Channeling my Inner Martha Stewart...

I don't have much news about the house. Things are moving along, and hopefully we will have everything completed by next week. I'll get some great photos of before and after. I've been reluctant to show everything until the rooms are decorated in such a way that says, "Hey, you just can't live without this house."

Today, I'm thinking about that I really don't know how to decorate. I don't understand color or patterns well. What I am able to accomplish, I do because I copy something I've seen.  This is ok, but it's not really me.  I'd like to develop a feel for this. I remember thinking these same thoughts about cooking, when I was in my early 20's.  It's been a lot of years since then, but I'm actually a pretty good cook. I don't make everything well, but I would say that my endeavor to learn about foods has been successful, generally.

The Boy and I would eventually like to have two small homes: one in a warm place (the winter home), one in a cool place (the summer home). And, we'd like to buy them with cash.  Lofty dreams, I know.  That means, we have a lot of work to do. But, in the interim, it allows me to learn a little bit about expressing myself in my surroundings. I guess I will go about this the same way that I went about learning to cook:  I'll read about it and practice. Reading and practicing with food wasn't so difficult because I love food and will try most new foods. But learning to define my own tastes and express them maturely seems somewhat more difficult, considering that they fall somewhere between pink, tinkly chandeliers and Ethan Allen.

But, I will forge on.  I'm starting with reading simple blogs, written by women who do a lot of DIY projects on a shoestring budget.  Also, I'm hanging around Etsy, hoping that some of that artsy whimsy will rub off on me. And I've started visiting Good Will regularly, thinking that maybe I will spot the fantastic room-defining objects that these women buy at such places for $1.99.  I think I might be getting the hang of it (provided I don't end up on an episode of Hoarders).  One of the interesting things about divorce at my age is that you get rid of all the crap you don't need.  And the most ironic part is that I'm dropping off my crap at the back of Good Will, then I'm going in the front entrance to see if I can find more crap.  Exchanging crap--we do a lot of that in life.  I did find some interesting pieces for the forest house upstairs bath--you remember, the one with the blue sinks.  Photos to come...