Decorating!!!! Sound the Trumpets!!!!

I have been biting my tongue, rolling my eyes, muttering under my breath, waiting for soooooooo long for the time in which I would be able to have CONTROL over my living space and decorate, clean, whathaveyou to my liking! That time has come!!!!!!!!!!!! BLAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!! (That is me shrieking and jumping for... well, I think mostly relief.) Yes folks, you guessed it, I cannot lie to you.... I no longer live with my mother!! No, no I did not move out, she did. Truly, I am very happy for her. She fell in love and is starting the new beginning she's always wanted. And truly, I've missed her sooner than I'd expected.
But that is the reason behind my lack of posting recently. I have been digging through junk and fixing things that have been broken for the last decade. I've realized that where my mom always kept our spices was a terribly strange place - under the sink. Hmm. I've also learned that our second shower, which my mom has used to store shoes since we moved in 13 years ago, actually isn't broken, as she had informed my brother and I. In fact, her stacked shoe boxes were hiding some very cute turqoise tiles that I plan to show you once I figure out how the heck to get the grout non-very-brownish.

I have a new friend that will be moving into our spare room and I can't wait to make this place feel different. One of the main things I really want to do is to find some interesting artwork to put up on the walls. I made my first purchase the other day. It's just a print and I've been having a hard time deciding what styles I like, but something about it kept drawing me back to it. So I got it!!!  It's by Ali Cavanaugh, an extremely talented painter. Doesn't it look like a photo?

Tell me what you think!! I love the colors and the minor details, like how the girls pink strap is twisted a little.

I was also recently told about a really cool site called 52 Editions. Each week they post a piece of photography from an up and coming artist and they sell it at a discounted price, just for that week. It's a great opportunity to collect some unique work without having to go broke!

I also totally gave in and bought a canvas print from Urban Outfitters that I felt was a little overpriced. But, I actually really like it. But that's it, only two pieces so far.

I've been browsing through a really cool decorating book to get ideas. It's a great source of inspiration and design techniques: Domino: The Book of Decorating

Friends! Help me find new art for my house!!! Post a comment and share your favorite artists or places to find interesting pieces. I would really appreciate it!!!