Art is Now.

Art is tireless, and you should be too. Everyone's invited to the ultimate opening experience at the Blanton Museum of Art this Saturday from 9pm to 9 pm Sunday. If you have to work Sunday morning, skip it-call in sick. This is an event that is all inclusive!

The Blanton's new building on MLK and Congress is an enormous space housing expansive galleries and a magnificent atrium. Exhibitions include the classics, American and Latin American contemporary art, prints and drawings. Of such exhibitions, the one to watch is the New Now Next: The Contemporary Blanton featuring Texas artist Trenton Doyle Hancock.

Austin has never experienced an Art opening like this: starting on Saturday, the party commences with hors d'oeuvres and refreshments along with live music by Voxtrot, and improv by the Austin Improv Collective. The night crowd will want to stick around for the Austin Craft Mafia's mid morning fashion show, followed by Yoga, cereal and juice, chair massages, and a Ribbon Cutting around noon on Sunday.

The celebration will wrap up at 5pm-9pm on Sunday with a toast of the museum's own "Blantini" and the conclusion of the community art project "Blanton Blooms," in which you, the extreme art enthusiast will walk away with (or plant on site) the flower you made to commemorate the new museum.

24-Hour Extreme Grand Opening
Blanton Museum of Art
MLK at Congress
Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30
(9 PM Saturday - 9 PM Sunday)

Don't Knock It.

Yeah, that's right. Don't knock it until you find it. This week on my journey with my Polaroid I found some upscale secret spots.

The obvious:
Behind Spiderhouse
The wall next to former space of Legs Diamond
Off of Sixth Street

The secret:
North Burnet
The dumpster behind Hole in the Wall
Did I mention around Medical Parkway?

Get Your Jersey On.

It's barely May and the heat is on. The season is here for minimal coverage, and you can do it without looking like you belong on the bar of Coyote Ugly. Ditch the short cut-offs and tube tops and get with the jersey. Rachel Pally's jersey, that is. Fluid, graceful and down right soft to the touch, this material is one that is commonly used by designers, but is rarely mastered.

Less is more, so it is said, and Pally's designs reflect just that. Barely patterned, each piece is breathable and seductive, perfect for a porch-sipping get together or a first date. Find these gems at Nordstoms and at Therapy on South Congress. (Look for Pally's graceful touch in Goucho's, dresses, backless tops, short-sleeved tunics and skirts.)

What's more is that each piece smells like a dryer sheet, and fits like a charm.

Lucky You.

Either you want a collector’s piece of jewelry but don’t want to drop the cash, or have lost your grandma’s antique pendant. You like the look of vintage but don’t feel like digging through the bin at Savers, right? Exactly. Take this advice: get off of ebay and get into Flipnotic's Clothes Pad.

Not only does their usual stock of jewelry impress, but their new line called Lucky Loo Loo deserves honorable mention. This collection is vintage reworked for the modern, fashion confident woman. Rings and pendants are hand-painted and designs range from sparrows and hearts to lockets and crowns. Flipnotic’s collection includes rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Prices are so reasonable, you might just have to buy a whole set.

Flipnotic's Clothes Pad
1601 Barton Springs Rd.
512.322.9011
Mon.-Sat. 11-7
Sun. 11-6

Life Changing

Sometimes, artists create worlds that are rarely visited. Luckily for Austin, we are invited into one of the most creative examinations of a fantastic society created by, and analyzed by Peat Duggins. “The Moment that Changed My Life Forever” is a reactionary installation by Duggins that plays upon the occurances of his 2004 piece entitled “The Battle of Hickory Ridge.” What is to be expected is Duggins’ exploration of Hickory Ridge’s multifaceted existence, through tragedy, reactionary politics and the incoercible force of misfortune.

From April 22 through May 31st, the Art Palace will be the site in which this whimsical community will be populated. Miss it and miss a life changing instant. You will be sorry.

Slightly Obsessed.

Thinking about Feathers can really consume a girl. Not animal feathers or feathers used in art class. No, the boutique. Waking up during these hot April days leaves us feigning for strappy sun dresses, sexy Onezie’s, wedges and clutches. Once you set foot in the best vintage boutique to ever hit Austin, you will find yourself consumed by it. You will wait until your lunch break and a make run for it. Tucked in between Mi Casa and Prototype right off of hot to trot South Congress, this is the kind of place you want to keep a secret.

Masterfully handpicked vintage has never before been this accessible for young women in Austin. Slouch boots, handbags, Playboy’s, belt buckles and a Jewelry tree welcomes the shopper upon entry as does one of the two owners Emily Hoover and Masha Poloskov. These ladies are two of Austin’s most fashion savvy young women. Both in their twenties, Hoover and Poloskov started the business with the vision to bring an ease an excitement to the vintage buying experience. Thanks to them, there are plenty of ways to look incredible this spring and summer and make it worth every penny. Prices are super affordable and the secret it out. Let the obsession begin!

Feathers Boutique
1700 B South Congress
(Entrance on Milton)
Monday-Saturday 11-7 and 11-6 on Sundays

In love.

Being in love poses it problems. First of all, one has trouble eating. The stomach really never settles, and then comes the problem of the fast beating heart. It beats so hard it is felt in the lower stomach. Then the nerve's set in. Numbness shoots from the quivering lip to the fingertips when the object of affection even crosses the mind. What is worse though, is that thoughts of the future race and leave the lover pacing for hours (whether they know it or not.) Pacing starts at home through dreams and continues into the shower. Physical pacing occurs perhaps, but the phenomenon is more like experiencing thoughts powered by pulsating electrical currents. The fast ones, that light one up, from the inside out. In the shower, water just pours over the victim in love. Sometimes they shampoo their hair twice, even three times, forgetting if they ever did it the first time.

Then comes the mental pacing while driving. Sounds strange, but it happens. Evidence is apparent when exits are missed, the radio station isn't changed during commercials, and cigarettes burn to the filter in the ashtray. Lately, I have fallen in love with Polaroids. More importantly, matte Polaroids. I have been pacing and dreaming about creating the perfect set, shooting the perfect accompaniment to a story, and creating fantastic portraits. This love affair is not recent, I have always been infatuated with the instant nature of the Polaroid, and its sleek, unique and exclusive style. However, I am afraid of what might happen to us when Polaroid eventually runs out of film. Rumor has it that it stopped production. Will I steal? Will I beg? I suppose I will do what love makes me do. Until then, I will produce and buy all of the matte Polaroid film in this town. Don't even try to talk me out of it, I'm still a little love sick.

The Return of the Underpinning...for real.

Most girls would rather go commando than be caught with their pants down wearing the type of lingerie that comes packed tight in the glossy pages of Victoria’s Secret or its cheap sister Fredericks of Hollywood. Underwire bends, peepholes in thongs stretch, and after four washes, the piece is usually in a sad fraying condition. Luckily, we have a solution that is close to perfection.

Meet Dessous. To put it simply, it can be translated like this: French Antique Lingerie Inspiration+ Vintage Japanese Calendar Design-Frill= The Perfect Underpinning. Inspired by her French Grandmother and Mother’s collection of beautifully embroidered camisoles worn both in and out of the bedroom, creator Sophie Simmons coveted a line of versatile lingerie for those of us who can’t stand the tawdry nature of what is “supposed” to be sexy.

All pieces are made of Italian Cotton, and you can choose from the one-piece romper that has a back tie, the bralette, an assortment of girl shorts and panties, and the apron-camisole. Each underpinning is embroidered with detail and comes in three sizes and three colors.