Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

it's like we're going back in time

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Monday, September 28, 2009

uh oh

dabney's at it again.

DCM chair (by ann-dabney)

above are two of sixteen (yes, read that right - 16!) herman miller/eames DCM chairs that dabney purchased for mere pennies on the dollar. her plan: SELL 'EM.

as soon as i see her let go of one, i'll let you know.

Friday, September 25, 2009

cruise photos

i almost totally forgot about these photographic treasures taken aboard our alaskan cruise ship this past summer.

you know how most cruiselines make passengers pose for a souvenir photo at the beginning of their journey. it's usually a nice picture like this...



or this...



here's ours...

Welcome Aboard (by ann-dabney)
don't you just love my "moose antlers" a la dabney?

there are a million chances to take ship-sanctioned pictures onboard. at every port, at every activity, hell, at every meal, there seemed to be photo opportunities. they usually involve mascots or cheesy fake backgrounds like below.



CRUISE PHOTO 001 (by gannytimes9)


I'm Flying! (by ann-dabney)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

someone got me GOOD

Oh man! How'd this happen? (by ann-dabney)

i have no idea how long i have been driving around with this on the ass of my car, but strangely, i feel so embarrassed about it. god, i hope it wasn't there long. and, no, it's not my love for vermont that causes me such angst.

i have a feeling i know the two possible (and related) culprits.

design geek outrage

did you hear that some folks are livid that ikea has changed its font after 50 years?

that's what i call design geek outrage.

Monday, September 21, 2009

best dressed at the emmys

sarah's stache (by ann-dabney)

sarah silverman cracked me up last night during the emmy telecast. it was the combination of the fake hair and the deadpan expression.

need your opinion

Friday doesn't know what to think about our latest find. (by ann-dabney)

friday doesn't know what think about our latest craigslist find, or maybe she's disappointed that no movies are actually playing. i dunno.

but as you can see, we came home with a big something from an advertised "warehouse sale" but more accurately a giant garage with junk piled ceiling-high. the dude in charge was wearing little kiddie sunglasses decorated with little ducks. we weren't sure what to make of him or the randomness of his items (everything from an old hospital sterilizer, to foot lockers, jars, and old doors). hidden in the back was the old painted wood sign above. we thought it a gem. not sure what others will think.

in fact, what would you think if you saw this hanging in our home? kitchy/humorous or too pervy/weird?

andy richter kicks ass on celebrity jeopardy

Friday, September 18, 2009

reunion

last night, we had a impromptu and surprising party chez superette. not that impromptu gatherings are so unusual in our past homes, but what made it extraordinary was the company - a majority of whom were friends of mine from high school. ok, you may be thinking this is not so weird now that we're back in my old stomping grounds. but considering that the high school i attended had approximately 70 students in its entirety (yes, you read that right - the entire school = 70), the group below is not an insignificant gathering. hell, we can call this a downright reunion.

TJ group (by ann-dabney)

it was great to see everyone - a few of whom i haven't seen since i was 17 years old. we reminisced about old classmates, demerits, doghouse, and mr. smith. we laughed and drank ourselves silly.

Becky and Katherine (by ann-dabney)

TJ Trio (by ann-dabney)

wha? (by ann-dabney)

friday's new trick

Stretchy Friday (by ann-dabney)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

into the closet we go

it's one thing to move into a new place and throw in your furniture. it's another to actually organize your crap once you're inside the place.

you gotta love ikea for providing basic, functional, and affordable shelving. our workroom is now a much more useful and tidy place.

Shelves (by ann-dabney)


Workroom Closet (by ann-dabney)

our master bedroom closet is almost done. a few more shelves here and there, and we can call it a day. our contractor made the multiple hanging bars on the far wall possible, and again, ikea was our source for the drawers and shelves on the left. please, no comments on the amount of clothes and bags. remember, we're two girls here.

Closet (by ann-dabney)

thanks, readymade!



i just love readymade magazine, so you can imagine the thrill it was to be featured in their renegade recap.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

is it a bed or is it a shoe?

dog bed/shoe (by ann-dabney)

is this the weirdest dog bed ever or what? if you can't resist it and have $129 to spare, go here.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

rcf weekend

renegade chicago was a blast this weekend, as it always is when the weather remains dry (unlike last year's debacle).  with the sun shining and the temps in the low 80s on both saturday and sunday, folks came out in droves.

the new designs we had were an instant success and soon, we were having to tell shoppers we were out of certain sizes.  we just hate doing that.

