the handsome products, Pebble + Pine also offers a golf instruction program for adults and kids. 

 For a great guide to Oak Cliff, be sure to check out my colleague and friend Jordan Breal's December Texas Monthly column, The Wanderer. 

Dallas: Escada & Highland Park Village

Reader, you know I'm always up for a fashion challenge. So when Highland Park Village recently presented me with an opportunity to find something in Escada and make it my own, I jumped. 

 I've been on the prowl for a white blazer - blazers are a staple in my closet - and when I walked through the store, lo and behold, look what I found. The perfect white blazer. So chic with the Club Monaco skirt and my Isabel Marant boots, no? 

I also picked up this great leather and python clutch to tie into the subtle white and blue stitching on my Isabel boots. I never wanted to take off this outfit. Had me thinking a lot differently about Escada, like I've just discovered a little gem of a boutique in my city. 

Highland Park Village

Littlefield & Lubbock: Waylon Jennings & Buddy Holly

File under favorite Texans

Houston: Blue Print Modern

Do you know about Blueprint Modern? It's a fantastic little online shop based in Houston that sells great coffee table books, accessories, and gifts. 

 But come this Friday, November 23, owner Katie Dalrymple will bring her online world to life with a one-month pop up shop in Rice Village. 

 Just in time for the holidays, the Blueprint Modern pop up will sell everything they have online, but until December 31 you can peruse the collection in person. 

 With all the fun shopping stuff happening in Houston this month - The next post I'll give you info about the King Ranch pop up shop. I'm in pop up heaven - I'm sure to go down there. 

Dallas: Number One/Les Jus

Guess where I'll be bright and early this Thursday morning? At Brian Bolke and Dana Card's new lifestyle boutique, Number One / Le Jus in Highland Park Village. 

And not just for a fresh pressed juice - have you done Dana's cleanse? Did it in January. Life changing -  but for Blue Bottle Coffee, organic snacks and other perfectly luxurious and simple things like tees and tanks by The Lady and The Sailor, clothing by Urban Zen by Donna Karan, Heath Ceramics, and a crazy good selection of international magazines that will rival your layover picks at De Gaulle and Menara. If one or both of those places has been stamped on your pretty little passport, then I'm sure I'll be seeing you at Number One, too. 

I'll follow up with pics on Thursday. 

Everywhere: Club Monaco's Candace Skirt

People, on my way to my office (aka West Village Starbucks) I stopped in Club Monaco to check out their November delivery. This skirt stopped me in my tracks. I immediately tried on. Immediately felt like I had on Alaia. Immediately charged it to my Amex. 

Then I headed to a birthday party tonight with the most well-heeled crowd in Dallas and the hostess said, "Wow, what is that skirt? Alaia?" 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. 

Austin: The Rules of Basketball

I've never been a basketball fan. But when I went to my first game a few years ago (Mavs vs Lakers), I kind of flipped out. And then flipped out even more when I realized that what I was witnessing was something that one of my closest friends grew up with. 

Her late father was an NBA coach, as was her brother, and the stories she has about being in locker rooms, living on the road, and performing at half-times shows with Crazy George are downright nuts. Like, double nuts. 

So I'm really looking forward to seeing The Rules of Basketball, the Blanton Museum of Art's exhibition of artist Paul Pfeiffer's photographs that are displayed alongside James Naismith's 1891 document "The Original Rules of Basketball." It's a brilliant combination of what the origins of the game were - two peach baskets and a ball - to what it is today - definitely not two peach baskets and a ball.

 Read more about it here. 

Dallas: Dian Malouf

Perfect for today. Dian Malouf's Day of the Dead jewelry.

Houston: Paris Texas Apparel Co.

Love these Texana-themed silk ties from Paris Texas Apparel Co.

 Brothers Patrick and Paul Hotze have created a collection of 10 prints of everything from the Texas flag and oil derricks to Texas towns and my personal favorite, the armadillo (I had a dream the other night that I had a pet armadillo).

 With Christmas around the corner, this may be my go-to gift for a few people in my life who shall remain nameless. Don't want to ruin anyone's surprise. 

PS Are you on instagram? I'm a little addicted to it right now. Follow me there @kristierhoitsma

everywhere: the loneliest planet

See it. It's On Demand beginning today. 

Dallas: Forty Five Ten & The Four One One

My new favorite blog: Forty Five Ten's The Four One One

 It has the fun, magazine-y kind of layout that I devour. I want to look at every piece, read about every little thing, and then buy it all. 

Bookmark it, read it, love it, live it. 

Dallas: Anteks

Looks what's just arrived at Anteks: Pendleton blankets.

 These gorgeous Native-American-inspired wool and cotton blankets are loomed in Oregon at the company's family-owned mill.

 They're so beautiful and would make a great Christmas gift. If I had one, I'd hang it on a wall like a piece of art or place it at the end of my bed. 

Fredericksburg: Vaudeville

So the other fantastically chic place in Fredericksburg is home decor boutique/cafe/private event space, Vaudeville.

Smack in the middle of Main Street I saw a white sign with what looked to be an animal skull with antlers. Upon closer inspection it was two nude ladies mirroring one another in a stretched out sensuous pose with the letter V balanced between them. Love at first sight. 

 This is part of the event space. A bar with a Kyle Bunting cowhide mosiac.

 Shoulda bought these cubes and wood coffee table.

 The tea bar in the subterranean cafe

 Looooove the Thomas O'Brien Hicks pendants. I have the same ones in my kitchen.

Vaudeville-branded tea

 Jams and jellies.

Doesn't the menu look yummy?

 My latte made with their La Marzocco espresso machine

I would come to the cafe everyday with my computer and work, wouldn't you?