{New To Me} Bailey Doesn't Bark

I stumbled upon Jin Lee's Bailey Doesn't Bark online shop today via Daily Candy and I think I love it. Somehow, this Brazilian artist manages to make plates featuring flamingos, ants or roaches look pretty. Of course, the liberal use of 23 karat gold doesn't hurt. The three piece Dotted Tea Set featured above is my favorite. The hint of red-orange would work perfectly in my kitchen and the white porcelain would blend well with my standard issue Pottery Barn Great White Coup dinnerware.

For spring and summer, Lee has issued the limited edition Flamingos and Trees pattern, which comes in a five piece place setting and even the adorable salt and pepper shakers featured above. I love the idea of registering for something like this in lieu of the standard issue white Crate&Barrel place settings. For one, you could be sure no one else would have it.

The "Four Seasons" set of cups (also available in black) is really lovely. At a diminutive 2 oz. a piece, they'd be great for sake. A set of these would also make a great wedding gift, should you want to stray from the registry (which I would recommend only for close friends and family members whom you know well -- otherwise, play it safe and get them something they've selected themselves).

These "postcups" are adorable and the second photo features your two choices of a reverse side: a heart or the graphic text. One of these would make such a cute Valentine's Day gift -- or just a "I miss you" gift. Even better, Lee will hand ink a custom message and the recipient's address on the front of the "postcup" to your sweetie and ship it directly to them for free!

For the more adventurous, why not have a few pieces from Lee's roach or ant series? The looks on your guests' faces when they pull a roach cup out of the cupboard in the morning may be worth the $47 price tag alone. Having had issues with sugar ants in my kitchen, the ants' series may be a bit too realistic for my taste....

While none of Lee's pieces are inexpensive, they're comparable to other high-quality porcelain dinnerware you'd find at your local department store. Besides, I think a few of these pieces would go a long way as accent pieces to pep up your everyday white dinnerware. If you're interested in purchasing, Daily Candy is offering 25% off anything in the Bailey Doesn't Bark online store. Simply enter "CANDY25" at checkout.

Beauty Round-Up: Best of Sephora Make-Up

The quality and value of make-up available on the market today is as wide-ranging as the selection. The claims that some of these products make can border on outlandish: non-clumping mascara that makes your eyelashes look like you had to glue them on, foundation that makes your pores virtually disappear, and lip gloss that promises to give you lips like Angelina Jolie's. But what products actually work? Which are worth the hefty price tag and which aren't? Since returning partially used products can be difficult, it's important to know what you're getting before you buy.

In an effort to help separate the wheat from the chaff, I've pulled together this round-up of my all-time favorites. Despite my penchant for trying the latest and greatest when it comes to beauty products (I'll try just about anything once), I always find myself coming back to just a handful of products. The products featured above not only work like they should, but they're easy to work with. Most importantly for me (as someone with extremely sensitive skin), these products are non-irritating and rely heavily on "all natural" ingredients. While there are a number of great products out there not available at Sephora (M.A.C. and Sonia Kashuk for Target both jump immediately to mind), I've only featured items available for purchase through Sephora for the simple reason that I vastly prefer one-stop shopping.

Clockwise from top left:

1. Bare Escentuals bareMINERALS foundation ($25): Don't be fooled by imitations, I think the original mineral foundation make-up from Bare Escentuals is still the best of its kind on the market. Their "fairly light" is one of the few shades on the market that works for my skin tone and I love the one-step process of foundation and powder. Saves me so much time in the morning. Even better, this product contains SPF 15, so even if I forget to put on my sunscreen, my face is still covered.

2. Benefit Eye Bright ($20): This fat little crayon really delivers. Dab it on the inside and outside corners of your eyes for an instant "awake" look. On weekends I'll often forgo eyeshadow altogether and just line my eyes with this (blending thoroughly, of course).

3. Dior 5-colour Eyeshadow - Incognito ($56): If you only have one eyeshadow palette, make it this one. The colors are beautiful but neutral and blend together beautifully. Even better, the color lasts.

