Paisley and Leopard

 I did some slapdash sewing and found new life for my antique wool paisley throw.
The throw is very dear to me because I bought it from Ellie's store, and those of you who were also fans of Ellie and her wonderful blog Have Some Decorum will understand the special qualities of this paisley.  Special because she herself chose it at a brocante in Paris!

Ellie was a big fan of paisley in decorating, and this piece in particular was quite old with a lovely tassel trim.  I used it as a tablecloth for about a year, and then as a throw for this little sofa, but alas Scout had her way with it and it developed a couple of significant holes.

What would Ellie do?  I think she would have kept on using the paisley in decorating in some way, so I've made pillow covers, two quite large ones, out of the best bits of the fabric.

 They really suit the feeling of this room, it is the small bedroom in our house, on the second floor, that we use as MrBP's dressing room.  The room is filled with tweed and books and an ancient rug that MrBP's great-grandfather brought back to Vienna at the end of the first world war.

 I have a portiere hanging in lieu of a door, which while not an excellent choice for a bedroom works perfectly in this kind of space.

The shelves are filled with books and also boxes of ties and baskets of socks and boxer shorts!

Speaking of books, tonight I'll be going to the Christmas potluck for my Fun Bookclub.
I belong to two bookclubs, one serious and one fun.  Why the distinction?  Well for example, the December bookclub for my fun club is a potluck dinner with lots of chatting and laughs, and a book exchange game.  We don't read a book to discuss for this event because let's face it, it won't be discussed anyway.  This bookclub is made up of women who have quite serious jobs, a few psychotherapists, doctors, a woman who runs an estate business, another who sits on various quite serious sounding boards.

My serious bookclub is smaller and made up of women (and one man) who are my closest friends, but we always discuss the book in minute detail and if one hasn't read the book you might consider not attending!  For our December bookclub we're reading a book about the hospital at the centre of Hurricane Katrina (Five Days at Memorial), not exactly a light read.

 I love both of these bookclubs and I'm quite glad they're so different.  It makes for a fun change!

I'm planning to dress up a little bit tonight, and by that I mean wearing my leopard shoes (well, changing into them once I wrangle my snow boots off) with my black outfit.

I think that leopard, like paisley, is a neutral!
Do you belong to a bookclub, serious or fun?
I'll be spending the morning outside with Scout, we've had our first significant snowfall overnight and it's a winter wonderland out there.  We'll go to the park and run around like little kids (or at least Scout will).
Enjoy your day today,
xoxDani