And the moon rose over an open field

Ever since I was a kid, I've been a little bit obsessed with RVs (and to a degree houseboats). My first love was an intense one-sided affair with the shiny silver Airstream that was permanently parked in a driveway down the block. I was so enthralled that when I was 20, I got a book about the history of Airstreams as a Christmas present and considered it the great gift of the year. (you can get it here)

And before I could even drive, there were many years I would beg--and then drag--my parents to the boat, sport and travel show so I could scamper around all of the campers and double wides and fantasize about living in one someday. There's just something about everything being so small and efficient...and moveable. It's like the ultimate Alley-Sheedy-in-The-Breakfast-Club purse turned into a home. After all, you never know when you may have to jam!

Now that I'm writing about it, I can think of so many things I loved as a child and how they tie back to my love of transportation abodes.

Remember the Gypsy caravan Danny and his father call home in Danny the Champion of the World? (more on that here)

What about the motorhome Juliette Lewis lives in in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

Or who can forget Dylan McKay's dad's houseboat on 90210 (RIP Jack McKay)?

Oh, and Maude's sweet-ass railcar apartment in Harold and Maude totally counts.

If you're still with me at this ramble down my weird-kid memory lane, you have to read Travels with Charley: In Search of America, one of my all-time favorite books. It's John Steinbeck's account of exploring the country in a camper with his standard poodle Charley.

A quintessential indoor kid (my parents used to punish me for reading too much by making me call friends to come over and do legitimate, real-people activities with me), I was a Steinbeck nut, PLUS we had a standard poodle (RIP Mr. T), so this book really resonated with me. I think it's what made me decide my dream job would be to drive around the country and have a syndicated newspaper column where I interviewed different people for a kind of "slice of life" feature, and it's probably at least partially responsible for my journalism degree.

Ahh, and here I am today: A mobile home non-owner (I don't think we can count the Caravan, as tempting as that is), and the only writing I do is on this-here blog, which is becoming more infrequent. Crap, I don't even have a toy poodle, let alone a Standard.

All of this is a big preface to a few things that have popped up (like a camper--hahahaha...groan) lately to remind me of my all-American (in theory) wanderlust.

- Season 6 of Weeds, in which the characters are on the lam (no spoilers here--motor homes aren't aerodynamic anyway....somebody stop me) and travel from Montana to Michigan in a huge Jesusmobile RV.

- This incredible (and gorgeous!) blog, Double Decker Days, in which author Crystal Thomas details her renovation of a 1970s double decker bus with the intention of turning it into a vacation getaway. I love it, love it, love it!

So in summation, this is all what had been rolling around in my head when I told Marc I thought we should rent a motor home and take a few weeks to explore the country at the end of this summer (I want the cats to come with us because I'm totally insane, not just a little bit crazy).

See, we haven't taken our honeymoon yet, and our original plan was to go to Europe and tourist around, which also sounds lovely. But I can't shake this idea that it would be a lot of fun to, in the words of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, walk off to look for America.

Who knows what will happen. Thoughts? Pros 'n cons?

(image from Double Decker Days)

Burying the TMI

So this is happening next weekend and I'm pretty psyched. Well, it doesn't hurt that it's about two blocks from my house and Angela, the owner of Post 27 (I have a crazy crush on her shop...see her bad ass house here) threw this whole thing together. It's kind of a well-kept secret, but Grand Ave has all of these wonderful interiors and design shops popping up between Ashland and Damen. SG Grand has also opened up shop right across the street from Post 27. You can see all of the stores and vendors on this handy map, actually. Oh yeah, beer and bands can't really hurt either. I'm going to be there. Will you?

So...What else, what else?

Oh yeah, so a bit ago, Marc is a champ and went to the store and bought tampons for me. He said some lady, like, six people in line behind him started hollering at him and being all, "You are BRAVE! You are such a NICE GUY!" Oh, what I would have paid to see the shade of his neck and ears when that went down. Anyway, so nice gesture and all, but he comes home with these Playtex Sports tampons, which I've not only never heard of, but me and sports? Is he trying to say something about my languishing gym membership here?

