christmas morning

we were the only ones in the family that chose to put up a tree, so we got the dubious honor of hosting a holiday once again. considering thanksgiving was not so long ago, i am afraid we are setting a precedent here.


most of us stayed in our pjs all day - the way christmas was meant to be.


knowing that dabney has a thing for stuff with history (i.e. old stuff), my parents decided to pass off my dad's very first camera to her. she was thrilled.

we ate a lot, napped a bit, and played a ton of wii games.




this was the match of the evening: my mom versus my aunt. it was close, but mom took it.

merry christmas from our gay disco to yours

hint, hint

it's the hap-happiest season of all

it has been a weekend of merry-making here at superette...

...starting with a friday night holiday cocktail party with complete with salsa dancing and a bonus introduction to urban chicken raising 101 (gotta love missourians).










we even got to take these fresh eggs home with us. now, that's a party favor!

saturday night was an evening of game playing and giggling. we indulged in some ultimate outburst, the game of things, and capped off with some speed uno (accompanied with thai food).

on sunday, we played some wii with the sis and bro-in-law. i must say it stings a little to get one's ass kicked by a pregnant lady.






later that night, we sang at the top of our lungs at a yuletide sing-a-long courtesy of celia and her yuletide express. nothing like a little holiday caroling. i was so sad to have forgotten my camera, but just imagine a lot of people swaying and singing in unison (with the aid of lyrics and jingle bells).  never before have i ever been more moved by singing this song.

update: today, they're yellow.

four trees forward, four barriers back

friday can't figure out where the hell these trees came from suddenly.

but little does she know - our tree lawn was the recipient of four tiny trees last week - courtesy of the city's forestry department. we think they're maples, or at least that's what we were told we were slated for months ago, but it's hard to tell at this point they're so naked and all. it's probably going to take years for these little guys to start to resemble real trees, but you gotta love the fact they're free.

i had requested them when we first moved in early in the summer on a tip from a neighbor, and the forestry department snuck 'em in just under the gun. we've been consistently in 20s for the last five days. any longer and the ground might have been impossible to dig into.



maples look so gorgeous in the fall. hopefully, it'll be like a taste of vermont in our front yard.

speaking of things the city does...



yesterday, the street department decided to plop these ugly ass barriers at our intersection. for some reason, the city loves these things and have even dotted our main thoroughfare with them in recent months to slow down traffic.

i guess the idea is to prevent drivers from running the stop sign, which i wasn't aware of as a problem, but what do i know?



dabney and i spent much of the morning discussing how one actually navigates said intersection. i swear i've seen two different methods in use (problem #1). in the end we both agree that while said intersection resembles a mini-rotary, one does not actually go around the temporary-looking permanent barriers to turn left. they have been plopped there just to remind one to stop. for me, they're more of a reminder that for every step forward to beautify the city (free trees), there are two steps (or in this case, four temporary-looking permanent barriers) back .

man, i almost forgot

with the help of our splendid texan houseguests, we put up our christmas tree this past weekend.



unlike years past of prohibitive low-ceilinged basement living, we chose a tree that, even i couldn't reach the top of. yeah, this year's tree is over eight feet tall.  luckily, one of our texans is over six feet tall - very helpful with such matters.

dynamite!

between saint louis and chicago, there are a handful of ginormous antique/flea markets that i get a glimpse of each time i head back and forth down i-55. i've always wanted to stop and take a look around. last week on my way to the renegade holiday show, i had a few hours to kill, so i hit two.

the two i had chosen were indeed worthy of the stop. treasures abounded - however, most were cost prohibitive. there was the giant gas station banner that read "last chance", lots of military paraphernalia that means nothing to me but is obviously valued among many, and tons of mismatched pyrex.

i walked away with exactly one vintage wooden crate with an old advertisement for explosives and dynamite.


perfect for holding wood by the stove.

one more up

we finally made a commitment and hung up another work of art on our walls recently. as you can see, this always seems to be a pressure-packed decision around here. i don't know why. it's not like a picture can't be moved or anything.





to be fair, this painting above is one of our most treasured possessions - a painting by boston artist kate sullivan. it depicts the main drag of our old neighborhood. we purchased the painting as a wedding gift to ourselves in 2003. we have since sworn to make similar purchases to commemorate big events in our lives. the next one will probably be the year we both turn forty (in, like, ten years *ahem*).

we hung the picture one evening and i awoke the next day startled when i looked out the window.



it really does echo the view from our living room in the most unexpected way.

i don't know what it is about saint louis, or maybe it's us. no, most definitely, it's us. but everytime folks come to visit, all we do is a lot of eating and drinking. this past weekend was no exception when two of our favorite people came to town. the edible/quaffable highlights of which where hand-rolled pretzels, dark delicious beer, and some single malt scotch.







we sure had a good time though. this girl cracks me up, and i miss her so.

we make ourselves giggle

remember that poster we picked up ages ago?

we finally found a place for it.

recent pics

sometimes, pictures speak louder than words.


renegade holiday show, chicago (photo via Renee Rendler-Kaplan)


renegade holiday show, chicago









dabney and tracy at the craftland opening party


"alvin, simon, and theodore"



will's tree


boston digs


chicago dream digs (a.k.a. the robie house by frank lloyd wright)

it's a mogo two-fer

this weekend catch us at...

more craigslist weirdness

click to embiggen:

thank god for chinese takeout

thanksgiving came and went without a hitch. there were no new oven failures, no woodstove catastrophes, no heated political disagreements, and most importantly, not too much football.







by the end of the weekend, we had hosted three family dinners: thankgiving dinner, thankgiving leftovers, and finally, post-thanksgiving chinese takeout.

turkey day

it's nine a.m. the turkey has been in the oven for two hours. green bean casserole - check. cauliflower au gratin - check. stuffing - check. mashed potatoes - check. pies - check. unlike every thankgiving dinner we've hosted in years past, this year we are having a thanksgiving brunch. i have discovered that when in-laws come into the picture things get complicated, but whatevs... brunch, it is.

happy thanksgiving to all!

dab's latest find

it has been a while since we found any treasures on craigslist. instead, we've been in a selling mode. (so far, our ikea bench, leftover lighting fixtures, and two glass end tables have found homes elsewhere.)

yesterday, dabney saw an ad for a danish credenza and jumped on it.



fifty bucks later and the thing is ours.

damn, she's good.

hotlanta

my trip to atlanta this past weekend was a true success. met a ton of nice people, sold a bunch of stuff, and most importantly, got to catch up with an old friend. mixing business and pleasure is one of the best things on earth.