4. Smashbox Blush Rush ($24): For me at least, blush is tricky. When you're pale, it's so easy to go from perfectly flushed to full-on clown face. Smashbox's powder blush, however, makes it harder for me to screw up as the color goes on wonderfully sheer, allowing you to layer color on slowly. My favorite color is "Flush", a lovely petal pink that looks a bit neon in the box but looks completely natural once applied.

5. Dior Miss Dior Cherie Eau de Parfume ($72/1.7 oz): My all-time favorite perfume. This is a classic that doesn't smell like your grandmother -- or your teenage niece. Perfect.

6. Korres Deep Colour Mascara ($18): As someone who wears contacts, it is nearly impossible for me to find mascara that doesn't irritate my eyes or end up giving me raccoon-face. That was the case anyway until the Greek brand Korres hit the American scene. Finally I get to wear mascara that stays put all day and doesn't make me want to scratch my eyes out. Bonus: it's all-natural ingredients mean that you don't have to worry about putting anything scary near your precious peepers.

7. Valentino Rock 'n Rose Eau de Parfume ($44/1 oz.): This scent is great for winter, when the weather calls for warmer, cozier scents that will stick with you. It's also incredibly sexy.

8. Smashbox Single Eyeshadow ($16): Smashbox sells some of the best eyeshadows available on the market (M.A.C. being a close second in my book). Try their "champagne" eyeshadow. I wear it almost every day (sometimes alone and sometimes layered under other colors). It's the perfect "base" eyeshadow that provides just a hint of glimmer and enough color that you just look like a prettier, perkier you.

9. Korres Cherry Full Lip Gloss ($16): Korres' lip gloss tastes like actual cherries (because it's made with actual cherries); not the fake cherry flavor of your pre-teen years. It also avoids the sticky feeling so many lip glosses leave you with. I'm a huge fan of their "Nude 33" and "Plum 27" shades.

10. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment ($22.50): Okay, so $22.50 is a lot of money to pay for a lip balm, but this is the big daddy of all lip palms, the ultimate in lip treatments. It smells (and tastes) divine, the packaging is gorgeous, and after 30 minutes my lips still feel just as soft as they did when I first applied it. I've gone through too many of these to count, and at the end of each tube I always find myself using toothpicks and fingernails to dig just that last little bit out. I'm a junky.

11. Benefit Silky Finish Lip Stick ($18): This lip stick goes so smoothly that it feels more like a gloss, but the coverage is matte like a lip stick. It's the perfect hybrid. My favorite shade? Try Skinny Dipping. Gotta love Benefit's cheeky names and fun packaging.

12. Benefit "Dallas" ($28): I generally don't wear bronzer, but when I want to look like I've got a bit more color than God or nature gave me, I dust on some of this stuff. The rosy undertones ensure I eschew that dreaded orange tone that is the hallmark of fake tanners. The giant pot will last you ages, too.

13. Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey ($14): This is the only make-up that I wore in high school that I'm still buying and wearing today. It truly is universally flattering and just about the only way you'll get me to wear a deeper shade of lip color.

14. Dior Liquid Eyeliner ($31): Eyeliner is so tricky, but I generally prefer liquid to pencil because the pencils always seem to pull along my eyelid, making it difficult to get a straight line. Dior's eyeliner is particularly lovely because the point is as fine as a pencil's, but the liquid goes on as inky and straight as possible. Just right for achieving a dramatic evening look.

That just about rounds out my make-up favorites. What are some of yours? I'm always on the look out for new items to throw into the rotation so be sure to leave me a comment and share!

