I needed some topic help so I looked up some lists of questions.

“What is your favorite room?”

This is a tough one because when I bought my house, I spent a lot of time planning the design of each room. Lots of paint samples and I took some risks. When your whole previous life was about renting or crashing with your parents, you only get white walls you aren’t allowed to paint a different color. Most normal people like neutral wall colors. But if you say I can’t do something, it makes me unhinged. I go to extremes to express and appreciate my freedom.

Below the chair rail in my kitchen dining area I painted black. I did some version of ecru above the chair rail to break it up. I like it because that room gets bright colored accessories. I have a black bar top table. So, lots of reds, yellows, blues, greens depending on where you look. My upstairs bedroom is a gray/purple theme and my mom made the quilt to match. I have no official headboard for the bed so I bought this huge mirror bordered in green and candles above it. I never light the candles. They are just for show. It’s pretty cool.

My guest bedroom/office is all about the very light purple and black. I designed that room around throw pillows I found at TJMaxx. Those were my first house purchase. Then the paint and on signing day, toilet seats because I can’t use “used” seats in my house. That room has a bunch of books and cds in it. A couple shell type things too.

But I’d say my favorite room is my living room. I put the most updates in here and it’s where I spend the most time. The walls are red below the chair rail and ecru above like the kitchen. One wall is covered in all black and white photos I have taken mostly of travels. They are all black framed. Over the years, I have picked up a few trinkets I hang between them. One tile says “love” and one says “beach.” I have a couple heart shaped items bought in Austin, TX and PTown, MA. I also hung my skeleton Van Gogh from the museum in Amsterdam.

You will see a lot of hearts, crosses, anchors and skulls in here. I am heavily influenced by living in New Mexico and Depeche Mode videos done by Anton Corbin. One coffee table has pictures of me with my parents, me with my whole family, a picture of my dad when he was little, a picture of Charlie and a framed sketch of my anchor tattoo. That’s also where my salt lamp is.

The couch and chair are brown. Blankets and pillows are either red or fluffy off white. I barely ever sit in the chair and really need to switch the couch cushions because of the 9 year butt imprint on the one side I always sit on. The chair has recently become part of a reading nook I sometimes go to on Sunday afternoons. I bought a small stool and book table piled up with all the books I haven’t read yet.

Other randoms. I have a small cabinet where I keep my nail polish. There’s a lot of it. I have a Heineken bottle with my nickname on it “Doles.” Always a couple fresh pee pads near any legged furniture because Fergus’ renal issues mean he sometimes pees there. I have a couple throw rugs because I hate the carpet which came with the place and could never afford to replace it so I just pretend it’s not there and it’s not light blue which matches nothing in my house. Fergus has a toy box. There’s a book case full of stuff I have finished reading and some other Knick knacks there. That’s where the dog leash sits.

I have a very cool antler shaped coat hanger where I actually hang all my winter scarves and hats. It’s a collection. The wall heading up the stairs has some cool photos. I have a photo of a Sheila Divine set list from 9 or 10 years ago. There was a very talented photographer at that show I tracked down to get that picture. It was the night before Thanksgiving at Great Scot with my sister. It was my last outing before weight loss surgery. So, the last concert I went to super fat. I also framed the front page of Boston magazine when the Marathon bombing issue came out. It’s a photo of a bunch of running shoes shaped around a heart. I have a cute pug painting I picked up at SOWA with my sister and sister-in- law right about the time they bought their house in Arlington. I have my undergrad degree framed there as well as a photo Beth took of Monument Valley when we visited there during the time I lived out West.

I have a vision board. Yes you depression naysayers who say I don’t choose happiness. Do you have a vision board? Well, I do. I look at it every morning to infuse positive thoughts about my dreams because you people try to convince me that’s all it takes to get what you want in life. Funny because absolutely NONE of it has happened in the 2 years it’s been there! Next to that is my fireplace which I can’t get enough of. I use that for date nights with Fergus. Tons of red candles on the mantle. My BU degree is over there and yes, I have a couple rosary beads. You’ll never figure me out.

The dog crate is down here too because we still use it on house cleaner day. It’s also a convenient location for the pet camera so I can spy on the little nugget sleeping throughout the day. Once in awhile I catch him mid-pee and then I mute to yell at him. The archway to my kitchen is a neat shape and my view lets me see my colorful paintings and the black and white floor length kitchen curtains my sister donated to me. And, when the table is cleared, there is usually a red or green vase in the middle….whichever one isn’t on the salt lamp coffee table.

All in all, it’s a very happy, creative, artsy room. It’s where I do most of my writing despite the fact I have a whole desk setup for that upstairs. I use the desk when I sit down to write part of a “book” I last started last year and haven’t gone back to. The living room is where the blogs happen with Fergus at my feet chewing on his favorite bone which is always home to me.