What’s On My Desk (And, well, around it), Volume I

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I’m a writer, and it’s taken me a while to admit to the label? Title? Job description? Anyway, I should be honest: I cleaned up for you guys. You know when you’re expecting a guest, you tend to care a bit more, so my desk is usually messier than this. 

But. 

#forthesakeofaesthetics 

Right? 

Most of the items around my desk have a story that I’d love to share. 

1. My best friend gave me this small, hand-carved wooden chest when we were 19. It was right before she made the brave move from our hometown in Connecticut to Wyoming, all alone. We wrote letters to each other, but now it’s filled with letters, postcards, and holiday wishes from all my buddies.

2. Believe it or not, this beautiful tree was my trophy for winning an axe-throwing competition at a local fair in CT. That’s right, an axe-throwing competition. A national lumberjack champion carved my prize from a trunk with a chainsaw. See the pic of me in action after the jump!

3. My boyfriend, Mike, who was sleeping in my bed during this shoot by the way, contributed the dinosaur, his annual Christmas tree topper. Not that you need a reason to include a dinosaur.

4. I picked up this piece of sandstone in Indian Creek, Moab, Utah. Our group of crack climbers headed back to camp from a day at the crag when I noticed these fragments of sandstone with teal polka dots. Though I’m pretty sure it’s frowned upon (shhh), I took a piece of the incredible desert landscape home with me. Become a member of the foundation Friends of Indian Creek to preserve the landscape, and promote responsible climbing and camping!

 5. Three of my favorite books, enough said.

6. On one special trip to Brooklyn to visit my buddy, we dug through a trough of abandoned photographs, elbow deep, at a flea market. For fifty cents, I picked up this photograph of a train because I’m obsessed with them. The ceramic bottle was cast from a found, vintage original by a local Fort Collins artist. 

My room is pretty small in size, and although my desk space isn't crowded with things, I've decided to split this post into two installments. So in this post, you've heard the stories of the things on my desk, and if you care to stick around, I'll tell you the stories of the things on my wall in volume II.

Also, if you're curious, I built my desk at IKEA for less than $100. Petite Modern Life has a really helpful post for doing this, and I bought that sweet desk lamp at good 'ole Target. 

As always, thanks for joining!

Here I am with my lumberjack mentor Mike (r.) and my winning "trophy!" Circa 2009.