So these are the strangest lady products ever for several reasons:
1. They're NEON colors. As in those pink and green bicycle shorts people wore in the early 90s.

2. A selling point on the box is that the wrappers are quiet. Is this a thing people are worried about? I've never thought about feminine hygiene products and wondered when in thee world science come through with something that isn't so damn LOUD. Honestly, someone explain this to me in the comments, please.

3. And this is by far the weirdest: The wrappers all have inspirational sayings on them. Such as: "Declare yourself a winner" and "Make your workout count." Oh and seriously: "PMS=Play more sports." Um, are you kidding me? It's like feminine hygiene meets fortune cookies. Except they should really say something like, "You will inexplicably burst into tears while watching an Empire Carpet commercial." or "Of course bloating is the only thing keeping you out of those jeans.Why don't you just try some yoga pants instead?"

Ahh, to be on the marketing team that came up with this. So what say you? Would you look at these wrappers and be all, "Yeah! Spice up Your Life. I'm going to go play volleyball now!" Am I just not that kind of girl? It seems to me, these are the loudest "quiet" tampon wrappers on the planet.

Say, "Eh, I guess that'll do." to the dress!

or, Unleashing my inner Bridezilla.

Ever since I announced Marc and I were engaged and planning our wedding, lots of people have jokingly joshed around about how I'm going to be such an insufferable diva, meaning--I hope--that they expect I'll actually be a pretty mellow bride. Even Marc got in on the act, calling me a Bridezilla when I timidly requested that we maybe not have our wedding on Sept. 11. It's been a pretty great compliment--but in a weird way a hard persona to live up to.

Hence the four-dress saga.

I even feel a little diva-ish writing about it, but people asked so here goes. I went shopping with my mom and, ignoring a longer, more formal dress, picked out what I thought I wanted: a short, sophisticated dress that to me said. "I am a grown up. And I am having a tasteful civil ceremony that has nothing to do with fairy princesses or enchanted magic or even Spanx." So that's how I ended up choosing this guy:

(imagine it minus cheesy sunglasses and sandals)

Back in Chicago, I took my friend Shannon to see the dress and get a second opinion before I ordered it. BUT. When we were at the store, she forced me to try on that longer, more formal dress I studiously ignored in the first place (this is a lie). It looked great on. I even thought about buying it and cutting it off into a short dress. I even dragged another bride-to-be friend to the and forced her to try it on for her wedding (this is not a lie). My insane-o logic was, "well, if I can't have it, somebody I know had better wear this to something so I can bask it its glorious presence." She wasn't having it.

Then what did I do? I ordered dress #1. Like a fool. Then, like a fool, I looked at the catalog that came with it and decided this dress (#2)...



...was just the swinging retro look I was going for. Plus that model is at least as pale as I am and she looks pretty alive-ish in it, right? And then I sat on it. For weeks. Of course, this dress was not available in stores, so I'd have to order it online to try it on. By the time I got around to ordering it, the dress was on sale (score!) but was non-returnable (burn!). So I ordered it anyway. Tried it on for my friends, and everyone was underwhelmed. Tried on trusty ole #1 and decided it wasn't as great as I thought. At this point it time, I have owned #1 too long to return it, so now I have two un-returnable dresses on my hands.

While trying it on, I thought of a vintage sundress (#3 but sort of doesn't count) I bought at a garage sale for $6 (and also wore as part of a Halloween costume in 2006). I tried it on for the friends, who decided this was the most "me" and most flattering dress of the lot. Ugh, of course. That works for me, but being a secret Bridezilla, I didn't know how excited I was about wearing a dress that I just happened to have and had already worn as a costume. I mean, maybe if Marc agreed to wear the Batman suit he'd donned that year...

Sorry, I don't have a picture of it, but it's very dance-contest Sandy from Grease:


I thought that if I Brigitte Bardot'd my hair all up and got a super poofy crinoline and just went all the way with the vintage look, I'd get more excited about it, but the whole thing felt sort of costume-y to me. Which got me thinking about that long, elegant dress from way back in the day.

