kendall asked me whether i was feeling the nesting instinct a few months ago, and i wasn’t sure at the time whether i was, but i must be because i tortured luke for an entire day to brave new york city weekend traffic to buy storage type stuff at the new jersey ikea.

i think we’ll not be going back there anymore! it was madness getting there and we arrived with just an hour and a half before it closed. yuck! our dinner that night was a pizza pocket that had been sitting in a warming tray all day, eaten while sitting on a stiff wooden bench waiting for someone to call our name. the worst part is i don’t even know if what we bought will fit the tight little space we have for it.

today, however, luke went to the beach and i stayed in our overheated little apartment. i fed the plants and herbs plant food to see if our jalapeno plant will actually bear fruit. then i got some supplies and began to work on the kitchen table mosaic that i’ve been planning for months and months. i made a little headway today and i think that’s all i needed — i’ve had just enough of a taste of how potentially beautiful it will be to become hooked on getting it finished.

the basic idea for the mosaic is to take design cues from the old new york subway station mosaics — particularly those on the Lexington line. there usually is a central shape — a hexagon, diamond or circle with the number of the station inside it, and then fields of mottled color bordered by a meander. i am sure that description was entirely confusing, so take a look at the photos i’m using for inspiration:

The 86th St. mosaic on the Lexington Line

Detail of Grand Central Station mosaic

The 59th St. mosaic on the Lexington Line

anyway, instead of a number (although luke and i considered a number, initials or a symbol for the central image), we decided a while ago to have a lotus flower. i pored through online images for hours to find one that i liked. the one i finally decided on came from an ancient, threadbare tapestry from china. i did a freehand drawing of it, then had luke scan it and enlarge it to a size that would work proportionally on our tabletop. that’s the stencil i’m working from to make the mosaic. it’s kind of fun to use technology to help along a craft project!

so, we’ll see how it goes! i’ll post pictures when i’m done!