Category Archives: Field Trip

08.24.10

Go Ahead and Cuff’em: Leighelena.

Okay.. here are the bracelets you’ve all been waiting for. I am so utterly excited to introduce you all to Leighelena. Enter Austin-based Leigh Elena Navarro, creator and designer of the Leighelena (a combination of her first and middle names, Leigh +Elena) line. Leigh learned how to fuse metal and glass as a little girl by watching her mother create wall hangings. She has turned Leighelena into a family business. Her mother helps hand-create each piece and any item large enough is finished with a stamp from her grandfather’s treasured stamp collection. I love the sentimental value that each piece holds. Every creation is hand made in Austin. All cuff bracelets are genuine leather and can be custom sized to fit your wrist. Leighelena has been featured in O Magazine, Real Simple, Redbook and Southern Living, and as you can see has been spotted on stars like 90210’s Annalynne Mccord

Here’s the best part: All Kiki’s List Followers will receive a 15% discount this week. You must place your order by calling the store to receive this discount. (512) 531-9673. If you see something in this post that you would like to buy, but cannot find online, let Leighelena know when placing your order.

Here are the items that made it onto Kiki’s List:

1. Green and Gold Cuff– $99 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK) **KIKI’S LIST FAVORITE

2. Turquoise and Gold Cuff-$99 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK) **KIKI’S LIST FAVORITE
3. Orange and Gold Cuff -$99 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK) **KIKI’S LIST FAVORITE
4. Berry Carp Gold Cuff -$99 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK) **KIKI’S LIST FAVORITE
5. Snakeskin Enamel Cuff– $85 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK)
6. Leopard Print Cuff -$99 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK)
7. Snakeskin Cuff -$99 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK)
8. Nude Enamels– $60-$79 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK)
9. Leather and Enamel Cuffs– $69-$99 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK)
10. Brown Leather and Gold Cuff-$99 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK)
11. Lizard Belts- $330 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK)
12. Enamel Hearts– $38-$53 (PLUS 15% KIKI’S LIST DISCOUNT THIS WEEK) I am going to get the small hearts for my girls in their favorite colors; pink for E and blue for Lou.

… and here are the two that made it home with me. The cream stingray wide cuff (it actually sparkles just a little.) and the gold double wrapped python cuff. Next on my list, #2 and #4!


Thanks Leigh and Jimmy.. This feature was too much fun!

08.23.10

Field Trip: Austin.




Before my current (daytime) job, I had never even been to Texas before. Now, once a quarter, I get to travel to Austin; a colorful city that is known as the Live Music Capital of the World. Seriously, you can always find great live music playing somewhere. With miles of bike trails and more than 200 parks, Austin’s residents are able to take advantage of the 300 days of sunshine that warms this great city year round.
I love the carefree, artsy vibe of Austin. The people are warm and friendly, and the shopping and eating is out of this world. Austin is filled with so many little gems; a bevy of boutiques, cafes and even Airstreams parked along South Congress chock full of goodies that are sure to please your palette.
Today I am filling you in on my favorite places to dine in Austin. The rest of this week I will give you an inside view to my favorite shops and boutiques. It gets better. These gracious owners will be offering all Kiki’s List followers discounts on their products this week.
This one’s for the foodies. Here’s the Austin Eats that made it onto Kiki’s List:
1. Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue– Upscale Barbecue in downtown Austin. Delish cocktails and live music upstairs. It’s so good your hair smells like BBQ when you leave this place.
2. Chuy’s– -It may be a franchise, but I am addicted to their creamy jalapeno sauce!
3. Rudy’s– Another franchise, what’s even more shocking, each restaurant is attached to a gas station. The creamed corn is AMAZING. Oh, and don’t expect any fancy china here. Your food is served to you on good old-fashioned wax paper. My lunch was modeled above by Jewel. Tell them that you are from out of town and you’ll get a free sampling of all of their meats… and tell them that Kiki sent you!

4. Hey Cupcake! What’s being served out of this little Airstream will knock your socks off. I highly recommend the Vanilla Dream, but the Michael Jackson is their best seller. Thanks to Vince (above) who gave us our cupcake on the Airstream.

5. Bess Bistro– Sandy’s little bistro. I highly recommend the Bess FGTS and the grapefruit mojitos.

6. Roaring Fork– Part of the Eddie V’s Restaurant group. There are only four restaurants nationwide. I can’t get enough of their fried avocado and the lamb and butternut squash fondue pot.

