we're having a pahtay

tonight, we're throwing our first ever new year's eve party.  i don't what got into us; we usually never venture off the couch for NYE, but this year we thought, "what the hell?"



if you're in the vicinity, join us for a champagne toast, will you?

my "ipad"

my family thought it would be funny if they gave me this "ipad" for christmas. har har.



looks pretty real from the front, huh?

not so much from the side.  when it flops is the dead giveaway.



just to spite them - i might just go to my local cafe and use it.

santa did good.

on christmas morning, i awoke to the site of an old vintage schwinn i had picked up a couple of summers ago for $30. it had been sitting flat in our garage ever since.  it was all polished up and shiny, newly tuned up, and with some fresh tires. not only that, the bike had been dressed up with a set of very cool saddlebags.  now, i can't wait for the snow to melt, so i can go tool around on my new wheels.

*the scarf and sunglasses perched on my head were xmas gifts, too.  don't you think they added to my xmas morning ensemble - bedhead and all?

pigtails

what do three girls do on a cold gray afternoon?

we have a pigtail party- that's what!

santa welcomed here

instead of typical christmas lights or garland, we thought we'd welcome santa with his own banner.

hello, gorgeous!

recent friday pics

wwmd

we had rug dilemma and we knew just the person who could help us figure it out.

MORGAN!

not only did she email us back in a timely manner, she decided to use our letter to start a new feature on her ever-inspiring and always-entertaining design blog.

a box of xmas cheer

our boys know us so well...

the consummate christmas collectors sent us a box of holiday cheer, including these two ornaments.

for dabney, a tiny cute tree that sparkles in the light


and for me, a golf ball - FORE!

cut pick your own tree

yesterday, we picked up a christmas tree at a local "cut-your-own" farm. we have found in years past that going to the trouble of cutting your own saves a lot of heartache when it comes to regular clean up; they just lose a lot less needles in those long weeks before the big day.

however, despite our best intentions, we didn't end up chopping down a tree to take home.  their advertised field of douglas firs ended up being a small gathering of sad, scraggly, dried-up-looking bushes.  none of which was over six feet tall.  (but if you are in the market for long-needled red or scotch pine, look no further.)

after we made our decision from the lot of pre-cut michigan balsams, the big strong guys who helped us load our 9 ft. behemoth on top of our wagon placed it on this nifty contraption.

meet the shaker. (note: not our tree.)



think they make these for dogs who shed a lot?  i really wanted to place friday up there and see the fur fly!

dorky xmas pictures...

...starring lu and her auntie.

apples... euw.

latest AT house tour

click the image below to check it out.

double dose of mogo this weekend

if you're either in chicago or boston this weekend, chances are you'll run into one of us at each cities' local holiday craft show. info below.

nurse baumgartner

inspired by morgan over at the brick house (honestly, who isn't inspired by her?), we've found our own thrift store classic portrait.

captain cool, meet nurse baumgartner.

before/after @ ann cave

we picked up this danish sectional at a church auction in the spring with every intention of reupholstering the cushions. we just couldn't live with this hideous polyester with its blue and pink (yes, blue AND pink) checked print.


dabney worked her magic and VOILA - new couch cushions.  the linen is so much more attractive and a whole lot less itchy.


this lane coffeetable was a $5 yard sale find.  it had clearly seen better days as evidenced by its dried-out condition and many stains/burns.


a little elbow grease, some murphy's oil soap, a dash of danish oil, a coat of howard feed-n-wax, and some strategically placed tabletop items, and the thing is much more pleasing to look at.

shipping containers

i find shipping container architecture fascinating.  while in berlin, we saw this amazing set of connected containers while walking through mitte.  people were sitting at desks inside.  perhaps a temporary construction offices?  not really sure.  but look how cool!





imagine my surprise when we stumbled upon these ingenius stools/sidetables while perusing the streets of prenzlauer berg.  not only do they come in a plethora of designs and colors, they come packed flat and in the form of shipping containers!

i couldn't help myself and stuffed one into my suitcase to bring back home with me.

when we returned, all i had to do was unpack the sucker and snap the pieces together using the included packet of rubber bands.  assembly was super quick and even easier than anything ikea.  (we should know; dabney and i have ph.d.s in ikea.)




don't let the compressed plywood fool you. it's STRONG.  i can boogie on top of this thing.  however, it will most likely just support a lamp and maybe a cup of coffee or a bottle of beer on occasion.

turkey day

lap dog

LSOTY

the "living space of the year" was announced in this month's issue of st. louis mag. it's featured in the advertisement above. click on the image above to embiggen.

as you can clearly see, our space did not win. perhaps it doesn't translate on film. perhaps our thrift store/craigslist chic doesn't appeal to the masses. perhaps we don't know very many people in st. louis or who read st. louis magazine. the fact of the matter is this old store came in a very, very distant third with less than ten percent of the vote. oh well... we still lurve living here.

the good news is that we'll be featuring the winner in an apartment therapy house tour in the near future. stay tuned.

nothing cracks me up more...

than audience members losing their shit over oprah's favorite things.

via jezebel

in case you missed it...

the decemberists (our favorite band. ever.) were on conan the other night playing their terrific new song from their soon-to-be album "the king is dead."



yes, that's gillian welch singing alongside colin.

donna & lyla's tiled wonder

here's our latest tour... (click the image to visit.)

skating in circles

we celebrated dabney's birthday the other night at steinberg rink in forest park with a dozen friends skating in circles.

it kinda felt like 8th grade all over again.

good wholesome fun was had by all, which later turned decidely less wholesome when the party was moved to our favorite local watering hole.









(sorry about the crappy pics. forgot my camera.)

the happy lady

dabney and i drive past this woman nearly everyday. she stands on the corner and just dances her ass off, always with a big smile across her face.

i am a huge fan of hers.

nice to see that she's receiving some recognition.

but classic rock? really?

we're so out, we're in again.

thanks, nebraska boy!

meet otto.

this week we are fostering "otto", whom we met just before we left for germany (in the parking lot of whole foods of all places - stray rescue of st. louis happened to be set up there that day). his real name is not really known, so we thought it fitting that he have something germanic.



in the last two days, we've discovered that he is the world's biggest couch potato and that he loves his butt scratched. and as you probably can tell by the photos, he's also a really good eater.

so far, he seems like the sweetest thing. ever.

check out the selby book

todd selby, one of my photographer heroes, has his entire book online. you can peruse it until friday 11/12.

matchbox labels

we've been fascinated by matchbox labels ever since our 2004 trip to japan. we found a small pile of vintage matchboxes in a kyoto street market and gently hand-carried them home.  (i realize i have never photographed 'em. putting that on my to do list now.)  they're tiny, functional works of art.

that little assortment made me seek out others who collect matchbox labels. that's when i found maraid, who's been our flickr contact for years now.

while trolling the excellent flea markets of berlin, we found the motherlode of czech matchbox labels - over 4500 of them to be exact.

check out the brilliant colors and fantastic mid-century graphics!







i am not exactly sure what i am going to do with over four thousand of these things.  i've got thoughts.  stay tuned.

last stop: berlin

berlin just oozes cool.  i loved it. and it was the perfect place to end our german adventure.




former german history major and berlin resident, will was our guide (complete with very convincing german accent).


here's the hotel where michael jackson dangled his baby.


here he is in front of his former flat. obviously, spitboy has since moved in.


i was fascinated by these bratwurst guys who had to wear their grills all day.



dabney and i could have spent weeks wandering around berlin's 60+ museums.  instead, we had to settle for four.







berlin has some great graffiti artists. man, what i wouldn't give to have one of these guys do up the side of our house-store.