Lately I've been desperately trying to avoid the Veruca Salt complex. You know, that pesky little attitude that makes you say, "I want wallpaper, daddy! I want it now, daddy!" First of all, my daddy heaves a mighty sigh when I even mention wallpaper. Our family has had quite the history of wallpaper removal. So, why would I want to bring that upon myself? (Look at the wallpaper below and you will find out why!) Ah yes. 'Twould be so lovely. And why stop at the kitchen? Let's paper the dining room too! And the living room!

Okay, I've got issues. And very little money to work them out with wallpaper purchases. Which might be for the better, eh? In any case, I've decided against wallpaper anywhere but the small wall space in our kitchen. Instead, we will do a nice warm grey in the living room and dining room, which is open to the kitchen.

And since we're moving this weekend (ALREADY?!), I've been prepping our plans and gearing up to bark out orders gently ask favors of those who have kindly offered to help. So, I guess I will update again once we've moved a bunch of boxes and broken out the chain saws and crowbars. Yikes! I thought I said no renovations this time? Ah, I guess we all knew that wouldn't be the last word.

As someone who does a lot (or perhaps far too much) thrifting, I'm always looking for new ways to put together outfits with my finds from the '60s and '70s. It's pretty easily to just figure out what works, and go back to that same sort of look time and again. But lately, I've been considering new ways to stretch my wardrobe- especially since I'm getting ready to downgrade my closet space.

Well, imagine my surprise when I stumbled on these images from 1971's Petticoat magazine, full of primary(ish) colors... and actually thought, Woah! What fun! I'd love to try some of these combinations! Primary colors! Who knew.  This '70s editorial features some punk does prep styles, with a little class, and a touch of tacky. It's rare to see that combination expertly executed, and definitely inspiring!

What are your favorite looks here? I'm loving the athletic socks over tights (image 2) and the jumper dress over wide-leg trousers (image 4).

images: 1 2 3 4 5 all from emmapeelpants on Flickr

I was just having a conversation with friends today about Pinterest pounds. It's this new thing going around, much like the freshman fifteen, only the number is up to the discretino of each Pinterest user. For me? It all depends upon my refrigerator's stock of Fontina cheese. That gnocchi and cheese is killer. Seriously killer. Check out these other side dish ideas (found via Pinterest) that I can no longer live without.

• Moroccan Roasted Cauliflower from Snail's View
• Baked Parmesan Tomatoes from Eating Well
• Absurdly Addictive Asparagus from Food 52
• Savory Gnocchi and Cheese from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

As a married lady now in my late twenties, it's awfully easy to look at romance between youngsters with a heavy dose of skepticism. Far too quickly I forget the very real feelings of first love- when the heart first finds a match, and all the seriousness of love and feelings of adventure quickly follow. A Little Romance perfectly encapsulates these feelings with a beautifully nostalgic look at a charming little romance between an American girl and a French boy.

A Little Romance is more than just a character study of two kids so in love. Quite a little adventure unfolds for Lauren and Daniel, thanks to the unexpected involvement of the interesting old man they meet at the park- Julius, played by none other than Laurence Olivier. The shananigans which follow are much more believable than what you might have seen when the Olsen sisters visited Paris back in '99, and you might be surprised when you relate much more to the children than you do the adults. Just like a trip back to Junior High, actually!

Diane Lane shines in her debut role as a lonely girl with a high IQ and innocent affection for the quirky French boy who first introduces himself to Lauren with (capturing my heart) so many references to Bacall and Bogie. "Call me Bogie," he says. "Why?" "Because they belong together."

All in all, there's not much I can say without ruining the fun along the way, so I'll just tell you that A Little Romance is a refreshing and very charming look at the innocence and freedom of first love. Set in Paris and Italy. So, what more could you want?

Pattern! One of my resolutions for 2012 is to enjoy more if it. Patterned separates, patterned dresses, and maybe even patterned shoes and hats! Oh, and I have no plans to stop this madness at my wardrobe. My wallpaper fund is indeed growing, which means I have now become obsessed with planning which patterns to select for each application. Photoshop to the rescue! What do you guys think of this one? It might be making an appearance in our future living room! It's pretty neutral in color and has just enough pattern interest without being overwhelming. It sort of reminds me of this cropped sweater I'm wearing. From far away you might think it's just a boring sweater. But up close? A pretty pattern emerges. Lovely.

O U T F I T   D E T A I L S :

dress: thrifted | sweater: ASOS | tights: thrifted | hat: thrifted | shoes: Clever Nettle

We've been living amongst piles of cardboard boxes, opening our pantry time after time foolishly expecting new contents to appear, and occasionally screaming at saying hello to one pesky mouse that is worried we might be leaving him (or her?) soon. Or maybe he's just enjoying the obstacle course that is our apartment, eh? In any case, all of these signs point towards a move in our near future- two weeks today, in fact! So why am I making drawings of our house instead of packing boxes? Well, because it's just really loads more fun. Duh. And after making these last suppers in our closet-sized kitchen, I need to be reminded of the hope that a nice kitchen and dining room will soon be in our lives!

After making the down payment on the house, we'll be working hard to build up a savings fund again. But I managed to finagle an inexpensive vintage dining room light from Germany, and talked my brother into giving me back the light from his bedroom (which I installed back when it was my bedroom). So, things are coming together! And my wallpaper fund is growing. And we haven't even moved in yet.

Planning a home is one of the sweetest things in life, so I hope you will enjoy my sharing the journey along the way! (I'm crossing my fingers for a nursery project in the near future!)

Sources: The old bedroom light was purchased from eBay (search white globe ceiling light), the wallpaper is from here, and the vintage dining room light is from here.