superette

an astronaut, a robot, and a businessman walked into a bar...

2012-02-17T10:05:00.000-06:00

cory booker makes perfect sense

2012-02-15T09:00:00.000-06:00

this has been my argument for a long time now, and cory booker finally reaffirms it.

best new artist

2012-02-13T08:41:00.003-06:00

bon iver singing one of my favorite songs.

40th birthday

2012-02-10T11:26:00.000-06:00

last weekend, we were in seattle celebrating our dear friend's birthday. it was a fun, fabulous weekend with too much drinking and laughter - the best kind of weekend really.

our weekend rental had a tremendous view seattle, complete with rooftop hot tub.

we all attended a fabulous birthday fete during which the honoree wore the coolest hat ever.

we took a leisurely relaxing boat ride on lake union.

we had beautiful dinner party.

it was just great hanging out with my peeps who i don't get to see too often these days.

these bastards rock

2012-02-09T11:01:00.001-06:00

last night was our third time seeing these guys live and they NEVER disappoint.

sandman, brakeman, and me

2012-02-02T12:23:00.000-06:00

it was good to know you for such a short time.

2012-02-01T10:49:00.000-06:00

those of you on instagram or twitter may remember a photo of a rather large pile of herman miller chairs headed to our house last week.

i am happy to report that most of that large pile is now SOLD - minus the 8 we are keeping for ourselves. i love me a quick sale.

dabney says she's going to buy me something pretty. why do i think this will be in the form of more chairs?

joe makes boston great

2012-01-31T09:20:00.003-06:00

so surprised to see our old friend joe in this aol ad.

pretty picture

2012-01-27T12:06:00.000-06:00

one of our all-time favorite pictures in our two year history with AT reappeared on the website today. Check it out here.

shiny things

2012-01-25T10:15:00.000-06:00

we saw fanfarlo in KC a couple of years ago. now, i'm looking forward to seeing these guys (& gal) when they come through STL in march.

you catch em, we cook em

2012-01-24T10:11:00.000-06:00

you know those evil claw games that, more often than not, sucker you out of your hard-earned money? here's one that, if you're hungry enough, might tempt you to shell out $2 for a try. (I said, "shell" out. hee.)

hey - if you can catch one in five tries, $10 for a lobster ain't bad.

life-size mailboxes

2012-01-23T15:36:00.000-06:00

i never knew that mailboxes were such a thing, but apparently they are... or at least they are a big deal in this one neighborhood in florida. the sexy pirate lady above is so crazy. i guess even mailboxes can have obvious boob jobs.

a stately seahorse - stately in comparison to the pirate lady above. i think if i had to pick one this is probably the one i'd go with personally.

sailfish

grouper

mama manatee and baby manatee

mama dolphin and baby dolphin

lil duck, big duck

2012-01-10T11:27:00.000-06:00

mayer's

2012-01-09T18:10:00.000-06:00

our local rag recently covered our pals maggie and mike and their wonderful new endeavor, mayer's bakery. i look forward to making a stool at the bar my home away from home. story here.

pancit

2012-01-03T10:17:00.001-06:00

luella loves pancit just like her aunties.

more on richard prince

2012-01-02T17:16:00.002-06:00

an article on richard prince and appropriation art appeared in the ny times yesterday.

newly acquired

2011-12-19T10:32:00.000-06:00

the catcher in the rye, by richard prince

uncle ben

2011-12-17T13:13:00.000-06:00

new ideas use old buildings

2011-12-15T09:50:00.000-06:00

The Luminary from Anastasis Films on Vimeo.

the luminary arts center plans a move to cherokee street - the heart of st. louis' creative world. exciting news indeed.

check out their kickstarter campaign here.

evan hecox & incase

2011-12-13T11:40:00.002-06:00

i've long admired evan hecox's work. i just wish i could afford one of his original prints. until then, i might just have to settle for one of his macbook pro sleeves.

new perch

2011-12-08T15:41:00.001-06:00

friday has a new favorite perch from which to watch the world go by.

another happy mogo customer

2011-11-30T15:58:00.001-06:00

waiting for le petit train to jardin d' acclimatation at porte maillot

thanks for sharing, cassandra!

