A Guy's Office Wall Decor

My husband recently moved to a nice large office with tall ceilings and a great amount of blank, white wall surface area to cover. He has been struggling to find ideas for wall decor that are both professional and meet his straight-white-male aesthetic. I can sympathize with his struggle. Our apartment wall decoration consists of either artwork I have picked up from vacations, pictures of family and friends, or vintage beer trays I found on eBay: all things he enjoys, but none of which he chose, and none of which are likely appropriate in a professional setting. Did I mention he doesn't have a big office artwork budget? Hence the struggle.

Although he doesn't want my help, here are some suggestions I have come up with:

Large vintage maps:



Fabric over large art canvas:



Pictures from college campuses:



Large wall clock:



Some not-so-decorative options:

Chalkboard:



Whiteboard:



Magnetic board:



Cork board:

Boston MBTA woes

Inspired by an article I was editing for American Journal Experts on traffic and vehicle emissions management in China, I started thinking about the traffic and transit problems in my own city, Boston. Although it is certainly not among the most congested or polluted cities, partially thanks to (faulty though they may be) projects such as the Big Dig, Boston has its share of problems. I am certainly guilty of contributing to the problem by hopping in my car at times instead of hopping on the T. The line I live on, the "B" Green line, a largely above-ground trolley line, is SOOO slow. It drives me nuts.

This brings me to my argument on public transit efficiency. In order for people to consistently choose greener transit options over driving, it has to be faster and cheaper (see emphasis on the speed factor above). Why not give the above-ground Green lines more control over the traffic signals? Give them a button to press to change lights after they have loaded some passengers and are ready to proceed. This would be a considerably more cost effective choice than putting the trains underground, and although it would undoubtedly make car traffic less efficient in the short term, it might encourage more people to ride instead of drive in the long term. Just a thought.

In the mean time, I probably need to purchase the above T shirt from Boston's Weekly Dig newspaper to share my Green line frustrations with my like-minded comrades.

Opened my Etsy Shop!!!

The long-anticipated day is here - I have opened up my shop on Etsy!! Encouraged by the adoring words of my friend The Esquire Wears Prada over the pearl necklace I made her, I decided that some other people might be interested in some items I have created. I've been dabbling in jewelry-making a lot lately, so that is what my shop has now, but I hope to eventually include some of the other crafts I have made.

Here is a preview of the 3 lovely pairs of earrings I added today:

Ginger Leaf Earrings - $28

Fire Drop Earrings - $26

Ivory Garden Earrings - $42

Tuesdays at TJs

I decided to start a regular segment that pays homage to two of my favorite places for good bargains: Trader Joe's and TJ Maxx. (Anyone who knows me is familiar with how often I talk about these cult favorites of mine).

We'll start off with a recommended product from Trader Joe's (and I appologize in advance to those of you who don't live anywhere near this fine establishment).


Tuesdays are an especially fun day at my local Trader Joe's because they sample wine and cheese in addition to their regular sample station! That is how I came across one particularly delicious cheese: English cheddar with carmelized onions. It's very savory and rich, but not in an overwhelming way, and it's great on crackers.

An interesting discovery by my husband - it also tastes a lot like the cheese on White Castle sliders! I was quite amused, but not surprised - I think it's the carmelized onions that really pull off that trick of the tongue. Check it out and see what you think!

Things I Love: Owls

Owls are one of my favorite animals. Well, my interaction with real-life owls is a bit limited, but it's the vintage-modern graphic owls in art and objects of design that I just find so irresistibly cute (like these owls found on etsy.com).








I should mention in passing that my other two favorite animals are turtles and elephants.

I have some guesses as to why these are my favorites. Owls: probably because I am a bit of a nerd. Turtles: probably because I am a little bit slow-moving. Elephants: ??? I'm not sure, but I especially like cute little pink elephants...

This brings me to my Favorite Thing to share with you today: the Fat Bird Jewelry Stand at Urban Outfitters. Yes, it says it is a bird, but I swear it is an owl. It is just so darned cute, especially in person, and it gets even prettier when you decorate it with a variety of post earrings. And it's on sale! Only $10! I highly recommend.

$9.99 at urbanoutfitters.com

Why Blue Poppies?

That's why. They are so gosh darn pretty. And here at the Blue Poppy Parlor, I'll further develop my procrastination skills by delving into the world of blogging and sharing my thoughts on living simply, beautifully, economically, consciously, and happily. Welcome to my Parlor.

image a flickr mosaic by tornate at flickr.com