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OBSESSIONS. DECORATIONS. SALIENT FACTS. B eautiful Decay + Let It Rain It could be the equal of Kusama this past summer or Soto in the summer of 2014. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has done it again with this month's unveiling of Magdalena Fernández's 2iPM009. But the venue is not the expected MFAH Beck or Law building, but a more surprising site — the 87,500-square- foot Houston Cistern, a brooding relic from 1926 that once contained the city's water supply. Rediscovered in 2010, restored by Buffalo Bayou Partnership, and opened to the public in the summer 2016, the Cistern is nothing short of heroic. The nonprofi t partnership and the MFAH co-present the inaugural Cistern art program with the staging of Fernández's immersive sight-sound piece. The 2009 work incorporates one of the artist's signature mobile paintings channeling a rainy night, observed through a Constructivist lens — melding the industrial past and the digitized, utopian future. "Rain: Magdalena Fernández" at the Houston Cistern, December 10 – June 4; timed tickets, from $8 (no children under 9) at buffalobayou. org. Thursdays free but reservations required. Catherine D. Anspon BEAUTIFUL DECAY + Let It Rain A rmed with a degree from FIT and experience in the buying offi ces of Saks Fifth Avenue and Henri Bendel, NYC-based Carleen Ligozio headed to Southampton in 2003 to open a boutique. Gwen Stefani, Stephanie Seymour, and more than a few Hearsts were early customers, fans of Ligozio's From Southampton to RIVER OAKS fi nely tuned eye for unique brands, from CFDA award-winning Creatures of the Wind to Northern-Italian Franco Ferrari. Houston clients who summer in the Hamptons urged her to open a branch here, and, fortuitously, longtime friend and fellow Hamptons shopkeeper Blake Fulmer was moving back to Houston after decades away. Ligozio, who divides her time between Southampton and Houston, tapped him as boutique manager and opened shop in River Oaks Shopping Center. Inventory includes rare Turkish kilims acquired on her travels, diamond and sapphire jewels from India, and womenswear designers from London, Budapest and beyond. Carleen Ligozio, 2005-A W. Gray St., River Oaks Shopping Center, 832.740.4105. Anne Lee Phillips "Rain: Magdalena Fernández" coming to the Houston Cistern B U N K E R H I L L | $ 3 ,19 5 , 0 0 0 MAX BURKHALTER Carleen Ligozio boutique T he name commands attention, just as it did in the courtroom — Joe Jamail. America's richest practicing attorney, reared on Houston's east side during the Depression in a close-knit Lebanese family of grocers, was also its most successful. The late Houston lawyer stood up for the underdog, wronged individuals and corporations alike; he passed away December 2015. His $10.5 billion 1985 win for Pennzoil versus Texaco is still a benchmark of bravery and bravado. Jamail and his wife, Lee (who passed away in 2007), are fondly remembered for their generosity to a variety of causes, especially healthcare, education, sports, medicine, and art. Own a bit of the Jamail luster, when Judy Robinson Estate Sale Services organizes a four-day sale, Thursday through Sunday, December 8 through 11. Up for acquisition are treasures from the palatial River Oaks family home as well as contents from the King of Torts' One Allen Center headquarters. For location and hours, jrestates. com. Catherine D. Anspon Bar None: Joe Jamail ESTATE SALE W hen pondering Houston's most beloved cookie, Tiny Boxwoods' salty, chewy chocolate chip cookie is our hands-down winner. The cult-fave café's head chef and co-owner Baron Doke (with co-owners Gregg Thompson and Lance Thompson) tinkered with the recipe for nearly three months before its release, nine years ago. Sadly, we've eaten hundreds since that day. Now, the signature cookie gets its own billing with the opening of Tinys Milk & Cookies at 3636 Rice Boulevard. While the cookie takes center stage, the walk-up bakery, designed in collaboration with Found's Aaron Rambo, proffers revolving desserts from pastry chef Valerie Stanley. Milk & Cookies, 3636 Rice Blvd., 713.352.3086, tinyboxwoods.com. Jailyn Marcel Milk & Cookies Joe Jamail, circa 1980s BRUCE BENNETT / HOUSTON CHRONICLE / AP JEAN C. GIALLORENZO 22