shelved

Yay and amen, I got a new bookshelf!! This has been on my list of things to buy (*ahem* budget for, then buy) for MONTHS! Matt and I are collectors of books, you could say. I adore books. I adore reading. I think books are aesthetically beautiful and love to surround myself with as much beauty as possible at all times. I rarely borrow books or get them from the library (unless I'm really uncertain about whether I'll like it)...I like to make books my own, underlining and folding corners. You never know when you'll want to go back and find that one really cool quote in Les Miserables or that entire passage of greatness in East of Eden. If you don't own the book, you can't find it! Therefore I have amassed quite a collection in my 26 years. Add to it Matt's own formidable collection (he scours used book stores and buys anything that looks remotely interesting)...and you have a couple who outgrow bookshelves regularly. Anyway, the stacks of books on every flat surface in the house have been getting on my nerves so we finally selected our Next Big Purchase: a really nice, large bookshelf! I hemmed and hawed about the choice for a few weeks but yesterday we decided on the one and got it! It took awhile to get the whole thing together and ready, and even longer still for me to rearrange and distribute the books/decorations, but we are done! Yay! Here's the new beauty, taking a place of honor beside the fireplace.

Isn't it beautiful?! I love mixing up my books with pictures, candles, and other decorative pieces. My other 2 big shelves look a lot better now, too, since those books got a little more room to breathe. While we were out (and the in-laws were babysitting Lola) we found a few more things to decorate with. I absolutely love decorating. We're renting the house we're in now, and we've lived here for 1.5 years (plus I lived here a year before that with a roommate) and I never seem to stop "nesting". There's always a wall that needs a little something or a corner that looks a bit empty. I'm not much of a knicknack girl, but I do like a space that feels lived-in! Here's a bamboo pot and some palm leaves and curly sticks (for lack of a more scientific word) I got for our bedroom.

Just FYI, that is Matt's nightstand you're looking at. He likes to be reading no less than 12,000 books at a time, and they all must be at hand when he's in bed! I love our room; when we move, I plan on changing nothing about it. It is so peaceful...I've actually had a friend comment that she'd give us a few bucks to take a nap there; she thinks it feels like a room in a B&B! Here's the view from the doorway.
Anyway. I've just a fun weekend doing some minor decorating. I love finding a good sale, especially when I have Christmas money to spend! The best part of this weekend? That it's not over yet!! Yaaay for having tomorrow off as well!