Since I seem to be unable to make a definitive decision regarding anything clothing related, the smart thing seemed to be to go try it on again and see if I really loved it or just wanted what I didn't have. Of course. Of course, no store has the dress now. I know because I went to six places to try it on.

And then I went and found it on ebay and ordered it (Non-returnable. Of. Freaking. Course.)

I give you #4:


Thar she blows. We'll see if I'm still into her when she arrives.

So, not only have I given in to fairy princess, I've taken a couple of dresses hostage in the process. And I'm in full-blown indecisive diva glory. At least we know I won't be naked. Marc, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. He's been joking that he's going to have to wear one of these babies because I may have just exhausted our wardrobe budget for the wedding.

Oh yeah, scoldings and suggestions (and offers for any of these lovely frocks) are more than welcome!

So, uh?

Do you guys dust your baseboards regularly? I know it seems kind of gross, but it never seems to occur to me to do it when I'm cleaning and the very idea of scrubbing our entire apartment at ankle level makes me sleepy. I've been trying to do a room here and there, but how often do normal people clean their baseboard moldings?

I must know so I have an idea of just how inadequate I should feel.

Mo-om!

Nowadays, when I go into work, I walk. So that means I've been talking to my mom on the phone. A lot. I've also become the world's most indecisive person when it comes to finding a dress to wear to my wedding. Seriously, I'm about five mouse-clicks away from acquiring my fourth dress. Of course, I have to call her to agonize over each one, and she's been super patient and just laughs along at my craziness. I guess she's just happy that I'm not waffling over the guy I'm marrying. That's about the only thing that could turn this silly ordeal into serious business.

ANYWAY, all of this is to say she's got the patience of a...I don't know...really mellowed-out animal or some sort of Biblical figure? Is it Job I'm reaching for here? A sloth? That doesn't seem right.

But yeah, she's patient, but only to a point. Recently:

Me: Mom? Hi, what's up? I bet you're getting sick of me calling every day, huh?

Mom: Good-natured laughing.

Me: Mo-om! You're supposed to say, "Oh no! Call as much as you need to. I love hearing from you."

Mom: Well, how long is this going to go on?


Ha, way to keep it real, Mom! I keep asking myself the same thing when it comes to all of the floaty white dresses that seem to be breeding in my already-too-small closet. Ugh. I'm never this wishy washy. And I look terrible in white.

Say cheese!

Gang, I'm making my maiden voyage to Milwaukee tomorrow. I know the art museum is supposed to be off the chain, but are there any other must-dos?

It's a quick trip, but I'm determined to make the most of it.

Lucky 10

Erin at the fabulous Design Crisis tagged me to round up ten things that make me happy. Right now, I'm wrapping up things at my current job all while learning the ropes for my new gig,which involves a big gear switch and two trade shows in the next week. So things have been more than a little hectic for the past two weeks or so. Adding this round up as just one more task to my gigantico to-do list almost sent me over the edge...until I started doing it.

Seriously, so much drama is making me focus on all the irritating things such as the fact that if I don't do laundry tonight, my swimwear is going to have to pull double duty as undergarments. Which in turn makes me think about cellulite remedies, which drives me to the kitchen in search of chocolate. Good God, I am such a Cathy cartoon these days.

Anywhoodle, taking stock of what makes me sigh and smile is much more therapeutic than dwelling on everything that makes my shoulders hunch up and my left eye twitch. Thanks, Erin. I needed this!

Ok, here goes. I made a point to not make this all about food. It was tough.

10. Indian food. With lots of Naan in particular. I'm craving it like whoa.


9. Grenada tiles.



Love love love. I would possibly tile my bed and my sofa in some of these patterns. And I think a lot of the appeal of these is their old-worldliness. Mostly, they make me want to take a trip to Greece or Turkey.

8. Design Vagabond. Great design blog from an industrial designer who manages to find awesome stuff that's not reported on other sites ad nauseum.


Here's an example post on wonderful Crudo ceramics.

