Designing dilemma

Calling all home decorators - I have an issue.

We have decided that we want to inject a little bit of spice into our condo in the form of new throw pillows for the couch. Here's the problem - up until now I have stuck to a colour palette of yellow, gold, blue and brown because the space is so small and I didn't want it to look all crazy. Now, however, I am sick of the gold and beige coloured throw pillows that basically blend into the beige couch.

I bought a rug that I LOVE in Afghanistan that has some dark fuschia, brown, green and yellow in it. I was thinking of perhaps going with fuschia or red and brown but now I'm not sure.

The duvet cover is a light blue, the wall that the couch is on is a goldy yellow and the fireplace surround across from the couch is brown.

Here is a picture of the offending couch.



Suggestions?

Life in point form

• Home safe and sound.
  
• Had an excellent visit with A.'s parents (also went to Peterborough & Ottawa.)
  
• Saw a lot in DC - the pictures are up at Flickr.
  
• One of our favourite stops was the International Spy Museum. Very, very cool.
  
• Stayed at the Adams Inn, a fantastic B&B in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood.
  
• I'm addicted to Facebook.
  

That is all.

The mysteries of Philadelphia

Unfortunately the blogging spirit isn't strong in this one at the moment but I do have a book to add to the list.

Before I get to book number six there are a few points about The Lovely Bones that I wanted to mention that were discussed at our book club meeting this past Sunday. Overall, I loved the book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to people however, there were some flaws. The thing I had the biggest problem with was the "fall from heaven" sex scene. If you haven't read the book I won't say much more than it caught me off guard and kind of interrupted the flow of the book for me. Several people mentioned that the characters were basically just two dimensional outlines and, while I agree in some respects, I also think if Sebold had tried to flesh them out any further the book would have been a lot longer than it was. This was an incredibly emotional read and I think this is why I enjoyed it so much - I let myself be immersed by the story rather than thinking about the details too much.

Once I finished reading The Lovely Bones I moved on to Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon which I received as a Christmas gift. I really enjoyed the movie version (even with Tobey Maguire) and have wanted to read the book. While most of the story was similar to the movie there were large chunks, as with any adaptation, that were left out. I especially enjoyed the Passover scene with his in-laws and the "rescue" of James Leer from his family. This is one of the rare times where I don't have a definite opinion on whether I liked the movie or the book better - both were highly entertaining and I will return to both again in the future.

*****

A. and I leave for our holiday on Monday and we couldn't be looking forward to it more. We will spend time with his parents and then we are heading into the States for a 5 day road trip. If anyone has been to Philadelphia or Washington, DC and has any suggestions of things to do or see or restaurants with fantastic food, please leave a comment.

*****

We have spent an obscene amount of time watching the first three seasons of 24 and A. is now hooked. I think I've created a monster.

*****

I took a bunch of pictures of the condo and posted them on Flickr. If you have a good eye for furniture arrangement or have any organizational ideas, please comment on the photos or let me know.