lights down, curtain up

This weekend I popped in briefly at the Murray Moss shop/gallery in Soho. I thought the chandelier in the window looked familiar, but seeing it up close and at eye-level was oddly disorienting. Some of you may recognize these as the clustered Swarovski "sputniks" that ascend at the start of any Metropolitan Opera performance at Lincoln Center.

Last summer all of the Met's 1960's chandeliers were dismantled and carefully shipped back to Vienna to be cleaned and repaired. The chandelier in Moss is an exact replica, produced just in case any misfortune struck while in transit. It's an amazing opportunity to see these glimmering crystal rays up-close and they both are available for purchase if you're in the market for a simply stunning chandelier.

Moss
150 Greene Street
New York, NY 10012

fluevog love

It's a non-intuitive thing to buy shoes online, but Zappos free shipping & returns cured me of that hang-up a few years ago. Recently I had my eye on another pair of Fluevogs, but this time I purchased them direct from the company website. I was so excited when these beauties arrived in the mail, I neglected to notice that there was a handwritten message and 2 pieces of flair!

Also immediately after ordering, I had the benefit of a in-store sales associate who emailed me explaining the sizing for my order ran small and narrow. I upgraded to a larger size and avoided purchasing what I'm sure would have been a return. All in all, a super satisfying bit of online retail therapy through a company with a voggin' cool personality.

keeping austin weird on s congress

While I may have been a little grumpy about the noise at HSJ, I did love the independent shops on South Congress. There was the huge jackalope parked in front of Jo's coffee shop that was whisked away on election day and the largest costume shop I've ever seen!(Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds) I tried to convince my husband to get haircut in the retro barber shop.

In all of my favorite shops there was a sensory overload / purchase paralysis due to the overwhelming selection. It made for fascinating shopping and good retail therapy!!! While we are discussing great shops in Austin, I have to give a shout out to Toy Joy (thanks again Burke!) on Guadalupe. This was worth the drive over and if I had ever been in this shop as I kid, I would have easily hidden under a pile of toys so I would never have to leave.