steve buscemi wilson luebe.

if you read this blog, you're probably aware that i am the (co)owner of a tiny dog named steve, aka 'teve, stever, TEEEEEEEEEEVE, teve-dogg and b-rad's faves, TURD and TURD DOG. this week has been rough in general-maybe i will write a seperate post about that later, and maybe i will not-but to make matters worse, steve has been being a real asshole. steve barks all the time, not like a constant bark, but more like a crop dust tooting-style random bark as he travels through the house. we used to joke that he had canine tourette's, but that has turned out to be real. steve is terrified of EVERYTHING, including the water bowl (which is sad yet hilarious when we aren't worrying about his hydration levels), our three gigantic cats, who routinely trap him on the stairs, any sudden movements, his canine life jacket, sweaters, any dog clothes at all, bath time, nail-clipping time, ruby the gentle giant german shepherd and the list goes on. steve also has some freakish aversion to sitting his ass on non-carpeted or rug floors, which results in a fake squat that vaguely resembles sitting when he wants a treat and is on the hardwood floors. LE SIGH. i know that posts about steve are really not my norm, but sometimes steve goes on a real barking tear and this look comes across sugarbear's face and i get really stressed out that steve is going to get murdered, so before he falls victim to the kansas cat strangler, i wanted to vent and post some pictures of steve.

because he really is the cutest dog ever, despite being such a turd, and jonathan adler posts dog pictures all the time SO I WILL TOO. steve's sister ginger is also cute, but her claims to fame are fierce loyalty, deep-seated leash aggression and an affinity for licking you not just in the mouth, but so deep in your oral cavity that your tonsils get tasted.

rest in peace.

if there were ever a reason for the sads, it is today, for the world is less one sultry, sassy bitch. not only a great actress and an unparalleled beauty, dame e-taylor was A LADY TIGER in the jewelry-acquiring, man-eating and marriage-planning department. 

rue: the day (not really).

rue | march & april 2011 just just launched, and i don't know about y'all, but i am obsessed with the feature on chicago blogger bailey mccarthy's home. not just because she is from houston and now living in chicago, and i lived in chi-town but now call space city home... it's because this gal is after my heart. first of all, pretty much every surface is wallpapered. dos, she's created a healthy balance of print, color and hilarity. although i do have a framed photograph of john wayne in our guest room, i know we are seriously lacking on the life-sized sheep sculptures around here. i love the painting over the window in the bathroom, i love the smoking cat over the bed, i love the eames and the adler and the vuitton that must have cost a grip. i want all of my sofas to be rich velvety bitches and I WILL STEAL THOSE GUN CHAIRS. anyone who can tell me where to get them gets a bottle of goldschläger and two novelty shot glasses. if this house isn't enough and you want to feel further horrible about how not crafty you are, go ahead and look at this super easy DIY.

rob ryan gives me a toothache of happiness.

and i like it. despite having been on the world's radar for awhile, rob ryan first stole my heart while i was in london visiting audrey. we had taken a day to go to Liberty of London and Drool. On. Everything. (then we took a lunch break at leon, and then we went back to liberty. still one of the best days i've ever had.) i saw a rob ryan tea towel, which was a bit misleading, because rob ryan is not a tea towel maker; rob ryan is a magical PAPERCUTTING artist. as intricate works such as his must take billions of hours to produce, there are now (thankfully) screen printed editions available for the masses, through his shop in london and his etsy storefront. i haven't stumbled upon the treasure trove of information that will unlock the mysteries and answer all of my questions about rob, such as HOW DID HE GET INTO PAPERCUTTING? and WHO WRITES THIS BEAUTIFUL LOVE POETRY? and CAN I HAVE A HUG AND SOME OF THOSE DRUGS YOU ARE ON?, but as far as i can tell, rob ryan has sweeter thoughts than the most romantic person on the planet (*and the occasional burst of heartbreak) and loves nature.  i will seek mas info de rob, but in the meantime, if you are an Anne of Green Gables-loving sap such as myself, you will positively pine for some rob-ry in your life. check out these pieces, and try to keep in mind that they were originally cut from paper with human hands. i typed some of the messages below the pieces so you are able to fully marinate in the sugary sweetness of papercut love.

Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.

You are my universe. Moons circle planets and planets circle stars, stars and galaxies rotate eternally and you and I circle each other for you are my universe entirely and i will always be yours.

I can't forget and I never will you smiled at me and from nothing something came now the world is new to me again I will remember still you smiled at me and now I dream a dream of good.

