Dog Shaming

Are you following Dog Shaming yet? 

My vet/lifelong best friend told me about this tumblr and I've read every single post. My stomach muscles actually hurt from laughing so hard. You can also keep up with the naughty pups on twitter.

Lego Architecture

Mr. Cheese received The Farnsworth House Lego set for Christmas last year. 

Ever since then, I've been amazed at the cool midcentury Lego house designs that people have come up with.

"Villa Hillcrest" front view by Kenneth Parei-Sewell via Dwell

"Villa Hillcrest" back view via Inhabitat

via Rob Bender

via Grrr's Mind

Eames house inspired? via My Mini Mod Pod

Not up for designing your own modern Lego house?  Lego's got you covered.  Check out the Lego Architect Series kits.

Go Pack Go!

Are you watching the Superbowl tonight? Good food + good beer + good football = one fun evening. My Titans and Chargers may not have made it to the big game this year, but I love watching Green Bay play, so I'm pumped about this matchup.

here

And Aaron Rodgers is pretty easy on the eyes, too. (But check out the circa 1982 'stache here, Aaron's January '09 look.)

here

Go Packers!

Awesome.

Available here.

Birthday Weekend

Hello my lovelies, did you have a nice weekend? Mine started off with a whimper - a nasty headache put me in the bed Friday night. My husband bought me this beautiful cake. Why? It was my birthday :) Like I needed another excuse to play with my new iPhone Hipstamatic app (which I learned about through Amy. Her photos are much better than mine.)
Mmmm... chocolate cake with the best buttercream frosting ever.
We spent yesterday roaming up and down Highway 127 browsing the World's Longest Yard Sale. I found a few cool things for the shop, and highlights of the day included fresh-squeezed lemonade, the best blueberry fried pie in the whole world, and dinner at a local old-school favorite Italian restaurant. Oh, and the cake. Did I mention the cake? Every year I see some unusual stuff at the 127 sale, but this was my favorite weird thing this year: a Peter Griffin (Family Guy) Painting. And what I just noticed - it even says Happy Brd.Day!
This was one of my shop's busiest weeks ever, so today was spent packing parcels. Carving out some time to spend with friends this week is a priority. I have no social life these days...

Much more interesting than my prom dress...

Did you see this yahoo story about the duct tape prom competition? Over 240 couples across the U.S. and Canada competed for scholarships by designing and making their prom outfits entirely out of duct tape.
I'm seriously impressed.
See more photos and read the entire article here.

Madmen!

My sister-in-law MadMen'ed us. Me:
Mr. Cheese (plaid jacket):
I can't wait for the season premiere of Mad Men on Sunday!

P.S. So sorry for the lack of posts this week. I'm reorganizing as my schedule has changed, and this week is a little crazy. I should be all settled in by next week. I'll catch up with everyone soon, I promise!

Summer Fun - 70's Style

As I've mentioned before, my city is hilly and most yards do not have large flat grassy areas suitable for lawn games. But I have fond memories of childhood vacations to Maryland and Connecticut to visit my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins, where we spent our days on the beach...
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by the pool....
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running through the sprinklers...
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picnicking in the backyard...
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flying kites...
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playing croquet...
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badminton...
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tetherball...
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and Jarts (lawn darts)
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We are headed out of town again this weekend to visit my grandparents and spend some time with my sister's family at my Aunt & Uncle's house in North Carolina. I fully expect my 7 year old nephew to again beat us at croquet. He's a natural.
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It looks like some big life changes are ahead for Mr. Cheese and I starting next week. Perhaps it's fitting, since Sunday is our 1-year anniversary :) And no, I'm not pregnant. I promise details soon...

Disclaimer: DO NOT allow your three-year-old to play with lawn darts! Did parents have no sense in the 70's?

If this van is a' rockin'...

