Art...

I was catching up on some blog reading, and I came across a post on The Glamorous Life of a Housewife where she was talking about the art she has on the walls of her home. She has all of these gorgeous oil paintings of Tuscan villas in her house. They're very pretty, and look very sophisticated. She also says that she can tell a lot about a person by what is on the walls of their home. This prompted me to pay attention to what is on MY walls.

It's not good people. I'm like a mental ten year old or something.

Let's start out in the living room. It's not so bad in there. This is in the pass through between the living room and the dining area:

The photo is at a bad angle, and there's glare from the window, but you get the idea. It's a Monet print that I've had for nine or ten years. It's not one of the more well known ones, like the water lilies or the gardens, and I don't really care for the color purple all that much, but for some reason, I've always loved this painting. It's a cheap poster in a cheap frame, but it makes me happy, so it stays.

In the living room, I have this print. I picked it up at Target, LOL, because that's just the kind of sophisticated art buyer that I am. I'm really into poppies the past couple of years. I had the paint on the wall color matched to the background of this print. I get a lot of compliments on this wall color.

Over the tv I have a big ass clock. This is another Target purchase. I agonized for MONTHS over what to put in that space, because nothing seemed right. It's a big space, and I didn't want something up there that would compete with the TV (my husband's version of artwork) when it was on. I like having stuff to look at, but not if it's too busy. I have to admit, it took a little while to get used to the pendulum on that thing ticking back and forth just in my line of sight while I was watching tv though. I'm easily distracted by things like that.

Oh, and fun fact - I've seen this clock pop up on several HGTV shows since I got it. Hee hee!

You can also see the lovely collection of random crap on top of my bookshelves. That's called "Sara can't decide what the hell to put up there". One day I'll figure it out.

Here's my mantel. This is another case of wanting a piece of art, not being able to make up my mind because everything looked "too busy", and doing something entirely different. Mirrors are good for reflecting light anyway, right? The funny part is, due to the stupid vaulted ceilings (I really really hate my vaulted ceiling) the mirror is up so high no one could ever possibly look in it. Unless they were very tall I guess, which we are not.

Ooh, and look - no one told that houseplant about my brown thumb. Shhh, let's keep that between us for now, okay? I bet you can guess where the mirror came from too...

Now on to the hallway. I have this photo holder that I got at Ikea where I keep cards I get in the mail or for different occasions if I think they are cute. This is not anything remotely resembling sophisticated, tasteful art. It's just something that I can look at that makes me feel happy and loved.

Fun story - see the blue card on the bottom with the bunny on it? That was the birthday card my husband gave me this year. It says "Farting is fun and makes the room warmer". We're all sentimental and mushy like that.

Under that, I have photos that I printed in black and white of various people from both my husband's and my families in plain silver frames.

It gets worse a little farther down the hallway. This is my random crap wall. I have some photos that I've taken in mismatched frames, this funky little wooden sun (supposedly Haitian) that I copied out of a catalog a long time ago, some small paintings of frogs, a letter a former student wrote me, and le piece de resistance - my pig painting. This was my first painting on canvas.

Yes, I'm weird.

My kitchen is decorated in a cherry theme. I did this trio of mini canvases for this one weird wall in there that serves no purpose. Honestly, they should have put another cupboard there, but what can I do about that?

I copied these from the Louis Vuitton Murakami bags from a few years back. So cute.

In my husband's bathroom I'm afraid I am still going with that stunted mental ten year old thing. The frame was found at Goodwill for $1. It was painted in red and white stripes and had big metal stars in the corners. I pulled those off and gave it a couple of coats of new paint, then distressed it a bit. Now my husband can admire us while he does his business.

One day, I'll have a sophisticated home with sophisticated things. For now, I have rubber duckies...

...and a sign reminding you to wash your dang hands. That's important. More important than planning and centering your sentiments, apparently.

In our bedroom it's a little bit better. Another Monet print, a framed photo from our maternity shoot, a puzzle box from Turkey that my uncle gave me when I was five. In case you were wondering, the fan is on a washcloth because it will walk off the top of the armoire without it.

Oh, and a pink glittery pencil. I have no idea how THAT got up there!

Over the bed, just a simple trio of mirrors. Pretty boring. You can see my belly in the middle one, haha!

So there you go. My goofball version of artwork. Nice, huh?