This post has been a long time coming. I've had these photos sitting on my computer for weeks now, but haven't had the time or energy to do anything with them. But they're here now so let's go.
These are some fabulous old photographs I found when cleaning house a few weeks ago. I find them haunting, but at the same time they can bring a smile to my face. It's a mixture of nostalgia and laughter? Does that make any sense at all? Anyways, to sum up I think they're great.
I think what attracts me to these pictures is that they're more than that. They're memories. They may not be my memories, but that makes them no less important. They're from another time and another place and they mean more than what's on that piece of paper. They're a beautiful way to honour the past in a sense. Beyond that, they represent the happiest times in somebody's life. The bad times are never captured on film. The box chock full of pictures to me is a happy life, one where even the little things bring some joy.
It's so easy to romanticize the past and when you get caught under a pile of these old photos, you'll see why. And isn't that paper fantastic? It's from the box they were stored in. I've never seen anything like it before!
Okay, here's the deal. I've been in a pretty relentless bad mood for the past few weeks. Combine a new semester with family stress and a dash of the ol' job search for luck and you get me, unwilling to leave my nice, warm, cozy bed. I may be a little pathetic and I'm okay with that.
So for the past few days I've been watching Netflix pretty relentlessly. Turns out constant tv watching does so little to help with the whole mood thing. On top of that, work is not getting done which just adds to the stress. It's a relentless cycle. I decided today to make a change. I stepped away from Netflix.
(was I the only one to hear the trumpeting in the background just then?)
Instead of watching tv under the covers I decided to listen to some music as I started to clean up my room. Music is such a mood booster. For me, it gets my imagination going, it gets me thinking again after I've totally shut it down. The mood buster for the day? The Pixies.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am a roommate's dream. Who doesn't love a little alternative rock on a Wednesday afternoon?
On the whole music front, Springsteen is releasing a new album soon! March 6 to be exact. That really has nothing to do with the rest of this post, but come on! How can you beat that news? Oh, what's that? That's right you can't! That video up there? That's the new song.
I actually have stuff to share with all of you. Pictures of pictures and patterns and paper. I am loving the Ps. I'll be back later this week with some fantastic old-timey photos, but until then...
I'm back in the full swing of this point everybody and it's not too bad yet. But it is eating up a good chunk of my time. I wish I had interesting adventures to tell you about or amazing design feats accomplished. Sadly my week has been fairly monotonous. The most colourful part of it has been the highlighters I'm using to take notes with. Even my post-its have been relegated to the back of the drawer for now. This post was supposed to go up midweek, but at some point during my sleep deprived nights I misplaced the cord that attaches my camera to my computer. So here it is now. My week in pictures everybody, hold onto your hats!
First up, the notes, the agenda. It's so exciting you can hardly breathe! Right! ...Right? Notice the poor quality lighting, perfect for eyestrain.
But by midweek things were looking up! The mail arrived. Two packages filled with free books! Yes, this was definitely the highlight of my week.
I started putting things up on my wall. No frames, a few show posters, but it's a start. There's still a lot of blank space so at this point I'm hoping to just sort of fill it up collage style with colour. Maybe some more show posters, maybe some prints and coloured fabric. Whatever I can find.
So that's my week pretty much summed up. Hopefully I'll have more to share next week. Have a wonderful weekend everybody.
So what do you talk about when there's nothing to talk about. It was my first full week back at school this past week and while it went by fine, I did my work. Absolutely nothing interesting to share. Okay that's a lie. There were moments. Best story of the week? The ceiling falling in on one of my classes.
Yes. That's right. The ceiling.
There are these working who have been working on the roof of my building forever. Not kidding. Forever. It's like if you combined renovations with Tuck Everlasting. Well my classroom just happens to be in the attic area of this building, the very top of the building. So as soon as anybody starts working the roof starts shaking and before you know it. BAM. Ceiling in your coffee! Not going to lie. There were moments I thought I was going to die.
So in other words, all classes should be that exciting.
Funnily enough, I was still nodding off. God this post needs pictures.
Okay, admittedly this may not count as cooking. But look! I made dinner! A super fast one!
I was passing by my local fruit market today and there was a sale on berries and their prices weren't that bad overall considering it's still January. Let me tell you, so good. Mandarin oranges, mangoes, grapes, and blackberries all mixed together? It's hard to go wrong. I mean you can go wrong if everything is sour and off, but fortunately it wasn't! I just love the colours of all that fruit together. Just so pretty, no?
