What are you thankful for?

Even after Thanksgiving I remember to be thankful everyday for the people in my life, the things that I have, and the places that I have been. But it's on this special holiday, that I get to share it with you in writing. Also it's our blogs first holiday… so I thought it would be fun to share with you the things I'm most thankful for! We definitely hope to be celebrating many more holidays with you!

I come from a pretty BIG family!! I feel so blessed to have been raised around my 25+ cousins and 12 aunts and uncles (those living in the US).

I am thankful and blessed for my amazing parents and two brothers, who have supported me throughout my 27 years, who have loved me unconditionally through the good and bad and who will always be by my side when ever I need them. It's the most comforting and warm feeling a person can have.

I am thankful for my amazing husband and best friend, who I feel in love with from the first hello. 

I am thankful for my friends, new and old, who are always a phone call away. 

I am thankful for all the pretty things in life that I appreciate and take inspiration from. For more, check out my pinterest page!

Lastly, I am thankful that tomorrow my husband and I are heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina for our HONEYMOON!! Wooo hooooo!! It's summer time there, so I've packed all my summer clothes, big summer hats and sunscreen! Can't wait. I'll definitely be sharing photo's when I get back! So stay tuned :)

What are you thankful for? I'm sure everyone has something to be thankful for, even if its as small as the pinky on your hand :) So make sure to remember all that is good in your life and don't dwell on the negative, just be thankful for today.

XO, Mais

Oh New York, I love you . . .

... and even more when I met my love and best friend here! Yes I'm a married women ... but we'll save that for another day :) .

I happily moved to Manhattan in 2007, such a short while ago… but I frequented the city a few times before and every time I left, I left a piece of me there. I would go back to Michigan dreaming that one day I would move to New York and become the best person that I can be. New York gave me hope and the feeling that I can achieve all the things I wanted to in my life - career, family and lifestyle. It was all available in that vibrant city, and if I worked hard enough, one day I would live there.   

So I worked hard and thought even harder about what my life would be "when" I moved to New York. I would envision all these little moments of me living there - what my apartment would look like and where I would go for my coffee in the morning, I researched and bookmarked all the best restaurants to dine at, and I even picked my favorite street to live on. I envisioned myself walking through the city streets and my morning run through Central Park (so cheesy, I know), but all this kept me motivated.

One summer morning, while sipping on my favorite Java Hutt latte, I was sitting in front of my laptop checking my email and getting ready to do some work… I find an email from an unfamiliar woman named Catt. I was going to delete it, thinking it was junk but I was a bit curious so I read on…"Dear Mais, …. we have an immediate opening for a junior level designer position, and we were wondering if you would be available to relocate to Cincinnati, Ohio for training and after training work for our office in New York City." …. they were wondering WHAT?! Was this a scam or some kind of joke?! … I must of read the email 100 times before I responded, not knowing what kind of reply I would receive... To make a loonnng story short, I moved to Cincinnati for three months and after training I moved to Manhattan and never looked back!! It was a fabulous dream come true :)

And ever since then I have been frequenting all my favorite coffee shops, parks, and streets when ever I want :) and for fun here is a list of my 10 favorite places in New York City, in no particular order:

1. MoMA - My favorite museum to visit on a cold rainy day.

2. Bistro Bagatelle - The funniest Saturday brunch spot for those who like to drink champagne and dance away their Saturday afternoon!! 

3. ilili Restaurant - One of my favorite Lebanese restaurant and the first dinner date with my love.

4. Biking and picnicking - along the Hudson River, a quick and easy escape from the city traffic.

5. McNally Jackson Books - An indie bookstore where I spend all my money.

6. Chelsea Market - An indoor market with great food, coffee and a unique interior space. A good place to go on a rainy day. 

7. The High Line - A beautiful renovated railway turned into an elevated park.

8. Rockwood Music Hall - An intimate music hall, with no cover charge, a great place to catch all the up and coming singers and bands from around the world. Always a great place to go wind down and have a glass of wine on the weekdays.  

9. La Colombe - The best coffee in all of Manhattan. The space is not too shabby either

10. ABC Carpet & Home - A heaven for interior designers and people that love pretty things.. I can spend HOURS there.

Those are just to name a few, I will constantly be sharing with you my favorite places in the city. So please keep checking back! And if you are planning to visit New York City soon and wondering what are some great local spots to see, don't be shy to ask, I'm always happy to help :)


All pictures are found via pintrest


Have a fabulous day ya'll
xo Mais.

Caffe Medici

Click on images for more information on Caffe Medici

The temperature has finally dropped here in Austin, we are down into the 70’s (40 degrees cooler than Summer).  I just had a wonderful weekend with one of my best girlfriends from Detroit, who came for a short visit.  The first thing we did after picking her up from the airport was.. head straight to downtown.  We had a little time to spare to prepare before a business meeting, so I thought I would show her one of my favorite coffee shops in Austin…. Caffé Medici! Ohhhhh how I love this place! There are three locations in Austin (one on Congress at the bottom of the Austonian, one on campus at 22^nd and Guadalupe, and one on 12^th at West Lyn). All of the Caffé Medici’s are fabulous, but I’m a downtown girl, so of course I’m a regular at the Congress location. The interior space definitely doesn’t resemble your run of the mill coffee shop.  It’s appropriate lofty style, two level, “industrial meets rustic” in the heart of a downtown WOWS every visitor…Caffé Medici is a great example showing that no space is left un-designed in Austin.

