I’ve gone on (and on) about my love for Mockingbird Manor vendor Luxe Objects in my ShopGirl column in Oklahoma Gazette. And now, the fabulous mother-daughter duo of Mary and Katharine Tabbytite has opened their own space. Swoon.

Luxe Objects just opened its doors in Nichols Hills Plaza last week, and it’s full of the absolutely gorgeous decor, furniture and gifts that made me fall in love with their space at Mockingbird. Just a note: Although they’ve downsized at Mockingbird, they’re still represented there.

The wares at Luxe Objects are eclectic — seriously, you’ll find styles ranging from botanical to Asian to French — but there’s a common thread to still make the space feel cohesive, not jumbled. Slick white and neutrals abound with pops of orange, blue, yellow and green. And, the shop has added some new lines (like jewelry and lotions).

As for me? I knew I’d love this space just as much at their Mockingbird space before I’d even set foot inside. Just outside the front door is an oversized, molded plastic chair styled to look like something you’d see at Versailles. Except, you know, in bright yellow plastic. So cool.

Look for more from this shop soon in my ShopGirl column.

Change the oil, pack the car and cue up the playlist, because it’s time to head down to Austin for Music Christmas South by Southwest. I’ll be down there Tuesday night all the way to the end in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Here’s an audio and video approximation of how excited I am.

You can expect loads of SXSW coverage here at the OKSee blog. I’ll be spending Tuesday, Wednesday and the first half of Thursday covering the Oklahoma Film and Music Office’s The Buffalo Lounge. The fantastic people up at OF&MO have put together a lineup of 28 Oklahoma bands that I’m really excited to see. Expect photos, audio clips (of talking — music clips from my teeny recorder would sound like this), interviews, reviews, news bits, the whole nine yards. It’s gonna be a blast.

I’ll also be tweeting up a storm at twitter.com/okgazette.

From 6 p.m. Thursday onward, I’ll be kicking it all over Austin, trying to catch the best and brightest new music the smorgasbord has to offer. I have several priorities (one of Braids’ 9 shows, Typhoon, Matt and Kim, Rocky Business, Givers), but I’ll be all over the place, reporting it as I hit it. I may even drink coffee to get me through this. My stimulant of choice is Red Bull, but at 10:30 a.m. Friday when I’m trying to get to a Chris Bathgate show at 11, I may have to call in the big guns.

Here’s a whole bunch of SXSW info for those going/lusting:
• Official site
• Last.FM band aid, which will run your Last.FM account against the listings to tell you who you should see, which will make attendees drool and lusters weep
• Guardian complete band listing, with vids, streams, bios and more on each
• Bandcamp visualizer – about a fourth of the bands have music downloadable/streaming/available for purchase here
• Free iTunes playlist

Thanks to Pitchfork for alerting me to a couple of these links.

photo Braids

If the rapture doesn’t claim the godly this Saturday, a theater group is offering cheap seats.

Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t be raptured. I’m Catholic, and I’m pretty sure there’s no room for us on the rapture bus. That’s cool, I’ll just join the post-rapture looting party being organized on Facebook.

Locally, Ghostlight Theatre Club is getting in on the apocalypse-betting game. If the world hasn’t ended by noon on Saturday, the theater is offering $10 tickets to its 8 p.m. performance of “Lives of the Saints” — quite the appropriately named comedy, right?

Check out Oklahoma Gazette theater writer Larry Laneer’s review to find out more about show, a collection of seven short plays.

Reserve your post-apocalypse tickets by calling 286-9412.