latest tour

2011-11-24T09:45:00.001-06:00

our bud, joe, shared his charming and cozy house with us on apartment therapy. check it out here.

arrows

2011-11-22T13:39:00.001-06:00

dabney bought these strange little magnetic bookends at a yard sale over the weekend. they seemed kinda useless to me until i realized how freaking hilarious they are.

me, friday, and chuck

2011-11-21T08:43:00.001-06:00

me and friday standing by the new-ish chuck berry statue in the loop on a breezy fall afternoon. hot boba tea in hand.

i won, i won, i won

2011-11-15T10:45:00.000-06:00

i guess i should say "we" won. friday and i commented on a blog post sponsored by furminator, and we were picked randomly to receive this wearable microfiber towel.

not sure how fri feels about her prize though.

she looks like an embarrassed jedi warrior.

not again

2011-11-14T11:35:00.001-06:00

in spring 2010, some big dummy hit the ugly schoemehl pots in the middle of our intersection.

last night at 2:30 am, we had a repeat performance from another bid dummy.

at least, no one was hurt.

manifesto

2011-11-09T11:33:00.000-06:00

your past life

2011-11-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

Your Past Life As A Blast from Okkervil River on Vimeo.

bowl cut

2011-11-07T11:49:00.000-06:00

that's me with the unfortunate bowl cut in 1974.

it breaks my heart really.

2011-11-01T16:07:00.001-05:00

friday and i walk by this place nearly everyday. i am sure at one point it served this neighborhood as a bakery or a little grocery store. it has been boarded up for ages now, but i have heard skateboarders inside from time to time (scary).

it used to have a very regal crest at the top of it that read "1909," but during the last bad storm, the top of the building just fell apart.

here's another place that stands just a block away from our house. it's a neglected wreck that has been abandoned and boarded up for ages. i bet that cupola (now cemented over) used to be so amazing.

playground

2011-10-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

tough guy is afraid of puppies

2011-10-27T09:44:00.000-05:00

i can't believe this is a real show.

happy belated birthday, rana

2011-10-24T12:12:00.003-05:00

latest AT house tour: jenn's eclectic industrial italianate

2011-10-24T11:35:00.001-05:00

this place oozed with style. even more impressive, the homeowner did most of the reno work herself.

click the image above to see the entire tour.

elvis strolls down sesame street in his red shoes

2011-10-21T10:33:00.003-05:00

happy belated birthday, ron!

2011-10-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

watch it, friday. there's a new bloodhound in town.

2011-10-20T13:50:00.003-05:00

word as image

2011-10-14T09:31:00.000-05:00

simply cool bathroom

2011-10-13T09:40:00.002-05:00

i couldn't resist taking a quick self-portrait yesterday while shooting this uber-cool bathroom. the walls were made up of simple unstained plywood and convex security mirrors were installed over the vanity sinks.

tour should be up on AT in a couple of weeks.

herb & dorothy

2011-10-12T09:46:00.003-05:00

mold-a-rama

2011-10-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

found this little guy at a sale this morning.

at the bottom, it says "st. louis zoo." the family was so nice they gave it to me.

these little wax sculptures were souvenirs that one could buy at zoos, museums, and other attractions. i don't remember how much they used to cost, but all you'd have to do is put some coins into a machine and watch the thing get made inside its glass box. in fact, i know i have one from my childhood somewhere - an astronaut from the kennedy space center in florida, but it's either A) broken in a million pieces or more likely B) melted into a pool in a my parents' attic. come to think of it, i might have had an elephant at one point, too. it probably reached a similar demise long ago.

i've long-admired one our homeowners large collection of mold-a-ramas. check out anna & luby's house tour for pics.

turns out there is even a flickr pool of mold-a-ramas. of course, i adore the JFK mold-a-rama. he would look so great amongst my jfks.

do zoos and other attractions still have mold-a-rama machines? i wonder.

bubble girl

2011-10-07T09:42:00.000-05:00

perfection

2011-10-05T09:11:00.000-05:00

october AT house tour

2011-10-04T15:27:00.001-05:00

we shot this one over the summer.

this place was pretty amazing. the setting, the sculptures, those glass garage doors!

click image to see the actual post.

