Keeps her yard ---
I like to think of my yard as a mullet----business in the front, party in the back. The front yard is trimmed and kept well-manicured and wears mostly evergreen plants like a suit. The backyard has all manner of colorful perennials growing and is in a constant state of flux. I am forever digging holes, moving stuff around, adding new things. Wanting to make it increasingly wild and funky, with neat crafty objects around. Whimsical.
Wears her pajamas ---
I hate to wear matchy-matchy pajamas. I own pajamas that match, but I opt to wear the plaid bottoms with a tank top or the plaid button up top over a mu-mu like nightgown. I actually get a sense of claustrophobia when I put on coordinating pajama sets. But I like to buy coordinating pajamas because I think they look really cute in the store.
Uses her furniture ---
I have a dining room table in a dining room separate from the kitchen and it's eating area. And that table acts as "Craft Central." It is where I paint my outdoor knickknacks and redo my front door wreaths and scrapbook.
Misuses her clothing ---
I only make clothes "work clothes" when I get so much paint or stain or bleach or glue on them that they truly cannot be worn out of the house without me looking like a peddler from the early 1800s. Virtually any item of clothing I own has an equal chance of participating in whatever cleaning or craft or exercise or shopping excursion or adventure I choose on any given day. I don't get "fixed" up to do much of anything. (Exceptions are made only for very, very important stuff like this.)
Refuses to paint her fingernails ---
I purchase nail polish primarily for N, and sometimes I get a hankering to paint my toenails. But I never, ever paint my fingernails. Not even clear. If I paint my nails, I worry about chipping the paint, and that is a pretty dumb thing to worry about, so I just don't go there.
Doesn't own "good" china ---
When D and I married we did not register for china. I had some 3 small dish sets I liked, and I don't think D had an opinion one way or the other. Plus, my family is cheap, so I knew I wouldn't get any expensive stuff anyway. Finally, I knew even back at age 24 that I did not like to entertain and would never be hosting hoity-toity parties. A few years back, though, I did donate my mismatched sets of dishes and purchase an inexpensive matching set of dishes. A set for 12 people.....which I needed since my brother and I now both have 3 kids apiece.
Doesn't match the set of dishes with coffee cups ---
Despite the dishes set for 12, I do not ever use the matching coffee cups. I don't think it is a good idea for coffee cups to match plates. It's a little dull, I think.
Is particular about the decor of her house ---
I have friends who have designers stage their homes, and their homes look amazing! Just beautiful. Straight out of a magazine. The stuff in my house is a hodge-podge. My dining room is my travel room---items that either D and I have purchased when traveling or that friends have given me after their adventures.
My neighbor's daughter went to India, and I asked if she would bring me back something since I doubt I will ever go there.
The rest of the stuff in my house is either 1.) stuff I have REALLY liked and was willing to spend more than I usually would since I liked it so much or 2.) stuff that was REALLY cheap since I figured if I didn't pay too much for it I wouldn't feel too much guilt switching it out later on, or 3.) a combination of something I REALLY liked that also miraculously happened to be REALLY cheap. A picture in my living room cost $40, and I haven't tired of it yet (see below).
I like to think of my yard as a mullet----business in the front, party in the back. The front yard is trimmed and kept well-manicured and wears mostly evergreen plants like a suit. The backyard has all manner of colorful perennials growing and is in a constant state of flux. I am forever digging holes, moving stuff around, adding new things. Wanting to make it increasingly wild and funky, with neat crafty objects around. Whimsical.
The newly painted duck.
Wears her pajamas ---
I hate to wear matchy-matchy pajamas. I own pajamas that match, but I opt to wear the plaid bottoms with a tank top or the plaid button up top over a mu-mu like nightgown. I actually get a sense of claustrophobia when I put on coordinating pajama sets. But I like to buy coordinating pajamas because I think they look really cute in the store.
Uses her furniture ---
I have a dining room table in a dining room separate from the kitchen and it's eating area. And that table acts as "Craft Central." It is where I paint my outdoor knickknacks and redo my front door wreaths and scrapbook.
Misuses her clothing ---
I only make clothes "work clothes" when I get so much paint or stain or bleach or glue on them that they truly cannot be worn out of the house without me looking like a peddler from the early 1800s. Virtually any item of clothing I own has an equal chance of participating in whatever cleaning or craft or exercise or shopping excursion or adventure I choose on any given day. I don't get "fixed" up to do much of anything. (Exceptions are made only for very, very important stuff like this.)
Refuses to paint her fingernails ---
I purchase nail polish primarily for N, and sometimes I get a hankering to paint my toenails. But I never, ever paint my fingernails. Not even clear. If I paint my nails, I worry about chipping the paint, and that is a pretty dumb thing to worry about, so I just don't go there.
Doesn't own "good" china ---
When D and I married we did not register for china. I had some 3 small dish sets I liked, and I don't think D had an opinion one way or the other. Plus, my family is cheap, so I knew I wouldn't get any expensive stuff anyway. Finally, I knew even back at age 24 that I did not like to entertain and would never be hosting hoity-toity parties. A few years back, though, I did donate my mismatched sets of dishes and purchase an inexpensive matching set of dishes. A set for 12 people.....which I needed since my brother and I now both have 3 kids apiece.
Doesn't match the set of dishes with coffee cups ---
Despite the dishes set for 12, I do not ever use the matching coffee cups. I don't think it is a good idea for coffee cups to match plates. It's a little dull, I think.
Is particular about the decor of her house ---
I have friends who have designers stage their homes, and their homes look amazing! Just beautiful. Straight out of a magazine. The stuff in my house is a hodge-podge. My dining room is my travel room---items that either D and I have purchased when traveling or that friends have given me after their adventures.
My neighbor's daughter went to India, and I asked if she would bring me back something since I doubt I will ever go there.
A painting D and I brought home from Iceland.
Items my parents and mother-in-law have brought back for our home.
The rest of the stuff in my house is either 1.) stuff I have REALLY liked and was willing to spend more than I usually would since I liked it so much or 2.) stuff that was REALLY cheap since I figured if I didn't pay too much for it I wouldn't feel too much guilt switching it out later on, or 3.) a combination of something I REALLY liked that also miraculously happened to be REALLY cheap. A picture in my living room cost $40, and I haven't tired of it yet (see below).
I can't remember if this picture cost $4.99 or $7.99.
This was a more expensive buy at an art fair. I don't know how much I spent on it, but probably upwards of $40, which for a vase and for me is pricey.
It's kind of neat what you can understand about a person from how she molds and creates her environment.
2 comments:
I found this post highly entertaining, probably one of my favorites that you've written. I don't know if that's bad, or if you'll find it offensive in some way, but I mean it as a compliment.
Yet another way that you and I are different is that I love having "nice" china (I use that term loosely since our pattern is definitely on the lower end of the price spectrum). I love it because I can bring it out to make a special occasion feel more special, or to make a no-occasion day feel like something out-of-the-ordinary.
But I have serious regrets about the pattern we chose, a plain white with silver rim. I'm sure that at the time I was thinking about how practical it would be, how it would match any dining room decor I might ever have, and wouldn't clash with tablcloths and napkins I might want to use.
This is all true, of course, but I find myself regularly salivating over beautiful, intricately-patterned china that I see in magazines, catalogs, or stores, wishing that I had chosen something that would delight my eyes every time I use it instead of my plain white plates.
So....what does all of that say about *me*? ;-)
This was fun to read.
I was actually given my great grandmother's china which was a double good thing - 1) If I'm going to have china I like that it is something of a family treasure 2) we didn't need to try to register for any. Not that we would have NEEDED to, but I liked how it became a non-decision.
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