Once Upon a Mattress..

Tallman and I are in pain.

And are soooooo sleepy.

After months of me complaining about the poor nights sleep I have been getting on Tallman's 10+ year old, lumpy, mattress, Tallman finally has agreed that buying a mattress is a top priority.
For our health.
Our sanity.
The sanity and health of all those who know or have to interact with us.

Because it is uncomfortable we do not sleep well. Because we do not sleep well we toss and turn. Because the mattress is old (and the bed is on wheels) all this tossing and turning wakes the other person up, violently.
Because we are constantly waking up it is hard to get comfortable.

Do you see the problem?

I'm sure coffee makers every where will be sad to know we're going mattress shopping this weekend (after reading many reviews and talking to lots of people who have bought mattresses, we've decided to just go and lie on things and then think about it).

Wish us luck, and cross your fingers that we are well rested enough to make good decisions.

Book Review: Almost French

Before I get to the mattress shopping or the spare room, let me tell you about this book I read: Almost French by Sarah Turnbull.  Its really good! Believe the hype! I had put off reading it for a while despite the lingering feeling I would enjoy it because of a love of French, Paris, Love and ya know stories.

The basic premise is woman meets Frenchman, moves to France, feels out of place, figures it out eventually, and discusses the differences between French and Australian manners and culture along the way.

If you studied French in junior high, had a boyfriend when you studied abroad and had mad fantasies of leaving your homeland behind, or simply like stories about awkward dinner parties. This book is for you!

Miss me?

I've been busy with Easter, dinner parties, learning new board games, back pain, getting my spare room together, and not sleeping.

I apologize. (though I've been told that you won't notice I'm not posting unless I apologize, catch 22 I guess...)


On the bright side, coming soon are pictures of the spare room, and stories of mattress shopping and a trip to IKEA. So much to look forward too.
Now if you'll excuse me I have a date with a hot water bottle (back pain) and a screw driver (making a desk).

Happy Happy Happy Happy Weekend

Happy Passover!

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Happy Easter!

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Happy Birthday Knowledge!

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Happy Weekend!!!

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Working on the den...

So remember yesterday, how I said we had bought a desk...
Well here is the desk:

Victor Writing Desk

Tallman wanted a tray for his key board, and I wanted something sturdy that would be with us for a while but was also small enough for the rooms we currently have. I think this will work perfectly in the room and for our needs.

We originally wanted to get a piece of used furniture, but craigslist and the stores we visited over the weekend yielded nothing that was "just right" (because they had no key board drawers) but also nothing that was "close enough", things were too big, too small, too white, clearly we're very picky.

Also, this desk is a little expensive, BUT it is hard wood which is important to us. It also fits our needs very well, and Tallman and I are both people who want things DONE and are more willing to compromise on price than on style or functionality when it comes to getting things done. The Petersiks we are not :(
Where do you make compromises when it comes to getting things done? Or are you the type who is content to let it linger in order to find the perfect thing? if so I salute you, its not something I can do.

Working on the second bedroom...

Every room in our apartment is in finished to livable condition except the back room/den/study/man cave/second bedroom/closet (we're working on a name). It got worse this weekend when Tallman finally finished moving all his odds and ends from his old apartment.

Here is where I'd insert a picture of the maddness but I don't want to expose you to its horrors. Let me just say that there is a LOT of boxes, a chair, a tv and stand, a canvas wardrobe, a bunch of lamps, shoes and etc strewn about. Did I mention this room is 9x10... its not a big room!

So we got on it this weekend, knowing that the first step is to buy a desk and a rug so we can have some place to put Tallman's desktop, my printer, and somewhere to run wires for the sound system Tallman bought for in there (yes he did buy a sound system for the den... have you met my giant? apparently he likes multidimensional sound).

Finding a rug was harder than we thought. We looked at a few local second hand stores for oriental rugs (we have a large one in the living room) but they were really expensive for what they were ($250+ for 4x6 very worn, kinda ugly rugs).

So we went online and checked out Target, Wayfair, and Overstock.
Target had some decent rugs for low prices, but I was looking for something specific I guess because this is what I came up with for options:

Hand Woven Harding Wool Rug

Hand Tufted World Classic Blue Grey Wool Rug

and the one we decided to get was:

Hand Hooked Alexa Moroccan Trellis Rug

Clearly I was working on a trellis theme. The rug we chose is a little darker than I'd like, but its simple and pretty and modern and on style without being something we'll be embarrassed to have in 10 years. Also I like that its something we could use in a variety of rooms based on our current design scheme.

So we're working on the den (I've decided that is its name) the priorities are a desk (wait for it-we already bought one... I'll tell you about it soon) getting the crap cleared out, set up and then we need to figure out seating (I'm trying to push for a pull out love seat so that out of town friends can stay over in style).
Have you bought anything recently and realized after the fact that you had a definite style in mind?

Happy April!

Its hard to believe its April in Boston... its colder now than it was in mid-March! But for me the beginning of April is when spring really starts! So lets get it started!

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 I like spring because it has lamb...

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 mmmmmm lamb... I love lamb..

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And flowers... Specifically tulips... because of their wonderful smell (yes Knowledge, their smell :p)
And Spring dresses...

Dolores Dress

And long days, and cool nights, and the promise of summer without the heat, and the list goes on!

What do you love about Spring?