Vinyl

I bought some vinyl wall decals from Byrdie Graphics on Etsy a while ago and am only just now getting around to putting them up-- I bought them before we knew we were moving, couldn't decide where to put them and then when I finally had it figured out, we had decided to move, so they stayed in their package for a looooong time. And they stayed there longer still, since I was going to put them up when we moved into the new place, but we decided to paint and the instructions for application say to wait 30 days after the paint dries for best results.

So, finally, today I started the road to bedroom wall decor. They include a test piece of vinyl to see how they'll work on your walls.

The tester comes in the form of a cute little bird that is now roosting in our bathroom and kitchen/dining room-- just look at him up there above the trees of the shower curtain! I love him.

Little birdie is making me very excited for circles in the bedroom!

Some New Members of the Family

Once my office area was painted, I realized that it was going to need some serious contrast with the art to diffuse the intense saturation of the deep bright blue walls.

I put up these two Matte Stephens prints that I adore:

and then thought it would be nice if some friends could join them. And this morning, those friends arrived!

I'd say one more round of Ikea (Will needs ANOTHER bookshelf if you can believe it-- BELIEVE IT.) and I'll post pictures of the finished product! It just about feels like home.

Where was this when I was a kid???

When I was a kid, I would have traded in the creaky, creepy staircase to my bedroom for a slide in a second!

I sort of want these guys to come design my room now...

The Magic that is Sharpie

Pretty impressive: man decorates basement with $10 worth of Sharpie.

Note to parents: let kids draw on walls!

via decor8

It's 9:52am and I'm Having a Cappuccino

"When in Rome..." goes the old saying, "Do as the Romans do." And for breakfast, the Romans Will and I lived near back in 2006 typically enjoyed a cappuccino and a cornetto (a horn-shaped pastry, similar to a croissant) while standing (not sitting) at a bar.

As a lover of a routine and a neighborhood (I'm in total bliss when I know my neighborhood and have established my routine), I was entirely enamored of this aspect of Italian life -- pop into the local bar, have your coffee and pastry and be on your way.

But it was frowned upon, nay, met with shock and dismay, to order a cappuccino after the morning time. You could drink espresso all day long, but you'd be better off walking through the streets in dirty wrinkled clothing than to order milk in the afternoon.

Well, while perusing over one of my new favorite blogs (Will calls this "girl porn" and deems it wholly NSFW), I came across a link to design site Three Layer Cake, where they discuss in detail the finer points of The Great Cappuccino Debate.

I guess, ultimately, it's a load of hooey. But if you need milk in your coffee after lunch in Italy, be on the safe side and stick with a macchiato.