Yes we can!

These were cookies from Frank's, a local bakery, on election day. I knew I could work this photo into the blog someday!

So, we're not big fans of wallpaper, particularly after stripping off zillions of gross layers of it. But, we decided to do a border in the new study, after I found out (and became obsessed with the idea) that Bradbury & Bradbury have seconds if you email them. Our non-existing budget, we thought, would never allow for any of their paper - it's incredibly gorgeous, handmade, and priced accordingly.

I saw a post somewhere online saying that they have an annual sale in their factory, and I called them - even though they're 3000 miles away - to see if there was any chance to participate in the sale remotely. The super-helpful woman on the other end of the phone noted that they had seconds, and immediately sent me a spreadsheet with the list.

Yes, we can afford it!

Wow - there were a lot. We had some specific color and size requirements, but other than that, it's such a small project that we had lots of choices. They sent some samples, and we settled on this one, the Arcadia Freize. I have a pretty good eye, but for the life of me, I can't see the supposed printing error. And the paper is absolutely gorgeous in person.

Next hurdle: installing the stuff. I haven't wallpapered anything in about 15 years, and never anything untrimmed and unglued. Plus, anyone who knows how often I spill coffee all over myself would be skeptical that I could paste and hang wallpaper without ending up with a huge, sticky mess. Heck, at breakfast this morning I spilled coffee and dropped my fork, throwing egg all over the place (Eddy enjoyed it, though). We called around and found a guy who does wallpaper for one of the local historic home remodelers - and he came to see the project on Friday. His price quote was totally do-able - probably not much more than it would have cost us to buy all the paint, brushes, seam rollers, etc. and we would get to have someone else do the work for once!

Yes, we can hire help!

As he left out the front door, I grabbed the mail, and Karma sent me a mileage check from some consulting - about the amount we'd need to pay Mr. Wallpaper. So that sealed it - we're getting the wallpaper done. Once we get the ceiling moulding installed.

Maybe soon, we can get that done...