Commencing Operation: Cohabitation

I've been sitting on a big happy secret. That's partly because I'm afraid to jinx it, and partly because I'm smugly holding on to it; I don't want to share. But I'm so excited! I can't keep it in anymore. It went something like this. First, Keith was like:

"Hey girl, will you be my girlfriend?"

And I was like, "Well... yeah."

And then he was like, "Hey girl, you wanna live
together so we can save up and buy a house?

...And you'll get to decorate it?

And oh hey, I bought you roses and made 

sesame-crusted tuna steaks for dinner."

How could I resist that?! We're going to stay at my condo for nine months, then start looking at houses. Or, as my favorite colleague said, "Jen and Keith are gestating a house." So now we're getting ready to cram ourselves, his two high-energy Pomeranian dogs, my prissy old cat, and hundreds of books into 832 square feet. Gulp.

Keith doesn't have much furniture, and I'm happy to clean out my closets. Unworn clothes, unread books, and unloved tchotchkes can all go. Last week I spent hours getting rid of hundreds of old CD cases so I can turn my black trunk into a linen chest. So I can shift things in my closets. So I can give Keith a closet of his own. It's mad, but there is a method.

I found some forgotten treasures, like a song recorded by my college boyfriend with these cheerful lyrics:

Game of Thrones Party Food: Taste the Dornishman's Wife! Spicy Peach Tarts

What are you eating at your next Game of Thrones viewing party? Do you have a sweet tooth? Good! I present my newest Westerosi recipe, The Dorishman's Wife. This peach tart is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Just like those Dornish ladies, it's sweet, tempting, and muy caliente!

The Dornishman's wife was as fair as the sun, and her kisses were warmer than spring.
But the Dornishman's blade was made of black steel, and its kiss was a terrible thing.

The Dornishman's wife would sing as she bathed, in a voice that was sweet as a peach,
But the Dornishman's blade had a song of its own, and a bite sharp and cold as a leech.

As he lay on the ground with the darkness around, and the taste of his blood on his tongue, 
His brothers knelt by him and prayed him a prayer, and he smiled and he laughed and he sung,

"Brothers, oh brothers, my days here are done, the Dornishman's taken my life, 
But what does it matter, for all men must die, 
and I've tasted the Dornishman's wife!"
-- George R. R. Martin, A Storm of Swords, Chapter 7

Unexpected and Interesting Large Scale Art, or, No More Ugly Prints!

The last post about choosing appropriate art and hanging it in the right place generated some questions. Here, I'll address the first: Art is expensive. How do you find art big enough to fill the wall over the sofa that doesn't cost more than the sofa? Please don't hang overpriced prints of Van Gogh paintings and vintage absinthe ads on your walls! Think beyond the tired art selection at Bed Bath & Beyond and consider these options. That crap costs between $50 and $100, and most of these options do too--but they're so much more special! And many of these have a DIY element, so no one else will have a piece quite like yours.

A large piece of framed fabric functions as art. From Inspire Bohemia

I'm so crazy about the bold black and white textiles with mint green walls and red accents!
Use a mirror instead of art. You can always spray paint the frame to make it match your room.
From House Beautiful

Easy DIY for music lovers... Your favorite song lyrics + wood stain and paint = art! From MeOhMy

Aww, look at the little birdcage! Wall decals make a huge statement.
They're cost effective, too. This big one is only $42!
Tree Decal with Birds by annaandnana on etsy

DIY Abstract Art - This blogger spent $70 on this project, and I think it looks soooooo high end.
. From Oh Happy Day

I LOVE metal wall art. Jonathan Adler's Curtis Jere reproduction sculptures like this aren't cheap.
But if you lurk eBay, you can find a vintage Curtis Jere for under $100. I promise. From Freshome

See? It's true! I paid $24 for this 1972 Curtis Jere. It's smallish, but I LOVE it.
Sorry, I couldn't resist sneaking my own home in here. *tee hee*

Rasterize! Rasturbate! Whatever you want to call it, enlarge an image and hang the pieces individually.
I used to think of this as an amateurish college technique, but it can look good if you hang the individual pieces nicely.
Joe's tutorial explains exactly how to pull it off.

If DIY is for you what plants are for me (I kill aloe plants!), and you absolutely must avoid a do it yourself project, frame a few of your favorite band's posters or travel prints from a place that is special to you, and call it a day. At least it's more personal than one of those tacky vintage liquor ads! Just be sure to hang more than one if you're trying to fill a large space on the wall. Check this out...

Tennessee Renaissance Festival 2012

Ahoy, ye brave knights and lusty wenches! Keith and I spent the day at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival, and this weekend's theme was Pirate Invasion. We enjoyed a gorgeous day at Castle Gwynn!  We watched a joust, a bawdy troubadour, and serendipitously found ourselves in the middle of a fairy picnic. Keith threw knives, and I bought a beautiful new charm for my bracelet. We saw rescued birds of prey and ran into lots of friends. The locally brewed beer and shepherd's pie were tasty, and it was a fantastic day!

Coin belt! *jingle* *jingle* *jingle*

I thought he was a gorgeously detailed piece of art... until he opened his eyes and stuck his tongue out at me!

Axel the Sot

MOOSE

They had a fantastic selection of Elizabethan paper doll books and academic texts on Medieval history.

I bought a beautiful phoenix charm from this booth. 

So many more pictures under the cut...

Don't Hang That On Your Wall! Or, Considering Scale and Proportion When Choosing Art

One of the most common decorating mistakes I see--and one of the easiest and cheapest problems to fix--is art that is too small for the wall, or hung too high. Tiny, too-high art is to interior design what high-water pants are to fashion. It can ruin an otherwise attractive room!

A large, wide wall calls for large art, and a small, narrow wall calls for small art (Thank you, Captain Obvious). Art, furniture, and other decorative items should come together to create a cohesive visual composition. When the art is too small, the furniture beneath it looks graceless and bulky. And when art is hung too high, there is an awkward gap between the art the the nearby furniture, so that the pieces look separate and strange. These are the rules:

• Hang art at eye level. The center of the piece should be approximately five feet from the floor.
• Art should be approximately as wide as the furniture beneath it. It can be a bit narrower, but no wider.
• If you're hanging more than one piece together, don't hang them too far apart!
• Large walls need large art, and small walls need small art. I can't emphasize this enough!

Hang your art like these folks, and receive compliments from all your friends:

The DIY ribbon garland is just the right size to hang over the bed.

The large, square paintings over the sectional are perfectly proportional.
But I'm not sure why there is a huge buckeye in the middle of the floor?

The single piece of art over the two chairs creates visual cohesion.

The group of four paintings functions as one large piece of art, and fits perfectly over the bench.

These folks got it wrong! Images are not attributed, to protect the dignity of the clueless :