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

Whole Foods Market: Birth Place Austin, TX - Patrice Nichole Rios

Organically grown in Austin, Texas

 Hey New Yorkers! Austin has Whole Foods Market, what do y’all have? Before I moved to Austin, I had no idea Whole Foods Market started here. The first store opened in 1980, (years before I was even born) fast forward 31 years and you can find over 300 stores across North America and the United Kingdom. The growth of Whole Foods Market has seen such great success because of their consistent high standards for organic and natural foods and their support for the sustainable agriculture community. John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods is a true inspiration and defines the meaning of “a risk taker”. At the young age of 25, John Mackey (college dropout) and his 21 year old girlfriend Rene Lawson borrowed $45,000 from family and friends to open a small natural foods store here in Austin. Soon after the store opening, John and Rene were kicked out of their apartment for keeping food products there, so they moved to the store. Not having a shower, the couple used the hose from their dishwasher to bathe. What a lovely start huh? So, after a few added business partners (Craig Weller and Mark Skiles), and a couple of company mergers (Saferway and Clarksville Natural Grocery), Whole Foods Market was created.

Top image: laist.com / bottom image: vegetarianorganicblog.com

Well…. on behalf of myself and probably every Austinite, we would like to personally thank all of these guys for creating the ultimate go to store for all of our organic desires! And of course thank you for the bragging rights! From the phenomenal salad bar & cafe, to the easy-to-follow recipe cards (God knows I need them), Whole Foods has everything I could possibly want in a grocery store. I usually try to find any reason to shop at Whole Foods; after a Saturday run at Lady Bird Lake, Whole Foods is where I go to get my double green smoothie, between meetings with clients, Whole Foods is where I stop to rejuvenate with an organic snack, and on Sunday afternoons, my sister and I head over to Whole Foods to do our weekly shopping. Also, as I mentioned in my last post about throwing a chic dinner party, Whole Foods is where I go to host that perfect soiree. Impress your friends and family with an elegant cheese and wine party (be like me and act as if you know how to pair the two, but really the employers from Whole Foods do it for me), everyone will think you really did your research and you will be known as the “ULTIMATE PARTY THROWER”. 

(photo on left) Sunkist Natural Juices

Anyway, I hope you were able to learn a little more about the history of Whole Foods Market and how a small business idea can make such a healthy impact.

Thanks to the following links for images and information that allowed us to create this post:

http://leberpr.blogs.com/lovepr/2008/07/another-juicy-d.html

www.wholefoods.com

http://vegetarianorganicblog.com

http://laist.com/2007/11/09/whole_foods.php

Xo, Patrice Nichole Rios

"KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD" - Patrice Nichole Rios

 The famous Austin slogan found everywhere around the city

It’s official; fall is here, even in Texas. The temperature has fallen from a frightening 100+ degrees to a crisp 81 degrees. I know you're thinking 81 degrees in the fall is absurd, but guys a 20-degree change is crucial here. Anyway happy fall everyone!

Now, let’s get down to business. I'm Patrice (one of the two needles) and I'm a new designer to the city of Austin. You will soon be meeting the other needle, Mais. Now, for those of you not familiar with Austin, Texas, I'm here to share with you all the unique perquisites this “weird” city has to offer. After leaving West Hollywood in 2009 to venture out on my own, I found myself in one of the greatest cities I have ever lived in… and let me tell you, I have lived all around this amazing world; from Detroit to Shanghai, Mexico to Canada. I moved to Austin with zero expectations, so far I have experienced more than I could ask for. Fortunately, Austin has been placed in the ”recession proof” category, allowing my interior design business to pick up. I have had the privilege of working on projects like The W Residences of Austin, a home in the prestigious Rob Roy neighborhood and even branching out to design a studio apartment in downtown Chicago. Some say this is luck, I say that's Austin!

So please join in on this journey of discovery. Discovering how cities like New York and Austin can inspire each other, discovering your likeness for design and discovering two designers discovering the world together. And hey, maybe even discover why the famous saying “Keep Austin Weird” is so… famous. I hope you will follow and learn from this blog and that it will encourage you to take note of all the beautiful things that surround you in this phenomenal world.

I will be sharing all of my design experiences with you as my career progresses… I am barely 26, so this is only the beginning. I will share my favorite MUST SEE destination spots, so STAY TUNED. Austin just isn’t built on rising temperatures and “Friday Night Lights”, it’s surprisingly built on incredible music, art, film, architecture, food, design and simply LIFE. So let's see what there is to be discovered here. After all, I am just one needle living in this haystack of a world.

Xo, Patrice Nichole Rios