LIFE // in which my bedroom gets a facelift

I've been very bad and rearranged my room again. Last time I did that was... um... about a month ago. Obviously it was quite overdue. Ahem. Sarcasm.

I realized that I never really use a desk, I always write on my laptop sitting in bed. So the desk got banished the the basement. As did the table above my amazing free wicker trunk, which was just collecting junk.

Like these 3-D glasses I punched the lenses out of. I knew they'd be handy for something. Now I'm all geeky and have an adorable laptop decal.

I neglected to take any messy before pictures, so here's three from when it was clean:

And now...

A wall full of ads removed from Teen Vogue...

A painting by my mother in her art school days...

And... well... more space.

Yeah. Did I ever mention that the lips and words of my Ke$ha poster glow in the dark? It's awesome.
My mother hates the poster, so I had to put it somewhere she won't see it from the doorway when she walks by. Sort of funny really.

LIFE // my room is changed (again) and this time it is truly awesome

Well, I am officially out of school! I pulled myself together and managed a B in math (I do NOT belong in the Honors class, because math and I are NOT friends), so that means I made Honor Roll this past quarter. :) My highest grade was a 98. In gym, of all things, which until this year I absolutely failed. I also got a 95 in English, which made me happy.

Quick homage to Mrs. P: I loved my English teacher this year — once when I forgot my stuff to do an assignment on the Odyssey, I wrote her a short story instead. It was from Penelope's perspective and was very gloomy. She gave me full credit and an A because I entertained her while she was grading papers. It was a depressing story, too. I'm sure I still have it somewhere; I could post it in a bit.

Anyway, now I'm free for a couple days until the dreaded summer gym class starts, working on a short screenplay/indie film (more on that soon). But... you know what I'm going to say next...

Surprise, surprise — I got bored a while ago and decided to rearrange my room. Again. I brought in the awesome old 50's Singer that I got for $40 off Craigslist — it has its own little table and everything — and got rid of one of my bookcases since it was just a lot of empty space. Add in a bunch of posters and oddities on the walls and I feel quite at home.

Ke$ha (until my giant poster arrives, that's my temporary fix), the X-Files, Roadsaw, Chanel, a tarot card, feathers, a small dried horseshoe crab (I have so many of these...), etc. My wall is kind of a paradox.

BEFORE (very messy)

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER (but before the posters in the 1st photo)

I cut all those letters out with an Xacto knife — they're lyrics to this song by A Fine Frenzy. 

weird picture we found at a yard sale... it's an old hand-tinted photograph of a shoreline, but someone painted over the splashing waves with rough white paint so it's kind of a paintograph instead of a photograph or a painting.



PS: I totally forgot that I guest posted over here a couple days ago. Oops.

INSPIRATION // unhealthily obsessed with bohemia

So I walk into the doctor's office, sit down on that sticky plastic examination table with its paper covering, wishing I had some crayons so I could draw or write "OLIVIA WAS HERE". The doctor walks in, asks me what's wrong...

"I'm addicted, Doctor. I think I might need rehab."

"Addicted to what? Drugs, alcohol, bungee jumping?"

"Bohemian stuff."

Doctor pauses, stares for a second, then gravely types in a note on her computer monitor. "That's very serious," she says. "I'm afraid we may not yet have a cure for that." Her eyes are sad, and she regards me as one would a patient recently diagnosed with terminal cancer.

"That's okay. I don't mind." I hop off the table and go on my merry way, braided hair swinging and tassled bag swishing. The desk lady frowns as I leave, and as I look over my shoulder I see the doctor's puzzled face leaning out of the examination room. I hop in my VW and drive away.


Just kidding. I did not, of course, go to the doctor's yesterday inquiring about rehab — and there is the problem of me not being able to drive yet. Curses. But recently I've been really truly obsessed with all things bohemian. Yup, bohemian. Hippy, boho, whatever you want to call it. I downloaded Poladroid to my computer (best thing in the universe!!! all polaroided photos in this post were made with Poladroid) and started browsing, looking for pretty inspiring things.

And worst of all... I was bored. And you guys know how I get when I'm bored. Not good for keeping everything in one piece.

So I looked around for style inspiration... (from weheartit, Free People, and Spell & The Gypsy Collective « if you've never heard of them you need to head over RIGHT NOW)

this one is actually me...

via Chictopia

me want. me want bad.

i am so doing this on Easter...

And look at all these pretty pictures of Gypsy lair rooms. (from weheartit and pinterest)

i don't have to tell you how much i want a swing in MY ceiling, right?

So my room, which HAD looked like this (excuse the mess)...

... a couple hours later looked like this.

rugs! oh, beautiful rugs. die, evil orange floor, die. (these all from various travels to Peru and the like, except the sheepskins, they're from IKEA)

all these pictures were on my idea board... remember?

even Miss Mannequin got a makeover. that necklace is from the Amazon.

Um, yeah. Bohemian enough? Nope. I'm looking for a big Indian sari-type bedspread thing, with it going up the wall, swooping over the bed, and going down a little bit: an amazing canopy, get it? Apparently they were ten bucks in the early nineties, but now they've all but disappeared. My mom's going to ask her friends to see if anyone still has a couple... but it would look like a slightly less awesome version of the first inspiration photo. Only less awesome because it won't be in tent formation. Never have I wanted a funny-shaped bed, but now I do, just so I can do THAT.

Best of all? This room cost $0 to transfer from romantic and white to bohemian and ethnic. The rugs were all in my basement, as were the new wall hangings and sheepskins and everything. I love our basement. The oar over my bed I had bought when we lived in Panama from the Kuna natives. (Follow the link... see the canoe? It's called an ulu. Look at the oar. Yup. It's the real thing.) Real sea-Gypsy stories, in that oar. And the big portrait over my desk? My mom painted that. The girl's name is Raina.

It gave me good dreams so sleep in the new room, weirdly enough. Raina's not that creepy once you get used to her.

xoxo!

listening to: Your Love is My Drug - Ke$ha

watch the video, seriously, it's totally like Yellow Submarine.

and she's very bohemian in general. slutty, but bohemian.

minus the glitter and general prostitute vibe, she could make a good style inspiration.