LET THE KOBE-BASHING BEGIN

THE BOSTON CELTICS ARE IN THE NBA FINALS!!!!!

The Boston Celtics played like NBA Champions for the first time in the playoffs, dominating the fourth quarter on the road to turn a 10-point deficit (with KG in foul trouble and Billups/Hamilton on fire, as well) into an 8-point victory. The Pistons had more turnovers in the fourth than they had field goals because the Celtics were flying all over the place. Perk had a huge block. Pose went ninja to steal the ball from Prince. The Celtics weren't giving up any offensive rebounds. Pierce was calm and collected as he led HIS team (it is still HIS TEAM, dammit) down the stretch. Rondo hit a corner pocket 20-footer in crunch time to push the Celtics lead to 7.

Bill Simmons wrote a piece of crap article today about how the Lakers are unbeatable. The Lakers ripped through the West. Good for them. THE CELTICS DOMINATED THE WESTERN CONFERENCE THIS SEASON, BITCHES! I also remember two curbstompings of those nancy boys in yellow courtesy of the men in green. Pierce always steps up in LA, and Lamar Odom is the third best player on the Lakers. LAMAR ODOM. See the clips below:







Um......... I like our chances.

The Celtics have a great chance in this series, but if you listen to the experts you'd think otherwise. Remember, though, they said the Celtics wouldn't beat the Cavs, they said the Celtics wouldn't beat the Pistons, and they got the job done. They said that the Celtics didn't have the playoff experience to get it done. They did both awkwardly at times, but they did it, JUST LIKE THE PATS USED TO DO!

It's so satisfying to have this team in the finals. Great job, top to bottom, I love these fine men.

Have a relaxing weekend.

(Photo by Aya Brackett)

Etsy Friday: Oh, Leoluca

Now and again, I'll find myself trolling etsy for new vintage shops. Well, today I found one! In her brand new shop Oh, Leoluca, Berlin artist Teresa Hu features quirky European vintage. Also, she is stunning and has a star tattoo. Shop here, my darlings.

GAME SIX

Physicality! Yeah.

Deer Beds

This is a beautiful concept: Katherine Wolkoff followed deer trails in Block Island and photographed deer beds. Apparently, deer press down the vegetation to make a sleeping place where predators won't see them. They never use the same bed twice, but the imprints can last for a few days. Katherine told James Danziger that the experience was incredibly emotional, and she chose to make the prints 40x50 inches, almost life size. Wouldn't these be stunning to see in person?
(Via the inspiring Year in Pictures)

Sweet Yellow Canary.

Luke Stephenson's 20x200 print is so sweet, no wonder it sold out in two seconds. See more of his funny photography here.

Home Inspiration: Typography Decor

I love seeing type used in cool ways. This Nava calendar looks great in a green kitchen, and Alex and I have the Noa Bembibre calendar, which makes me happy every time I see it. Go, typography!
(Via Domino Magazine)

Perkalicious

Thus far the Celtics have played like cow-turds this playoffs. As a result of their mediocrity Celtics fans have been desperately seeking a scapegoat. Blaming Doc is too trendy these days, Rondo is too cute to be mad at, and blaming Ray Allen is just depressing, . This means that every-time the Celtics sputter, Perk gets dragged under the bus. That was until last night when Perk dominated the game throwing down 18 points 16 rebounds. Perks critics have been silenced for the time being, but just in case all the haters ( like that wanker BP) aren't convinced, I'm going to clarify some anti-Perkins propaganda that has been floating out there.

1. "He often disappears in games." - Perk doesn't disappear IN games, he disappears FROM games. The reason? Because Doc shows no confidence in Perk, rarely giving him extended playing time outside the first quarter. Its hard to stay engaged in a game when your sitting on the bench. If you look at Perks numbers per 48 minutes, they rival even the "Big Ticket."

2."Perk has oven-mitts for hands." The biggest myth about Kendrick Perkins is that he has no hands, cannot handle passes, brings the ball down, and has no post game. Anyone who says that has clearly not watched a Celtics game this year. Perk is a different man. He has developed a solid low-post game with a soft-baby hook and powerful attacks to the basket. Where he used to bring the ball down and miss layups, now he simply dunks the ball. Perks greatest asset in the post is that he plays within himself. He doesn't force his low-post game. There's a reason he had the highest Celtics field-goal percentage of all time.

3. "Perk does nothing but foul." Another lie. When someone says Perk does nothing but foul what they really mean is that they are too stupid to recognize anything Perk does except the fouls. Perk is a roll player. It is not his job to score. His job is to get rebounds, get garbage baskets, and defend the basket. He does those things to perfection, and while they don't always show up in the box score, they show up in the wins column. Yes, Perk gets a lot of fouls, but keep in mind he is still young, and that every ref hates him.