New Design New item

RCF Booth 09

of course, every time i perused the line of vendors up and down division street i couldn't help but find something irresistible.  namely, i replaced the generic nikon camera strap on our new dslr with something with more personality from souldier, two booths down from us.  then, the piece de resistance was, not one, but two prints from dan of crosshair silkscreen design, who makes the COOLEST BAND POSTERS OUT THERE. check his work out! i just love it.

on saturday night, the rcf organizers were nice enough to throw a private vendor party at a lumber yard. formerly an old stable, the space was amazing (as was the cake and brownies).
RCF Vendor Party

RCF Vendor Party

thanks to all the nice chicagoans who paid us a visit this weekend.

Friday, September 11, 2009

another bit of shameless self-promotion

look for us this weekend at renegade craft fair (chicago edition)!

Renegade Chicago 09

oh, yeah, i live in stl...

for the second time this week, i noticed the distinct smell of hops in the air while on my morning walk with friday. silly me thought two miles between us and The Brewery would make this a very rare occurrence.

not a bad way to wake up, if you ask me.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

look, ma, i am taking my vitamins!

ok, who the hell came up with this genius product?! gummy vitamins for adults. dabney and i love 'em. they sure beat the horse pills that we used to take.

Photo on 2009-09-10 at 13.23
i know, i know - the picture is backwards, but you get the idea.

just warn us if you start to notice that we're drawn to goldfish crackers, dry cheerios, fishsticks, and juice boxes, ok?

roly poly

not that this video hasn't been seen a million times over on cute overload and everywhere in between, it just KILLS me though. for this reason, here it is again...

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

madmenyourself

madmen_annie

madmen_dab

i couldn't resist. i just had to "mad men" myself (and while i was at it - i went ahead mm'ed dabney, too).  i think it's a pretty good likeness, if i do say so myself.

if you want to blow ten minutes, check it out for yourself here.

rhetorical question

is there anything better in the world than manchego cheese with a generous dollop of membrillo? i don't think so.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

mogo sighting

doesn't miss "e" look adorable in her mogo balloon dog tee?

E in Mogo

Monday, September 07, 2009

ukelele

last weekend at our dinner party, two of our guests brought over their ukeleles for a dinner time interlude. i marveled at their instruments as it reminded me of dear ashbloem and the evening of our ukeladies performance. (hell, if i can find the original post.)

little did i know, that i would soon be the recipient of this little guy (on loan) and a chord book.

Uke
i particularly like the inscription, "this ukelele kills fascists."

thanks, joe! i promise i'll practice.

Friday, September 04, 2009

sad mac

that shiny and new machine arrived yesterday. but before i could migrate everything my old powerbook - the thing DIED.

R.I.P. little powerbook, you served me well. if only you could have made it a few more hours.

zola, you're prescient. however, if i had only taken your advice a few hours earlier. my last backup was in february.

between flickr, evernote, etc - i have spent my friday afternoon trying to recreate what was.

lesson learned: backup, people, backup.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

technical difficulties

i have been having issues getting voice mail on my "space" phone. one would think that this wouldn't be that big of a deal to me since we just left the land of no cell phone signal a few weeks ago and that i would be grateful simply to be able to use my space phone now that we are back in a major metropolitan area. the truth is these technical problems have been driving me nuts. at&t voice mail takes hours to register, and sometimes, i don't get messages until the next day. for me, the self-admitted screener that i am, this hampers my entire lifestyle. the other day, i even ventured onto the at&t forums to see what the hell is going on. of course, i discovered nothing.

i woke up to this which appeared in this morning's new york times. it's weird when the nyt answers my burning technical questions.

i am hoping that at&t gets it's act together soon. in fact, if any of you out there are even thinking of joining the iphone herd - WAIT. other carriers will offer the option soon - verizon rumored to be amongst them.

speaking of technology, my beloved six year old powerbook is soon facing retirement. it has been the 'little machine that could" but lately, it CAN'T. something shiny and new is in the works and i can't wait.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

quick picnic

they say the queen mother liked to picnic everyday. she lived to the ripe old age of 102. maybe she was onto something.

it has been beautiful here lately. high 70s. breezy. late summer fantastic. so nice, in fact, that we decided to picnic in our nearby city park with leftovers from last weekend's dinner party - a feast of risotto, bread salad, beet salad, and caprese salad. i know that dab is still coming to terms with her move to the middle, but i am hoping afternoons like this will make it all feel better - even for a little while. i know this weather and the feeling of grass between my toes sure helps me.