7. Writers who are so hilarious they make me laugh so hard I forget to be jealous. I'm thinking of Tula from Whorange and April Winchell at Regretsy. Those two are always good for a pick-me-up.

6. Speaking of bloggers, I am madly in love with this Patrick Townsend Orbit Light (in white) and am determined to get with it and hang it somewhere fabulous in my house.


I never knew how badly I wanted it in my life before I saw it on DC, so thanks for that, ladies. And thanks for making me cheer myself up today.

This is so fun I'm going to stretch it into two posts--top 5 to come tomorrow.

Even though I'm only halfway done, I'm tagging Melina at Owl and Peacock. And I'm expecting at lest one cheese-related entry.

Stuff that happened this weekend

A co-worker of Marc's sent him home with a six-pack of Spotted Cow, which was delicious.

We spent a fun Friday night at Post 27, where I fell head-over-heels in love with these nesting tables.

Marc wrangled up a pack of cats.

I wrapped up (and wrapped!) all of my Christmas shopping.

I found some new stuff for the Etsy shop (more to come this week).


I also ate almost a whole wheel of brie. I'll polish the rest of that off while watching Season 5 of LOST tonight. Sounds like heaven to me.

What were you up to this weekend? Did you have fun?

They don't love you like I love you

(Via I Suwannee)

(Via Elle Decor)



(Via Remodelista)

(Via Pure Green Design)

(Via Living Etc.)

(Via Kelly McGuill)

(Via Fashion is Spinach)

(Via Domino)



A few years back, my parents moved their office into the building of an old architecture firm. In the basement, I found packets of a series of 12 circa-1960s maps that showed a proposed highway through the east side of Indianapolis. I saved them and am stuck on what I should do with them. Decoupage the fridge? Hang them up? Framing is going to be cray-spensive; are binder clips too dorm-y?

Ugh, sorry I'm always asking you guys questions here. But y'all are GOOD.

Ditching the hanging cabinets: Off the wall idea?

Kind of old news, but sort of relevant as the unit below this one is on the market for $1.6 million. (I'm thinking I'll probably buy it. No big whoop.)



This Ukrainian Village man cave was created with entertaining (bagging chicks?) in mind, and while I would maim for the awesome rooftop deck and gorgeous staircase (gallery here), I'm not sure how I feel about the kitchen that, in attempt to disguise it's function as an, um, kitchen, has been stripped of its hanging cabinets. It's kind of cool, but also kind of odd looking. Plus, all the BENDING.

Your thoughts?

Some things I do take issue with:
- The outdoor shower on that fancy rooftop deck. Why? Especially in 7 months of icy tundra Chicago. It just seems like a headache to keep from getting destroyed by the elements.

- That an interior designer gets praised as "bold" for putting a lamp on a kitchen countertop. Zzzzz. Wake me when it gets replaced with thee-foot-tall taxidermied mongoose fighting a cobra flanked by A Clockwork Orange poster and an Eraserhead life-size cutout. (This is just me thinking back to one of my childhood friend's brother's bedroom. Which was what I'd call bold. And scary as hell to an eight-year-old.)

- Random people dancing on your counters? Ew.

Blocked

Blergh. Every day this week has been the same. If you could only see how many drafts and half-baked ideas I have saved in my folder...

Nothing's really gelling like Magellan for me, post-wise.

Kind of like that almost-there room up there. If I were to walk into it, the first thing I'd do is heave those ugly chairs out the window. Then I'd smile.

Help! What do you champions do when you hit a brick wall creatively?

I just like how he's always leaning. Against stuff. He leans great.

DWTF, ROTFLMAO, sparkly vampires, Party in the USA, Delia's catalog, GoGurt (or whatever teens these days eat. It's probably not Activia.), Fallout Boy*!

I am honest-to-god crossing state lines to pick up this bank of lockers for my adult-lady house. $40. I know I'm a grownup because my teen self would have spent that money on ugly chokers from Express, some baby barrettes and a thrift-store flannel shirt to go with my waffle-weave babydoll dress. Hurl.