Don't come a' knockin'...
I would totally drive this. (Oh the Eames chairs I could fit in there). Source

Rainy Day Cute

Thanks to a busy weekend in the shop and plans for an upcoming vacation (yippee!), yesterday was a work day for me, but it still "felt" like a holiday. Although we didn't have any grand plans and lots of rain fell, we managed to cram a lot of summer fun into the weekend: miles and miles of walking around downtown and the North Shore, pints and a philly sandwich on the patio here, watching movies from the couch and in the theater, and grilled portobellos (which my husband has mastered). All of this rain reminded me of a couple of cute rainy day photos I had tucked away in a folder. Wish I had a rainy day outfit this cute. Source: lookbook via pretty.little.world.
Ah, if only they made a doggie umbrella big enough for my 65 pound boy Dodge. Apparently he's too delicate to get rained on (yet strangely, he's really good in the bath). Photo source: Geek Gaz
My apologies for the shorty posts these past few days. Hope to make up for it this week...

She works in a monkeyhouse & has lizards on her nubbins

Have I ever told you about my dear friend Amy? Over the almost 20 years that I have known her, she has been my therapist, my shoulder to cry on, my my wing-woman, my partner in crime. As one of the funniest people I've ever known, Amy has made me laugh so hard that milk (ok, beer) came out of my nose. She moved to Florida last year, so when I saw this cute mug at 10thAvenueEast, it screamed Amy. (Her self-portrait below.)

Stephanie at 10thAvenueEast even included the prettiest personalized card for me:

The title of this post pertains to a couple of Amy-isms. When I was on the phone with her last week and asked how her new orange tree was doing, she said "there are lizards on my nubbins" and proceeded to send me this pic (in the few seconds between her proclamation and taking this pic, the lizard had moved from the tiny orange to the branch). I've been entertained with many reptile-related stories since Amy moved to Florida.

The office building where Amy works is in a building that used to be some sort of a monkey house in the 50's & 60's. You read correctly, a monkey house. The Rockefellers must have funded it, there's a dedication plaque. I would love to see old pics of this place when the monkeys were still there. It looks like a cool mid-century building, with a big atrium and planters everywhere. Amy promised more pics of the monkey house.

A few more favorites from 10thAvenueEast:

How cool is that brass bull?

A Tasty Man to Start your Day...

What?! This Tom Selleck Cake has been out there on the web for almost 2 years and yet I'd never seen it until little grey pixel posted it a few days ago. You are a genius alicia policia.
Gives new meaning to the word "beefcake". For the record, I would have requested a mustache piece. Have I ever told you how much Mr. Cheese loves Magnum? Can you blame him - what dude growing up in the 80's didn't want to solve crimes, live in Hawaii, and drive a Ferrari?

Sandwiches and Asylums

Just a couple of quickies, then I think I'm going back to bed for a while. I'm now full-blown icky sick (though very thankful it's not any kind of flu!). First link: Decay at The Kingston Lounge (discovered thanks to a tweet from junkculture). Incredible photography of abandoned asylums and hospitals. Seriously, go there now.
Ever wondered exactly how much your roast beef on rye cost? Should you splurge for sprouts? Then you need the Sandwich Price Calculator. Warning, might make you hungry. Via Cockeyed.
I have interesting dreams when I'm sick. This morning I was dreaming of making a light fixture from an Eames shell chair. Now I have to figure out how to do it, and find a 14 foot or higher ceiling to hang it from.

Thanks for all of your get well wishes! Off to collect my kleenex and cough drops and make a cup of tea and crawl back under the covers...

This Puppy Looks like Orson Welles

My husband thinks so anyway.




Sources: Puppy photo was e-mailed from my sister. Various Orson's found at: youchewpoop, myspace, takegreatpictures, sofacinema.

I hope you all had a smashing weekend! Many of us in the U.S. are on holiday from work today, although my husband and I both decided to go ahead and work. He's off to the restaurant renovation job and I have a bunch of Etsy sales to pack. Thank goodness for a good sales week, as Etsy is my only job right now. I have no renovation work lined up and I'm putting off the dreaded job search. It's tough getting motivated to work on "labor day" after a weekend full of eating the world's best chocolate chip pancakes (that Mr. Cheese made), watching Weeds (hilarious!), afternoon beer, and lots of Mexican food.