This morning I made a happy discovery.  My usual peek at Grace Bonney’s Design*Sponge turned up an incredibly thorough guide to purposeful living in Des Moines, Iowa.  Our capitol city often gets a bad rap, mostly due to its close proximity to West Des Moines, a bastion of strip malls and cookie cutter tract homes that seems to suck a little bit of life out of you each time you pass through it.  Downtown Des Moines, with more than a bit of purposeful revitalization and a rechanneling of the energy and resources that run through it with each campaign season, is working hard to build a different kind of community.

Upon my return to Iowa five years ago, I spent about five months living and working in downtown Des Moines.  I remember being surprised by the slow food movement that was gaining momentum, the fast growth of the areas’ farmer’s markets, and the boom of new and interesting restaurants.  I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was and then glad to have a fun, new place to explore while I was adjusting to being back in the Midwest after many years.

So much time has passed since I moved to Iowa City that I am grateful for Annie May’s detailed guest post on the city and its hidden and not-so-hidden gems.  I think its time for a road trip and a day of exploration!

I love books.  I revel in their weight in my hand, the texture of their pages, the ink and paper smell that escapes when you crack one open.  They are my most favored possessions and instead of tchotkes, I collect books.  Beautiful ones with classic, concise covers and bright ones with bold spines and clean fonts.  I am in in love with the possibility that comes with each one I bring home and comforted by their presence when I’ve finished them.  When I read, I feel more like myself than I do when I am doing any thing else and so, I prefer to surround myself with them instead of any other thing.

This is why I love, love, love this gorgeous poster from FloraFauna. Designed for the band, The Books, FloraFauna elevates PR to the level of art.  If you’ve never seen their stuff before, I highly recommend that you take a twirl around their website.  They produce some of the most incredible show art around.

I have a very tiny bathroom.  Tiny enough that when I sit on the toilet, my feet rest on the shower sill.  One might call it cozy, others claustrophobic.  Whatever the case, it is a room that I’ve pared down and added a root color (a rich taupe) to help make it feel less like the whole thing is one big shower stall.  I have been thinking that it could use a bit more love, though.

I stumbled upon this awesome idea on Design Sponge from Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith’s  Wallpaper Paper Projects: 50 Craft and Design Ideas for Your Home, from Accents to Art. I think it might be the kind of small and subtle detail that could change but not overwhelm my lady room.

After a friend’s recent purchase of two gorgeous red velvet vintage sofas for 200.00 a piece (!) reminded me of craig’s list, I went a’hunting and found a great, mint condition tweed armchair for 35.00.   It is the perfect addition to my bedroom, which was the weak link of the apartment before it’s presence forced me to rethink the space and get a bit more creative.  This is the bedroom pre-chair:

This is the post-chair arrangement.  It seems that the three of us never want to leave it now with all the comfy lounging potential and sunshine.

Thankfully it is spacious enough for all of us, a lap top and a precariously balanced cup of tea.  Here’s to a successful addition to the family!