Like, what is my damage? Things I've purchased/acquired in an unconscious effort to turn my house into a high school:
- Four globes of varying sizes
- Two large chalkboards made from old windows
- Vintage schoolbooks (1 math, 1 biology, 1 English grammar)
- A button maker (for creating spirit buttons for all of the jock loves in my life)
- Multiple locker bins
- One pull-down map of Kentucky
- One metal detector (just seeing if you're paying attention)

Regardless, I'm still pretty excited about this find (as always, thanks Craigslist!). We're in desperate need for a place to store our winter coats/boots/ panda ski masks. But I don't know if I'm so jazzed about the "bright, sporty blue" it's painted.

Anyone have any suggestions on new colors for my lockers? Of course the inside of my locker will be plastered with pictures of Zac Efron. (He's still "dreamy," right kids?)

In an ideal world, these would be all rusty and Army green. But then again, in an ideal world, I'd come home to find Jordan Catalano** leaning up against them...

So are we thinking hot pink and houndstooth? Canary yellow? Industrial gray? Or do I have to figure out what the house mascot is first?

* This is humiliating, but I just Googled "What bands do teens like?" to get this one.
** I will also accept Daniel Desario in this scenario

Bits and bobs

I used to have a sheet of paper that listed out everything that popped into my head and could potentially be made into a post. I've lost it (both literally and figuratively), so here are the three thoughts that I'm managing to put down before they go bye-bye just like my to-post list and so many socks in the dryer...

1. I am desperate to get to Ikea (I guess because normal seething holiday shopping crowds in Chicago aren't enough for me. X-TREME SHOPPING, GUYS! We need our own deodorant and Mountain Dew flavor). Here's what I want to eyeball/buy:

Maskros for the bedroom? Maybe?

Dinera plate. Yeah boring. But this is a just a list for me because I can't seem to keep track of paper scraps. We have four of these. 10 would be nicer.

Just a thought: this Kotte wreath. I don't think we'll be doing a tree this year since the living room has already been overtaken by plants. Plus, the cats from hell will take it down within 24 hours of its purchase and loving, painstaking (ok, OCD addled) decoration.

This simple wreath in the wheat color could be nice and low key.

Maybe pick up some fairly cute, non-denominational gift wrap while I'm there.

So ok, four things in all. This should only take about five hours, two helpings of Sweedish meatballs, one drawn-out trip through the rug section and may result in a bickering match in the as-is section and me spending about $2,433.99, plus tax. Let's go! On a weekend! (Which, incidentally, is not going to happen until at least Dec. 12. So maybe scrap the wreath.)

2. Every day on the train to work, I listen to the automated speaker man tell me, "Next stop is Library and Van Buren. Doors open on the right at Library and Van Buren."

He quite clearly pronounces "library" as a three-syllable word: li-bra-ry. BUT, as the train rounds the corner from Adams and Wabash he starts up again: "Transfer to Blue and Red lines at Li-ber-ra-ry and Van Buren." Four syllables. I've been counting them on my fingers for a week now.

Why is this? And who is the man in the speaker? This means he's real and not a robot, right?

3. I finally moved some favorite blogs from my bookmarks to the sidebar over there ------->.
They are:
Designers' Brew
Get to Fixin'
Homebug
I Suwanee
Little Green Notebook
Pony Boy Press
Saffron and Genevieve
The Design Files
and, of course, my friend Leah at Thx thx thx.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

5. Phew, getting all of that off my mind freed up some space, I think! I hope to have some painting projects to share with you soon...

P.S. Pat on the back to me for just spellchecking and not getting anything wrong (except for those damn Ikea names) this time.

UPDATE: Erm, maybe not on the brain clearing. It took me hours to notice that I skipped right from three to five in that little list up there. Crap.

Quinks?

I was remiss and didn't do a links round up last Friday. As atonement, I'm going to answer some of our most existential questions.

What time is it? It's BINGO time!

Is there any way to duplicate my own handwriting?

What ever happened to the Monroeville mall where Dawn of the Dead was filmed?

Who's there? Oh, it's just me and my dad.

Where can I find a dress to wear seven different ways? Ok then, what if I need one with more options?

