10 Stylish Cat Accessories So Cool Cats Might Not Ignore Them

1) Alessi Tigrito Cat Bowl $90

Why do dogs have all the luck? Every luxury house from here to Timbuktu makes designer dog leashes and luxe canine bedding, but when it comes to cats conventional wisdom holds that the best we can hope for is to keep their necessities as out of sight as possible. But nobody can keep a kitty backstage when it wants to be front and center, so luckily there are some stylish options out there for entertaining your cat and decorating his or her home. Because as any cat owner knows, it's the cat's home, we just live in it.


2) Loyal Luxe Native American Teepee $24


3) Adult Cat Tree House $1085


4) Cat's in Style Post $564


5) Smart Cat Ultimate Scratching Post $46.64


6) ModPet V-leg Pet Bed $95


7) AtomicAttic Upcycled Vintage Suitcase Pet Bed $59


8) Urban Pet Haus Wave Perch $99.99 - $149.99


9) Modkat Litter Box $180


10) Igloo Cat Bed $149.99

Good Libations: Mint Julep

Receipe:
10-15 mint leaves
1.5 Tbsp. simple syrup
1/2 cup bourbon (seriously, half a cup)

Pull about 10 mint leaves off their stems. If you're using a glass instead of a julep cup, rim it with sugar first, then add the leaves and the simple syrup and bruise the leaves just a little bit with a muddler. Fill the glass with crushed ice, then the bourbon (yes, the full half cup of it). Give it a quick stir, once is probably enough. Garnish with the rest of the mint.

Receipe from Saveur

The ongoing construction of Beijing

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Eye Candy: A Man Refills the 'Drinkable Water' Jug

On my way home from work this evening, I spied a man refilling a "drinkable water" jug from a common hose. Beijing tap water is not potable. This is not a particularly unusual sight for this city.

The doors of Beijing

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

Beijing has a lot of really beautiful, interesting doors. I've been taking a few pictures whenever I happen to pass one. My very favorites are the old, shaped doors. They were designed to basically create a frame for the view behind them. I included the Foo Dog door guardian at the end because he doesn't flank a grand siheyuan. He and his twin guard the doors of a very modern law office and copy shop on Yaojiayuan Street.

Further evidence that Chicago is the best city in the world

"The large stone slabs that form the windowsills and front steps of many turn-of-the-20th-century homes and apartment buildings in Chicago are made of limestone, a rock that forms from the skeletons of ocean-dwelling animals. These rocks also contain fossils."


A fossil in the Pittsfield building on Washington St. in Chicago.


Full story at the Chicago Tribune

Eye Candy: The Corner Produce Market

This is the corner street fruit market. Sometimes they have vegetables, but it's really mostly fruit. Dragonfruit is in season now. Cherries should be along shortly.

Eye Candy: Bejing Public Telephones

This is what public telephones look like in Beijing. They're pretty common, so it's not unusual to see strings of these lining both sides of a major street.

Whenever I see one I am uncomfortably reminded of the Real Housewives of Orange County. Please tell me it's not just me.