family » Her Daily Muse - The digital sketch book of designer Sierra Bailey

Happy Mothers Day!!

May 132012

When I was little, I had really curly hair...obvs as I do now. Well, I get this hair from my dad (who totally had a white guy afro in the 7o's!) and my mom had no idea what she was dealing with so my curls remained hidden for the duration of my childhood. She would either put it in a tight pony tail after my shower to try and smooth it or blow dry it. When it was dry, she would brush it out, resulting in a very fluffy look. I was away from home one day when I was in the 7th grade and let my hair air dry after my shower and all of sudden...there were ringlet curls all over my head! As you can image, I never let my mom near my head again after that day!

Since none of my younger sisters had the same hair type, I think mom missed the fluffy results and insta-volume she achieved from a simple brushing. This is the only explanation I have for her obsession since I grew my hair long again to try and brush it out. Perhaps it has a great deal to do with my having had short hair for years which was most of the time dyed red or blond and once a bad choice of black. Now that its back its natural color and length from childhood, its like she gets to go back in time 30 years. Or she really does think it looks good all fluffy...and look at how much she enjoys doing it!!! I never will understand the joy she gets from this...I want to hide my head under a hat after its all done.

Either way, my mom will be at my house this week visiting and as its been a few years since I last let her do it...I just might let her brush it out again. Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love you!!

p.s. the pout in the photo was a result of my being smacked on the top of the head with the brush and told to stop whining. Ahem...that was 2 years ago...I was 33...I think it makes us both revert

Daily dose of inspiration: Love

daily muse, family, holiday, inspiration No Responses »

Feb 142012

I was a very lucky kid growing up in that my mom celebrated all holidays with extreme enthusiasm, including half birthdays. Btw, I realized this year that no one else celebrated half birthdays. When Adam and I set the date for the wedding we were back and forth between two dates, but the one we settled on and kept coming back happens to be my half birthday. When I share this fun little fact with anyone, I just get a confused stare. Sad for them, because half birthday rock.

Anyway...I had to smile this morning when I woke to both facebook and text messages from my mom wishing me a Happy Valentines Day and lots of love and it made me smile and reminded me that to me Valentines Day was never about showing one special person that you love them, but rather a day about celebrating love...or candy hearts...but whatever, I have a weird fixation on holiday specific candy. Well, and about making cards, but I just realized that when I moved, I did not bring my glitter and how the heck am I supposed to make a Valentines Day card without glitter???

Anyway...I have more thoughts on the subject, but this week Adam and I are posting on She Says He Says today rather than Monday in honor of Valentines Day, and I don't want to step on my own toes. So I'm signing off to go search for candy hearts, which I love, but only the Sweethearts Conversation Hearts...not the knock off brands. Also not a fan of chocolate...ok this is becoming about candy, time to go...but wait...Happy Valentines Day!

All consuming monster projects

family, life of a designer 1 Response »

Jan 052012

I've been immersed in a project all week which started out innocent enough. I simply began inputting data into a program to manage sales across multiple online stores, shows, my studio and the website. I already have everything in a similar program that I run my shopping cart through, but I have reached a point where I need a better way to handle the multiple revenue streams I have set up. Once this started however, a whole sub level of projects opened up which had to be dealt with before I could really continue. They are all useful to productivity and need to be done, some of it was for ending the year and taxes, some of it may be a more neurotic that I really need, but I have wanted it done...and all of it is tedious, time consuming and requiring hour upon hour on the computer.

Tonight while looking through recent photos, deciding what to use for this post, I was reminded of something that my sisters said when we were all together at my moms for Christmas. There was a party our last night and my mom had gone to bed early being exhausted from the very full week we were all home. I as usual, began the mammoth task of cleaning up. Without saying a word, my sisters gathered around, waiting for me to assign them tasks and and minutes later we all were happily tending to the areas we did best. Adam brought up that they let me boss them around and one of my sisters immediately replied, not at all. Sierra just knows what has to be done and what we do well, she's simply directing us where we should be.

The project I'm working on reminds me of that in a way. All of this other stuff keeps coming up and needing to be dealt with, but I just keep plugging away at each sub project, ticking it away where it should be and then continuing on with the course when its done. It feels even better to accomplish then cleaning the kitchen did!

photo taken by Thea (the fourth sister missing from the photo)

Magical silence

family, holiday Comments Off

Dec 282011

Whew...what a week! Every year I get a bit older and I crave longer and longer amounts of quite in my day. When you don't have any of it for a week...my goodness it's wonderful when it occurs again. After the final madness of shipping out holiday orders, traveling back to NY, being in a house with all of my sisters, friends and extended family and traveling back home to Texas, well lets just say that its lovely to be back in my studio tonight and I am immensely enjoying the silence.

I was hoping for a bit of a white Christmas while back in the Northeast, but it wasn't in the cards. I did however, get to hang out with some of my favorite people, see a few new movies and even go wedding dress shopping on my last (more on that later!).

I hope your holidays have been just as wonderful...

Recently in Instagram

Austin, family, faye, holiday, life of a designer, OhThePlacesI'veBeen Comments Off

Dec 032011

What a week. I think my hard drive crashing was number three on my list of most stressful moments in the life of Manic Trout, coming in behind two floods...both causing my studio to be evacuated and one forcing me to move and the being a move of 2000 miles and having to keep my studio n a pod for a month. Thankfully I now have a new hard drive and as I back up weekly, I only lost a small amount of work.

