If you are a child of the 80's, you might know the song, "It's Just Another Manic Monday." Just like the song's lyrics, "I wish it were Sunday," ring true for me, too.
Oh, how I love Sundays! Take today for example: late September complete with cats napping in the warm sun and open windows with curtains billowing from what is very soon going to be a crisp breeze. I'll take this weather any day, but on Sundays, it "feels" different. Even this room looks different which is saying a lot since during the week I work from home in this very spot. How else can I explain it better than to say that the energy is just different. It's brighter. It's sunnier. It's free-er.
My favorite Sunday afternoons are typically preceded by going to church followed by brunch, preferably with a lovely coffee and a mimosa or two. Think a sunny, informal neighborhood joint and eggs cooked just right. Back in my single days I longed to be married to a man who would enjoy this exact routine as much as me, and I'm so happy to say that we said "I do," so we do (enjoy this Sunday routine, that is)! As a bonus, we even listen to the re-broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" on the radio. Oh, utopia!
Once we're back home, out come the flannel PJ pants, t-shirt and those obnoxious fluffy socks with skid-proof pads. Okay, today it was a bit too warm for all the layers, but you get the point. In either case, while I'm sure my husband would prefer something a little less "homey," he lets me indulge.
In my unattached days, I kept the rest of the afternoon quiet so I could listen to my thoughts, the wind rustling through the dry leaves, and the occasional car that whizzes by. Quiet. Sitting on the couch with legs curled under me skimming over cookbooks. Compiling a shopping list. Browsing Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel sites online, an upgraded experience from flipping through the old-school mail order catalogs. Imagining the possibilities. (Maybe new curtains?)
In my single days, my quiet "I don't have to run day" afternoon extended until about 7:00 PM, just in time for PBS's "Nature" followed by "Masterpiece Theater." Now, with a husband and his love for Hi-Def TV and surround sound, the quiet afternoon is a memory, a compromise of trading in single life for a relationship. Turns out, though, that I like my brunch with coffee, mimosas and my husband better than the quiet, and PBS is better in Hi-Def with surround sound.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
It's Just Paint! Part 2 of 2
Nearly two years went by with no change to my paint color in my living room. The then "new" paint color, even after a lot of changing on my part, never did work. After hours of staring at the wall with a hopeless feeling that things were doomed to end sometime soon, but without an idea on how to make a clean break, a twist of fate turned to my favor...
One Sunday afternoon, I strolled through one of my favorite stores and voila! Out of the corner of my eye, new drapes with lovely horizontal stripes of cream, green, and mocha and a hint of texture caught my eye. Were they the missing link to my decorating dilemma? Within a moment and a quick swipe of my charge card, I was the proud owner of inspiration I needed to solve my "decorating dilemma."
To my amazement and excitement, they fulfilled all my hopes and dreams! Everything finally started to fall into place. Found a new shade of paint called "rich cream" that not only worked with the green wallpaper in my dining room, but also the Mexicana red in my kitchen and over my fireplace. The drapes were indeed the key to my decorating dilemma.
It's amazing what a new coat of paint can do... suddenly things came into focus. A couch I had my eye on for a few years was now mine with another swipe of my credit card, and with the help of some good friends, the flat screen TV was hung above the fireplace, the TV armoire re-purposed, and the discovery of jossandmain.com (and yet another swipe of my credit card) accessorized my living room.
And that was just the beginning! Not soon after updating my living room did I find the perfect color for my bedroom (French white, by the way), and some amazing accessories, some from jossandmain.com but all on sale with more swipes from my credit card, I might add.
For the most part, these changes were easy. It's one of those things that works when the time is right. Admittedly, it did take a little elbow grease and determination to pull it all together, though, but it was all worth it.
The new paint colors and I have been together for awhile now. We're committed, and we're happy. That's not to say we won't have a few bumps in the road ahead of us, but at least I knew I'd make some mistakes. Just like life, it's not the mistakes you make, but how you fix them that matters, so I kept some touch up paint to make things right again, and the friendly staff at Hershfield's kept the names of the colors on hand, so we can always fix as needed.
Seven years and 3 days was all it took to find the answer to the decorating dilemma and to transform my living space. We said our "I do's." While this commitment is for forever, who's not to say that serendipity (the equivalent of popping into a store on a random Sunday afternoon and finding the perfect drapes) will surprise me in other areas of my life. And that once found, there will be a never-ending supply of touch up paint to keep the new finds as exciting and new as the day we met.
It's amazing what a new coat of paint can do... suddenly things came into focus. A couch I had my eye on for a few years was now mine with another swipe of my credit card, and with the help of some good friends, the flat screen TV was hung above the fireplace, the TV armoire re-purposed, and the discovery of jossandmain.com (and yet another swipe of my credit card) accessorized my living room.
And that was just the beginning! Not soon after updating my living room did I find the perfect color for my bedroom (French white, by the way), and some amazing accessories, some from jossandmain.com but all on sale with more swipes from my credit card, I might add.
For the most part, these changes were easy. It's one of those things that works when the time is right. Admittedly, it did take a little elbow grease and determination to pull it all together, though, but it was all worth it.
The new paint colors and I have been together for awhile now. We're committed, and we're happy. That's not to say we won't have a few bumps in the road ahead of us, but at least I knew I'd make some mistakes. Just like life, it's not the mistakes you make, but how you fix them that matters, so I kept some touch up paint to make things right again, and the friendly staff at Hershfield's kept the names of the colors on hand, so we can always fix as needed.
Seven years and 3 days was all it took to find the answer to the decorating dilemma and to transform my living space. We said our "I do's." While this commitment is for forever, who's not to say that serendipity (the equivalent of popping into a store on a random Sunday afternoon and finding the perfect drapes) will surprise me in other areas of my life. And that once found, there will be a never-ending supply of touch up paint to keep the new finds as exciting and new as the day we met.
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