Lazy Dog Days of Summer

James and I love our 'kids'. We love our 'kids' so much that if we want to go on a bike ride we take them with us in our inSTEP bicycle trailer. Yes, it is very ridiculous, but the joy they get (or maybe the joy we get) out of it makes it worth it.

Both dogs fit comfortably (Mischka weighs 10 pounds and Jack is around 40 pounds), attaches quickly and easily to bikes, and includes a weather shield incase we should get caught in bad weather.

If you happen to be in the St. Charles/St. Louis area we suggest hopping on to the Katy Trail. This Missouri trail covers 225 miles with half of it following the Lewis and Clark’s path along the Missouri river. You can bike, run, or even do horseback riding on this trail. James and I are planning on biking from St. Charles to Augusta (27 miles) and hitting up the numerous wineries in that area, our favorites being Balducci and Montelle. We probably won't be riding our bicycles back, but isn't that what parents are for?

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream!

Just how many ingredients should it take to make ice cream? Well the folks at Häagen-Dazs say only 5! I couldn't believe this when I saw their ad in a national food magazine. To me this is great design. Not that they have taken out those nasty calories that keep popping up in my favorite food, but they have made ice cream seem somehow healthy. I've worked in the food advertising industry for a bit, so I just had to do some checking on this myself to see where the artificial ingredients were being hidden in the fine print, but none was to be found.

Ingredients: SKIM MILK, CREAM, SUGAR, EGG YOLKS, VANILLA (VANILLA BEAN FLAKES, VANILLA EXTRACT).

So now that we have you wanting to dine on ice cream made for minimalist, why not spruce up your ice cream dishes as well? These from Target are under $15 for a set of 4.

Definitely seems fit for a pre-party for the Muny’s showing of Meet Me In St.Louis

It's Okay To Hate

We are not fans of pedestal sinks (see below). Sure they look quaint, can be very inexpensive and take up hardly any space, but don’t let those pros blind you from the real issue–no counter space! For a girl that is probably the worst a sink could ever do to you.

We disposed of our pedestal sink mainly because we are currently sharing one bathroom and I needed, you guessed it, counter space. But not only that, we also needed storage below the sink for everyday things like my hair dryer, lotion, extra toilet paper , et cetera that we didn’t want to either display proudly or keep running out to the hall closet to grab.
We got the new sink (see above) at Lowe's for around $150. The kicker to this whole story is that not only did we got tons more storage space,but our new sink actually makes our bathroom appear bigger because it doesn’t jut out as far as the pedestal sink. Besides removing the pedestal sink we have also done some more updates so below is the more improved bathroom.

So now that I’ve torn down pedestal sinks thin veil of pride I’ll build it back up by posting this amazingly rare barber sink I found at Recyclingthepast.com. Don’t tell anyone, but I love it!

Uh-oh, it has begun!

Yeah, that's a lot of 2X4's in a compact car. And just what are we going to be doing with it all? You will just have to wait and see!

Wallpaper - In or Out?

Wallpaper debates may be heated, but something everyone can agree on is vintage is hot! Head on over to Secondhandrose.com where you can find vintage wallpaper as old as the 1860's. Price are also just as dramatic as the date’s ranging from $70 per roll to $1,200 per roll for original Frank Lloyd Wright designs (see images above).

Not so sure about having "the greatest American architect of all time" on your walls at all times, but still want the cool factor? Texture is it! Ralph Lauren Home has some great texture wallpapers from a Mahogany Yacare Crocodile to a natural colored Erin Line Herringbone.

Can we transform?

Yep, that's our home with our two adorable 'kids' in the front door! Only thing not represented would be our beloved Betsy Ross flag (below) - we only like to support 13.

James and I found this image of house we feel could someday be ours with just a little work and a couple of boards ;) okay, we aren't insane, but give us 3 years and we just might be on our way to an awesome front porch.

Party, Party!

Don't you just love how certain invites can set the mood for a party? Think about how rare it has gotten to actually receive paper invites. Besides weddings most people are using evites.com or other party notification websites to help get the word out. Sure they save money and time, but don't you think it takes some of the fun away from the anticipation or grandeur of the party?



Above were invites I sent for my sister's baby shower and our wedding invites. Yep, you read that right, we had two different invites. Same info on both, but we merely ran out of the first ones and didn't want to buy 50 more, so we got a smaller pack of 12. The baby shower invites can be found at Target and both wedding invites are from Michaels.