Current Reading Habits and My Reading Nook

Lately I've been reading a lot of novels that can pretty well be considered fluff. I'm talking your so-called trashy romance novels here. I've been so stressed out about my classes that I pretty much need something less serious than what I read for class to calm me down. I've been slowly working my way through The Mysteries of Udolpho, as well. However, I'm finding that my progress with that book has slowed considerably. I think it is due to all of the tears-glistening-in-eyes that goes on in that book. I feel down enough as it is without reading about someone being depressed. No, thanks. I'll come back to it at a later time. I do at least have a wide variety of novels on my NOOK, so hopefully I can pick something besides a romance novel for my next book.

I've been working on my reading space all week. I now have a wingback chair thanks to some friends of mine. It has worn fabric and was in need of a new seat cushion, but I have taken care of all that. It now wears a solid brown slipcover that I got for a steal on Amazon and also holds two pretty brown satin-like throw pillows with blue tree branches embroidered on them (a $6 find from Kirkland's; I do love a clearance sale).

I already had a brown suede ottoman that my mom had given me. It is of the variety that has storage, so it has an upholstered lid. The lid was starting to become worn, so I decided to spiff it up a bit, as well. Hobby Lobby has a sale on several items this week. Luckily for me, fabric was one of the sale items. I was able to get a yard of blue fabric with brown polka dots for under $8. I covered the lid with some cotton batting to help improve the padding. Then, I cut the appropriate amount of fabric (I should have enough left to make a small bolster pillow) and stapled it around the inner edges of the lid. Voila! My ottoman looks as good as new. The chair and ottoman sit on a pretty brown, tan, and blue rug I found on clearance at Walmart.

Next to my chair, I have placed one of the teak tables John inherited from his grandfather and a silver stick lamp with a black and white damask shade (I'd like to switch out the shade, though; Irene has drawn all over it). I wish I could move my book case out here to sit on the other side of the chair, but Irene does so enjoy taking every book she can reach off of it whenever she gets the chance. For the indeterminate future, it looks as if I will have to make do with keeping the bookcase in the bedroom where it is out of her reach.

I have a few things to put up on the walls around my nook, as well, but I am out of energy for tonight. There will eventually be a brown, white, and blue memo board (the quilted type with brown criss-crossed ribbons); a pair of framed bird prints that I found on clearance for $10 at Kirkland's when we first moved here; and two blue and white stone plaques depicting birds and the saying of "A wish is a dream waiting to come true," a Hobby Lobby clearance find (under $3 each).

I'm very pleased with how my space is turning out. It is so nice to be able to sit in my special chair and read, use my laptop, or do my homework. It is everything I had hoped it would be and look forward to many hours of novel-reading in it.