Our fridge.

It seems we rarely get a nice quiet weekend to relax anymore. Saturday morning started out wonderfully with a trip to the dentist for a painful abscessed tooth, then rushing to the Myerson Symphony Center downtown for dress rehearsal for Wednesday’s Resounding Harmony choir concert. Despite the pain, I was somehow able to perform pretty well. The concert is going to be amazing.

But I still needed to get the final pieces for my concert outfit, which meant a trip to Aldo for some boots and JC Penney for a tie and pocket square. Then Brad and I began our two-day affair of grocery shopping. Sometimes it’s easier to split the grocery shopping into two days since we typically hit up more than one store. Saturday, we got our meat and poultry, along with some other items at Super H Mart in Carrollton. Sunday evening (after my regular rehearsal with Resounding Harmony), we stocked up on Oatmega3 bars, bulk items and a dinner for two at Central Market. We finished off with buying the majority of our groceries at Kroger.

Of course, Brad and I are so privileged that we are able to stock up on groceries — that we can afford these necessities. We rarely consider those who can’t afford food or who don’t have the ability to drive around the metroplex buying whatever they like. As I mentioned before, this Wednesday evening I will be singing with the Resounding Harmony chorus in a choral concert to benefit the North Texas Food Bank. Tickets are still on sale and range between $30 and $50, and it benefits the North Texas Food Bank. We are taking food and money donations, as well as silent auction items, and of course beautiful music. I’d love to see you there.

In the summer of 2008, I studied art history and drawing in Italy. Afterward, I decided to visit Spain and stay a week in Barcelona. It was the perfect opportunity to visit the German Pavilion of Bauhaus designer Mies van der Rohe, which was a longtime dream of mine. The Pavilion houses my absolute favorite piece of modern design, the Barcelona Chair, which continues to inspire me to this day.

When I was a just a boy of twelve, I wanted nothing more than to sit in my bedroom all day and play Nintendo games. I also stayed up late at night drawing and watching reruns of The Fall Guy. I was entering that pre-teen phase where I just wanted to be holed up in my room all day, away from the adults, away from the children, doing my own thing.

I typically sat on the floor, hunched over my work and straining my neck upwards to watch the screen of my 13″ Emerson. My dad saw my poor posture and decided to get me something to sit on. At the time, he really enjoyed going to local auctions and picking up interesting items on the cheap. This is where he found a collection of art books and supplies from the ’40s that helped me transition from drawing Ninja Turtles to figures in repose. This is where he found me the perfect chair.

He couldn’t have paid more than $20. It was the perfect size for my room. It was about three feet wide and sat two comfortably. The only defect was one of the leather straps beneath seat cushion was broken, but could have easily been stitched back around the chrome frame. I loved this comfortable chair, but when it came time to move, it somehow got left behind. I didn’t worry because my parents still owned the old house which sat vacant for several months. But the house was soon rented out, and the chair was never reclaimed.

Several years passed and I came across a book on home furnishings at a garage sale. There I saw my chair pictured and listed as the Barcelona Chair, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1929 for the German Pavilion at the World’s Fair in Barcelona. Designed at the height of the Bauhaus movement, the Barcelona Chair remains one of the most stylish and elegant pieces of modern design.

As you can imagine, the loss of my own Barcelona Chair has weighed heavily on me for years. Currently, an authentic Barcelona Chair ranges from $4500 – $5600. And a vintage Barcelona Chair, like mine, may fetch more than that.

For years, the chair has been a source of inspiration for my pursuit of art and design. And I hope to one day be able to own another.

By MŪV*MƏNT on flickr

Pictured above are two vintage Barcelona Chairs dating from the 1960s,
matching the size and color of my own lost Barcelona Chair.

Today is my cat Lily’s 8th birthday. She was born a few weeks before Halloween, but that’s the day I brought her home. She’s definitely a handful at times, but I love her… despite the bites, scratches, blood and scars.

After spending the afternoon shopping for fall clothes (I love Zara!), Brad and I made ourselves up for a night out at the Cedar Springs / Oak Lawn Block Party in Dallas. We live only two blocks away from the event, but that didn’t make our evening any less stressful. We got home just as everyone had descended upon our neighborhood, and our un-policed apartment parking lot was full. Luckily, after alerting our landlord, I was able to squeeze my car into a legal spot behind the complex.

Since Brad had been feeling ill and we had things to do, we had to throw together some sort of costumes at the very last minute. We didn’t arrive at the block party until 11:30, but there was still lots to see. We had a good time overall — even if our costumes weren’t as top notch as last year’s.

Brad has created a brand new tumblr blog which documents his daily life… and many of his meals. Shown above: the meal I cooked this evening — fideo with ground turkey and black beans. If you’re interested, you can find it at http://goodbyecolumbus.tumblr.com/

My niece Lilah is celebrating her first Halloween, and she is adorable! In the photo above, she is dressed as a witch while visiting a local pumpkin patch. But my sister has also posted her wearing a fairy costume and a Pooh Bear costume. I have no idea which character she’ll be for Halloween, but since Brad and I live more than 500 miles away, we’ll have to be satisified with whatever photos we can grab.

It’s difficult being so far away from family, especially since it means missing the little ones growing up. My other sister just has her third child, Basilia Rose, on the 13th, and I’ve only seen a few fuzzy cell phone pics of her. Zachary, her oldest and Coral are also growing up so fast, and I only get to hear their voices for a few fleeting minutes on the phone.

At least Brad and I will be able to visit for Thanksgiving. I miss the kids so much, and I can’t wait to see them again.

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During our adventures in house hunting, Brad and I saw many, many houses. We came across a few gems. We both love older homes with character, like this house in East Dallas built in 1940. It’s got great curb appeal, a large lawn and a lot of space inside (1900 sq. feet!).

This house is currently on the market for $89,740 and in a prime location. It is priced well below market value and marked as a “distressed sale.” I’m sure there’s some unfortunate reason for the low cost, but look at how cute it is!

While we’re not quite ready to re-enter the house-buying game, at least Brad and I know what we like. I’ll try to post the properties that jump out at me, for future reference.

Brad and I bought a couple of pumpkins at Central Market last weekend, and just got around to carving them. His is on the left, mine is on the right.