everyone needs a photo that will incur future angst and embarrassment

2011-09-30T09:45:00.001-05:00

urbanized

2011-09-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

i was huge fan of the design classics "helvetica" and "objectified." now, gary huswit takes on built environments in his upcoming documentary "urbanized."

sweetie pie's on own

2011-09-26T09:33:00.003-05:00

what do you know? one of our favorite st. louis soul food restaurants (fried chicken!) gets its own reality show on the oprah winfrey network. miss robbie is a powerhouse. i can't wait to see what happens.

elvis has a girlfriend

2011-09-23T09:33:00.001-05:00

before we left for vermont, we helped our good friend galen do a little housecleaning, and in return, he was kind enough to gift us "abercrombie girl."

you might remember her. she had a starring role in his AT house tour (our very first feature, in fact).

i gave her a little scrub down, and she cleaned up well.

AG seems absolutely smitten with elvis. however, he is clearly playing hard-to-get. he can be a little shy.

don't you think they make a cute couple?

rope & former rope

2011-09-22T10:41:00.001-05:00

anniversary

2011-09-21T09:15:00.001-05:00

dabney and i had an absolutely delightful anniversary evening.

we celebrated 8 years of marriage (thank you, massachusetts) by enjoying a delicious alfresco meal here, complete with champagne-induced giggles.

afterwards, we took in a show at the pageant.

wye oak's dreamy, spare sound that we were familiar with was roughened up live with a bit with added distortion.

okkervil river rocked out and got the entire crowd clapping while jumping up and down aerobically (the three people standing in front of us loved the jumping part). in fact, how can one not move to this song?

my sister & bro-in-law just happened to be at a nearby roofbar, so after the show, we crashed their moonlit party. i just love seeing my little sister all tipsy. it cracks me up in fact.

happy anniversary, dabney, here's to the next 8.

i can't stop yarning up my accessories.

2011-09-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

home is a fire, dcfc

2011-09-15T15:36:00.002-05:00

video by shepard fairey

moon river

2011-09-15T09:33:00.000-05:00

we're officially pickers.

2011-09-14T13:32:00.000-05:00

we arrived in chicago on friday night with two vehicles stuffed to the brim, and left on monday morning with less than one car half-full. needless to say, our little vintage experiment went swimmingly well.

thank you, chicago, for coming out and making our ride home much lighter.

some of the stuff we'll be lugging

2011-09-09T09:18:00.002-05:00

in addition to our regular cutesy mogo shtuff that we'll be bringing to the renegade craft fair this weekend, we've got a few vintage-inspired and re-worked vintage items.

this was a old metal box that dabney reworked into a versatile cabinet by adding hairpin legs. i think it would make a perfect media center.

vintage-inspired craft aprons inspired by the real name of our old storefront/house.

this cart lived its former life in a local warehouse. now, it's a glass-topped coffee table.

these old photos were rescued from random yard sales. now, they're all matted and framed - ready to be falsely claimed as ancestors.

experimental renegades

2011-09-08T10:25:00.004-05:00

we're getting ready for this weekend's renegade craft fair - chicago edition. and if you can't tell by the photo above, we're experimenting by bringing a choice selection of vintage and industrial finds in addition to our normal array of handprinted/sewn items. it's going to be very exciting (as well as a lot of schlepping).

if you're in chicago, come by say HI and take a look at our mobile flea market.

covered bridge lost

2011-08-31T16:52:00.001-05:00

here we are with the quechee bridge a few years ago.

here's that same bridge moments before a majority of it washed away this past weekend in the wake of hurricane irene.

forgotten birthdays

2011-08-26T15:36:00.000-05:00

i think there was a real reason i found myself strolling briefly down memory lane.

come to think of it, i might have been dragged there on the end of a leash actually.

happy birthday, old boy.

someone's in here!

2011-08-26T11:25:00.000-05:00

it's rare when we have more than one houseguest at a time, but it does happen from time to time. and on those occasions, the guest bathroom gets its fair share of traffic. i've thought about using a visual cue on the doorknob - a tie, a tassel - something to show that the room is occupied.

after our visit to maine, i was completely inspired to pick up one of these cabin door locks that my father-in-law/sailor-in-law had installed in one of his bathrooms.

yes, it's brass, which is unlike everything else in our guest bathroom, but i still dig its old timey, nautical feel. plus, this thing is solid and won't pop off if someone pushes hard on the door.

thank you, steve.

