I’m turning 29 for the second time.

Yep, it’s almost my second 29th birthday.  I can hardly bring myself to type it.  On June 1, I will enter a new life decade and I would be lying if I said I was not freaking out a bit.

To make it more palatable, I am thinking about things that would make great gifts for, ahem, someone, ahem, who might be about to re-celebrate their 29th birthday. Or things that I want to purchase for myself once my birthday has come and passed with no gifts because my family doesn’t do gifts.

In line with my previous wish list, these are lovely things that are not exactly practical, making it unlikely I will purchase them for myself because I have to buy the un-fun things like a new toilet seat and energy-efficient windows. They are fanciful and lovely, like the previous wish list as well.

Without further ado, some things I currently covet:

This chandelier. Yes, it was on the previous list, but I want it so bad. I have made progress on my dining room and I’m dying to update the light fixture.

A marble mortar and pestle. This isn’t even that frivolous – I would use it a lot, but I definitely want a marble one because it’s pretty. Maybe not this exact one, but you get the idea. I would crush garlic and whole spices so hard.

A lovely cake server. Can you believe I don’t own one already? Neither can I. How did that happen? I make SO many cakes and have to serve them with a knife like some heathen. A scratch-cake-baking heathen. Oh, the horror!

These pretty salad plates. Can’t you just imagine eating a jicama-avocado-grapefruit salad off of these while sitting in my solarium? Your mouth is watering now isn’t it? Mine is.

One (or eight) sheepskins.  I know I would get so much use of out of it, but every time I go to Ikea I am already spending $300 on things that I need* so I always put the sheepskin back at the last minute. I have some ghost chairs and dining chairs that are just begging for a nice sheepskin. (*Need is a subjective term. Duh.)

Some snail place card holders. Or some other equally charming woodland creature in a gold finish place card holders. For labeling cheeses and the like at dinner parties. Nate Berkus for the win. For like the hundredth thousandth time.

Now, I am can feel my father rolling his eyes, saying that we don’t do gifts and who needs more “crap,” but oh well. It’s my second 29th birthday and I’ll desire lovely and slightly impractical things if I want to. (It kills me to end a sentence with a preposition, but that’s what you get when you quote Leslie Gore.)

Love,

Rachel

New Obsession: Bedrooms with Dark Walls

If you repeat this, I will deny it… but I have spent countless hours (maybe seven or eight, maybe more) googling and pinteresting for bedrooms with dark, sultry walls. Navy, charcoal, black, inky deep walls. So incredible. A few of my favorites are below. For more, and believe me, there are more, feel free to check out my pinterest board of dark walls.

I don’t know when I will get to decorate another bedroom… since I don’t know where I will be living come August. Or for how long. Or you know…

But a girl can dream.

Here are a few things that I learned about dark walls (like, when I think they work and when I think they don’t):

1. Dark walls must be paired with lots of white. White bedding, white trim, white curtains. Maybe a flokati rug or two.

This vignette is great. Deep blue walls, white bedding, turquoise night stand with gold accents.

2. I don’t like them super shiny or enameled. I get the idea, but I don’t like walls to be reflective. I don’t know if it should be matte, eggshell or satin yet (does anyone have guesses on this front?).

3. They need LOTS of cool art. Preferably BIG art, or at least a gallery wall. Frames should be white or gold, with large white mats. I don’t like dark walls that are left too blank. It freaks me out or something.

The walls are a little shiny for my taste, but the gallery is awesome!

4. Dark walls look awesome with gold shelving units.

I see those shelves even when I close my eyes. Oh yeah, and can we talk about this rug? And those camel leather chairs? And this lucite table? I mean, can we just talk?

5. Dark walls are a neutral – so they can be paired with almost any other colors. Some of favorites with dark walls are turquoise, coral/tomato red, chartreuse.

More lucite and turquoise. This time, add some yellow and reds.

6. Natural wood looks great with dark walls too.

The art on the right needs to be bigger, or there needs to be more of it. But this table is to die for. And the rug is good.

I cannot wait to get a bedroom that I can paint. It’s going to be glorious.

Love,

Rachel

PS. The original links to the pictures are contained on my pinterest board.