Proud as a...

To say I'm attached to my name is a bit of an understatement. Just ask my boyfriend. Whenever the "Would you change your name/what are we going to name the kids?" conversation comes up, we somewhat functional adults turn into small children bickering over whose name is the best. He claims he has a mountain range in Ireland named after him (I call apocryphal), and I gently remind him that, not only is there a town in Italy (Formia) that has a large number of streets, squares, and structures named after actual, traceable, pasta-factory-owning members of my particular family (rather than an unverifiable band of Celtic hunter-gathers), but my last name, Paone, comes from the Italian word pavone, which means....peacock.

Now if you think I didn't love peacocks/peacock feathers/anything with remote traces of peacock colors before I found that out (which of course I did times a thousand eleventy billion),you better believe this news took me over the top. And during the past few years, I've accumulated a small collection of lovely peacock-themed items. Not that I'm a mad hoarder or anything. Actually, I'm pretty considerate of the fact that I share an apartment with a boy who probably does not want every piece of furniture in his living space to be covered in sequins and feathers. But I do sneak in the occasional dignified piece.

Which is why I MUST HAVE THIS:


{'Elegantly Perched Peacock' painting, copyright by artist Christine Krainock, on Etsy.

There's a lot to like about this painting- the thick brush and knife strokes, the composition with the peacock's incredible tail in the foreground, the combination bright-and-muted color palette. I'm not usually one for purchasing art (I tend to make my own) but this would be so incredible in our place.

And bring me one step closer to creating a Peacock Dynasty.