Table Clothes

Bamboo & I are having a little soiree this weekend and I decided I need to cover my oddly colored desk/dining room table for the occasion. Here are some of my finalists:

Shadow Tablecloth, at Up to You (click on the Turn Heads section)

This is the first one that jumped out at me. The pricetag is a little steep ($80) and the dimensions are wrong for my table but it's a nice idea.

Haylee Tablecloth, at the Home Port

I saw this one awhile back and surfed the web again until I re-found it. The dimensions are right, the price isn't bad, and how sweet are those whimsical dandelions? I don't like that the Home Port isn't clear about the type of fabric though.

Kalamkari Tablecloth, at Ten Thousand Villages

I really like this one from Ten Thousand Villages. It looks like a decadent yet worn rug for the tabletop. The colors may actually be more brilliant in person but I rather like how it looks a little washed out and used. The cotton cloth is printed with hand-carved wooden blocks in India. I must admit I'm growing a little wary of fabric dyed in India, especially when said cloth will most certainly come to fisticuffs with salsa, wine, and marinated tofu.

Summer Fruit Oilcloth Tablecloth, at Sur la Table

Oh, oh, this one is adorable! And nothing is easier to care for than oilcloth! But, alas, it's only available in a 48" square and that will do me no good on a table that's nearly double that in length.

Wiltshire Oblong Tablecloth, at Bed Bath & Beyond

If I was throwing more of a champagne & caviar event, this might have been the one.

Capri Pink/Yellow Tablecloth, at Williams-Sonoma

This one's also a little spendy but it's on sale. I'm simply captivated at how they got those corners positioned just so! I wonder if I could pull that off or would the large-scale corner pattern end up being misaligned and sloppy-looking? Better not find out...

I ended up buying a very simple tweedy orange tablecloth at Bed Bath & Beyond (on $10 clearance!) a few days ago. I've got some plans involving a little sparkle to liven it up.

Now back to planning the menu...

If I Had Kids, They'd Have Eazy Beans

Apple, $240

If I had a couple of kids and a couple hundred dollars to spare (does that ever actually happen?), I would buy a each of them one of these fresh produce beanbag chairs from eazy bean. They're such an incredibly childlike and fun way to take a seat, pop a squat, rest your tail feathers, etc.

I could buy an adult one now (for $45 more) but I might as well wait until I get the pitter patter of little feet with it.

Persimmon

What's Your Walk Score?

Sometimes a walk is just a walk and, other times, it's all about business. Walk Score is an online calculator that rates how easy it is to get around on foot or the "walkability" of a particular address. Porcelain is finding this site especially helpful since she's condo shopping.

Just visit the site, plug in an address, and the site maps all the closest neighborhood amenities. Using Google as reference, Walk Score finds the nearest restaurants, libraries, bookstores, and much more. Each address is also assigned a number rating anywhere from 1 to 100. Here's how your score breaks down:

90 - 100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a car.
25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving is a must.
0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

I got a very healthy 89. Porcelain's current place got a whopping 94! What'd you get?

Photo credit: stock.xchng

Bonus Bone: Eggflat by Josh Jakus

Eggflat, available at Branch

The eggflat is one sculptural beauty! It's made from industrial wool felt, which is comprised of 85% factory excess wool and 15% mixed fibers. So it looks good and is eco-friendly too! A win-win combination. It would look great holding your keys and change by your front door. Or I think it would be fabulous on a dresser holding all your trinkets and baubles. It also looks pretty nifty holding that pear. Oodles of uses!

For these reasons, I, Porcelain, declare this a Design Boner.

I heart This Old House!

AC?

Watching This Old House was a big bonding experience in my family. Every Thursday evening we would tune in to Channel 56 (Detroit represent yo!) and watch our favorite contractors. My brother's favorite was Norm and mine was Tom Silva. No one liked Steve! We all kind of thought he was a jerk. Ha!

Jump back to present day, Hardwood and I are still looking at condos. We found one that we like a lot, but the two big question marks concern the heating and cooling systems. Important stuff! The heating is hot water baseboard heat and the air conditioning is a system that is commonly used in Europe and Japan. We found a ton of info on the baseboard heat and liked what we read (cleaner, more efficient, quieter, cheaper), but we couldn't find anything on the air conditioning system (see photo above). I wrote to my brother who lives in England to see if he knows anything about it. And hello full circle! He said he just saw an episode of This Old House where they installed one of these puppies.

Thanks, Jer! And thanks, This Old House!