Beautiful interior to compliment the beautiful Barista creations

From the beautiful design on the interior to the unique designs of the espressos, this place takes it to the next level. Housing employees like Lorenzo Perkins, the 2010 Champion of the South Central Regional Barista Competition, makes it one of a kind! I enjoy the passion for art, craft and definitely design in Austin, it makes me want to keep discovering great places like Caffé Medici.

* Definite go to coffee shop when guest are in town

* Thank you CaffeMedici.com for some of the amazing photos

XO Patrice

*gasp* it's snowing in new york city. . .

. . . i'm in utter shock and absolutely NOT ready for this kind of weather. Instead, I'm enjoying looking at these photos below, which make me feel all warm inside :) and daydreaming of my trip to Argentina this December! *Sigh*

Goodbye Summer and I guess Fall . . . Have a warm weekend everyone! 

Kisses, Mais

Dressing up for haunted houses and a parade . . .

. . . yes i am talking about halloween in new york city! 

New Yorkers take it seriously and it's pretty damn fabulous. Despite the cold and rainy days we've been having each year, people will still dress up or down (for those who wear close to nothing) and head out in large crowds to visit all the SCARY haunted houses or spend their evening at the grand parade. The halloween parade, in Greenwich Village, runs straight up 6th avenue from spring street to 16th street. See this site for more information. 

This year the city will be celebrating their 39th annual parade in style and I will be attending!! Last year i was too cold and feeling lazy, so i stayed home cuddled up with a cup of tea and my warm blanket. This year, i'm determined to dress up and beat the cold in style, with my husband by my side ;) We're dressing up as Sandy and Dany from Grease. I can't wait!… What about you? What are you dressing up as?

I prefer the more romantic side of halloween, rather than the scary and bloody side. It's more fascinating to see someone dressed up all glamorous in glitter, a beautiful mask, an old vintage dress or even a charming character from an old fairytale. But that's juts me :)

So dress your kids, dress your dogs and dress yourself up and head out to the parade or to a haunted house and celebrate the funniest holiday of the year, halloween!!

Cheers, Mais.


(Photos by Brooklyn Vegan)

Halloween on 6th Street - Austin

See more photos  here 

It’s that time of year again, I hope you have your costumes picked out (and ladies, let’s try to keep it classy)… it’s Halloween and there’s no other place to go than to 6^th Street. Located in downtown Austin between Congress and Highway 35, 6^th Street is probably known as Texas’ most famous street. 6^th Street and its surrounding streets offer all kinds of entertainment, there are no rules here especially when it comes to Halloween. If you ever find yourself on 6^th street you will see many historical buildings, tons of bars, live music venues, unique restaurants, art galleries, tattoo shops and of course the famous Driskill Hotel. You will also probably run into a few naked people, so don’t be startled… it’s just how we roll (well, not me, but you know who you are).

More photos here 

Austin is known as the “Live Music Capitol of the World” and it all started on 6^th Street. Several other nationally and internationally known events such as SXSW, ACL, Biker Rally, Pecan Street Festival and Mardi Gras Austin all show their love for 6^th street. There’s a reason why tens of thousands of people make their way to 6^th street in their “unordinary and weird” Halloween costumes to party the night away, and each year topping the last. Every bar is packed to the ceilings with some of the craziest people of the city, while the street stays filled with diehard partiers. This is definitely not a place for kids, so that should tell you something.

Great times on 6th Street Austin

I recently stumbled across a photographer’s website here, PLEASE CHECK IT OUT! He happened to be shooting wedding photos at the Driskill Hotel the same day of the 6^th street Halloween celebration. He captured some of the most amazing photos I have seen of the event. His photos can explain how a typical Halloween on 6^th Street plays out, better than I could ever explain.

All I have to say is, if you are in Austin this weekend and you are looking for a way to spend Halloween the right way…. No place is cooler than 6^th Street.

Xo Patrice Nichole Rios

Needle number two enters the scene . . .

. . . and it's a great pleasure to finally write to you all. I think Ms. Patrice has been doing a fabulous job keeping you guys entertained.  

I'm incredibly excited to be collaborating and sharing my daily design obsessions with my dear friend Patrice. I met Patrice in architecture school, in Detroit, MI, back in 2002. Instantly we clicked and began plotting how we can "take over" the design world ;). Silly, I know, but we both felt the need to work together and do something inspiring, like starting a lifestyle/design magazine nationwide, or participating in design competitions all over the world, or even opening up a small design firm in NYC ! It was all so much fun to discuss and day dream about... But as life does, it takes young and ambitious individuals on their destined path, she moved to Austin and I settled comfortably in NYC. 

However, we still kept in touch and discussed our design ambitions and professional careers that we were trying to maintain. But somehow a few complaints, here and there, would always creep up in a conversation. We were both frustrated with the lack of passion we had for our current career status and we were looking for something more. And so it began again… we started planning how to collaborate together while 1,700  miles apart…

"Two Needles in a Haystack" is where NYC meets Austin. Two young  and ambitious designers, living in two different cities; coming together to rebuild their passion for design - but don't get me wrong, we never really lost it, we just got distracted in other peoples goals and forgot that we too have our own goal… to take over the design world ;) (inside joke).

So we sincerely hope that our readers will find a little piece of inspiration here. After all, that is one of the reasons we've started this lovely blog. 

Much love, Mais