It seems like every time I read a newspaper or blog, I see the same end-of-summer blues reiterated. The "I can't believe it's August ___ already!" exclamations. Yes, summer is winding down, and here's to looking forward to fall. Because I live according to a school-year schedule, going from college student to teacher for 2 years, and now back to student, the fall always feels like a new beginning for me. Time to reorganize, reevaluate... refurbish. Also trying to do a little cleansing, physical and spiritual. My regimen involves a lot of writing and juicing. I write to reflect on the past 2 years in Spain, and ground myself before moving on to the next adventure, and I juice to detox from the past 2 years of Spanish wine and travel. I've spent some time lingering on the site of another hispanoparlante, Gwyneth, whose site Goop is sometimes annoying, but slightly addictive. It's a little much when she puts the accent on Nestlé, in her chocolate chip cookie recipe. Who knew? Oh Gwynny, always so proper. But girlfriend does have a few good culinary tips, and invites some interesting voices to discuss her spiritual topics. Today's juice : BEET, APPLE, CARROT, CELERY, GINGER. I add this to my normal diet, which is much less Spartan than the Gwyneth plan.
I'm starting grad school at Cornell in a couple weeks and am excited to have found an adorable, bright apartment, with a little yellow kitchen on one of the hills of Ithaca. Looking at some inspirational design blogs has given me the craft bug. My mother and I have been cruising the Catskills in search of abandoned furniture, like this fabulously quirky wooden coffee table I adopted.
It was looking so forlorn on the side of the road, and I just had to give it a loving home. I've also blown the cobwebs off the basement furniture, and experimented with painting and distressing old pieces. Like this antique night table. I absolutely love the vintage knobs on the drawers.
I bought "night-sky" blue paint, crackle, and another paint that's just a touch off-white. The crackle is a clear goopy liquid that you paint on between the blue and the white, and it gives the top coat a crackly, aged look, and the bottom coat shows through the cracks. I decided on the navy/white combination, to give it a funky, chic look.
Next up: creating a headboard. I've seen some cute ideas, like this. We'll see what I come up with...
