Where I Blog From!

Happy Monday! It's an especially happy Monday for me, because (dare-to-dream no more) I'm participating in the Where We Blog From series over at Ill Seen, Ill Said!

I'm swooning at the sweet comments that have been left already. Many thanks to Jane- it's a thrill to contribute to one of my favorite daily reads!

Click on over for a peek at the desk where I blog from! Today I'm tethering myself to that desk for my first day of NaNoWriMo (175 pages to go, wish me luck!). I'll be back tomorrow with a Halloween recap...

Dare to Dream: Parisian Perfection

Sometimes, I can let a picture do all the talking (with a musical French accent).

Photograph by Gilles de Chabaneix, Scanned by Shock the Bourgeois

Away From My Desk

Hi all, I'm currently away from my desk...

And blogging from the Ace Hotel in Portland! I'm going to be here through the weekend for my ex-roomie's epic wedding / college reunion. Naturally my camera chose yesterday to breathe its last dying breath, but I'm hoping I can capture some of the week's events with my iPhone... this hotel is one design epiphany after another, so I can't wait to share!

For now, keep your eyes on the blog, we've got a few tidbits to share while we're off galavanting in my second-favorite city on earth.

XoXo from Portland,

Elizabeth

A Few Finds for Me... and You?

The other day I met my Parentals for a dinner at Zao and some post-noodle shopping at U Village.  I had to spend a small fortune on a blogging necessity (*hmph* Merry Christmas, readers), so I refrained from snapping up some lovely bits and pieces for ME at Miller-Pollard...

Neighborhoods of miniature Christmas houses are cropping up all over the place this year, but most of them are too pastel, too twee, or just too x-mased out for me. Not so with this sparkly white church. A simple, traditional structure with just enough crookedy "made it myself" charm.  Love it.

This green glass urn in the window has year-round potential, but it would be perfect for forcing bulbs in the Winter.  Alabaster pebbles and a graceful paperwhite? Black river rock and a lavender hyacinth?  So versatile. So thinking I should go back and snap it up.

Later we went to the organizer's promised land also known as Storables, where I discovered an unexpected treasure. No, not an illusion bookshelf or a neato cord control kit... it's a really classy desk.

Who would think to go to Storables for anything other than boring metro shelving?  Madly crushing on this desk though- sleek and modern and solidly built, with chrome trestle legs and a bamboo top.  The keyboard drawer is at the perfect height for comfortable typing, and the cross-bars are an excellent spot to put your feet up (you know, so you can try to relax while you're paying your bills).  The best part is that it looks wayyyyy more expensive than it is.  Would you have guessed $150?  That's what I call champagne on an Ikea budget!  

It would be completely wrong in my house, but I feel like somebody has to have it- anybody looking to revamp their home office?

In Limbo

Moving has just gotten as real as can be: on Monday we watched all of our earthly possessions rumble away on a truck. I anticipate being tense and worried until I'm reunited with my things on the 21st.

Okay. Nothing. Move.

For now we're squatting in our empty apartment, subsisting on take-out food, two suitcases, a twin-sized bed, and a 10" television manufactured in 1988. I take it back: this is as surreal as can be!

This apartment and this beautiful neighborhood will always be a fond memory for me- our little urban Eden where we were so happy. Our prelapsarian flat:

Our ever-changing decor, and our beloved curiosities.

The newest addition to our dining room, an Ikea Granemo cabinet.

The glass sliding doors are an excellent preventative measure against our feline saboteur.

Foiled again, eh Matilda?

Our living room, featuring a petite sofa from Former Furniture.

Our bathroom, staged for relaxation.

The best seat in the house: our sunporch, overlooking a lovely park.

In Memoriam, Our Wallingford Apartment

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

Heat rises.

You learn this in grade school science, but it has very little import in your life until you're living in the upper floor apartment of an old house. Adam and I gloat about this phenomenon when we're walking around in shorts in the winter, but we pay for it in the summer when our brains are melting. Matilda drapes herself across the furniture and grumbles about how miserable she is; we crossly remind her that we would have opened the windows if it weren't for her recent rooftop escapade. We become sluggish and sullen, we spend stupid amounts of money on iced beverages and tickets to mediocre (but air-conditioned) movies, we suffer a three month lapse in productivity.

Well almost. Matilda and I cleaned off my desk this weekend, and made room for my handsome new lamp, Wilton.

I can't even believe I was lucky enough to snag one of these from Crate & Barrel Outlet!

Knocking a wist off the list? Now, that's what I call productivity.

This week might be a quiet one for Shock the Bourgeois- when not in a heat-induced stupor I'll be wrapping up the party planning for our company picnic this Saturday (yarrrr!). Never fear though- tomorrow I leave you in Adam's capable hands. Remember: we're still looking for a humorous name for his contributions!

