porno for puppies

last week, friday received the most thoughtful gift - a "doggy sitter" dvd that features animals and nature scenes for pups only.

at first, i was skeptical that it would be of any interest to her, so i decided to pop it into the machine and see what would happen.

i followed the directions, sat with her for a bit while we watched it together.


a few minutes later, she didn't need me around to tell her, "that's a squirrel! look, a birdie!"



she watched like this for a solid fifteen minutes while dabney and i giggled in the background. that's a very long time in doggydom and practically a lifetime in puppyhood.

MJ

in the paper

an article ran in yesterday's st. louis post dispatch featuring us and our house.

the photographer ordered us to look "designer-y" for the picture above.  we're still not sure what that means...

rock the high seas with rick

i'd like to personally thank JB* who passed this gem along...

the rick springfield & friends cruise!!

i have to start saving up!




* there might be a few of you out there who might remember our beatnik/spoken word tribute to rick. if i remember correctly, we argued over who got the line, "she's got the love monkey riding on her back."

we can relate.

this recent article in the new york times entitled "the unfortunate location" pretty much sums up our real estate experience.

new pencil box

behold, the latest mogo creation!



the "art school" pencil box...

soon to be available at mogogoods.

the golf, i tell you

this weekend, i played golf TWICE. i can't even think of the last time i had the opportunity to play more than once within a month even.  i am hoping that i will be able to continue to take advantage of the multitude of affordable golf courses in the area (and that my stinky triple digit average score will reduce to double digit awesomeness).

if only i can figure out a way to survive this heat and humidity...

entry way

that tile i mentioned last week? it finally got done just in time for the party, along with the paint.

now the entry way is complete.

golden brick party

dabney and i work well with deadlines and the golden brick awards ceremony was just the impetus we needed to pull the place together.

it was all worth it, too.  we had a ball meeting our neighbors and fellow winners.

this year's crop of awardees were varied and interesting.  besides us, there were two properties who won for landscaping, a new sushi restaurant, a condo development, a charter school construction, and two home renovations.  


two proud winners


mingling


here i am checking to see if they spelled our names right.  (they did, btw.)


the spread


another winner and his sleepy son


listening in on the presentations

brick house

our little old hardware store was recently chosen to receive a "golden brick" award from our local community housing association. golden bricks are given to individuals, organizations, and businesses for projects that beautify and preserve the neighborhood. we're so honored to receive one and even more honored to be hosting the ceremony this week - as in the day after tomorrow.

unpacking goes into hyperdrive over the next 48 hours.

in preparation for the soiree, i assembled a slideshow of some before/after photos.  who doesn't love good before & after pics?!

here are some highlights:

playing dead

speaking of home conversions

if anyone ever thinks that our choice to live in an old hardware store is weird, i'll just point them here.

meet miss destructo.

friday had a banner day yesterday. her new nickname = miss destructo.


first, she got sick of her multiple chew toys and decided that this piece of trimwork looked delicious.


then, she knocked over this framed print. it's hard to tell in the picture, but the glass is shattered.


to top it all off, she decided to run her ear through some wet paint. luckily, a little olive oil took care this little mess. now, one ear is especially shiny and supple.

now, we have no choice but to unpack

dabney and i now have a backup plan - when we leave the lucrative world of crafting, we'll become carpet layers.


thanks to easy peasy carpet tiles, we were able to turn our closet from this...


... to this in an hour and a half.

the only bad thing is now we have to deal with this...


and this.

just when you thought we were done talking about tile

even though i've grown accustomed to the plywood that welcomes me at our front door, i knew there would be a day when it would have to go.



here is the tile that will replace it. honestly, dabney and i really wanted the entry to have "A & D" tiled into it, but we knew that the hysterical society would have something to say about that little customization. alas, the tile above is true to the store's 1909 hey day.

completion pictures soon...

nice blog mention

thanks to the nice ladies of good bones, great pieces for choosing to feature us in their recent blog post on renegade.



more here.

breaking in the workroom

it isn't that i have lost the urge to blog now that we're officially in the house. let's just say that discussing bath mats and temporary window coverings isn't all that interesting.

while i'd like to say we've been busy decorating, truth be told, we've been so busy prepping for this weekend's renegade craft fair that unpacking has been slow going lately.

even in the emergency state that our workroom is in (i.e. everything hastily thrown about for easy access), i have to say it is a great space in which to work.  the natural light and high ceilings is a welcome change from our makeshift basement studio in boston.



painting the floor white may not have been the most practical choice, but it sure does add to the airiness of the space.



you can see, the new workroom even comes with a new assistant, but friday is more like an audience - an audience that doesn't quite understand the complex relationship between the pedal and the sewing machine.

ah, june

don't you just love it when the weather heats up and the bottles turn rainbow?

vote for friday

purina selected a random picture of our little pup for its photo contest. click here to vote for her, will you?