My favorite Office Objects

Here are some office objects that make me smile (or, chatchkas that keep the writing space fun) :

1. A mug/pen holder I had made featuring a set of The Tempest that my talented nephew built. Even alone, the mug makes me smile, but the contents help, too. The feather pen was a gift to outgoing Beau Monde board members from the fabulous writer Anne Lethbridge & the Tigger doll was purchased at RWA 2010 to remind me to smile because that writing conferences are (cue music) “fun, fun, fun, fun”

2. This clever clock purchased at a RWA Midnight Madness bazaar. I can’t remember which chapter came up with the design (maybe OK RWA?) but I love it.  Unfortunately, I find the ticking distracting. On the bright side, I’ve taken out the batteries and the clock is always set to “adult beverage”

2. My fake Target flower. My window is to an airshaft & my lovely view is consists of concrete and my neighbor’s shades. This lovely find cheers it up a bit. I don’t know if you can see it in the pic, but my favorite part is the fake water in the vase.

3. Hooray for plants that need little care & little light! But the real find in this pic is a hand-decorated (with some sort of burning tool) box I found in my grandmother’s attic.

4. So, I have occasionally been known to obsess (I hear my sisters snorting at the understatement). This print by artist Nikki McClure reminds me to keep plodding along–everything is a process. I don’t think that was necessarily the artists intent, but that what I thought when I saw it in a gallery in Fargo, ND. Note: You cannot imagine what trouble it is to get a poster in tact from Fargo to NYC in your luggage, particularly when Fargo was only one stop on a rent-a-car road trip between the Badlands & St. Paul involving 5 people. I really wanted that poster. Under the poster is painted ceramic that says “breathe deeply” by artist Jo-el Cookman, who happens to be my sister–always a good reminder.

5. My splurge: a Pottery Barn bookcase! The bottom shelf is deep enough to hold file boxes.  Since filing cabinets make me feel weighted down, this alternative makes me happy. The top shelf is full of my favorite romance “keepers”–always good motivation.

6 & 7. Last but not least, a tin box & a cauldron. The box is from a visit to the actual Green Gables in Prince Edward Island. I’m a life-long Anne fan & I cannot tell you how excited I was to be there. The other item is a cool cauldron that I picked up at an Aids thrift shop when I lived in Jamaica Plain, MA. I love the shape, the colors & even the little chip.

So there you have it.  My favorite office things.