I’m fitting another trip into the schedule. Although, thankfully this one won’t involve planes and it’ll only be over-night. I’m taking my brother Steven to an art convention in Virginia Beach tomorrow. It’ll be fun, I’m looking forward to it. It’s quite a drive down there, but I think I can handle it. And if I can’t, I’ll make a few pitstops if necessary. I’m not sure what all I’ll do while he’s at the convention. I’ll have all afternoon tomorrow and all day Saturday before we drive back. My laptop will be at my side, so I could sit around and play Roller Coaster Tycoon 2. Or, I could sit around and work on Prophet, Incorporated’s new site (it’s oh so very cute), and write up the little bios of the cool Board of Directors. Or, I could play hookie and go to a movie theatre and see as many movies as I can handle. *Or*, I could go shopping, but that’s just too cliche. I’m thinking it might be fun – depending on the surroundings – to spend tomorrow afternoon hunting for good pictures. That depends how I’m feeling after the long drive, though. I’m sure I’ll be online at some point tomorrow, so I’ll post an update and tell what I’ve been up to. I bet you’re all just dying with anticipation. 🙂

Guess what I found out today!? My local movie theater (and I’m sure many others) will be rereleasing the first two Lord of the Rings movies before the third one comes out!!! I’ll have an extra week or so to watch them both before going to see the third one, I’m really excited. And guess what else?! They’re showing the mammoth three-hour special extended edition! Am I happy girl or what? Sure, some people tease me that I’ve seen the first two movies so many times, but hey, I like ’em. I think they’re some of the best movies to come out in a long time. And I’m not even that much of a fantasy fan. I’m talking pure movie magic. The special effects, the acting, the story-telling, the huge amounts of research that went into it, the beautiful styling, the phenomenal cinematography, the costumes. Basically, just the heart and soul those great people poured into that movie. They gave it their all and it really shows through in the final product.

Honestly, I’ve probably seen that movie more times simply because I’ve been studying the detail of their design work, pausing it at certain points so I can see what they created. I’m not that obsessive about it being Lord of the Rings, I’m obsessive about the art. I’m in love with it, I can’t even decide which styles I like best. Of course – being a fan of Art Deco – I loved the whole Rivendell set. It was absolute genius to meld that with Celtic themes; who would have ever thought of *that* combination? And to pull it off so seamlessly is just awe-inspiring. And then the whole curved surroundings of Hobbiton – I want a house like that. Those ceilings look like way too much fun. It was a bit too white-walled for my taste, but that could be fixed. I’m thinking nice earth-tones with all those great woods.

Man, I would do anything to get to the premiere of the next Lord of the Rings movie… *sigh*

Yeah, I’m obsessed with design. Especially architecture and interiors. I just wish Stephen would let me at his house. He said I could help, which is really exciting. I’m dying to redecorate something. I keep trying to tell him that everything will be okay, but he says he’s at that “protective” stage where now that he’s finally in his house, he’s afraid to “see what’s behind door number two.” I promise, Stephen, door number two will be so fabulous you’ll be speechless. Come on, people, back me up here! I’d deliver any style he wants, just so long as I get to paint something. Hopefully I can play Design Therapist and convince him that door number two isn’t really scary, and in fact, I’ll even let him take a peek inside so he’ll know what he’s getting into and if he really wants to at all. I’ve even already gone through over half of my Architectural Digest collection to bookmark pretty pictures for him to see. 🙂 Yeah, a little crazy, but I couldn’t sleep last night and had nothing else to do but sit on my bedroom floor with a huge stack of magazines and a butt-load of post-its. The rest of the collection is calling to me, though…

I’ve gotten some really great ideas from those magazines, though. I really love Architectural Digest. They’re really the classiest of “design” magazines, I think. (You can tell by the ads inside – they had a huge spread on the new Bentley. Mm, yummy.) I’ve decided my goal with every design I’ll plan will be to make it worthy of Architectural Digest. Of course, not as far as budget is concerned, I mean just as far as taste and general sophistication. (Unless I’m doing a goofy room, like a den, that’s supposed to be ridiculous, then it’s okay.) I planned a room for my brother Kevin and his wife before I left for Germany. We haven’t done it yet, but I really love it. I took my inspiration from my dream resort in Bora Bora that my friend David told me about nearly a year ago. It was featured in Architectural Digest about five months ago and had loads of pictures. Jen just loves the beach, but I’m always frightened by overly kitschy “beach” themes. You know, the ones that are so covered in seashell you can’t tell where the furniture ends and the walls begin. So instead I based the idea around Bora Bora and came up with what I think is an absolutely lovely beach design that’s completely devoid of seashells, save for maybe one or two lovely conchs. Instead, it’s rich woods, earth tones, a half-canopy for the bed, white linens, luscious fabrics, and brilliant arrays of sea and sky blue. I’ve added all sorts of interesting architectural details (using mdf, ply, and other yummy stuff) and I really hope Jen will let me implement it all. It’d be fantastic, I think. The best part is I think I could do the whole design for under $150. Cool, huh?

I really can’t wait until I get my hands on my own house. I won’t know where to begin as far as choosing a style, but it’ll be so much fun! I have this fear that I’ll start in the living areas and carry the theme all the way through the house. Then, one month after I finish, I’ll start all over again. That’s what my urge would be, anyway. Hopefully by the time I have my own house I’ll be so busy with other things that I’ll give my house a bigger grace period than just a month. Or, better yet, maybe I can just invade other people’s houses and force my whims on them. Mwahaha.

Another thing I’d really love to do would be commercial design. I’ve had some really fun ideas for offices, museums, memorials, parks, etc. They’re rather hard to describe, though. One of them involves a really long wall in a large space that has a gigantic split wall, diagonally across it. The upper lefthand corner is white, the other corner is bronze. Then, in a the middle, a huge canvas with the same idea, only reversed. It looks really cool in my head, especially with the Mies Van Der Rohe sofa right in the center of it. I’m so jealous – my Sims have that couch, and yet I do not.

You know what else I love? The Barcelona Chair, the Le Corbusier Chaise, and – my ultimate favorite – the Wassily Chair. In my first dream house, all of those would be included. The prices on that site seem a bit silly, though. I’d have to find some way to take care of that. But otherwise, don’t you just love it? Design is a wonderful thing.

Okay, I’m tired, I need to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow and all that. Good night, all!