my place and yours: wherever I lay my hat

What I think I enjoy the most about this meme is the unexpected.  Each theme queen's theme is a surprise and I find myself slightly caught off guard.  It's as though I don't look hard enough at the space I live in, or I don't value it as much as I should because it's all too familiar or I take it for granted.  This week is no exception.

Hi my name is Melanie and I am a clutterholic.  I have been a clutterholic for 23years, basically since I started earning an income working for Coles when I was 15 yo.  I lived in Richmond at the time so jumping on the no 75 tram to Camberwell market at 7am every Sunday morning made it way too easy to indulge in my habit. I apologise, I seem to have digressed...

It was hard narrowing down so many things but I managed to do it eventually.  One thing that I would take with me no matter where I ended up is my geisha lamp.



I absolutely adore this lamp.  It speaks to me on so many aesthetic levels.  I love the doll, the oriental, the kitsch, the fake flowers and the 'why would you make this?' element.  It makes me laugh and sing.



When it's turned on it comes into all it's glory.  The globe is under the red floor where the geisha is standing so it glows red underneath and lights up the mountain side drawing on the front.  It's not very big either so will fit into any backpack or suitcase if the need ever arose.

The other thing I don't think I could live without is my chopping boards.



I bought these chopping boards at a street market well over 10 years ago. They were old and worn with each one painted around the sides in different colours.  As soon as I saw them I knew what I wanted to do with them.  After the procrastination phase had passed, (approximately 1 year?) I painted images you now see on the front of them.  I love them so much and they take pride of place on my kitchen wall.  They were one of the first things I put up when I moved into this house over 6 years ago.  They  instantly made my kitchen feel like home and they haven't failed me yet.

Thank you to the lovely, talented and clever Ms Tania, and to Pip once again for hosting.  Please pop over here and find out where other's lay their hats...