Texas, Our Texas

Last night Dave and I went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo with Chef Babs and her boyfriend P.W. (properly pronounced "Pee-Dubyah"). Attending the largest rodeo in the world has a way of making me feel very Texan -- albeit a Texan allergic to hay, horses and most of the other animals present at the event. In any case, a good time was had by all and even my husband, a native Floridian, admitted to enjoying the rodeo events. At the end of each rodeo, there's a featured performer (usually some of the biggest names in country music) and last night we got to hear Pat Green, a superstar in the Texas country music scene, and one of my personal favorites. For those of you unversed in "Texas Country", it's a sub-genre of country music which can best be described as "Texas is my girlfriend" music. True Texans can thus be distinguished from the rest of the world by their ability to not only tolerate this music (most non-Texans will find lyrics devoted to cruising I-35 and "letting Texas fill my soul" eye-roll inducing), but love it.

In any case, because I am feeling particularly Texan today and in honor of my Texas heritage (I am, on my mother's side, a fifth generation Texan after all), here are a few of my favorite Texas-themed pieces that I pulled off Etsy. Unlike most Texan paraphernalia, they avoid cheesy slogans and the over-use of our state flag.

The Duel by MagnusFoto (8' x 10', $55)

I can't get over how much I love this photograph, which was taken in Marfa, Texas, a small artist enclave south of El Paso (i.e., middle of nowhere). From what I've heard, Marfa is everything you don't expect to find in West Texas, and I would love the opportunity to visit it sometime. I suspect the landscape and subject matter here is "quintessential Texas" for most folks, but growing up in Houston, I tend to think of Texas as far more urban, and far wetter.

Houston Architecture III by Maritere Casillas Rice (8"x10" photograph, $25)

This is part of a series of shots taken here in downtown Houston and I love how the angles and play of light in this particular shot. This building is actually the old Rice Hotel (converted to lofts in the late '90s) and is one of the oldest buildings left here in downtown. Fun Fact: The Rice Hotel is situated on the site of the original Capitol of Texas, which was moved from Houston to Austin in 1839.

Come and Take It Note Cards by JessicaGM (set of 4, $8)

If you know your Texas history, you should know why I love these note cards by fellow Texan JessicaGM. For those not forced to take Texas history in 4th grade and again in 7th grade, the small bronze cannon pictured above the iconic Alamo memorializes the Battle of Gonzales (a small town located outside San Antonio), where a small Texan force resisted the Mexican army's attempts to seize their cannon (hence the cheeky "come and take it" slogan that became a rallying cry -- and a flag -- during Texas' fight for independence). I would argue that the slogan continues to be apropos for many Texans today. If you aren't familiar with the Battle of the Alamo, go watch John Wayne's The Alamo. Immediately.

Austin in the Morning by AWebsterTX (8"x10" photograph, $18)

I love Austin and this view of downtown Austin from Town Lake is particularly lovely. Some of my fondest memories of Austin are of Dave and I kayaking out on Town Lake in the spring and fall, when the weather was just perfect. If you've never been to Austin, I'd highly suggest making a visit. While there, be sure to hit up my favorite spots: (1) Lake Travis (and enjoy the beautiful drive over via 2222 and 620), (2) Barton Springs / Zilker Park, (3) the Capitol building and (4) South Congress (best strip of local shops and restaurants). For food, be sure to go to Trudy's (for the Texas martini), Kerbey Lane, Hula Hut (for the view of Lake Austin) and Amy's Ice Cream.

Miss Texas Original Collage by DadaDreams (4"x4", $20)

This collage was just too fun not to include in this list. The retro-styling also really reminds me of Austin. It'd be perfect hung up in a bar-area or game room.

Wind Farm by Marnic (5"x7" matted photograph, $8)

I actually have no idea of this photograph was taken in Texas or not, but it certainly could have been. Last time I drove through West Texas, I was amazed how many wind farms had sprung up along the high way. It's actually really beautiful. Just flat land, big sky, and wind turbines dotting the landscape, slowly spinning. For all the knocks Texas gets about its love of oil and gas, many may find it surprising that we're actually the leader in wind energy. I love the idea of the state that was at the forefront of the energy boom in the early 20th century should be the leader in developing the new energy in the early 21st.