My Button Box

I will spare the long history lesson about the birth and life of Art Nouveau except to say that it was an art movement that reached it's peak in popularity from 1890 to 1905. And I think Wikipedia says it best when it describes it as:

A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it is characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly stylized, flowing curvilinear forms. Art Nouveau is an approach to design according to which artists should work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life.



I am fully amenable to this 'adding art into every day life' idea. I love it when people take the time to turn an ordinary space, public or private, and give it a personality.

For example, there is this pet store that I used to drive by to go to work (I go a different route now) but every day I watched as a huge mural of an iguana and snake and other reptiles were painted on one side of this building. It is a truly respectable piece of art that was fascinating to watch from start to finish.

But I digress. Having loved Art Nouveau for a long time now (I'm very much into flowing curvilinear forms you know) I wanted to bring more of that into my treehouse. I was currently using a box I painted at camp to hold all my buttons. I think I did a good job except that it looks like something a kid would use. (Also the designs I painted on it look a little like sperm. And once I got that idea in my head I couldn't get it out. Yikes!) So to replace it I found the most beautiful Art Nouveau box off a website called Fantastic Figurines (http://www.fantasticfigurines.com/)



Now I not only have a perfect place to store all my buttons but it also adds an elegant artistic touch to my room.

Rene's Recommendation: Energy Efficient Light Bulbs



I'm one of those people that is usually last to get on board when it comes to new technology. I don't know why. I guess I just don't see anything wrong with the stuff we were already using so I can't understand how anything could be better. That can end up being a good and bad way of thinking. I save money on malfunctioning new technology but I'm usually way behind on the next best thing (and by the time I get in on them they are off to the next new thing! Go figure).

So I know that energy efficient light bulbs are nothing new, but if you're like me I had to force myself to buy a bulb that wasn't incandescent. Once I did though, I ended up liking the energy saving light bulbs a lot! Just so you know they are bright enough. When you first turn them on they take a minute to get up to their maximum brightness but once they do the lighting is great. And they do last loads longer then regular round bulbs do. I can speak from experience there. So even though they cost a little more, go ahead and spring for the energy efficient bulbs. I think you'll be glad you did.