7.Torchy’s Tacos– Cheap and damn good!

8.South Congress Café– The food is great, but what I really love is their infused Bloody Marys. My mouth is just watering thinking about it!

9. The Salt Lick– This is always my last stop at the Austin Airport for a little taste of Texas. The best part, they sell their amazing BBQ sauce, so I can bring it home to share.

10. Hula Hut– Definitely one for the family. Great chips and salsa, and even better fish tacos!
Check out Kiki’s List this week for my favorite Austin boutiques as well as discounts only for Kiki’s List Followers!

08.13.10

Field Trip: The Washington Design Center.



Last week I took a field trip to The Washington Design Center with my dear friend Aimee. We were there for 4 hours, and honestly it went by in a flash- I could have stayed for days. In case you are not familiar with the WDC, it is 7 floors of designer showrooms open to the trade. We had some amazing finds. Aimee is expecting a little girl in early November so we had a lot of fun searching to fabrics for the nursery. I was looking for some fabrics for my bedroom and kitchen. We found what we were looking for and so much more.

By far, my favorite part was the design house which featured a different design team to create each room. Here were my faves:
Foyer- Kelley Proxmire Love the Honeycomb Flooring!
Family Room- Rita St. Clair Aren’t those Donghia Suzani cushions amazing? Such rich colors.
Garden Room– Michael Roberson Yes, that is faux grass flooring.
Living Room– David Herchik & Richard Loom Absolutely love the textures in this room.
Master Bedroom– Olvia Demetriou Adamstein So modern and clean.
I hope you enjoy the pictures of the eye candy that I found. Amazing textures, gorgeous fabrics and unbelievable furniture…(Sigh.) Oh if that money tree would grow already!


08.12.10

Best Vacation Ever.


Do you ever feel like you need the world to stop turning for a minute so that you can reconnect with those that you love most? Well, the Salmons were in dire need of a vacay last January so we splurged for a vacation at Beaches, Turks and Caicos- and I am so glad that we did. It was the best vacation that we ever took. Mike and I went on our honeymoon in Turks and loved it. Mind you that was eight years ago, and there was virtually nothing on the island. That is certainly not the case now. We were a bit skeptical of the cheese factor between the Sesame Street theme and the all-inclusive resort, but everything was top notch. Beaches is like three resorts in one. We loved it for so many reasons. Here are the top ten:

1. Delicious Food.
2. Fantastic Service.
3. All Inclusive (Don’t need to worry about buying your kid a $10 ice cream.)
4. Camp Sesame.
5. The Kiddos Had Their Own Room.
6. Amazing Pools and a Fantastic Water Park.
7. Minto, Our Incredible Concierge.
8. Tons of Activities For The Babes.
9. Fully Stocked Bar And Fridge In Our Room.
10 Minto’s Nightly Delivery Of Cheese, Cookie And Fruit Trays To Our Room.
Seriously, I could go on forever. After day 1, we had our routine down pat:
8:00- Breakfast
9:00-10:00- Pool
10:00-12:00- Water Park
12:0o-1:00- Lunch
1:00-5:00-Girls to Camp Sesame… Mommy and Daddy hit the Pool, Beach, Bar…
5:00-Showers/Baths
5:30-Nightly Show at the Main Stage (Elmo and the rest of the Gang shake their groove thangs.) They open up the stage afterwards to let the lil ones dance- the girls loved this!
7:00- Dinner (There are 18 restaurants to choose from.)
8:30- Ice Cream
9:00-Bed for Lou, nightly swims for E and Daddy.
10:00 (Yes, 10:00) E would collapse in her bunk.
Then we’d get up and do it all over again.. it was marvelous!
Camp Sesame is well run, and clean as a whistle. The camp counselors are fantastic and also babysit at night. They get to have Storytime with Elmo, Treasure Hunts with Abby Cadabby, and even make Cookies with Cookie Monster. We were all so sad to leave. We have such terrific memories that will last us a lifetime.
Well, last week I booked our trip for next year. It’s not cheap, but I honestly don’t care if we have to cancel Christmas and eat Ramen Noodles for three months, we’re going.. and I can’t wait!
(PS: How hilarious is Lou in the picture where she is yawning? Do I bore her that much? That was our last night.. and as you can tell the night was coming to an end.)