2011-08-25T12:02:00.003-05:00

1984. apple IIc. i've never looked back.

meet professor right

2011-08-22T09:46:00.000-05:00

illegal parking

2011-08-19T09:44:00.000-05:00

we got back to STL earlier this week just in time for a break from the sweltering temperatures and for some jerk to park his fancy wheels by our house.

spotifying

2011-08-03T12:00:00.002-05:00

i am currently exploring spotify and had forgotten how good this song is - anchorage by michelle shocked. (what do you know? this country air is putting me in a folky, acoustic mood.) two summers ago on our trip to alaska, I kept singing the chorus to dabney and she had no idea what i was yammering on about.

turning forever 29 in the city

2011-07-30T15:29:00.001-05:00

i can't even begin to tell you how many times i've attempted to write this post, but only to be thwarted by the stolen internet gods.

instead, i will just post some pics and captions from my wonderful week in nyc. all taken by my space phone.

thanks to a recommendation from our very own "roncierge," we stayed an airport-themed hotel. (i should known this would be his recommendation, he who lives by frequent flyer miles alone.) we checked in via kiosks, had our luggage man-handled by a robot, and slept in rooms inspired by tiny japanese capsule hotels.

the room was perfectly appointed. however, my only complaint - the beds could have been a wee bit more cushy. obviously, their fold-up capacity was chosen over comfort. on night #2, tired and sweaty, the bed didn't matter much. i slept like a baby.

in love with all things japanese, we spent the better half of one 100+ degree day in bookstore kinokuniya. i wanted to walk home with all these edition paume photo books. they even have a series on creative couples and their live/work spaces. AAHHHHHH!

i swore to myself that i wanted to get to all the types of foods and shops not available in st. louis. not much of a challenge really.

hello - korean food with my favorite korean.

above, the tuck shop where i can pretend to be one with my first lesbian crush, olivia newton-john, and eat meat pies. insert joke here.

mario batali and joe bastianich's eataly. this picture says it all really. loved it. wish we had one in missouri. bah.

my crappy picture of the super-fabulous high line. wow. makes me wish and hope for st. louis' forgotten industrial spaces. mayor slay, visit the high line pronto.

not only does the high line have one biergarten, it has two. above, the temporary (i think) lot biergarten run by colicchio & sons. beer was a key ingredient in my surviving the bloody hot days in the city. and thank god, biergartens seem to be in vogue in nyc these days.

oh man, talk about a load of fun. i really was laughing until i was crying. see it, if you can manage to get a ticket. (thanks, dabney, for your superior forethought.)

i really can't say enough about the alexander mcqueen show at the met. it was awe-inspiring and moving. and if you are one of those fuddyduddies that think fashion has no place in an art museum, you are f***ing wrong, and this is the show that will prove it.

i really wasn't suppose to take any pics inside, but i had no idea until it was too late. i swear there were others doing it, too.

last, but certainly not least, i got to see some old friends and that in my opinion doesn't happen nearly often enough.

we had some delicious food and then sweated it out... in a biergarten.

so much to say, so little internet access

2011-07-26T13:00:00.002-05:00

arrived here in vermont.
had a splendid time in bridgewater with our fourth of july annual crew.
attended to one of the most beautiful and heartfelt vermont weddings (right here in dab's hometown).
celebrated my birthday in new york city.
while there, viewed the alexander mcqueen show at the met, saw book of mormon, saw our many ny-based friends.
returned to vermont via boston, where we quickly rented one of our one bedroom apartments (it rented in less than 12 hours - a new record) and got to spend a brief evening with a one-armed ashbloem.

many pictures to come, but in the meantime, here's a link to our AT posts that were featured today (thanks, girlladyfriend, for pointing this one out).

happy pride!

