VT (for all of my design-obsessed peeps)

imagecourtesydesignsponge Peeps, Today, it's Election Day in my former home-town (Alexandria, VA) and the stakes are high.  I believe that fourteen candidates are vying for eight seats on the City Council.  While I no longer reside within that county, I am well aware of two pressing issues which need to be addressed, either by new council-members or those who remain for the next term of office.  Recently, in the city's zeal to embrace new growth (in the form of more housing, retail and office space) zoning variances and tax breaks were granted in exchange for a larger number of 'affordable units' to be made available to low-income residents, many of who previously resided in public-housing complexes (now razed by the wrecking ball).  While the opportunity to live in the charming row-house style units (complete with a manufactured charm suggestive of Old Towne gentility) that have cropped up in the northern sections of the city may seem like a godsend, some...

photocourtesyphotoproblemviacolorsoflife Peeps, I am hopelessly drawn to the worn and battered, darned and mended; objects, environs, and individuals who seem to have experienced life in all its complexity, or simplicity if we remember the teachings of wiser heads.  Today's visual treat is of a sitting room, or home office where the purpose of reading or writing remains foremost.  To some it may seem that the look of the room is of little concern to the dweller, for it is not 'done' in the conventional sense.  Yet there is much to delight the eye (as well as nurture the spirit): natural rugs which offer warmth and comfort, stacked books suggest an inquisitive and intellectual disposition, and hung artwork certainly suggests an interest in the representation of our reality (via the vehicle of art). On the book-stands pushed against the walls, three objects capture my eye.  First, the white bust of a child, possibly a store mannequin, or a childhood doll. ...