While transferring photos from my phone this morning, I realized it been quite some time since I posted instagram photos. Speaking of instagram, have you seen followgram yet? You can access your instagram account from your mac, its awesome!

Anyway, here is what I have been up to the past week or so...

On the boat in South Padre on the Thanksgiving Moring

Faye who is exhausted after her first walk on a beach. There was a plethora of washed up jellyfish and fish carcasses that day to cause utter joy and excitement. All in all, a successful adventure.

A kite boarder setting up on the flats.

We had to stop at the tourist trap on the way off the island to photo the dinosaurs and other creatures...I personally liked the shark the best.

A pit stop for a big bag of pineapple oranges on the road home...so happy we did, yummy!!

When it gets down into the low 40's in Austin, the outdoor bars are still open as usual, so everyone is out on 6th street in parkas and scarves...still hanging around outside...freezing cold but reluctant to go inside...me included!

Faye and I had a lot of cuddle time this week while my computer was gone.

Part of the Manic Trout tent at Austin's First Thursday this month, I love doing outdoor night shows in December...we're sure not in NY anymore!

Adam and I had date night last night...burgers at Docs on Congress, an unexpected stop at the Big Top Candy Shop and then we were off to see Jack and Jill (the new Adam Sandler flick)...it was the perfect date and so much fun!

ps...I am manictrout on instagram!

The shortest week of the year…

daily muse, family, holiday, inspiration 2 Responses »

Nov 222011

I am hoping I'll have a chance to pop back in here in the next few days, but there is a pretty big chance that I will be mia until next Monday. Adam has been away for what seems like forever but had really only been a tad over three weeks. Funny, when we lived 2000 miles apart that was the shortest we were ever apart, but now it feels like forever. Well he finally will be coming home just in time to load up both of our cars with Faye and 5 of our friends for the 6 hour drive to Adam's parents home in South Padre. You can image the scene the Holiday is going to be when there are 7 of us rolling up to an already full house. Needless to say, I may be in the midst of family time and unable to work that much...then again it may be the perfect excuse for some alone time.

So just in case, have a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s finally feeling like fall!

Austin, daily muse, family, inspiration, Ramblings Comments Off

Oct 282011

The last two days have been finally feeling like fall here in Austin...I am wearing a SWEATER!! I was a bit sad when we came back from the cool temps of Colorado last week and it was down right hot here. I also got sick...which is now not so bad as the weather plummeted to 50 and I'm sure I would have ended up sick anyway. At least this way I'm already halfway over it. and rambling. So anyway...I'm all excited about fall and sweaters, slippers...blankets on the couch and Thea texts me a photo of her front yard covered in snow. Which was when I realized that I never get to see the first snow of the year fall on the leaves and all of that magical and beautiful stuff anymore. I was sad. However, this morning I woke up to a text from my mom. It snowed in Millbrook last night. A month earlier then normal. They are expecting an ice storm this weekend...

Wow, its amazing how quickly you can get over missing something! AND I can run around outside nice in toasty in a sweater.

I get to see fall foliage!!!

daily muse, family, inspiration Comments Off

Oct 152011

I have been so distressed to not witness the awesome fall colors of the Hudson Valley this year. However...Adam and I are going yo visit Thea at school this week (she only had to ask us to a dozen times) and from what I hear, Colorado gives the HV a run for their money on foliage. Yay!! Expect a flurry of photos next week of trees...

Off to the beach…

daily muse, family, inspiration, vacation Comments Off

Oct 082011

I know, it's October. Last year at this time I was in sweaters and boots frolicking in piles of leaves...well, I live in Texas now...and its over 90 degrees out today. Perfect beach weather. A month or so ago, my sister Gillian (the one in New York City) called to ask if she was remembering correctly that I went with Adam to South Padre Island to visit his parents this past June. She was delighted that she was correct because her bf Jav had googled the best places to go in October and South Padre came up. Random, yes...but only a 6 hour drive for me!

This weekend is the beginning of their week on South Padre, so Adam and I have a dog sitter coming for Faye and are packing up the car and heading down to visit our families and frolic on the beach for a couple of days. Yay! What are you doing for the long weekend?

Daily Muse: Fall footing

Austin, daily muse, family, inspiration, life of a designer, shows Comments Off

Oct 052011

I figure if I can't experience fall, I will at least live it though the blog...because I can.

I have a crazy busy next few days ahead of me, but filled with so many fun things that I'm all antsy with anticipation. Tomorrow I am participating in Austins First Thursday, which I think is basically a bug party on South Congress where all the restaurants, shops, and locals pour out into the streets the first Thursday of each month and hang out. If you're in the area, I have been approved to be in the Gibson Street Artists Market (by the dogs) so come by and visit!!

Friday I have a lunch meeting for a new project I am working on and then coffee with a new friend, squee!!

Saturday, Adam and I are off to South Padre to visit his parents and on Sunday, my sister Gillian arrives in South Padre too!!! I'm so excited to see her, it's such a change to go from seeing family all the time to only every few months, if that. I can't wait!!!

Older Entries