Office decor...

So it turns out that my decorating style, at least as far as hanging images on the wall, is remarkably consistent. This is yet another instance of a collection of small things, in this case, collected on my brand new bulletin board in my brand new (well, as of November) office. You'll notice that there still some space to fill up, but not much...





Notice one of my new calendars - my first and only Etsy purchase, and the essential Milton card.



Here's Patience, one of the New York Public Library lions, as well as a postcard of my favorite postage stamp ever.



I hang up postcards, magnets, fortune cookie fortunes...



I use old calendar images like the Lilac Fairy and the Motawi fish tile.



Ten points if you can guess what dance they're doing in the old Pinewoods image...



And of course, my plants!

Stop by and visit sometime!

So many books, part eleventy-two...

Somehow with the new year, the new semester and a new season of dance events comes a whole new host of books to read. My list is getting really long, and the library can't get in those new releases fast enough (or enough copies of them) for me.

Here's a sample of the list, most of them guilty pleasures of no literary merit...

Jane Austen take-offs:

-Impulse & Initiative by Abigail Reynolds
-Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo
-The Pemberly Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins

Two from two different Rhys Bowen series

-In a Gilded Cage
-Royal Flush

The inevitable next one in various mystery series written by women with female leads:

-Murder on Waverly Place by Victoria Thompson
-Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear
-Face at the Window by Sarah Graves
-Oolong Dead by Laura Childs
-Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig

And others:

-Roanoke by Margaret Lawrence
-Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
-Rumours by Anna Godbersen
-Envy by Anna Godbersen
-Deception's Daughter by Cordelia Frances Biddle
-Cast in Fury by Michelle Sagara
-Cast in Secret by Michelle Sagara
-The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
-Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
-The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

Plus all of the ones I've forgotten, and all of the ones I pick up on impulse at the library...

It's me!

I'm a fond reader of Apartment Therapy. I like the window into other people's lives, the celebration of Ikea, and the sharing of ideas about design and small space living. But in truth, the predominant style of the site - midcenutry modern - is not me. I tend toward rounder edges and traditional and classic lines, moldings and subtle graphics. At last, this week, I found the house tour for me, an Edwardian in Boston:

The mantle of my future in my living room? I love the simple decoration.

I also love the mirror above and the simple brickwork. The grey on the walls appeals, but I'll probably go with a tawny cream on the first floor.

I've been thinking about a table behind my sofa, or at least some kind of shelf to more clearly define the living room space from the entry/passage to the back of the house.

And of course, the droolworthy built-ins. I need a butler's pantry. I just need one. And cabinets with glass doors or no doors. It is my destiny...

An encounter with art...

This picture can't even begin to do justice to the sculpture/chandelier/art installation spied downtown today in the Philadelphia building over coffee at the Naked Chocolate Cafe. It's the work of Warren Muller. I love the spirals and scrollwork and the variey of glassware he used - he kinds of items you have at home, or remember from your parents and grandparents houses.

FiddleMoose

Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers would not only be a great name for a kids book, it's also a great band. I heard them tonight at the contra dance. They were fun and energetic, if a little too old-timey and a-rhythmic for my tastes, but the dances were good, and once I got past the initial horrible Glenside partnering thing, I had good partners. And there were moose! Like this one:

Savoring the last days of freedom...

That's what this week feels like in some ways.

This week is the last week of Swarthmore's winter break. It's been a lovely month of free(r) evenings, more flexible scheduling, and even the occasional contra dance. Starting next week, and almost without exception through early May, I'm out at least three nights a week, and often closer to four, or five, or six.

Every year at the start of winter break, or the start of summer, I make lists of projects I want to do with all of these copious free evenings: decluttering the house, going through and shredding, where applicable, the mounds of papers, organizing/inventory projects, solid amounts of craft time, the inevitable dance program writing, and on, and on... And we know what happens to the finest of lists. First of all, the holidays happen, along with parties to throw and attend, and other related events. Then I'll be about to start a project when George will call and invite me over, and I'll go intending to stay just for a bit. Right.

But things have gotten done. Or begun. Or thought about. Windows have plastic on them. Holiday cards were made and mailed. The pile of things to go to the Salvation Army is slowly growing, even if it won't get there until February. Cheatsheets were constructed, and as of the last post, there are more things hanging on the walls than before.

And the list is still long, and will grow. But hey, there's always Spring Break!

Picture this...

This past weekend I went to visit Susie in Charlottesville. Aside from all of the things we did, it was great to see Susie's apartment again. I came home inspired to resume decorating in the house, and especially, to hang pictures on the walls.

One of the things I've been struggling with is the challenge of decorating in a large space with high ceilings. In my apartment downtown, there were not many options for where to hang things, and it felt, in some ways, as if the arrangements were easy to come up with.

Here in the house, there is nothing but wall to fill, and it seems to cry out for large pieces, rather than the small framed prints and postcard I love. Here's my first attempt at some arrangements on the first floor:

A print by the front door possibly to be joined by a few other small things.

Three framed images to the right of the doorway.

My favorite (so far!) grouping below a dining room window.

A group by the stairway. You'll notice the clear gap where one image is missing. In this one spot, the wall rejected the screw. However, the wall did accept spackle, and I will try again.

Comments? Suggestions?

Flooring of the future??

A reason to break open those piggy banks courtesy of Apartment Therapy on 1/7:

But what you don't know about this post...

...is that, though I'm posting from home, I'm doing it via my own personal, almost super-speedy DSL line. Yes, Joanna is slowly attaining modern technology. It's amazing! It's exciting! Maybe I'll even go crazy and hook up a printer one of these years.


This, however, does not explain why my phone doesn't work, but if that hasn't sorted itself out by tomorrow, I'll be back on the phone to Verizon.


Is this what all of you have been doing all along? Not reading a book while your pictures download or anything?


This could be the coolest thing ever!

In with the new...

2009 hasn't quite sunk in yet, but maybe tomorrow, as I pick up the daily threads of life, it will - flipping the calendar pages, writing the first check of the year, etc...

Dance-wise, I always think that the holiday season begins with the Philadelphia Playford Ball and ends with GCD's Twelfth Night. And it's often a whirlwind month. This year's highlights included:

-A fabulous Ball weekend
-Crowfoot contra and other end-of-semester dance festivities
-A full weekend at home, complete with sleeping in!
-Neffa!!!!!!!
-A mantle full of cards from friends
-The first Chanukah party at my new house - 20 lbs of potatoes - a record high
-Making and mailing all of my holiday cards before Christmas
-Catching up on DVDs and library books
-Getting a gig in Ann Arbor in May
-Parties to go to on Christmas and Boxing Day
-Finally getting to holiday shopping the weekend after Christmas
-Hogmanay, complete with house guests, sore legs, 28 out of 29 dances, the Recovery party, etc.
-Spending quality time with Emily and Dirk!
-A fabulous Twelfth Night and a smooth longsword demo (!)

January starts calmly with a few more weeks before the semester starts and events pick up. The winter months bring a new round of events and travel:

-Elm City Assembly in New Haven
-English Scottish party in Boston
-English Scottish Ball at Swarthmore
-February Fling in Trenton
-Boston Playford Ball
-A wedding in MA
-True North ECD weekend in London, Ontario

That should keep me out of trouble for a while...