Score!

Thursday I wandered out to Cedar Hill to visit the campus of my Alma Mater (does that apply to University?) where I'm sitting on the panel of faculty, students, and alumni who are helping the school apply for the pre-curser of the Baldridge Award. Full Disclosure: my mother runs the library.

After the meeting, my mother, a baseball player, and myself wrangled a circa 1950s solid-wood card catalogue into the back of my Magical Honda Fit. (That's right. There was even room to spare. Aforementioned Baseball Player was SHOCKED.) It sat in my trunk overnight. It must weigh close to 200 lbs. I'm not even exaggerating.

The next morning, with all but the drawers still taking up space in my trunk, I hop in my car and head up to the wine shop whose tasting area we're designing. As I'm driving past construction in Highland Park I notice the distinct smell of lacquer and note with dismay that it's detrimental to the otherwise nice fall-ish smell in the air. (You know that smell...molding leaves, ragweed, freshly cut 2x4s) Well past the construction and I'm still smelling lacquer. Completely wish the smell would go away because I'm starting to get a bit light headed. Then I pull to a stop light and there's a moment of silence on my ipod. A moment of silence except for the small hissing sound coming from my trunk. And then it hits me: spray paint. I have two cans of orange spray paint in my trunk - from Sunset Lounge. Two cans of potentially crushed spray paint. And I'm definitely getting high. I get to the wine shop, have the electrician lift up the hulking bit of furniture and pull out only one crushed - and spraying - can. The other can was saved and is now completely out of harms way. Luckily for all involved the paint is restricted to the back of the card catalogue and the rubber mat that protects my floor.

So I come home (still high), have some lunch, and get the super to help me haul it upstairs, where it slides under the window in between our tufted suede armchairs:


I - of course- have been flashing this photo around to anyone who'll look at it. I've heard everything from "that's So Harvard Library" to "Is that your new scotch and cigar corner?" It does make a nice little reading corner. I need to clean out the flostum that's collected behind the chairs.

The cats, of course, love having a new "hiding" place:



Actually, I was cleaning out one random bag and discovered baby spoons which belonged to myself and my sister. From what I can tell they were made in the 50s, which means they might have been my moms, first. But in my family it's hard to tell. (Mine is on the right.)



I've decided that when I start preparing for our children I'm going to splurge for a full set of these little spoons - in the interest of creating heirlooms. Also because I'm a firm believer that everything you use every day should be exquisite. All of the banal items used to make it through life should be instruments that make you smile.

Next up on my list...something MUST be done about my desk. But a hack? An entirely new desk? Here's the story: desk is from Container Store circa the 1990s and the most heavily used section (first by my husband in his college days and then by me) is wearing and vaguely splintering.



Idea #1 - and least expensive: sand and spray. But what color?
Idea #2 - take an idea from AT (exact entry) and decoupage "posters" to the cover. Inspirational ones such as this:



Idea #3 - new desk entirely. Either this one from West Elm or a custom one involving a trip to IKEA. Time will have to decide this one...