Austin, Texas Girls Weekend

This Texas Okie flew down to her birth city, Austin, Texas to hang with the girls! No, I didn't grow up in Austin but that's where I was born and spent the first year of my life until moving to Plano, Texas! Being born in the Capitol of the State of Texas makes me more of a Texan, right? 

Lauren, the 'L' of my high school friend group, the 'JLMS' lives down in Austin and instead of just meeting in Dallas, we decided to meet in Austin for a change. Meagan drove down to meet us and the three of us were just going to have a girls weekend with nothing really on the agenda other than enjoying each others company.  

We hit the cool spots in Austin like South Congress, West 6th Street, The Domain Shopping area and even out to Lake Travis. Here are just a few snapshots from the weekend. 

Our first stop was South Congress, we were headed to scope out the stores there, including one of my favorite Texas Jewelry designers, Kendra Scott. The corporate office and store is right there on South Congress! On our way to the stores, we stopped for a photo in from of this "I love you so much" graffiti. Apparently it's a famous Austin spot located on the side of  Jo's Coffee.

Saturday we ventured to The Domain shopping area where we shopped, had mimosas and lunch and then ran into this large fellow. Why not take a picture with an over-sized whooping crane?

I loved that the Austin climate could support tropical plants like palm trees and yuccas. I snapped this pic while roaming around The Domain.

Saturday evening we had dinner at sunset at The Oasis on Lake Travis. That place was so cool, I could have stayed there for hours just people watching!
 

The weekend was a success - I really enjoyed spending time with the girls and getting to see Austin. Austin really is such a neat city with beautiful scenery, I can't wait to go back!

Project List? Whoops!

I realized that all of the sudden I have acquired quite the project list. Whoops. 

Here's what I've got going....


Bargain Mirrors:
I went to Dallas for my dear friend's wedding a week ago and came home with two, huge mirrors. My Mom spotted the steal of a deal in the Saturday paper - Weir's Furniture was advertising $549 mirrors for just $29. Because my Mom knows my style, when she went for the one found another and got a second one.

I have a few ideas up my sleeve for these mirrors, but will take me some time to put them to use. At 54" each,  it takes the perfect place to fit one of these bad boys in our small home.

Kitchen Update:
We're also looking to upgrade our kitchen from Formica to Granite!! This is a long awaited project, but looks like we're actually going to make it happen in the near future. Here's a seek peak of what we're working with.

Once we have everything picked out and installed, I will do a big before and after reveal!

The impulse purchase:
I went to a garage sale late Friday and made an impulse purchase. I scored this chest of drawers with a little bit of character for just $25. I really just couldn't say no. B wasn't impressed with my purchase, but at $25 I didn't want to regret not buying it. 

Sorry I'm not sorry about the project list. Be sure to check back for updates on my progress!

Let TEXAS fill my soul

Attempting to capture this picture is always a must!

It had been 8 weeks since my last Texas visit and 6 weeks since I last saw my parents… it was time for a fix. To add icing to the cake, I was invited to my dear friend, Meagan’s first bridal shower, which meant I would also get to see my best high school pals.

Come to find out, Dad was headed to meet my brother, Fen (who lives in Houston) in San Antonio to ride bikes. And by bikes, I mean motorcycles. Dad’s a Harley Davidson guy and Fen is a Crotch Rocket guy – his latest bike is a Ducati.

So, it was a girl’s weekend for me and Mom!

For the love of scarves. As you may have seen in my Instagram post, it’s obvious that Momma Swann and I have a love for scarves. Mom and I went to Target and to lunch at La Madeline before the Bridal shower, two places I'll never say no to.

Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft // Jeans: Ann Taylor Loft // Jacket: Target //
Scarf: Max & Olivia's on Facebook // Shoes: J.Crew Factory // Bag: Louis Vuitton //
Phone Case: J.Crew // Jewels: David Yurman

Swann for life. My last name may not be Swann anymore, but ever since I changed my name to McDaniel I've been drawn to anything with a swan. So, when I found this Fossil Swan Print Dress, I had to have it.  I was saving the dress for something and because it was a cold, spring day it seemed fitting to pair with a jacket and boots and wear to Meagan's shower. 

Dress: Fossil // Blazer: Lauren Conrad at Kohl's // Belt: Banana Republic Outlet // 

Boots: Vince Camuto at Dillard's // Lips: Laura Mercier - Mango // Jewels: David Yurman

The JLMS. That's what Jene, Meagan, Lauren and I have called our little group since high school. It's hard to believe it's been 10+ years that we've been friends. And even harder to believe we've manageed to stay connected as we've went our different directrions,  "grown up" and gotten married (or soon to be in Meagan's case)!

