I treated myself today. My how indulgent, how sinful. No it wasn't chocolates or a rich dessert. The purchase was an investment really; research. A responsible woman, managing a home should plan ahead. And God we have so many home projects to plan for. Everything from updating the kitchen to an addition on the back of the house to expand the master bedroom and bathroom. How I cooly rationalize the purchase as each one tossed into my shopping cart. Today I'm so easily seduced.
A little extra money in my pocket and I blew it on full-color glossy promises of a bright tomorrow filled with the perfect home, perfect style, perfect meals, perfect organization and oh so much more.
Yes, I bought the latest magazines off the rack. Expensive! I haven't paid full price for a magazine off the rack in years. Normally, I will subscribe at the much cheaper price and even then I only have two current subscriptions; Budget Travel and Cooking Light. For many reasons I wanted to treat myself today. Better Homes and Gardens, Renovation Style, Real Simple. It's Spring! A time of renewal! After months of feeling lousy because of asthma, strep throat, the winter blahs and just a few days ago, a muscle spasm in my neck that sent me to the ER . . .
I wanted to forget it all and flip through pages and pages of beauty. Spatious, freshly painted bedrooms, with perfect linens and not so matchy matchy but still perfect pillows. Wanted to learn how to change my bathroom from calming to energizing just by changing the towels and using a lovely new citrus scented salt scrub. Don't even get me started about the kitchens with open shelving and glass cabinet doors so your eyes can adore the perfectly stacked dishes and matching stemware. And of course those organizing solutions for every room in the house. Oh yes, and the latest spring make-up. So easy to look a youthful 25 again if I bought this perfect rose colored Bert's Bees lipbalm.
Shoes! Oh the shoes!If only I could start from scratch. New home with the perfect layout, new floors, furniture, paint, dishes, linens, art and pillows. Everything just so straight out of a magazine layout.
Looking around my own home I can point out a hundred imperfections. Walls always in need of fresh paint. Well worn carpet in some rooms. kitchen update only a third finished.
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| Dining Room Renovation - ceiling comes down |
As I take a second look around I am reminded of this is a home and not just a show room. Each imperfection a memory. Each scuff along the wall a sign of Erin's playfulness. Unfinished paint a testiment to things better left undone when your daughter would rather walk to the park. The few worn carpets we have left in the house are easier to see because of the new floors my husband put in already. The tape peeling away from the drywall and crack in the ceiling are reminders of the day we purposely dropped the entire living room celing and the insulation with it. Never thought our house would be in one piece again. But how beautiful that the finished product has become with the help of family. The nick at the top of our large book shelf made on the day the project was finished just as Paul and his brother Mark almost had it moved out of the workshop. Couldn't help but laugh when the same book shelf was too large to fit in our apartment so Mark's garage became it's home for the next few years until we moved into this house.
The master bedroom has such wonderful potential. Planning it's renovation and redecorating will bring hours of fun. I look forward to knocking down walls, expanding the house and best of all the look of pride on Paul's face at the end of each day's work.
Okay, so maybe starting from day one with the perfect big house and decor is nice. Best for some people. But I know building a home project by project, memory by memory, is the best way for us.
Better believe I'm going to check out that perfect lip balm.
And then there's the shoes . . . .
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