4. "Leon Powe is better." Leon Powe is awesome, but whether Powe is better or worse than Perk is irrelevant. What is important is how P.J. Brown, not Perk is eating all of Powe's minutes. P.J. is a steady veteran who is reliable and makes few mistakes. He also makes few big plays. Perk showed he can put the team on his shoulders and Leon has that same explosiveness. Why hasn't Powe seen a minute of PT in the Pistons series? Ask the Doc.

5."Perk sucks." No, you suck. Perk is only 23 years old, and is getting the first consistent playing time of his career. If you consider how much Perkins has improved since last year, Celtics fans should be praising the beast, not ripping him.

Perk will never be Bill Russel, but for a 23 year old roll-player to score 18 and 16 on limited playing time is pretty damn' good. You want to throw someone under the bus, talk to the coach, biotch.

Congrats to our friends at Perkisabeast for Perks awesome performance and Donny Marshall's shout out to them on the Celtics half-time report on CSN.

RE-ENTER THE SCAL

TONY ALLEN TWEAKS ANKLE IN PICKUP GAME; SCAL HAS BEEN ACTIVATED; TACO BELLS IN MICHIGAN TREMBLE IN FEAR

He's back, homies and homegirls! Although our favorite tubby ginger has made cameo appearances on the sidelines during the playoffs- most notably rocking the business casual suit and defusing a gang war between the Crip-killa sign flashing Paul Pierce and Atlanta Hawks- now he's back in uniform and ready to rock & roll. He's going to rock some of the finer fast food establishments while wearing his Celtics jersey and then have Brian Doo softly roll his fat ass to the sideline to watch the game. If the Celtics need a quick dose of the Scalabrine Effect, and Lord knows they did in Game 5, he'll be ready.

Good to have you back, buddy, and our best wishes to Tony Allen for a speedy recovery.

Automotive Monogamy

This blog has been getting a little girly (sorry, dudes), so here is a stereotypically male post. Italian photographer Matteo Ferrari tracks down men who have been driving the same car for decades. He then recreates the photos taken when they first bought their cars. I love seeing the people both young and old and thinking about how much they must adore their wheels.
(Via Perpenduum and Intersection Magazine)

Look at all the redheads!

Remember this weighty discussion? Here's a blog all about redheads, with gorgeous portraits by (redhead, of course) Julia Baum. Some say that redheads are going extinct, so now's the times to see them!
(Via The Year in Pictures)

Home Inspiration: Pretty Quilts

Quilts add such a lovely, personal touch to a bed. This photo makes me want to cuddle up with a good book.
(Photo from Design*Sponge)

Thank you, Swissmiss!

Last night, I went to dinner at the home of Swissmiss (known in the real world as Tina), who is such a lovely, warm person. Her husband is wonderful, too, and their daughter is The Cutest Little Funny Bunny Ever and loved getting her tummy tickled and eating the rice from under our sushi. What a great family!
(Photo from Aya Brackett)

WHAT THE F WAS THAT...?!?!? CELTICS WIN OUTRAGEOUS GAME

THANKS MOSTLY TO PERK, CELTICS UP 3-2 DESPITE BLOWING 17-POINT LEAD

Kendrick Perkins made me look like a horse's ass this evening. After calling him out for crappy performances (which I believe were justified considering PJ Brown was taking all his minutes), Perk went friggin' bananas in Game 5. I don't know if he reads this blog, but he played as if he did and took everything I wrote really, really personally. Good! He had a double double in the first half, and in the fourth quarter he was outrebounding the Pistons, for the game, BY HIMSELF. Nutty. The best play though, was watching Perk basically try to take the ball coast to coast and almost pulled it off despite the fact that his sprinting speed is 3 mph. I kept asking myself while watching... is this Perk? Does he ever play like this? The answer is- not until last night, baby! It was the best game of Perk's career, and the Celtics needed every point and every rebound out of him tonight. Give him the MVP, he earned it.

But please, please, I beg of you. Give credit to Kevin Garnett, who was lights out shooting (11-17 FGs. 8-10 FTS). He was dropping in long jumpers as the shot clock expired and even drilled a bank shot three. Popeye Jones immediately filed a copyright infringement suit against KG but it was immediately thrown out because Popeye's patented move wasn't the bank shot three but the turnaround brick off the SIDE of the backboard after the play was over. So, if you happen to do that in a pickup game you owe 'ol Popeye five bucks.

