Adventures with Mollies

Oh No! When I hung up my newly purchased curtains, the weight was too much and the poorly installed curtain rod collapsed.




Now my wall is full of holes. But that's okay because...




I can use these magical Molly Anchors that are allegedly super easy to install and will easily hold up some measly curtains.




ARGGHHHHHHHH. I swear, I followed the directions! Now I'm too angry to try again. Plus, I can't deal with more holes in my wall.

Interior Design Worksheet

The Jewish holidays have taken up valuable cure-time, but now I have a bit of breathing room and the current holiday, Sukkot, mostly involves fun, so I don't have to feel guilty about devoting some attention to things other than sitting in shul.

So...here's my list:

paint
hang hamsa above arch
take off closet doors
hang fabric in front of closet
hang art cards on beam facing sitting area (consider putting in frames)
stencil "shoes off please" by door (actually, I'd like something wittier- any ideas?)
hang key collection on front door
file academic files into a new box
magnetic bulletin board above desk
hang dining area and kitchen curtains
hang decorative plate
frame family photos and hang in kitchen
UNPACK THAT STACK OF BOXES

Reflections amid the Palm Trees

I’ve been living out here for a year and 5 weeks. I left New York for a few reasons:

1. the weather- I lived in Boston for three years and it ruined winter for me, so I haven’t been happy on the East Coast since. Also, my eventual plan is to move to Israel, so I figure I should practice living in the desert.
2. some bad relationships I wanted to put distance between
3. living in one place for more than two years in a row makes me restless- wanderlust
4. I had a few choices for grad school, but ASU gave me the most funding

At first, I spent most of my time complaining and missing the city:



“I'm from New York, I'm genetically engineered to dislike everywhere. Except Manhattan.” (McDreamy)

"One need never leave the confines of New York to get all the greenery one wishes-I can't even enjoy a blade of grass unless I know there's a subway handy, or a record store or some other sign that people do not totally regret life." (Frank O'Hara)

"The true New Yorker secretly believes that anyone living anywhere else must somehow, in a sense, be kidding." (John Updike)

But after a few months, I realized that living in a place with palm trees and doing something I love instead of toiling in a grey cubicle was making me happy. Very happy. And have a hapy little life here.



So, now that I’m happy to be here, my home should reflect that happiness.

(But I still miss New York).

More Set Design Inspiration

Apparently, I have a thing for middle aged British expatriates. For their apartments, I mean.



Maybe I should get a pipe and some tweed. Considering I'm a professional academic, perhaps it's inevitable. Now I just need to find some photos of Indiana Jones' house in Last Crusade.

Floor Plan Thoughts

Here's my first attempt at a layout, but it's actually no different from what I currently have. Just with different furniture. I'm not sure how well it "flows," but since I have so many doorways/openings, there aren't many other ways I can think of to arrange it, except to turn the sofa to face the sliding glass doors..but then that creates a hallway and the sofa I like is too big for that anyway...



From above: 1 and 2 are the plain Ikea pieces I already have facing the sofa on angles; 3 is the large bookcase I already have; 4 is the sofa I want (curvy one from Pennys); 5 are the accent tables from Crate and Barrel that I like more every day (although I have been keeping my eyes open during thrift store trips for alternatives); 6 is the type of leather bench I want to replace the coffee table; and the question marks are the hypothetical cabinets/shelves/somethings that will have room for a printer, two file cabinet drawers, display space for my collection of Oaxacan pottery (small), and ideally a few books I'm using that semester. This might be difficult but something like a vertical file cabinet with a shelf on top could work perfectly- I just can't find one I like.

What I Want (in this room)

Currently, I sit on the couch and eat, watch TV or work. Which is bad for my back, wrists (laptop on my lap- oops), and my brain, since the TV is slowly melting it. So, I canceled most of the cable (still trying to decide how much I need Comedy Central and FX).

What I'd like is space to work (at a table with proper support), a more comfortable couch to watch limited amounts of TV, (I may be short, but the loveseat is too small even for me), and someplace to eat. But, I value the place to work more than the place to eat, which is why I'm leaning towards making the dining room table a home office that is flexible enough to convert when there's company or it's too cold to eat outside- that's the next part, putting a table outside to eat. Also, I want the living room area to be friendlier for guests.

In conclusion: I have a dining room, living room, kitchen; and I want office, dining room, living room, kitchen.

Idle Sofa Thoughts

I want two things in a sofa: green (olive or dark) and comfortable. I was thinking squashy, but then I saw this one (Simmeon from JCPenney):

It's huge though- 8 feet long. Maybe that's normal, but that's most of my living room wall. I don't know how good the quality is. Also, I can't sit on it ahead of time, so I don't know if it's comfortable and it definitely doesn't look squashy.

Here's one that is squashy- my cousin has it, but I don't like the skirt (Caledonia from Bassett):