My Shockingly Domestic Life

Last night Adam and I took advantage of a warm evening and walked down the street to the Wallingford Farmer's Market. I find browsing the market incredibly satisfying, even when my pockets are empty and my refrigerator is already full (though that's a rare occurrence).

It's not about being a consumer. I really dislike the chore of grocery shopping: the chilly ammonia-scented air, maneuvering a wonky-wheeled cart through a maze of aisles, the necessary (and discouraging) price tag mathematics. When every brightly colored package is shouting its merits and every fruit is hot-house grown in the dead of winter, I am strangely compelled to buy really awful food!

There's something refreshingly honest about a local market- after all, they can only sell what is ripe and good! This week, the first of the strawberries and the last of the peonies. In a few weeks, heirloom tomatoes in wild colors... in a few months, bundles of enormous dahlias.

It's a treat for the senses- brushing dirt off of Washington potatoes, the smell of fresh-baked bread wafting in the open air, the anticipation of tasting the raspberries and Camembert you're bringing home... 

 

Plus, everything just LOOKS gorgeous.

So sorry to wax poetic, my patient readers- but I encourage you to seek out a farmer's market near you and see for yourself.  It's such a lovely way to connect with the subtle shift of seasons AND actually make eye contact (or conversation!) with members of your community.  With that, on to the decor segment of this post!

While Adam was busy cooking up the goat cheese & bell pepper ravioli he selected at the market, I set to work arranging my purchase- a massive bouquet of flowers (for only $5!).  I had so many that I was able to fill two vases.

One for my "office," where I spend so many hours blogging away...

I recommend placing flowers where you'll enjoy them most.

My desk, complete with ubiquitous (but beloved) iMac, red schtapler, and Design Bible.

I try to keep things lively with fun finds, like the glass flower frog for pens & pencils, or my collection of vintage frames (the largest of which is plastic, a road-side find that has been drastically improved with spray paint!)

A spray of indigo and white was saved for my dresser...

This arrangement made me a little nostalgic- I had a blue and white bedroom throughout my childhood.  

 

So I was inspired to make the bed up with a crisp set of sheets, and my favorite summer quilt (Matilda approved).

I searched out blue and gold items, and I'm rather enamored with the array. Do you like the change?

My apartment feels so bright and summery- even Tildy-Cat is stopping to smell the flowers!

Remember, I'm looking to wake up my wardrobe as well... and I need your help!

Office Space

This weekend I'm getting down to business.  There's organizing to be done, bills to pay, tax forms to prepare and mail (blegh).  I've also been working hard on this week's room design.

1  I've been ogling this quirky $15 insect paperweight from See Jane Work for ages now.  I used it as the inspiration for this imaginary office- everything is useful but not utilitarian.  If your home office feels like a dreary cubicle, it's time for a merger with the rest of your house!

Love the beetles, I'll pass on the spider.

2 + 10  Even though it would mean a major furniture reorganization, I'm always taking applications for the perfect secretary desk.  This $195 Georgian secretary is prim and polished, with a place for everything.  The desktop flips down to create a larger workspace, the drawer is perfect for stashing your laptop when not in use, and there's plenty of shelf space to showcase your goods.  Because the doors have wire mesh instead of glass, it would be neat to use these gold binder clips ($3.99 at OfficeMax) to post memos and notes-to-self.  I would love to see this desk dressed for success- in warm gray paint with distressed edges, like so.

3  Typical office supplies bore me to death- it's hard to get excited about anything "manilla."  OfficeMax seems to have finally gotten a clue.  They recently introduced lines of revamped products that can help your home office feel a little more like home.  These moc-croc binders are only $8.99, and they definitely get you more bang for your buck.

4  This classic banker's lamp is totally money.  For only $20, it's a sound investment.

5  I love this stationery by Pink Loves Brown.  Love it.  Personalized cards are a luxury, but worth the expense ($20 - $51).  Better hurry though: Nicole Balch is closing up shop soon for her maternity leave (congrats Nicole!).

6  This $5 green marble napkin holder deserves a promotion- it would be great for holding your incoming mail.

7  A striped side chair for $125 redefines business casual.  So comfy it would be tempting to take a sick day.

8  When I found this gold plated wastepaper basket on Craig's List I totally cracked up.  It brings a totally new meaning to "one person's trash is another person's treasure!"  For $30, what the heck- you're the boss.

The butterflies... bahaha!

9  I like to have everything in its right place, but plastic storage is against my office policy. Vintage finds like this green planter ($18) are great for holding pens and pencils- they get the job done and look lovely.

For those of you crunching the numbers, our total expenses are... $471.98.  Questions?  Comments?