As part of my attempts to cope with the stresses of my existence, I have apparently gone into serious nesting mode.

As in, I actually bought a throw pillow. (A throw pillow, for christ’s sake!)

Sure, it was a black leather throw pillow, which either says something about my decorating sense or my fetishes, but still. I am just this side of deranged. I have actual color schemes for rooms. (Black and red, black and white, and “explosion in an Indian dye factory.*”) It’s just as well that I don’t own my own home, or I would have a copy of “Do-it-yourself Remodeling for the Dangerously Inept” in one hand, and be taking a sledgehammer to the walls and mixing my own grout with the other.

The reasoning behind it is pretty straightforward–having little control over a number of other factors in my life, I am determined to make my environment a pleasure to exist in, a reflection of the dweller, a re-establishment of personal identity, etc, etc. Typical nesting behavior, in other words.

This is ultimately good in that it gets me unpacked quickly, and makes me particularly ruthless about chucking possessions that do not follow the creed “You must know it to be useful or believe it to be beautiful.” And there is a definite satisfaction to it. Live as you mean to go on.

On the other hand, it also means that in my recent efforts to find art for the bathroom–I don’t hang originals in the bathroom, given the humidity, so I find myself cruising Allposters.com–I find myself saying things like “Wow! I could do the entire bathroom in photos of frogs mating!” (I could, too. I…probably won’t…probably…most likely…I was thinking black and white for the bathroom, and I don’t think Ansel Adams ever did a “Frog Lust” series, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a LITTLE tempted…)

(Okay, a lot tempted.)

(I mean, they all look so cheerful about it…)

*Indigo, saffron, and pink, with turquoise accents. The bedroom is a riot of vivid color. I am a firm believer in intense color as a lifter of mood. Sure, my future romantic interests may need to wear sunglasses to bed, but hopefully they’ll have other things on their mind than “Dude, is this chick colorblind?”