But back to the matter at hand, KG was huge down the stretch (mostly from the line), once again showing that all the "KG isn't clutch" talk is uttered by morons that think that the only stat that matters is PPG. He drained the two free throws to seal the game for the Celtics tonight. Bill Simmons is a moron who couldn't hit two straight free throws if he had all day. Not to be outdone, Ray Allen who apparently decides at random when he will play like an All-Star, because he was stroking the three like this. He also had some clutch free throws. As spotty as the Celtics' point guard play is down the stretch of these close games, their free throw shooting is MONEY (other than from the point guard position, yikes...).

Still, Rasheed Wallace made something like 10 threes and nobody on the Celtics can guard Rip (not even Posey!), so it was STESSFUL in the fourth. At the start of the quarter, the C's decided that every shot should be a 3 with 15 seconds left on the shot clock. Of course, Doc let this go on like a bumbling idiot until the Pistons cut the lead down to 4. 17 points down to 4. Thankfully, because Rasheed Wallace is a psychopath he got a technical foul that stopped the Pistons' momentum and the Celtics were able to hold on despite Rondo throwing the ball around like it was the And 1 tour. He had only 1 turnover in this game which blows my mind because he was incredibly loose with the ball. He could have had 10 turnovers. I love Rondo but his low turnover total was ALL LUCK tonight.

Down the stretch, the Pistons were surging hard and the Celtics were barely holding on. The Celtics' strategy was to barely get the ball inbounds, have Rondo barely get the ball over halfcourt, have Rondo lob a pass into traffic and pray that someone got fouled. Somehow it worked. The Pistons could have won the game. They had all the momentum in the fourth. They had the 17-point lead trimmed down to 1 with the Celtics throwing the ball all over the place. But, thank the basketball gods, the Celtics were able to do just enough to pull it out. This game was over 3 hours long and it didn't even go into overtime.

Alright, it's way past my bedtime and I am in a full sweat. The playoffs are fun but for this reason they suck. Peace out, go Celtics!

New Cookie House Tour

A super fancy house tour on Cookie today.

Home Inspiration: Antlers

Ok, ok, I know antlers peaked years ago and are now officially over. Everyone's sick of plastic antlers, cloth antlers, knit antlers, lucite antlers, chandelier antlers, jewelry antlers--too many antlers! But even after the explosion and backlash, I still love honest-to-goodness actual antlers as art. They add a beautiful natural shape to the wall, and you can display them guilt-free, because deer shed their antlers every year.

What do you think, dear readers? Is this trend timeless or so 2004?
(Photo via Design Sponge)

My Heart Wanders

Note to all photographers: The June 15th deadline for Pia's photography book My Heart Wanders is rapidly approaching! Please enter a photo for this amazing project!

* Each photograph must display a tiny heart shape, and the heart shape must be made or found by you. The heart should not necessarily be the focal point of the photo. The book will showcase artists and creatives from all corners of the globe. *

For inspiration and rules, go here. To submit, simply email your photo to myheartwanders (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thank you, and good luck!!!

(Photo by Jen)

Vogue Does Sex & the City.

I have to admit, I'm embarrassing excited for the Sex & the City movie. Like, crazy excited. It's already sold out for the 30th, so I'm planning to skip out and see it the next afternoon. Look at these incredible shots of Carrie and Big from Vogue's June issue, which envisioned what it would be like for the couple to honeymoon in Manhattan. Carrie's dresses are amazing (oh, that green gown!), and it's so fun to see them galavanting around the city. My only question is, where is everyone else? This city is empty!
(Via Milk)

Home Inspiration: Old Gas Pendant Lamps

I love the look of these old lamps. You can find them on eBay or BellaCor.
(Styling by Sasa Antic, via Emma)

What a pretty dress...

Would be flattering on everyone. From Bird, of course.

The Grammar Police

Speaking of words, these guys are traveling around the United States correcting typos and grammar mistakes on signs and billboards. Double thumbs up; I always have a dorky urge to correct things like "Steak's" and "Dinning Room."

Home Inspiration: Shower Magnets

Here's a fun idea: Stick magnetic words to a bath or shower. You could spell things for your family each morning, or leave up inside jokes. (From Anthropologie, via Nibs)

Celtics Win Road Game; Detroit is Screwed.

After taking both Atlanta and Cleveland to 7 games and failing to win a single road game, everyone began to doubt the Celtics as legitimate contenders. As a result, when Detroit stole game 2 in Boston after shooting their brains out, everyone in the world thgought the Celtics were finished. What people failed to consider was that Boston had reached rock bottom while still winning. They are the best team in basketball, and sooner or later they were going to win some road games. People were looking at the Celtics thinking " man, they suck, they can't win a road game". They should have been thinking "man, as soon as Boston wins a road game, everyone else is f#cked." Well consider Detroit f%#cked. The Celtics not only beat Detroit on their home court, but they beat them badly. They now have all the momentum in the world going into game 4, putting Detroit in a must-win situation, because you know they aren't losing two straight in Boston.


