72 hours trapped in a van with ann's family

ann and dabney spent the last week driving around the island of luzon. they estimate they spent about 72 out of 120 hours in a van, stopping in every fruit and dried fish stand along the way, thanks to ann's mom. a two lane highway filled with tourist buses and sidecars made a twelve hour journey out of what should have been a four hour jaunt in the u.s. it was like driving from boston to new york on route 2, only with more livestock and crazy-ass driving. for those of you mad at them about palawan (girlladyfriend, they mean you) consider yourself redeemed. it was a tough week.

so, they are back in manila, running around, buying silkscreen supplies and such. on friday, they leave for bangkok. hopefully, they'll be able to post again before then.

sigh.

ann and dabney are back in the big city (manila, that is) after four days in palawan. they are still reeling from their experience there. it was by far the most beautiful place they've ever been (and they've seen many pretty places in their past travels). the water was incredibly clear and the snorkeling was phenomenal; they saw hawksbill turtles, lobsters, eagle rays, clown fish, and coral that went on forever. limestone cliffs rise straight out of nowhere and look like boulders floating on water. there were tasty fruit shakes and fresh fish for every meal. they sea kayaked through lagoons and swam to secret coves. they could've stayed for weeks on end.

they don't mean to make you jealous, but it really was unreal. they promise this will be the last of their gushing. but it really was great. really. great.

the sewing machine is a distant, distant memory at the moment.

more later.

short station break...

please forgive ann and dabney for not telling you this sooner, but they are gone for five weeks while they travel in asia. they are making their yearly pilgrimmage to the philippines (this time with ann's whole family, instead of just mom and aunt) and then will be taking a quick sidetrip to thailand for a couple of weeks.

yeah, they've heard it before: tough life.

if you want a mental picture of where they are typing this, go to el nido resorts. then wipe the drool off your computer screen, because it's every bit as beautiful as the pictures make it out to be.

they'll try their best to post regularly, but after friday, it gets a bit dicey with the internet connections.

meet the newest diva

superette's resident geek, ann, is now a contributing geek to TechieDiva.com, a women's gadget site. her first of many posts when up yesterday - see "the world's most comfortable ipod dock." thanks go out to pica for the suggestion!

mogo goodie bag item

in preparation for the renegade craft fair, ann and dabney wanted to include a little something in the goodie bags that will be given to all the RCF attendants. not sure of what to create but positive that it should exude their brand's identity as well as promote it, they came up with these little stickers. two designs come in a package: nesting doll, boba teacup, paper airplane or a sprinkler.

regina

thanks to dear friend absolutely audrey, ann, dabney, and ashbloem had the opportunity to see singer/songwriter regina spektor in the most intimate of settings with a mere thirty other strangers while chowing down on free hors d'oeuvres and gulping down free wine and beer. first act guitar studio hosted the event, which ann found quite peculiar considering that regina is a piano player.

nonetheless, regina was absolutely magical during her short set - sweet, lyrical, and revealing. the video below (once again, taken on ann's trusty cameraphone - a samsung A-970) is her singing one of ann and dabney's favorites, us.

View this clip on Vimeo

p-town escape

view from borrowed condo

thanks to the generosity of a south end neighbor, ann and dabney managed to escape the city and sneak off to the nearby paradise known as cape cod. having invited ashbloem and the american boy along for the ride, they all had a delightful weekend doing lots of the following...


playing cards


dressing up the dog


going for leisurely walks in the rain


reading and napping


lying around and drinking wine

the veritable "where's waldo?" of yard art next door provided a good half-hour of entertainment on a rainy afternoon. how many virgin marys, frogs, lighthouses, cherubs, mice, statues of liberty, and gongs can you spot?



and the favorite phone-camera shot of the weekend turns out to be this one.


dabney walking up a dune at race point.

art that even feidler can appreciate

on their regular morning constitutional, ann and feidler came across a beautiful chalk drawing by boston's one and only sidewalk sam. people who live in boston often trample his work without a thought and, until this morning, ann and the pooch were no exception. having never really thought about sidewalk sam beyond her occasional run-ins with his work in and around the city, ann returned home and found that he has a large portfolio of his local creations online. check 'em out here.

reminiscent of a quilt, the illustration celebrates this weekend's opening of the faith quilts project at the boston center for the arts, which explores the art of quiltmaking as a visual expression of people's beliefs.

planning...

mogo hits atlanta

ann and dabney are happy to announce that mogo goods can now be purchased at young blood gallery & boutique in atlanta, georgia. on the first saturday of each month, the gallery has an opening from 7 to 11pm featuring uncommon artwork. recently, they added a boutique that sells items by emerging designers and artists. next time you're in hotlanta, check 'em out! ann and dabney can't wait to head down.

speaking of mogo, a new item has been added to the growing line - the all-purpose pouch, featured in two new original silkscreen designs. who can't use a good pouch?

nice weekend

with spring tempuratures come nice leisurely walks with the dog. and from a pooch's perspective, nothing caps off a long walk better than a treat (for ann, it's a cocktail). as a gesture to all their dog-owning neighbors, ann and dabney commemorated the sunny days this weekend with this... an urban, dog cookie buffet:



unfortunately, feidler didn't quite understand the neighborly gesture and had to be held at bay, so his neighbors could indulge. poor pup.



friday night, they went to the ashmost grill to visit boston tara who they hadn't seen in ages. she was kind enough to take care of them all night at the bar. they even saw hlb for a couple of minutes until they had to leave.



sunday was such a gorgeous day in new england that ann, dabney, ashbloem, and the american boy decided to go to wellesley for a nice walk around the lake. of course, never being without a camera, they snapped these pics on ann's phone en route.