Swedish dishcloths

Swedish-Style Dishcloth
Made of natural cellulose.
Long-lasting, compostable, dishwasher-safe.
Made in Sweden.
Designed by Maria Holmer Dahlgren.
6.69" x 7.87"

If you are reading this and you have used one of these Swedidh dishcloths or know of someone who has used one, please leave a comment and let me know what they are like. I'm intrigued by the dishwasher-ability.

five for friday

1. chipping sparrows are here
2. love this necklace
3. someday I hope to have one
4. so simple and beautiful
5. tiny chipping sparrow

new at the ranch

Grey wool-blend "crochet" front pillow from CB2





Three vintage teak bowls from etsy seller, Object of Beauty

These little bowls ended up being even better in person - I love them! They arrived so professionally wrapped and packaged. Thank you Object of Beauty!


and now for my rant of the day...
Cursing the USPS. My last order with Skinny laMinx has not made it here yet. I guess many of her orders shipped in November and December have been severely delayed so perhaps my goodies from Cape Town will turn up later this year. I finally got a package from Vancouver that had been M.I.A. Mark had a HUGE fail with the USPS recently on a package he sent to Dallas. Only 2 out of 5 things shipped made it and one was damaged. The other 3 items were removed from the box and it arrived in Dallas repackaged in a smaller box. How lame is that.

Orcas Island, WA

HELIOTROPE ARCHITECTS




Project: Loop - Orcas Island, WA (under construction)
Contractor:Owner
Building Area:2,400 sf
Completion:2010




Project: North Beach - Orcas Island, WA
Contractor:David Shore
Building area:2,400 sf
Completion:2009



Project: Doe Bay - Orcas Island, WA
Contractor:Sudden Homes
Building Area:1,050 sf
Completion:2008

Photography: Sean Airhart,Ben Benschnieder

five for friday

1. I ate this for breakfast today
2. more cabin love
3. buy this lovely set here
4. plump dove
5. my house this morning

Ikea

My friends were making the almost 3 hour journey from their home to Ikea on Sunday so Mark and I decided to meet them there. This time our trip only took about 45 minutes as the highways were wide open. Way better than the hour and a half when I went last Fall and swore I was never going back. One thing on my list was the tradig wire bowl. It was only available in red the last time I went and once I saw it in white online, well I had to get one. I also bought a $59 counter top in "as is" for my office. Now I have a workspace that is two feet longer! This will definitely help my goal to become more organized in 2011.

This week I'm giving Ikea's alvine rand rug a test run in the living room. I bought it on that Fall 2010 Ikea run from hell and it's been rolled up waiting for the guest room or basement to get finished. I'm not sure how I feel about it in the living room. I don't hate it. I need to live with it for while and see how it goes.

Wire

Wire are easily one of my favorite bands of all time. And a band that I get to work for in my 9-5 job world. Sort of a dream come true. Red Barked Tree, Wire's 12th studio album, will be released January 11th on the band's own Pink Flag label. NPR is streaming it here . I've had it cranked up at my desk pretty loud all day.

Back in 2008, I was given the chance of a lifetime to fly on a private jet with the band from Chicago to the Quad Cities. They were headed there to record four songs for a Daytrotter session. My boss, a colleague, and myself were invited by the band to tag along. Daytrotter, by the way, is a very cool thing run by some of the nicest guys I've ever met.




Let's back up to the night before this flight, shall we...
Wire rocked it out at the Metro. Too many drinks were consumed after the show. Once I got home, I had to wake up 3 hours later to catch the flight. Worst morning ever. I put my 38 year old body in the bathtub, washcloth over my face, got out, threw up, got dressed, and left for the airport. Somehow I pulled it together channeling my former life as a punk rocker. I gotta say it's so much easier to do shit like this when you're 23.

Wire... Chicago... April 9th... see you there!

bottom group photo - that's hungover me in the black coat & grey scarf next to Graham Lewis.