Overheard on the Metro Today

"When I am at the gym, I don't want to remember that I am doing something good for myself. And so I don't want to watch CNN while doing it."

I don't know about you, but I have to do the exact opposite than this woman when I am at the gym. I have to constantly remind myself that I am doing something good for my health while slaving away on the elliptical. In fact I always watch CNN when doing my cardio. All the crazy things going on in the world help to distract me from my sweating and strained breathing. I even sometimes tear up while reading the closed captioning on the screen. Terrible things are happening to people right now while I am burning 500 calories! Doesn't the boggle your mind?

This world is just straight up crazy.

This One's For Me (sorry if its a yawn to you)

I dedicate this post to myself ... my future home owning self. Now I know that home ownership is a long way off, but its always good to have goals. Goals that entail determining what type of furniture you would like to one day buy. Now you know that I definitely have my priorities straight in life. Anyway -

I have this thing for upholstered furniture. I love the fabrics and styles they can come in - there is so much room to make these pieces your own! I also love the antique brass upholstery tacks on the sides! The details are awesome. I really like this chair, but its white silk (so not practical) and it might not be that comfortable (no arms ... hmm):

In which case I could also go for something like these chairs below (there is a matching couch as well). These are French Art Deco but you can find something similar from Pottery Barn - alas, both options are much too expensive for me.
Or these chairs would work ... I love the tanned brown leather.

Oh - this chair is HEAVEN (why are all these chairs light fabrics ??) I LOVE the quilted look and how low it is to the ground. So pretty.

Or how about a dark wood dinning room table (with turned legs of course - my favorite) surrounded by six of these babies (re-upholstered in some delightful fabric). I hate when dinning chairs are uncomfortable and these would be so nice!

And don't even get me started on looking for chandeliers ... I don't just want one in my dinning room - I want one in my Master bedroom OR my Master bathroom (not both - just one depending on my house one day) as well! In fact, I would consider forgoing the dinning room chandelier for one in my Master suite. Silly - this I know. But a girl has got to dream big while she is still single and before she has a man in her life to crush all her dreams of a frilly and romantic bedroom!

(photo grouping #2) Crowns, Knights, and Keys

CROWNS

London, England

Boston, Massachusetts
Even crowned in death.

London, England


KNIGHTS

London, England
(close to Westminster Abbey)
I love the weathering on this and the feather headdress. So dramatic!

Paris, France

(Hotel de Invalides)
Not a great picture - I couldn't get close enough ... but its a window knight - how cool is that?!

KEYS

Rome, Italy
The bees on this fountain are the symbol of the Barberini family that commissioned it.

Rome, Italy
I love the detail on the keys, they are big and chunky. I couldn't get a picture without the birds - boo!

Rome, Italy
(St. Peter's Basilica)
This motif was carved at the base of all fours of the canopy. Carved out of marble and inlaid with red ... a lost art!

Rome, Italy
(St. Peter's Square)
I love the marble against that beautiful blue sky!

Of course all the key pictures were taken in Rome. Keys are a big theme in Rome because of Peter. Christ bestowed the keys of the priesthood on Peter:

"And I will ^agive unto thee the ^bkeys of the ^ckingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt ^dbind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

(photo grouping #1) Equestrian Statues

Do you ever take a look through your pictures and realize that you forgot that you took some pretty cool shots? I did that tonight. I also noticed that I tend to shoot similar subjects and so I have decided to group some shots. I will be posting my photographic realizations these next few days.

To begin with we have equestrian statues ... lots of big, old cities have them. It was a big thing to depict men (usually - see DC's one exception here) on horseback, very honorable or something like that. Often the horses and their riders are high up, so that is the main reason I like to take pictures of them - they offer an interesting angle. The funny thing is that I don't even particularly like horses.

Anyway - here is a random sample of equestrian statues I have photographed in multiple countries (it feels cool to say that, I am not gonna lie). The more I look at them, the more I like them. I'm glad I snapped these photos.

Outside the Louvre

Elgin Marbles - British Museum

Washington, DC

Beacon Hill - Boston, MA

Washington, DC



Library of Congress - Washington, DC

Outside Buckingham Palace - London, England

Ok, so this last one is actually a lion but I think it still fits.

Pineapple Welcome

Capitol Hill
Washington, DC

Beacon Hill
Boston, Massachusetts

I always knew that the pineapple was a symbol of welcome and I found two great colonial examples of how early America influenced that. I love it! I would love to find an antique brass door ornament like these above and put it on my house one day! Check out what I learned:

"Today the pineapple is known as a universal symbol of hospitality and welcome. It suggests to all a sign of friendliness, warmth, cheer, and graciousness.

Since the 17th century, the pineapple has been a favorite fruit of the wealthy. In colonial America, families would set fresh pineapple on their tables when visitors joined them, and it would be served as a special dessert. This was the utmost symbol of welcome. Often, when visitors stayed the night, they would be given the bedroom with pineapples carved in the bedposts or headboard."

"It is hardly surprising that this communal symbol of friendship and hospitality also became a favorite motif of architects, artisans and craftsmen throughout the colonies. hey sculpted pineapples into door lintels; stenciled pineapples on walls and canvas mats; wove pineapples into tablecloths, napkins, carpets and draperies; and cast pineapples into metal hot plates. There were whole pineapples carved of wood; pineapples executed in the finest china kilns; pineapples painted onto the backs of chairs and tops of chests."

Dying Because I Wasn't There

Honfest 2007 - Baltimore, Maryland

Sterling and Kelly Elmore
photo stolen from Number4

Copycat

I didn't want to be a copy-cat and include this link on my blog, but then I actually plugged in my name and received the following definition and I HAD to post it, because well - it is true:

Bethany Johnson --
[noun]:

A master blogger

I also tried my blogging name:

Baroque --
[noun]:

A poltergeist sent back in time to change the course of history forever

The only problem I discovered is that you can re-submit and get a different answer every time ... I know I know ... I should have realized it just randomly generates phrases, but still I was sad. When I plugged in my full name - this was the first definition ... for reals! But the second one I kept getting stupid ones and finally just gave up and kept this one.

Try it out for yourself - just once - and tell me how the dictionary defines you!

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com