Oh, the cubicle cuteness!

Congratulations! You've got the style, you're looking pretty, and now you've got a brand new cubicle all your own! And it's bare, beige, and bland. What to do?

One of my favorite ways to decorate is with fun postcards. I'm a fan of the vintage pulp fiction postcards at PulpCards.com -- they have a great selection with hilarious covers. ("Her job was to keep the bosses happy, and it wasn't by taking dictations!") Postcards are also a great way to sample out artists' work, like Susie Ghahremani's adorable illustrations. Plus if you buy a set of postcards, you'll have extras to send out to your friends! I also pick up free postcards with designs I like when I go to museums, bars, etc., since you can't beat free!

From Modish's Handmade Gift Guide for Workaholics, what about a beautiful wall pocket from Sally Shim? Granted, if you're crafty, you could make one of these easily yourself, but I can always appreciate having extra bulletin board space, as I get overwhelmed with sticky notes stuck all over my desk.

Speaking of crafty, why not buy some adorable fabric and tack it up to your cubicle walls? Find something you like and stretch it out over the walls, using T-pins to hold it in place. You can add ribbons or pockets if you want it to hold papers or goodies, or you could just hang it decoratively to add some color. SuperBuzzy.com and ReproDepotFabrics.com both have great selections of fabric. SuperBuzzy is primarily Japanese imported fabric, while ReproDepot also has some great vintage-style fabrics if you want some pin-ups or cowboys or psychedelic flowers to brighten up your day.

When you're inside all day, it's also nice having green things growing around you, as long as you remember to water them (oops!). Depending on your style, you can find something easy at the nursery, at Target, or you can go exploring on Etsy (my favorite thing to do). I love both this elegant lavender planter from jjceramics and this sassy turquoise owl from fruitflypie (he comes in other colors, too!).

Ever get loaded down with change at work? I do, and it's a pain to have it jingling around all of the time. I have a pug bank at home, but I'd love to have a bank at work too. Check out these classic piggy banks in all sizes and colors.

I get kind of tired of fluorescent lights all the time, how about you? I adore this bright little lamp from Bright Lights, Little City. Three words for you: TIKI UMBRELLA LAMPS. It is always party time when the tiki umbrella lamp is on. (I found this site by looking at the vendor list for the San Francisco Bazaar Bizarre, which is tomorrow!) Even if I didn't actually use it as a lamp, I think this would cheer me up mightily every day. ("I love lamp!") The whole collection is totally clever, and if I weren't totally incompetent at hanging those dangly cord lamps, I would look into one of those, too. Many a battle was fought in my dorm room with dangly cord lamps, and gravity always won.

Finally, even if you're like me and you have both a datebook/planner you keep in your bag and Google Calendar running on your computer, there's no arguing with a beautiful wall calendar, especially since we're just about to start a fresh new year. Once again, Modish has a great guide to 2008 calendars. Is it totally obvious that I really, really like Modish? I have the Good on Paper calendar from Modishoppe, which is now unfortunately sold out. And if wall calendars aren't your thing, there's always the 2008 Cupcake-A-Day calendar. HECK YEAH. (Another decorating tip -- buy wall calendars and cut them up just for the art.)

And now, as I look around my cubicle, with its postcards and its calendar, I need to resist the urge to sass it up more... for now.

images from pulpcards.com, superbuzzy.com, and modishoppe.com