Can you help me find something peanut buttery and delicious to make this weekend?

How does one go about living in the past?

Will I ever find you again?

How do I let the world know how grateful I am?

(top image via Bomboland)

Make yourself at home

Decor-wise, we're all pretty interested in what goes on behind other people's closed doors (I'm assuming that's the case if you're a regular reader of this weblog). So when I watched Home Movie on Sunday night, all I could think was how much I wanted to share this movie with you fine people.

The documentary is basically a trip through five people's wacked-out houses. (And it's available on instant viewing via Netflix! Brief aside: I love Netflix because it makes lying around and watching movies feel productive. Like you're crossing something off a to-do list, you know?)

Here's a little clip of the guy with the electric house in Illinois.

(My favorite part about his segment was his assistant who claimed she wants to be both an actress and a psychic who uses her powers to find missing children.)

But wait! That's not all!

You also get to see the homes of some serious, not-messing-around cat lovers (they have an intricate system of catwalks that crisscross their entire home), a former Japanese sitcom star who is trying to get as close to nature as possible in Hawaii, an alligator wrangler who lives on a houseboat in a Louisiana bayou, and a family who converted an abandoned missile silo into an underground hippie lair.

It's all pretty neat actually.

We all adapt our houses to make them our homes; some people just go to extreme measures. It's kind of like what one of my friends said to me when I brought my tiger pillow home (whom I've chosen to name Montecore btdubs), "Everybody's got their own brand of crazy. You've just embrace it more than others."

Gang, in your home, what's your special brand of crazy and what are you doing to throw your arms around it?

Nice package

I'll be the first to admit I'm one of those people who takes the time to "repackage" all sorts of crap in my house. I have special, unmarked jars for my rice and pasta and water. I keep q-tips in a ceramic dish, cotton balls in an apothecary jar and lotion and mouthwash in clear glass bottles. Basically, I have white people problems.


It's more than a little embarrassing then that I really would like some of this vodka just because the packaging is so minimalist-pretty. My kitchen could look so much more like some sort of scientific lab--or a Kiehl's counter. Whatever.

Plus, I just really enjoy my vodka.

Anyway, I found these bottles on Lovely Package, which has opened a whole Pandora's box of book-by-its-cover lust for me.

SO, maybe I'll feel better if I'm not alone on this one. Is anyone else just in it for the looks? Does packaging come into play at all when it comes to your favorite products? Or am I just a big ol' label queen?

Planning to leave my wallet in San Francisco

In just a few weeks, I'm headed to San Francisco for a very quick visit. I've only been once before, but I fell deeply in love with the city. Don't tell anyone, but I may have even cried a little bit on the plane ride home.

I'm so excited to return and visit some of the fabulous shops that Baz at Atomic Indy outlined in his extremely thorough vintage shop roundup (seriously. you think it's over but it just goes on and on. and on.)

But other than that, I'm open to suggestions. Does anyone else have any suggestions of must-dos?

Fall brings out the nostalgia

Aww. Look, it's my old bedroom on Apartment Therapy.

I can't believe it's been a year since I took that photo (or that I only ended up living in that apartment for about six months).

I never would have thought that in less than a year's time, I'd be shacked up with my boyfriend (sinners!) and sharing the joys and pains of home ownership(hello, very expensive window bars to keep out would-be robbers. Oh, didn't I tell you? Someone slit the screen in our kitchen window and tried to shimmy in to steal stuff. While I was home most of the day. Literally the day before we left the country for a week. Awesome times! Luckily, s/he was thwarted by our window locks and a vigilant neighbor. But still, the bars are worth it.)

So many changes. It makes me wonder what these next 12 months will bring. And it makes me curious: What big changes did you experience in the past year? And what are your hopes for the coming months?

I wasn't quite expecting to end up behind bars, but it's not quite a gilded cage either.

Qubbiles and bits

While we're on the topic of my kitchen, I have to (unfortunately. I'm really very sorry) direct your attention to the biggest eyesore and thorn in my side: the cat food dishes.

