American Queen

American Queen on the Ohio River

Late Night DIY Inspiration

 I wish there was a 24 hour craft store out there because, wow, I'm SO inspired by all the awesome crafty things I'm seeing. I wish I had done this before I went to Michael's tonight (picking up St. Patrick's Day decorations for work).

Instead of just telling you about all the neat things, though, why don't I just show you?



This one is from Kim at Reinvented, she mentions that a great shutter like this one is on her "must find" list for this year, and I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately for me, unless I do some serious moving around of our current furniture, I'll probably have to wait until we get a bigger place. I love this piece though, the dark color really makes it fresh & clean looking.



This DIY apothecary jar is just fabulous. As are the other ones Jen from Noting Grace made. It just goes to show, a little paint and some glue can make random things you've collected into a great show-it-off piece.




I have to admit, since I'm in the book-selling business, my reaction upon seeing this wreath at Living With Lindsay was a mix of "Oh my, she did what?!" and "Oh my, that's awesome!" The more and more I look at it, the more I want one of my very own. I think this is the project I'm going to try this weekend when I have some free time. You can see another version here at Plant Some Roots. I think the dried flowers & lace really give it a soft, romantic feel versus the more modern, almost abstract quality to Lindsay's, making it a very versatile piece.


So, there are three of my current favorites. If it wasn't almost 1 in the morning, I could go on and on. I really can't wait to give the book wreath a go, with any luck it'll turn out and I'll be able to post pictures this weekend. Now to figure out which book it is I want to use....

Friday Five 2/26

Just a couple of memes to start off with to get back in the swing of blog writing. Also because I've just decided to cut all coke/sodas and it's giving me one hell of a headache. Need something simple and quick to focus on. Onwards!

Friday Five:

1) What's your favorite magazine? Anyone that knows me knows that I'm an absolute magazine junkie. I cannot help it, give me a mag with some interesting articles & neat pictures and I'm in heaven. So, suffice it to say, there's no way for me to pick just one. Some of my favorites however, include; Marie Claire, Glamour, Wired, Maxim (Yep, Maxim! They have great techy articles and always feature neat gadgets. And they're funny.), and most any cooking, crafting/organizing/home decor mag.


2) What book are you currently reading? Right now I'm reading two, This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Yeah yeah, I know, late to the game on this one. I figured I should read it before the movie came out. So far not sure how it's going to translate to film.)

3) What's the worst book you ever read? Probably not the worst one ever, but one that I read recently that sucked was Summer of Storms by Judith Kellerman. Lazy, boring writing. The book is over before you even get into what is supposed to be the main plot of the book. The climax of the book comes out of nowhere with a character you don't even meet prior to the big reveal and with a story so convoluted it makes you wonder how the hell it made it past the editing process.

4) What makes a book perfect for you? Just....beautiful, fantastic writing. A story that grips me and doesn't let me go. That keeps me thinking about it even when I'm not reading it, that lingers with me after wards. Characters I can relate to and a strong plot without weak devices.

5) If you could buy any book right now, which one would it be? Hm, something by Nick Hornby maybe, The Polysyllabic Spree, he's one of my favorite authors. Or perhaps The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson. I've heard good things about it.

Booking Through Thursday #1

Booking Through Thursday for 2/25/09

Suggested by Janet:

I’ve seen this quotation in several places lately. It’s from Sven Birkerts’ ‘The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age’:

“To read, when one does so of one’s own free will, is to make a volitional statement, to cast a vote; it is to posit an elsewhere and set off toward it. And like any traveling, reading is at once a movement and a comment of sorts about the place one has left. To open a book voluntarily is at some level to remark the insufficiency either of one’s life or one’s orientation toward it.”

To what extent does this describe you?

There are parts of this quote that I agree with, and one major part that I don't agree with at all. I agree that reading of ones own free will is most definitely casting a vote. When I choose to read a book, that's exactly what I'm doing, choosing above all else, to curl up and do nothing but read that book. It's not an activity that for me, lends itself to multi-tasking. I do mark my "elsewhere" (the end of the book/adventure), and set off towards it. But I highly disagree that in doing that, I've made a comment about the place I've "left". Perhaps more so than at any other time in my life, I'm pretty damn happy and content with where I am, both in location and in my life at work and at home. I read for the pure enjoyment & curiosity of it, of sneaking a peek into the lives of others, of being made to feel from the words of another. I do it to experience different perspectives, to get another side of an argument, to go along for the ride of an experience I wouldn't otherwise be able to have. To visit an ashram in India, to solve a mystery with the use of forensic anthropology, to, for just a moment, live and work and play through the eyes of another. But when I close the book, I'm always delighted to be in exactly the same place I was before I opened it.