Weekend Flings

• New Uses x 50 (seen above)
• Boner Mourns Boner
• A Big Ol' Slap in the Forehead
• Darth Wants YOU!
• Ice Dancing is Silly
• Worth Going Organic
• "I Got LIGHTS and HEAT."

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Bonus Bone: Mushroom lamp

Mushroom lamp, at Hindsvik

My lamp lust is still going strong. The holes in the mushroom cap would make some nice shadows on the wall. I'm all for some nice shadowing.

For this reason, I, Porcelain, declare this a Design Boner.

Worth the Week: Bus Stop

Bus Stop

Waiting for the bus sucks. It especially sucks when the city slashes service, when it's Chicago-Style cold out, and when the good ol' gams are threatening collapse after an hour and a half of vinyasa yoga. Vin-yow-sa, rather.

But waiting does provide the chance to see things from a different angle - a gloomy and don't-put-your-tongue-on-that angle, maybe - but something new nonetheless.

Take one photograph,
trade thought for order and words,
call it Worth the Week.

Weekend Diptych

February 20-21, 2010

Hardwood and I had a fantastic trip to Portland, Oregon this weekend. Ocean and Mountains. We fell in love with the scenery!
Visit flickr to see the ever-growing Weekend Diptych collection.

Weekend Flings

• Don't Be Afraid of the Semicolon (seen above)
• Tray
• Prey?
• Oh, Kanye!

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Bonus Bone: Gimme Cupcakes Tea Towel

The cupcake - such an iconic, innocent, and one might even say, American image. Now mix it with the curved tongue and pointed claws of a flying (swimming?) dragon and you've got a playful new exotic feel.

And the tea towel is made from the softest (I've actually felt it) flour sack cotton so the literal feel won't have your hands breathing fire...Cupcake.

Gimme Cupcakes Tea Towel, by lovelane on etsy

For these reasons, I, Cardboard, declare this a Design Boner.

Worth the Week: Lazy Valentine

Lazy Valentine

This past Valentine's Day was glorious...gloriously lazy. I had plans for laundry, for a walk or some shopping, but I ended up spending much of day in bed. I couldn't choose one photograph to show my snuggle so I opted for these three: my Bird, my bed, and my Mille Bean.

Since it was the day of hearts and of chocolates, I would have loved to include the blurrily charming portrait of my true valentine, Heat. I found his glimmer of chest hair to be cozy and true but he decided it gauche.

Take one photograph,
trade thought for order and words,
call it Worth the Week.

Weekend Diptych

February 13-14, 2010

A candy colored weekend.
Visit flickr to see the ever-growing Weekend Diptych collection.

Weekend Flings

• Paper Hearts (seen above)
• A Good Sign(s)
• Love + Ink = Stinks
• From the "Professa" With Love
• A Tribute Fit for McQueen
• Best Way to a Blogger's Stomach...

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Bonus Bone: Ecomposter

ECOmposter, at ECOmposter

On the "What Is It?" segment of Ask This Old House last weekend, Roger Cook presented the above item to all the fellas. Richard Trethewey had the funniest guess, with it being a bowling teaching device for children. In actuality, it turned out to be a composter.

I rarely want to go out and get any of the gadgets they show on that segment, but I was pretty impressed with how this composting ball made composting so much easier and faster. Compost needs to be regularly mixed and, in conventional composting bins, that requires raking, a task which isn't easy and can be messy and smelly.

The ECOmposter allows you to simply spin the ball on its base and you're done. You can also roll it to where you need to add your compost. And because the the ECOmposter is well sealed, you don't have the smell. Compost creation time is increased. To top it all off, the Ecomposter is made from reclaimed/recycled nylon plastic.

For these reasons, I, Porcelain, declare this a Design Boner.

Worth the Week: First Decent Photo with My New Camera

First Decent Photo with My New Camera

The lovely and creatively supportive Heat just bought me a new camera. Thank you, Heat! Even with a dirty lens (oops to all those smudges up there), my new-to-me Nikon D100 is a million steps up from my former Kodak POS.

I've been wanting to work with an SLR for awhile now. I know that I've improved my photo skills with the (not-all-that-terrible) Kodak but the features are undoubtedly limiting. I was becoming lazy and getting auto-focused into a rut.

After finally picking up, or might I say bench-pressing, my Nikon, I rediscovered that photography is hard! Not only am I dealing with a lot more weight but I'm also struggling with actually having to work. The image above - the old timey fridge - is just barely out of focus. I'm flashing right back to high school and Intro to Photography, when Mr. Bloomfield glared at me over every print I turned in and said, "You sure you don't need glasses?" He was right; I did.

Now I wear contacts (Thank you, Mr. Bloomfield!) but appear to still be a bit shaky-handed (Thank you, Mr. Coffee!). The photo above is aiiiight - interesting composition, decent color - but I know I can do better. So I will continue to play and learn because, like all things worth the work, reward will come from practice and the ability to focus.

Take one photograph,
trade thought for order and words,
call it Worth the Week.

Weekend Diptych

February 6-7, 2010

Weekend of light.
Visit flickr to see the ever-growing Weekend Diptych collection.

Weekend Flings

• Haiti: Three Weeks Later (seen above)
• For Your Netflix Queue
• Dealbreaker?
• Free Downloads from Chicago Public!
• How NOT to Email

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Bonus Bone: Volumes Fabric

Stacks of books are a big theme at my house but I wouldn't necessarily say they are a decorating choice. I just love the books, ergo, I gots them everywheres.

Well, wait. I don't have them in my window sills (curtains)...or completely covering my bed (sheets)...and I certainly don't wrap them around me when I cook (apron).

Why hello, Volumes fabric! Thank you for coloring my obsession in Rose, in Gold, in Teal.

For these reasons, I, Cardboard, declare this a Design Boner.

Worth the Week: Warehouse Worktown

Warehouse Worktown

The fam was in town this past weekend. We all piled in the car (yes! CAR!) to attend a small and delightful wedding expo thinger. The chic and indie wedding show gave us a taste of bite-sized brisket, vintage pin-ups, and such a lovely script. Yet I couldn't help but notice the space - a very cool industrial-turned-entrepreneurial warehouse.

I would love to work in a space like this. The quiet, open hallways - with brick and vents and NEON - opened onto gently marked doorways. There was even an indoor bike rack! And, most importantly, this building is about a...um...seven minute bus ride from my house.

So far my shiniest employment option is Ballroom Dance Chicago but I don't think I have the technical expertise...yet. I'll have to see what else is in the space because I think Mr. Sketch (that blurry finger up there) would kill me if I contacted The Dark Angel of T-Shirts...

See more of the neon sign fun HERE and HERE.

Take one photograph,
trade thought for order and words,
call it Worth the Week.

Weekend Diptych

January 30-31, 2010

Machine-made vs. Man-made.
Visit flickr to see the ever-growing Weekend Diptych collection.