meet my rope.

dog falls for cat

via cute overload

tiny things

now that we're spending a lot more time with our camera (between mogo, apartment therapy, and one very cute baby niece), i've decided it was time to upgrade from the tripod i had been using since high school to something a) lighter, b) more versatile, and sadly, c) a bit pricey.

we've been wrestling with the old tripod in order to get shots like this, which it does just fine.


the tough part comes when we try to photograph tiny things. and you know we love tiny things. luckily, the new contraption goes horizontal and has a fancy swively ball head to point in any direction one so chooses.







i must mention here that the item above was a recent housewarming gift from our dear friend and mutual lover of small things, tomoko. it's the tiniest pin cushion i have ever seen. so small - it's inside a nut shell.

speaking of small items, i hit an antique/flea market in lafayette square over the weekend. it was held in conjunction with the lafayette square house tour, where i scouted more houses to feature. it was a great event. i found two homes i think would photograph beautifully, and i also happened to walk away with this completely useless but adorable tiny canoe. the perfect subject for more tripod practice.

fanfarlo, again

Watch the full episode. See more On Canvas.

i won! i won!

last week, two days before gary coleman passed away, i answered the following radio trivia question, "what was the name of arnold's goldfish on 'different strokes?'" duh, abraham. (i won't go into the fact that some people are now calling me "dark angel" - you know who you are.) i won two tickets to see what turned out to be a fabulous band at one of my new favorite venues.

it was a great evening. that april smith can wail!

today, i learned that i won a brand-new 8gb ipod nano from the kind folks at dwell magazine. for years, i have a been a devoted reader and more recently, i have been an official "insider" (i.e. i answer regular questions about each issue. which cover is better? did you like this article? etc.)

i guess all that poll answering finally paid off.

auntie, that's me!

welcome to the world, luella quinn!





mom is doing great.



happy family!

joe's sleek nod to history

another AT house tour...



click on the image above to check it out.

socks... not just for feet anymore

uncle joe showed up with a bag full of tricks - sock creatures, to be exact.



aren't they cute?

when he said we could take our pick (except for a couple that were already spoken for), it was a very difficult decision.



we finally went for this funny looking guy.  namely, because he happened to be wearing the same outfit as his creator.

spaces worth saving

st. louis sure has some amazing spaces.  on saturday night, we had the privilege of attending a benefit at this historic stable in the heart of soulard.  the place happens to be for sale and you can see all of its amazingness right here.

the event was in support of the friends of the san luis. this group went to court to try to stop the demolition of the mid-century san luis apartments on lindell boulevard. the effort was slapped down by a circuit court judge who ruled not only to allow demolition to proceed but that no citizen has a right to appeal a st. louis preservation board decision without a direct financial interest in a property. the friends went on to appeal to protect future building preservation efforts.  on may 5th, the missouri circuit court of appeals heard the case and are in the process of handing down a judgement.

we donated a few mid-century items to the raffle, including a (you guessed it) chair, a clock, an industrial rolodex, and a poster.



see pictures from the entire evening here.

who doesn't love a good photo booth pic?

we usually never get a chance to tear away from our booth at renegade to do anything fun. however, in austin, we finally got a chance to each get our pics taken by the awesome folks at the magnolia photo booth co.

does salsa count as a vegetable?

thank you, texas, for providing us with five glorious days of hot & humid weather and all the tacos that one could hope for: b-fast tacos, pork tacos, fish tacos, fried chicken tacos, sausage tacos, fried avocado tacos, etc.

the first ever renegade craft fair was a middling success - perhaps tempered by our obvious food budget. next time, we'll eat less, sell more.



a big thanks goes out to our terrific dallas hosts, ashbloem and davey, whose talk of the upcoming texas state fair and and all it's crazy carnival food already has us planning our next trip down there.



another big thanks goes out to our favorite frequent flier, ron-da. he managed to put up with our lameness each evening after the shows and keep us entertained.

more pics from our great week:




our booth


mogo customer


our neighbor, vaya bags


our visit to the salt lick


breakfast, texas-style

mobile mobiles

we're off to texas for the first-ever renegade austin! we're excited for the friends along the way and perhaps also the morning migas that await us.

one thing we'll be packing along with our usual wares are these brand-new mogo mobiles. cute, no?

pregnant lady cravings

cinco de volvo

it was a gorgeous weekend here in the middle. instead of staying in and prepping for this weekend's renegade craft fair, we were asked to drive old volvos in the people's joy parade, a celebration in conjunction with the cherokee street's cinco de mayo festival. i like to think we were tapped for our special driving prowess (at 10 mph).








dog was dabney's copilot indeed.

midwest - represent!

mogo is happy to announce our first retailer in the des moines, iowa area.



click on the image above to check out this cool shop!

top of the stairs to ya

for those of you who haven't met her in person, friday is one large but very skittish dog. too nervous to check things out, she's always been an observer from afar ever since she was a little puppy. lately, her favorite place to take refuge is the top of the stairs. she rarely likes to leave this spot... even to eat or go out for a walk.

dabney decided to see what all the fuss was about and discuss the matter.



it turns out you can see a sliver of the street above the old store windows if you lay your head down just so.

venti martini

dabney and i recently found ourselves at an art opening, where there was a loose bartender who was pouring some of the craziest (and nonpotable) cocktails. case in point, i ordered a gin & tonic. what i received was gin with a splash of tonic. upon my first sip, i nearly spewed gin vaudevillian-style all over the artwork.

another case in point, meet the world's largest martini...



that is 16 ounces of gin, a splash of vermouth, and a handful of olives.

ordinarily, i would never complain about a bartender who was a little heavy handed with the booze. but this was out of control.

warning - here's what can happen to you when you attempt to drink one very large martini; you start to pose uncontrollably on people's laps.

may flowers

roses from katherine's garden


peonies from rebecca's garden

AT house tour

last week, we got the pleasure of photographing this adorable south city home (click the image above to check it out). it was an absolute pleasure to shoot. in every corner, there was something beautiful, interesting, scavenged, or repurposed... not to mention that dog. that dog was killer cute.



we tried to barter an eames dcm chair for andy to no avail.