To the nines!

A friend of mine posted a beautiful photo on facebook
showing a gorgeous table setting that someone had done

for Easter.

It was beyond beautiful

complete with decorative plates, handmade place settings

and napkin ring holders.

The plates matched the table cloth which coordinated

with the napkins

which were accented by the center arrangement.

There was even a bowl of eggs that were stamped to match the whole thing!

All I could think about was who the heck is this person

and how in the world did she not only have time to plan such a setting

but also stamp those darn eggs!?

I pictured the 8 yr old plastic plates

and the boring everyday dishes in my own cabinets.

I am further plagued with the complete lack of acceptable linens

and mismatched mugs we've collected over the years.

Sigh.

Where is my perfectly coordinated life?

I fully intended for it to be here by now.

When I was young and still dreaming about what my life would be like,

I used to cut out pages from magazines

with decor that I liked.
I would plan in my head what my home would look and feel like.

At some stages in my life and in some of our homes,

I've been able to abandon reason for creativity

and as a result, I created fun unique spaces

that showed off our personality.

But the last few moves we've made have been short and sweet,

hardly leaving enough time to unpack all of our boxes,

let alone make it pretty.

This is one of the challenges in being a Navy wife.

Matching dish sets become casualties to heavy handed movers.

Heavier furniture often gets left behind to meet weight limits.

Curtains never fit from house to house.

Furniture may not arrange in the new space

in a way that is functional for your family.
Beds may not fit up the narrow staircases of old New England houses.

Rugs may not fit new room dimensions.

Land lords, or Navy housing management, differ greatly in what

they will let you do to make a house your home.

I think I've lost my mojo along the way.

I love beauty.

I adore creativity.

I enjoy arranging things that are visually appealing

and a bit of a surprise.

Taking something old and making it new again

is a joy to me.

But somehow over the past few years,

I've given up that side of me out of sheer frustration.

It makes no sense to invest in items that are specific to one home

and then hope it fits your next one too.

But then on the other hand,

it's hard to live in a space that you have lost the desire to personalize.

I like to look around my home and smile,

not cringe.

Practicality has prevailed and now I live in boring spaces

with little personality.

A victim of sensable neutrals

with my only savior being my fabulous red couch

which just begs for colorful companions.

This displeases me immensely.

Lately though, I sense a change.

Little thoughts that whisper into my dormant creative spirit

and remind it of the hutch sitting in the garage.

"Paint it", the whisper nudges.

"Paint it a bold, fun color like turquoise and distress it!"

Now a flurry of thoughts take over.

"Bold and fun?

Hey, I'm bold an fun.

I AM bold and fun!"

Reason seems to bait me with an ever so quiet challenge

"proove it!"

OK, if I paint it and bring it in, I know exactly where I'll put it.

Then I could bring the chest of drawers upstairs and

arrange it here...no here.

It will need a coat of paint too.

And that storage bench needs to go here in front of the window.
I'll need to recover it with a more vibrant fabric though.

And, oh my....those curtains will not do.

I will probably have to dye them to get the color I want.

How is that for bold and fun, Mr. Reason?

Now, if I'm bringing in the turquoise blue to accent the red and white

in one room and the black in another room,
I'll have to do away with the spring green and brown I've already got there.
This means new pillows or pillow covers.

The process goes on and on,

but the exciting part is that I'm thinking again.

We've only got a year and a half left here,

but as my disdain for my current blah decor grows,

practicality shrinks.

After all, the fun colors of turquoise blue and red very tastefully done

in a beach cottage with a funky twist sort of way

could work in the next house too, right?

Probably not, but a girl can dream, can't she?

In honor of 9-9-09 day,

I've scoured the internet with my virtual scissors

and have clipped 9 photos of a few items and looks that would really

spunk up my decor with a little personality

and totally dress it up to the nines!!