dark wood and a stiff drink

We're living in turmoil again... still ... again. The living room looks like a terrible experiment -- 5 seven foot tall bookshelves are propped against one another in the center of the room. The recliner, ottoman, and 27 boxes of books are in the family room. It's chaos, albeit the controlled kind.

We are having our living room painted in a couple of days, a Benjamin Moore color called Golden Straw. We went back and forth about painting it ourselves, but the timing was very bad and the ceilings are very high, and I was just not up for it. (Jer was up for it.) I will paint the other rooms; this was just not a good room to hinge my newly minted painting career on.

On Friday we stopped at a fantastic beer store. Its sign says, "Hugest selection!" yet I forgive it because it brought me Sam Adams Cherry Wheat (haven't had this in 5 years) and Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout (more like 5 months). In related food news, we ate dinner that night at an awesome establishment -- a complete throwback featuring double martinis, big bloody cuts of meat served with real horseradish, hot fudge sundaes, and reasonable prices. I plan to return.

We also bought a TV stand today from costco.com. After shopping online all weekend, we went with one of the first options Jer found. I notice we are gravitating towards furniture with a Mad Men vibe. This is no exception.

I am a little afraid my decorating style is heavily influenced by my grandparents. It does seem like you can tack the word "modern" onto anything and make it acceptable. Maybe I am just enamored with modern retro. Is that a style?