Like clockwork

Tagging along with me on this crazy ride of twenty-something-hood is my sister, L. I went to visit her in DC about a month ago. We wandered around Georgetown, took long walks with our cousins' puppy, and saw a silly movie.

But what I really want to share with you is a wall in her apartment.

L and her roommate live above a bookstore (this is all I needed to hear to know that this would be an awesome place). The place is tiny, like most city apartments, but it's got character coming out of its ears. The best part is below:

A giant clock face painted on the wall by the stairs! One of the previous tenants must have designed it. And if you look closely, you'll notice that the face is painted backwards. So whenever you look at it, you feel as though you're living* inside Big Ben.

I'm counting the days until I can go back.

What about you? Any particularly unique features in your apartments?

*The whole experience reminds me of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a thoroughly original MG book by Brian Selznick. In the book, the orphaned Hugo winds the clocks in a Paris railway station and spends a lot of time behind the scenes, running through tunnels and hiding in the kinds of nooks old buildings have. I love the idea of watching the life of a railway station through the eyes of a giant, old-fashioned clock.