While I am happy for the Celtics, most of my joy stems from the fact that I no longer have to here the idiots in the media babble about how great the Pistons are. The Pistons suck and here's why:


Everyone thinks the Pistons are the quintessential veteran ball club. They talk about them like they are the Spurs. Hardly. They are mediocre at best. Just because they have made it to the conference finals in the East 6 straight years, doesn't mean they are good. The East sucks. Since they won in 2004, they have choked almost every time and get worse every single year. The 2004 team had Ben Wallace in his prime, a deep bench consisting of Lindsay Hunter in his prime and the big Nasty Corlless Williamson. Oh, they also had Larry Brown at the helm, only one of the greatest coaches ever. Today's version of the Pistons is hevily watered down. Their bench is shallow. Flip couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag. Sheed is older than he used to be and Chauncy is banged up. The fact the Celtics have been treated as under dogs in this series is a joke. The Celtics Spanked them during the regular season, and they are spanking them in the playoffs. The only reason the Pistons won in game 2 was because they played perfect. The Pistons are washed up.


Now that the Celtics have the road-monkey off their back, I see them seizing control over this series and taking the Pistons out in 5 or 6 games. Tonight, the PIstons should bounce back, but don't count on it being enough to win. The Celtics have hit their stride at exactly the right time. Since the Pistons are the streakiest, most lethargic team in the league, they are more likely that they implode than win. Celtics are winning and I garen-sheed you that.

Have a cheeky weekend!

(This cover of Steve McQueen was art-directed by Ruth Ansel. Remember the photos of the leaning pictures this week? They were hers, and the photos were taken by James Danziger, of The Year in Pictures.)

Elisabeth's new Swedish magazine....

Elisabeth Dunker, of finelittleday, just debuted this new children's magazine, Petit. She handled the design, styling and photography. The cover is adorably enticing but not overly sweet, and the logo is just perfect. Congratulations, Elisabeth--I want to fly to Sweden to get one!

Deep Thoughts

I'm the typical brunette (neurotic, bookish), but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have striking blonde or red hairs. Is it true, do blondes (or redheads) really have more fun?
(P.S. This dude is cute. No other reason for posting:)
(Photos by Garance Dore, via Grey)

Happy Easter! Despite Celtics Loss, Jesus Shuttleworth Rises From Dead To Score 25 Points; Pistons Are Screwed in Game 3.

SPEAKING OF THE DEAD; DID I SEE TONY ALLEN IN A PLAYOFF GAME? NOW THAT CELTICS HAVE HOME LOSS OFF THEIR BACK, THEY CAN FOCUS ON WINNING ONE ON THE ROAD. THIS PISTONS ARE STREAKIER THAN SCALS UNDIES. THIS SERIES IS FAR FORM OVER. DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK ITS WEIRD THAT EDDIE HOUSE'S KID IS RUNNING AROUND THE BENCH? EDDIE BETTER HOPE THE GIANTS 3rd BASE COACH ATTENDS CELTICS GAMES.

Home Inspiration: Exposed Bulbs

Don't you love the idea of having bulbs hanging from the ceiling? It's so industrial and lovely. The only catch is that maybe they would be bright or unflattering...What do you think? P.S. More here.

DISTRAUGHT

CELTS LOSE FIRST HOME GAME OF PLAYOFFS TO EVEN SERIES AT 1-1; NOW ARE FORCED TO WIN IT ON THE ROAD

CELTICS COME CHARGING BACK FROM 11 POINTS DOWN BUT DEFENSIVE AND REBOUNDING LAPSES SEAL THEIR FATE (THAT REVERSE LAYUP OFF OF AN INBOUNDS PLAY WITH THREE SECONDS ON THE SHOT CLOCK WAS THE WORST ONE....) RELENTLESS COMEBACK SHOULD HAVE CARRIED THEM TO VICTORY

BUT, SILVER LINING, RAY ALLEN IS BACK, CELTICS TOOK THE PISTONS' BEST SHOT AND ALMOST PULLED IT OUT, I*HEART*CELTICS STILL FIRMLY BELIEVES THAT THE CELTICS CAN/WILL WIN THIS SERIES

GAME 2

PIERCE'S LIMBS MIGHT GO IN ALL DIRECTIONS AT THE SAME TIME BUT HE'S GOT HIS EYES ON THE PRIZES BITCHES!!!!

Breezy Wedding

Erica from Thoughtful Day and her adorable fiance (now husband!) Patrick just got married in Jamaica. Their stunning wedding photos were taken by the talented Anna Wolf. Also, I love love love her laid-back wedding dress and pretty ponytail. They look like they're having such a good time. (More photos here.)(Via Frolic)