Jene, Meagan, Lauren and I at Meagan's Bridal Shower

Love Texas Shopping. Momma Swann and I went out and about Saturday after the shower and I scored a few bargains. Nordstrom Rack, Marshall's, TJ Maxx, World Market, Horchow Outlet are a few of my favorite Plano haunts. 

My favorite weekend find was this mint peplum top from Nordstrom Rack for just $18.95!

Girl's Night. After dinner at Campisi's with Momma Swann, I met the JLMS at Mercy Wine Bar in Addison. We didn't plan it, but you'll notice the polka-dot and stripe theme with our outfits. I love it, great minds think alike. 

 

 Blazer: Anthropologie // Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft // Jeans: Ann Taylor Loft //

Necklaces: Moon & Lola Monogram and Anthropologie 

I had such a great weekend in Texas. Sometimes seeing your Momma and best friends is just what a girl needs. 

 

Let's talk about the room I don't want to talk about (Yet)

Our master bedroom.

3 years later, I still don't have it figured out. But the good news is, we now have to make a point to figure it out because we just upgraded to a KING!  

 We currently have the bare essentials for bedding (and the room for that matter) but here's what we've got to work with. 

Duvet Cover Set: Pinched Pleat at Target. Bed Skirt: Threshold Gray Target. Euros TBD

Hand-me-down Nightstands from my Aunt: possibly paint? Lamps: TJ Maxx (Shades TBR (to be recovered)).

French Dresser: Painted with CeCe Caldwell Paints. Chest of Drawers: Brandon's Great Grandmother's

  

What are we wishing for in a bedroom? The perfect mixture of girly and manly with a dash of rustic, color and relaxed feel - my Bedroom board on Pinterest can better explain.

PB&J Stories Master Bedroom Redo Reveal 

The PB&J stories post is probably my go-to inspiration for Bedroom project. I fell in love with the "girly" pintucked bedding and the "manly' rustic headboard. Even though, yellow is not our thing - we definitely plan to pull some color in the room (obviously with a turquoise dresser) with a rug and throw pillows, etc.

Because I Like to Decorate's DIY Rustic Headboard Tutorial

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source Unknown but Pinned it anyways..

 

B likes rustic and dark decor so incorporating that into my love of color and whimsy can be difficult, but I didn't hesitate one bit when we came across the rustic headboard ideas. And luckily, B is pretty handy so am excited for him to tackle our headboard in the next couple weeks! 

As far as all of the other details on my wish list besides paint, a rug, updated night stands... are some adorable, personalized throw pillows. These Custom State Pillows by Marekalaine would be perfect. A Texas pillow for me and Oklahoma for B, please!

Marekalaine's Custom State Pillows on Etsy

Setting Sail with The Texas Okie

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I'm setting sail with a new blog today. Seems fitting for New Year's Day, right? So today starts a New Year, New Me, New Goals and New Blog.

First thing's first, let me introduce (or re-introduce) myself: Ashley Nicole (Swann) McDaniel

I’m Ashley,  a born & raised Texas girl who had no idea deciding to attend Oklahoma State University would lead me in a path to being an Okie.   I married my college sweetheart in 2010 and we own a cute little house in Edmond, Oklahoma (about 250 miles from my hometown of Plano, TX) and have a Maltese fur-child named Dixie Belle! Since graduating college, I've been working on the recruiting team for an OKC based oil & gas company while still making time to tap into my "creative juices."

Things that I <3: being busy, fashion, interior decorating, crafts projects of all types, accessories (home & fashion), art, fabric swatches, color, pictures, chips & dip and a good bargain!

TV Shows: Big Bang Theory, Revenge, Person of Interest and Duck Dynasty

Biggest Addictions: TJ Maxx, Instagram, Pinterest & GroopDealz

@’s: Twitter (McSwanny) Instagram (McSwann) Pinterest (McSwann)

Favorite Artsy Medium: Painting (acrylic). I’m an honors art class drop out – thanks to a jerk of a teacher who busted my bubble when he told me I had no talent (I also realize I’m no Picasso).

In 2013 I hope to: Begin and keep a Creative Journal, keep up with this blog, be more confident in myself, paint more things, have some fun and be as happy as a clam!