2011-06-28T10:18:00.000-05:00

newlyweds

2011-06-27T13:10:00.001-05:00

jessica & galen
gary, indiana. may 28, 2011

pics by me & dab

hula lesson

2011-06-27T09:18:00.001-05:00

that's my mom in the rainbow skirt.

new mogo pencil box

2011-06-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

this time, with a camping theme. available here.

the decemberists: tiny desk concert

2011-06-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

friday eats corn

2011-06-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

stacey & john's crazy quilt of an apartment

2011-06-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

this one was fun to shoot. adorable couple - cute place.

super fan

2011-06-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

i might have misspoken last week when i tweeted, "i love central air." what i should have said is "i love central air when it's 99 degrees outside."

last saturday, a very welcome break in the weather decided to visit us here in the middle, which has made for some very pleasant nights of sleeping with windows open and fans blaring (and perhaps a spontaneous mid-week round of golf).

one of the fans a-churnin' in the house this week is a recent yard sale find - a very non-kid friendly westinghouse number from the 30's(?) that i bought for a measly $15. the thing works perfectly - it oscillates, it has speeds, and it's SILENT.

i thought i was the only person on earth who really thinks about fans, but it turns out that this dude from the new york times likes fans, too. in fact, his article just might make you re-think your central air all together.

party pics from pancake master's birthday party

2011-06-14T12:29:00.000-05:00

hallelujah! the heat broke.

2011-06-13T08:51:00.001-05:00

strong storms blew through here in the wee hours of saturday morning just in time to bring cool temperatures to st. james, missouri where we spent the night and listened to great tunes provided by firedog.

all this layering, grilling, and general good times reminded us so much of our annual july 4th celebration in vermont.

rebecca even provided us with some fireworks of her own.

upload magic

2011-06-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

yesterday was our first photo shoot using our brand-new eye-fi mobile X2 sd card and it was pure magic.

we worked our way around the cutest shabby chic apartment all the while our pictures went magically to my ipad. no longer did we have to squint to see if our pics were in focus, the pictures appeared in all their full-size glory.

check it out in the video below.

it's a far from perfect product. the set up was a bit of a mystery, and i still can't figure out an easy way to get the photos off my ipad. that being said, the fact that our pictures can go straight to flickr once we're back in a wi-fi zone without cables or any connection to a computer still amazes me.

available through amazon here.

AT dinner

2011-06-08T09:44:00.001-05:00

on monday night, we had the pleasure of having dinner with maxwell gillingham-ryan, the founder and ceo of apartment therapy, and chris phillips, AT's communications and partnerships go-to guy. maxwell, second from the right, was everything i thought he'd be and more: smart, thoughtful, insightful, and open to new ideas. he was an all-around righteous dude.

m & m

2011-06-06T12:06:00.002-05:00

dabney and i spent a gorgeous hot saturday afternoon in missouri wine country to celebrate mike's birthday. he and maggie are recent additions to our world, and i am happy to report that because of these two endlessly energetic people, we've danced more in the last three weeks than we have in the last three years.

maggie packed delicious gluten-free snacks for all of us.

afterwards, there might have been some swimming in our underwear in a nearby creek...

...and a whole lot of hugging.

cake!

2011-06-03T09:42:00.001-05:00

dabney and i had to miss our niece's 1st birthday party to attend a wedding, but we did receive this delightful video while away.

ball girl

2011-06-01T10:18:00.001-05:00

this article in today's new york times reminds me of how i wanted to be a ball girl when i was a young kid. back then, i spent summers on my hometown's only set of decent tennis courts batting a ball back and forth with a small group of boys who most definitely qualified as tennis nerds. (they even had their own on-court impressions of the superstars at the time - john mcenroe and jimmy connors.)

my ball girl dreams were later re-assessed when i met a woman in grad school who recounted her very memorable experience running after and gathering balls at a professional tournament in memphis, tennessee. the story involved 90+ degree temperatures, stefan edberg, and fainting mid-court.

new video

2011-05-26T09:20:00.002-05:00

space phone

2011-05-23T11:47:00.000-05:00

i spent saturday morning chatting with the niece. she's getting good at blowing kisses.

chalked up

2011-05-20T14:02:00.000-05:00

inspired by the work of dana tanamachi (ok, fine, i tried to rip it off completely), i created this as a backdrop to will's performance space in our workroom.

dana's work is absolutely amazing and you should check out all her amazing chalk lettering here.

he sang. he strummed. he stomped.