What are the recipes you guys fall back on when you're short of time or just craving something sweet and healthy?
Why hello there various wall hangings that have been in my room for years. Literally years. I have this tendency to collect little pieces like this while I'm on vacation, but i never do anything with them. I think they're gorgeous; I do. But what can I do with two tiles from Mexico and two watercolours from Victoria, BC? So they sit, leaning against mirrors, dressers, walls. I love them, but I don't know how I can make them work.
I have this vision in my mind. I'll have my beige walls, covered in strategically placed washi tape and on top of that pictures. In my mind these pictures are black and white to contrast the coloured tape and will be in uniform black frames to tie it all together. I don't have those things just lying around. I have colour and paintings that don't require frames and tiles and this woodcarving that a dear friend brought back from Singapore.
The intricacies are just gorgeous don't you think? I love the arabesque lines. It's so different from everything else I own. It either needs to go on its own wall or be front and centre, surrounded by a mish mash of images. I'm thinking hunting down old frames could help. Tie it all together by having nothing match? Don't get me wrong. I love all of these things (especially the woodcarving, sentimental value you know). I just don't know what to do with them!
I'm all questions right now, very little action. But seriously, does anybody know what to do with tile? Do you dear readers have design problems like this and how do you resolve them? Let me know in the comments! I would love to hear from you!
You know that giant wall area that I keep complaining about? The huge blank space that is just a screaming reminder about how ugly my current dorm is? The one I've done nothing to fix over the course of the past two and a half years? As you may know, I've been thinking of covering that wall with some sort of tape. I've been hovering between spike and washi (mainly because I already own a ton of spike tape). Unfortunately spike tape is meant to be seen easily for prop placement in a theatre; it's pretty much out of the question for decor. My glow in the dark orange is not the ideal wall covering.
I remembered coming across a blog from awhile back that featured a washi tape covered wall. One quick google search later and I came across this post from Little Green Notebook.
I think this image speaks for itself. I love the subtle pop of colour and the geometric shapes. I also love how it's targeted at renters. As a student living in a dorm I can't wallpaper, but I'm taking this as proof that I can tape my walls. This is my wall inspiration.
In my searches I also found some beautiful images over at Hello Sandwich. Wallpaper sized washi tape! So pretty! I doubt I can find any of that over here. I'll be happy ordering some regular sized tape online and going to town. But seriously, look, so pretty!
I'm thinking of ordering this tape online.
I really love the colour. It will pop, it's fun and young and I'm hoping to hang up some black and white pictures as well for some contrast. I'll let you all know how it goes! Maybe even some before and after pictures?
How do you cope with the restrictions that come with renting a place, either an apartment or dorm? I'm so curious!
So the holidays are over; I packed up the decorations today. The baking is almost all gone and our final family birthday is taking place this evening. Let me tell you one thing, I am tired. Definitely too tired to start on one of the many projects I have in mind for the new year. However, I'm not too tired to look for some design inspiration. I just love looking at other people's ideas to see how they can look in my place. So to tide you all over for the day here are some beautiful pictures that I've found around the internet.
This bedroom is from the Canadian House and Home website. I love the use of neutrals with just a pop of pink for some added colour. I also think the chandelier is an interesting touch; it's sleek. A small space like a dorm room can incorporate some of these ideas. Hanging your own chandelier is highly unrealistic, but the colour scheme is easy to recreate.
This next bedroom was found via the Lovely Undergrad. I love the use of light which is something easily emulated in a dorm room. I also love the clean lines. I desperately want that alarm clock, so much cuter than my cellphone alarm.
This dorm room featured on the Refinery 29 website is a lot bigger than mine (I could never fit a lamp, let alone a Greek column in my room), but again I think elements of this design can work anywhere. I like how pictures are grouped together. I think it's a little more personal than buying one huge poster to cover up a wall.
Another dorm room featured on Refinery 29, I love the wall art. They used Wall Pops, which are stickers for the wall, to create the stripes. I've been looking into decals for my walls to add some colour. I think this is a brilliant way to get around the fact that you can't paint the walls.
These images have really inspired me to create something beautiful out of my room. I would love to incorporate these images into my design. I think finding things that inspire you is a good first step to design. Now I just need to work on the follow through.
