Double whammy

Holy moly, people. Two wonderful things happened to me while at Target:

1. I found a replica of an Anthropologie skirt I had been drooling over for $13.46! I feel I could submit my find to Glamour's "find it for less" article which I must admit, is always my least favorite of their features. Only because I find that the cheaper alternative never quite lives up to the original. However, in this case, the only thing missing were the buttons. And, saving $135? I could pay two credit card bills with that and still hit up some Starbucks on my way home for that.

 

2. Yes, this is bragging but, it's been a lot of hard work and control so, bear with me. In the past 7 months I have gone down three sizes. I'm back in the size I was in when I first started dating Fran, five years ago- hallelujah. But, never in a million years would I ever have expected to wrap a size TWO around my derrière. That's right, a two. If I could wear that tag inside out believe me, I would. I haven't really bought many Merona pieces so, more than likely, it's one of those brands that have bigger sizes attached to small numbers. For now though, I am basking in the numerical glory. 

PS: Feliz cinco de mayo!

Bursting at the seams!

This morning I opened up my email and found a message from a friend sending me to the Houston Chronicle. I clicked on the link and found to my shock & delight the following picture:

On our way out the door while at the CAMH's gala, we stopped and posed for one of their photographers (they had at least four constantly moving about). There are three things I love about this picture:

1. If you look carefully you can see a streak of soot on Fran's right cheek. An endearing reminder of why we were there in the first place. 

2. We were captioned as "Francis and Dahnya Giampietro"- a first name sighting (!!!)

3. Fran's deer in the headlights look. 

It is with absolute giddiness that I eagerly await what the future has in store for us. Whether it be our Wednesday Dexter nights or over-the-top galas; it all is magnified when I share it with you.  

I love you, my Francis.

Fresh Treads

 Every year the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston (CAMH) has their annual gala to raise funds for the upcoming year. The director of the museum personally asked Fran to perform a few months ago after seeing his performance at UH. It is a huge deal. When Fran first told me I was squealing in absolute glee and about to burst at the seams with pride for him. Tickets for the gala go for hundreds of dollars. I didn't think we'd be able to attend as guests but Bill (the director) offered us two tickets for a dinner table- don't even get me started on the stress of what I would wear that night. 


The moment we walked into the museum I was in awe. Houston's finest and brightest attended the event decked out in full couture. Everywhere I turned there was botox and collagen camouflaged with Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Loubutins and gallons of flowery perfume. In other words, absolute heaven. Every dress, every hairstyle, every glittery piece of jewelry had my head spinning with absolute delight (or puzzlement). We were there for Fran's performance but, the people were just as intriguing as his performance! 


I wasn't quite able to capture the event the way I would have wished to but, here are a few of the highlights:

The Setting

Our table- if you look carefully you will notice the tire vase & table.

The VIP tables had a different centerpiece with vases within vases.

Each chair had a Neiman Marcus gift box with "tire" coasters. I took three. One for me, one for Fran's mom and one for Grant.

The picture is extremely blurry but on each spoon there were teeny toy cars! Once again, I snagged three.

One of the best parts of the night: the homemade chocolate truffles. The sweet waiter who attended us all night brought me a container filled to the brim with them to take home before I left. 

While I was waiting for The Artist to clean up after his performance, I was met and chatted with Houston's own Flower Man. He was the cutest old man who was only too happy to share his life's experiences. It was such an honor to sit next to him!

I  also stoppby by the gift shop where I found these quirky little bandits. 

Knitta, please & Jason Villanueva artwork was up in the silent auction. 

For the actual auction this is the piece I would have bid on. It ended up selling for like, over $9,000. Just a tad bit out of my budget. 

The ambient lighting was beautifully flawless throughout the night. 

There was a recurring slideshow with artist's who had in one way or another used tires in their pieces & every so often Mr. Francis Giampietro's back would pop up. Every time I had to restrain myself from standing up and clapping. 

And then for the best part:

     

The first time Fran performed this piece I was unable to attend. I had seen the pictures, I had seen the video. Nothing could have prepared me for the abject horror of watching such a man's struggle. I was almost in tears watching him attempt to continue flipping a 500 pound tire for over 14 minutes. In my mind I tried focusing on capturing it all in picture but, every stumble, every grunt- I channeled every ounce of my energy into him. I don't know if this was the case with the rest of the ritzy audience but, I do know that they felt somewhat along the same lines I did thanks to this lady: 

Not only did she clap, scream and holler for Fran- she also made sure to snag a waiter (twice) and send water Fran's way. Both times during the actual performance. Which meant the poor waiter had to attempt to dodge the enormous tire (twice) in order to offer the struggling artist a means to quench his obvious thirst. It was hilarious. 

Hands down, one of the best nights of my life. And, best of all, it was to support the man I love. 

Play the jukebox, baby.