Kind of a mess usually, they're a necessary bit of everyday life. BUT. Mine are worse than most. This is what I'm dealing with:

Yes, I know, I know about the scuffed-up wall there. It badly needs to be painted. I guess my excuse of only having lived here since March is beginning to lose its luster.

So I bet you're wondering why there's a huge cinder block shoved up against the water dish resting in another dish.

Well, one of my cats, whom I will refrain from naming here as to not embarrass him in such a public forum, has a bit of a water problem. He's never met a bowl (or glass, or sinkful) of water he hasn't loved. For him, loving something means tugging on the edge or dipping his paw into the receptacle until all water that was once in the bowl (or glass, or sink) is all over the floor. He's a liberator. After that, he loves to crouch in the water and stare off into space.

Kind of interesting yes, but it necessitates the big cinder block (which he also loves to lick, by the way). And I hate it.

So I rounded up some alternatives that might work. I'm thinking he won't be able to shove around one of these too easily:
Everyday studio pet dish ($85) Oooh, orange!



Dogleg diner ($98) Ooh, also orange!


Bentwood pet feeder from Design Public ($94)

Trendy Pet elevated feeder (a not-too-shabby $47)

So in all, am I off my rocker for wanting to spend (at minimum) $50 in an attempt outsmart an old stray cat? Anyone who's friends with me on Facebook knows the insanity that was sparked when I mentioned $9 porcelain knobs...geez.

More importantly, which one of these is cutest!?! I can hang on until Christmas.

Putting the kitchen in the hot seat

I have big dreams for our little kitchen. Please join me on a little free-form musing of what I think could work...

Don't get me wrong; it's a nice place with way more cabinet space than I've ever been used to (not dividing it among three roommates helps) and--gasp!--it even has a pantry!

(Pictures as it was with the previous owner)

There's a lot to love about it: hardwood floors, inoffensive black granite counter tops, decent appliances, enough room for a table. Nothing really to complain about at all.

And yet.

Ehh, I think it's sort of long on potential and short on character.

Here's what I'm thinking.

That's the table we have in place now. And that light fixture is not cutting it at all. Since I didn't win Atomic Indy's Rejuvenation contest (weep, weep), I don't think this fixture is in our future:It's gorgeous, but maybe a bit on the expensive side.

I'm looking for something like this...but I turned up NOTHING in my three-minute online search. Thanks for nothing, Internet.

Help, please! Anything awesome and mod and ORANGE would be perfecto.

Why orange? Well, because I'm in love with this wallpaper:

Matchsticks Circles by Graham and Brown. It's an official obsession, and I'd love to see it on the walls behind the table and quite possibly on the one behind the cabinets on the right side of the kitchen (feel free to lobby for this in the comments. While Marc is cool with the actual wallpaper, he isn't so sold on the actual purchasing and hanging that comes with picking it out).

On to the rest.

The cabinets are nice and all. Even if they're not exactly my cup of tea, there's really no way to justify replacing them. Maybe a face lift with these Hygge and West ceramic knobs would be nice:

In the mix we have our teal and walnut chairs. Will that work with all the orange, I'm wondering?

Here, I made this. Print it out and hang it on your fridge.

We actually have those orange chairs. Right now they're in the office, but I'm not averse to hustling them out into the kitchen.

But I don't know. Would they fight with the table? Would four chairs with arms be too much? Would old tealies need to take a hike into the office?

Ok, so now maybe that's orange overload? I don't know.

Would a black pendant be cooler?

Probably.

So that turned into a lot of musing. And more than a little anxiety. HELP!

Ok, kids. Here's a recap of my burning questions. They will be on the test.

1. Scrimp and save for Rejuvenation glory (which means that nasty white thing is there for probably a year)? Or hunt for mod orange? Or go sophisticated (and affordable) with black?

2. Are we ok with the wallpaper? If so, which walls?

3. Knobs? Actually, I don't really care what you say. I love them. So there. To tell the truth, the same kind of goes for the wallpaper. See? I have way fewer questions than it initially seems.

4. Chairs? Orange? Teal? Neither. This one is really getting to me.