2011-05-19T15:23:00.000-05:00

what a great night! thirty-five lucky listeners were in the audience to hear will johnson wail away in our workroom.

afterwards, will mixed and mingled, signed his latest CD and his amazing baseballs prints. before the night was through, he was kind enough to leave us with this wonderful souvenir.

i don't know if you can read the text above, but if you can't, do yourself a favor and watch the story of dock ellis below. it'll knock your socks off.

screw you, pageant

2011-05-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

... and you, too - off broadway, old rock house, and blueberry hill.

our house is the best place to see live music. and tonight, we have will johnson.

colin hay

2011-05-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

this guy was full of surprises. i had in my head the bug-eyed goofy lead singer of men at work. remember those silly videos of theirs in the 80s? first off - he's not australian. he's scottish and moved to melbourne when he was 14. he has lived in california since 1989.

secondly, he was quite the storyteller. i guess i shouldn't be surprised - he is a songwriter afterall. but he was immensely entertaining sharing stories of his brushes with ringo starr and paul mccartney and folks who get the lyrics of his songs wrong - "goats appear and fade away." it was part comedy show, part concert.

most surprising was that his songs were so much more soulful in person than their 80s versions and sound even prettier than his subsequent recordings. i guess i'll admit here that a tear came to my eye when he sang "i just don't think i'll ever get over you." listen to it again. how can those lyrics NOT get to you?

beagle pups

2011-05-02T12:11:00.002-05:00

Live video chat by Ustream

my most favoritest band in the world

2011-04-28T09:48:00.001-05:00

let's face it - the decemberists can do no wrong in my book. last night, they sounded great, played old tunes and new, and were absolutely hilarious on stage exchanging instruments amongst themselves and even handing over guitars to two lucky audience members who had the opportunity to jam out to "chimbley sweep."

last night, we revived a tradition - we had one very sweet and genuine decemberist over to our house for dinner beforehand. yes, nate, decemberists bassist extraordinaire, came to our home, and the three of us chatted over a home-cooked meal and a couple of pre-show cocktails. it was nice. he was nice. the evening was fantastic.

here he is with dab backstage after the show.

that's me with chris and nate.

new art display

2011-04-25T16:48:00.000-05:00

with the dawn of my mother's retirement fast approaching, we have a surplus of office equipment at our disposal and ripe for the picking.

i knew i wanted this old lightbox used for xrays, after i saw this splendid exhibition at snowflake gallery last year.

i've placed it our upstairs hallway, where it will have an ever-changing assortment of photos. this first one is a photo of a line of taxis in sendai, japan.

the national and arcade fire

2011-04-22T17:30:00.002-05:00

even though, we had sworn off large arena shows - last night, dabney and i stood in line (or more like sat on a hard floor) for 1.5 hours amongst a large pool of college students to ensure a good spot on the floor to see the national and arcade fire. i was completely engrossed reading bossypants on my space phone, so the time went by quite fast.

the wait was completely worth it. we ended up in the third row center - almost close enough for win butler to shake his sweat onto us. thrilling really.

fyi - my phone pics of the national sucked, but they didn't.

new deskplate

2011-04-20T14:05:00.002-05:00

friday on sunday

2011-04-18T09:57:00.000-05:00

sunday afternoon in tower grove park

don't brush my hair in knots

2011-04-14T18:05:00.002-05:00

Charles & Greg's Formerly White now Warm Home

2011-04-11T11:46:00.002-05:00

our latest AT contribution:

this kid kills me

2011-04-07T09:54:00.013-05:00

you'd think lu was joining the polar bear club judging by her attire, but actually, she was on her way to her first baby swim class. apparently, she screamed bloody murder the entire time.

and this picture made me giggle. reminds me of my youth.

"the king is dead" companion piece

2011-04-06T13:02:00.001-05:00

getting geared up for their upcoming show here in st. louis...

here is a visual companion piece to autumn de wilde's photos of the decemberists for the deluxe box edition of the king is dead.

back by popular demand in our workroom...

2011-04-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

... mr. will johnson of centro-matic, south san gabriel, and monsters of folk fame.

we had a blast last year when he came through town. we're so glad he's coming back.

come see him live in our house on may 10th. tickets available here.

latest AT house tour

2011-04-01T13:19:00.000-05:00

things we wished fit in our bags

2011-03-31T15:34:00.000-05:00

damn that second bag rule!