Spring fever has hit our school with a vengeance. It seems my office is constantly housing three or four delinquents at a time- it would probably be more if I had more corners to put them in. Their constant presence has relegated me to a glorified baby-sitter. Because of them I am shackled to my office at all time unless I want a trail of ducks behind me anytime I walk into a classroom. Two positives have come from their presence though. One- I am at my e-mail's beck and call. Two- all data entry for the year is now complete. 


In reference to positive number one, this afternoon I saw the Houston Tidbits of the day pop up. As always, I eagerly skimmed the email for the latest & greatest in Houston. They were offering free passes to The Runaways (starring Bella & the I am Sam girl) for the first 10 emails they received. Out of curiosity I sent an email "hoping to be the big winner" and didn't think twice about it. 


Until tonight when I came in to check my email & found that I WON! 


I know, I know, the movie doesn't seem all that great. 
Two rather annoying Hollywood "starlets" are featured & no, I am not a big Joan Jett fan- in fact, I didn't even know she was in a band before she started loving rock-n-roll. 


However, ever since I came to the sad realization that my bank account cannot accomadate Lady Gaga's exorbitant fees, my phone has been prepped to make The Winning Call anytime I am in the car. I have not won. Yet. My "big" win today may not be such a big deal but...could it be a sign of things to come? I sure hope so. 

Haute Houston

When unexpected moments happen, things become that much sweeter & last Thursday was one of those times...

Heidi and I went on a bauble expedition to the Galleria. As we wistfully window shopped our way through the mall, we noticed the ice rink had been transformed into a hubbub of activity. Beautiful flower arrangements cheerfully hung above women huddled in their best fashion forward outfits gossiping and sipping champagne. Behind them lay a long, white runway. 

We eyed the check in table and looked each over other, two hot girls with decidedly non-fashion show worthy outfits. We entertained the temptation of heading out & scouting heels to add some va-va-voom to our jeans & blazers but, then we realized we could just as easily watch the buzz of activity from outside the rink and keep our bank accounts somewhat balanced. 

So, we did what two perfectly healthy women would do: we headed to Marble Slab, ordered a delicious blend of dairy and chocolate. With our snack in hand, we rooted ourselves as close as possible (without actually joining Houston's "elite" on the floor) and proceeded to countdown the minutes for the show to begin. I admit, after the initial 15 minutes went by (and my ice cream supply steadily dwindling) I was ready to throw in the towel and continue our window shopping. However, we soon realized our spot behind the black line was highly coveted by those crowding in around us and with only minutes left before the show began, we concluded sticking it out a bit longer wasn't going to kill us. 

Little did we know we would become head rests and be subjected to noxious bodily odors but, that's neither here nor there because the moment the lights dimmed we were mesmerized. 

As the music pounded, we swayed to the beat and eagerly watched as the models hit the runway in bright, beautiful clothes. To our delight we began distinguishing each model's walk and style- it made each spotting each model a triumph. Whether it was the sassy gal with the adoring parents or the girl who painfully attempted to strut, the people were just as thrilling as the merchandise. Upon the gradual return of the lights and the fading of the music, it took a few seconds before we landed back into reality & realized we had just experienced a real live fashion show. Our night could not have been any better. Hopefully next year we'll be down in the rink opening our goody bags, gracefully drinking champagne in our best outfits!

The Package Project

It is common knowledge that I am blog-obsessed (and if it wasn't, now you know). True, most of my daily reads are wedding-inclined but I am branching out. 

I stumbled across the Package Project the other day and I am eager to share the idea behind it with you all: the people coordinating the "event" are basically looking to create pen pals amongst bloggers from around the world. However, it's not a letter that you will be exchanging. It's an actual homemade product. 

This afternoon I received an email letting me know that there was a spot available for me & I could not be more excited! Although, my excitement is a bit dampened when I begin to contemplate the pressure to create a beautiful piece made by me...

Of all people I know, I am probably the least craft-capable person. I am starting to research a few ideas and believe I may have found a somewhat goof-free & most importantly, worthy, homemade product that I would be proud to exchange with another person. And since my sewing is not progressing as quickly as I would have hoped, you can rest assured it will not be a homemade pillow or stitch piece. 

I hope some of you are inclined to join, it shall be fun to send off your package & await what comes your way!

Everest: conquered.

The other night I opened my closet to contemplate what outfit I would wear to work the next day. Rifling through my pants, I came across the Everest jeans. I paused & looked down at my boxers.

Before I could think twice about it, I shimmied out of my shorts and yanked the jeans from their hanger. Right before I stepped into them, I took a deep breath and hoped for the best. 

Slowly, I pulled them on and worked them up with relative ease. Right as I reached the rear/hip area, I held my breath, expecting friction. But, the pants kept on rising and before I knew it I was zipping and buttoning them in place. It was midnight in the Garcia household. The time did not stop me from shouting in glee and thundering down the stairs to show off my Everest jeans to my mom. 

And, thanks to Claudia's photography skills, here you can see me (sans head) jumping with joy after climbing my Everest.