New Persian Rug

I found this great handmade persian rug on Ebay for only $50! It's about 2.5x4.5 so it's not huge but it's a great size for our small office. Right now I'm debating on the colors. The red is fun and adds a little something to the mostly neutral room but it's red. And ever since I painted a wall red in one of my first apartments, I've stayed away from the color. So is it really true what designers say--that every room needs a punch of red?

One Strange Day

Today the Virginia and D.C. area experienced the largest earthquake since 1944 (measuring 5.9). People as far as New York and Ohio felt it! The last time I recall an earthquake was when I was a young girl in the mid-80's in Indiana. I don't really remember much except for the dishes rattling and shifting inside the china cabinet.

After evacuating the art building where I work at George Mason University, we all stood around wondering what to do next. It was a small earthquake, comparatively, but still it shook everyone up. Then I began to worry about my apartment and if anything was damaged or broken. My co-workers said, "well if it's broken, then it's broken." And I was thinking, yeah, you're right, but inside I felt like, oh that's "my stuff, my stuff." Terrible, I know. What if it had been worse? When I came home to apartment, this is what I found:

Nothing broken, nothing severely damaged, all was fine. And we were all safe, which is honestly, all that really matters.