Can We? Shall We? One day very soon, let us go away together just you and me. Can We? Shall We? Call in sick one day and travel to the sea and hold hands all day. Can We? Shall We? Eat our sandwiches on the train, get drunk on fresh air and come home tired and never tell anyone.... Ever.

I miss being a small girl.

We Had Nothing, We Had Not Much, We Had Enough, We Had Everthing. P.S. Please Don't Ever Let Me Have Too Much.

Every night, at the same time, I pick a star, hold it tight and think of you a thousand miles across land and sea. I feel you in my heart thinking of me. These same stars and this same sky hang over both you and I. In our dreams and in my heart they help us feel less far apart.

Mother of mine, O Mother of mine, Help me please. Tell me why I feel this way.

My home will have no windows, doors or floors, nor bricks or mortar. My only home is in your arms and nowhere else.

No stepping stones for me because I choose to sit on my ladder and feel the icy water flow between my toes and around my ankles. This water is not deep enough to make me feel alive with life and love.

Other planets cannot be as beautiful as this one.

These bells will peal for just one day but in our hearts will ring all winter long.

You were in my head but now you are in my heart. Please stay there forever.

My darling I have never done anything brave in my life. But one day 17 years ago in Birmingham City Art Gallery I leant over and kissed a beautiful girl. I loved this girl so much. Her smile was so sweet & kin and she was so different from any girl I’d ever met before. Yet she seemed so much like me…that is to say…alone. And we were sitting on a bench in a room full of beautiful paintings and I thought now is the time. I am shaking a little bit and it seems to have gone very quiet and I leant over & kissed her on the lips and to my surpise she kissed me back and my heart soared up and up higher and higher and higher upwards into the sky where it exploded like a giant firework. That was your mother.

When I see you from across a crowded room my heart skips a beat. When I get nearer to the place where I think you might be my heart starts to thump-will you be there? Will you be there? Will you be there? And then as if by a miracle, the clouds part and the sun pours out from behind a curtain of grey and suddenly you are there…my throught goes dry, my legs turn to jelly and even now as I write this my hands begin to tremble at merely the memory. I think you have a nice smile. I think you look kind. I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts. Will you? Could you? Be my Valentine?

klaus haapaniemi: hel yes.

everyone's favorite fantasy animal illustrator klaus haapaniemi is now part of a (from what i can tell) guerrilla art + food installation, taking the form of pop-up restaurants. the project is called HEL YES and is commissioned by the finnish institute in london. with klaus serving as the creative director, the first P.U.R. occurred this past september in london and was followed up by a january-february stint in helsinki (so we've obviously missed both. LE BOO.), but perhaps there will be more? i would have relished an opportunity to see more of the delightful illustrations by my (imaginary) pal klaus, which feature a rabbit meeting it's demise via arrows. is that a bunny belly full of taters, onions and radishes? yummmmm. except the onions, which may as well be deadly poison. otherwise, five stars for radness.

from the hel yes website: HEL YES! is a temporary restaurant and exhibition imagined and realised by a creative team of Finnish designers and food visionaries. Unveiled 15 September in the Londonewcastle Depot in East London, HEL YES! served as a melting pot of people and ideas for 14 days during The London Design Festival 2010.

hay is for horses and is also a store in copenhagen.

Bridging the gap between architecture and fashion, Rolf Hay launched his namesake company at IMM Cologne in 2003 with the aim to bring Danish design back to the innovative greatness of the 1950s and ‘60s, yet in a contemporary context. Hay is committed to nurturing and promoting the originality of young talents as well as “exploring the twisted minds of established designers.”*

despite the impracticality of shopping at stores located in denmark, i have spent at least an hour perusing the wares of HAY. perusing and wanting, that is, not that anyone is surprised. the great news is that my most favorite HAY products are available stateside through aplusr and design within reach. my most favorite, the PLOPP STOOL is created using space-age technology that makes welded sheets of steel blow up like a balloon, so no two stools are alike. available here in five colors.

PLUS 9 BLANKETS are double-woven in wool and beautifully patterned in bright colors. I LOVE THESE. you can buy one for me here if you want, because they are on sale! or you can buy me all three.

adorable HEE CHAIRS, another great HAY design, are also available through aplusr. HEE. HAY. ha. the best part is that they come in several colors and are suitable for the outdoors or indoors. hee lounge chairs, hee dining chairs and hee barstools.

*taken from design within reach.