Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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Archives for August 2013

Five Things That Should not Bother me as Much as They Do

   I have for many years held close to my heart a wonderful quote which speaks to the disproportionate power of small problems to weigh on your spirit even worse than the biggest trials:

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out;
it’s the pebble in your shoe.”
~Muhammad Ali

  Right? We can usually keep a large challenge in perspective, scaling it down, breaking it up into manageable pieces that we conquer one after another until the thing is done. Or maybe our deepest heartaches are surrendered because that’s all there is left to do, and we bear the pain until the prayer is answered. But how often do life’s smallest, weirdest annoyances drive us to the breaking point?

   Super often. Very often. All the dang time often.

   Following are some culprits in my life. The Big Stuff is in check. These things? They makes me use swear words. You know. Like my good buddy M.  : )

1. The wrong color of shopping buggy. It sets the tone for my entire shopping trip. It affects my decision making skills. It distracts me and causes me to buy too much coffee and lettuce and not enough freezer paper. Of all the possible buggy color choices, I simply cannot abide orange. Unless it is Thunder basketball season. Then only if I am wearing blue. I hate that this is so important to me, but it just is.

2.  Hammering my bony shin against the low metal bar of that stupid orange shopping buggy. Childbirth hurts less. I am pretty sure the fronts of my shins are both permanently dented. And it’s not like walking more slowly helps that much! One wrong step and you’re a victim.

3.  When people leave their hair styling products and hair brushes anywhere near the bathroom sink, where I brush my teeth. I have a very real mortal fear of getting hair in my mouth, so brushing my teeth where someone’s hair might at any moment jump up on a light breeze and attack me… well, it is horrific. FOR-THE-LOVE-OF-GOD-BABE. I am begging you.

3.  Tangled up garden hoses. Especially when they are a hundred million miles long. Just kill me.

4.  House flies, squash bugs, and grasshoppers. In that exact order.

5.  Botching a great joke. Either by losing that good, funny rhythm or completely forgetting the punch line. This happens more than I care to admit.

   Whew!! I feel better. Thanks for listening. Now what silly little pebbles are stuck in your shoe?

“Adversity is like a strong wind. it tears away from us
 all but the things that cannot be torn,
 so that we see ourselves as we really are.”
~Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

p.s. Have you read Memoirs of a Geisha? Good movie, great book. Treat yourself.

Apartment Windows

   You guys, I am about to blog about something I have not previously attempted to blog about. About which, about, blog about this… Whatever. Dangling prepositions are hard.*

   I am about to write about my house.

   The inside of it, not the garden. (gasp!) Specifically, the upstairs Apartment. If you’re addicted to home interior blogs like I am, then brace yourself. You are gonna be grossly underwhelmed. But I am excited about some upcoming spruce-ups and thought I’d share.

   If you want to, you can click here to see some window dressing ideas I have collected on Pinterest. Yes, I have a Pinterest addiction. So do you. If you don’t admit it; you’re not an honest person.

   Anyway, below I will highlight some of my favorite inspiration photos so far.

   First, some Apartment facts:

  • It is the only room in our home with windows on three sides. Even on cloudy days is gets plenty o’ sunshine. The natural light in there is really really beautiful.
The mess here is NOT really really beautiful. I know this. This was a million years ago, just when we moved here.
Now… the whole big room is “finished” at narrow sliver beneath the rafters
to the left of the window is a tiny attic bathroom. I love it. 
  • It was originally built as my girls’ Apartment, and may serve in that way again some day. Right now it serves as a guest room, a sewing and arts room, my sometime-writing office, and more. 
  • The color palette is flexible because so many projects are in the works, but basically this is the only room in the house where I am fully indulging my love for mixing greens and blues.
My sweet, smart, beautiful youngest chicken helping to decorate the alcove where her bed once stood.
She added to the blue sky mural I painted, dozens of glow-in-the-dark stars, which still shine at night.
This photo seems like it was taken both a hundred thousand years ago and also yesterday.
  • Except no bright lime green curtains anymore, please. More on that below.
  • The Apartment has four sets of windows: Two sets on the north side, behind the twin beds, and one set each inside alcoves on the east and west ends of the long room. I am not sure that all four sets have to match. 
  • The room is carpeted. I think that matters a little bit when choosing window dressings.

   Okay. You are now basically an expert on the Apartment. 
  On to the inspiration photos:

   1. Long and Loose  I like these drapes for their length and big, elegant, pleated skirts that puddle so nicely. Perhaps they could afford to puddle even a bit more. What about the oatmeal color though? Really pretty, but perhaps too bland for this creative, energetic space. Again, long and loose. That is nice.

Muraca Design website

2. Balloonish and Bunchy  I like these for their more pulled together balloon poofiness. Except I have tried living with lime green curtains in this sun-filled room for quite a while, and I Just. Can’t. Do it. Anymore. This is probably the only shade of green in the universe that make me want to puke. I need pink. Either hot pink or salmon or something pretty and glow-ish. But I do like this shape. Or navy blue? Or even black? Would that look too funeral-parlorish? Or maybe this playful shape and volume would offset the heft of back. Like, long curled eyelashes.

boho glamour blog

#3. Bohemian Paradise  But you know what? I really like… I mean, I LOVE these Bohemian curtains. Silk hankies and runners sewn into patchwork panels. Simple. Complicated. Colorful. Smooth. Interesting and dreamy. Love em. They make me want to burn sage and listen to Camelia Jordana. I have nothing bad to say about these other than that I would probably need to sew them myself. And I take forever to finish sewing projects.

Babylon Sisters Etsy shop

#4. Preppy and Modern  And how about these fresher, bolder, preppier graphic drapes? I groove the breath of clean air offered by the drapes below. But will this trellis pattern, like chevron, soon run its course? I mean, I am usually the last person in the world to worry too much about trends and following them, especially with interiors. HOWEVER  I don’t want this space to look a decade old all of a sudden one day. You know?

Castle Creek Designs Etsy shop

   Friends, this space is important to me. I love the Apartment and all it has been and all it can be in the future. It needs to always be free to work hard and hold the promise of so many heartfelt dreams for our family. The window in this space connect all of that work and dreaming to the view of our farm fields. So the curtains are important!
   I would love to hear your opinions! Lay it on me.

*that’s what she said

My Morning Commute

   My morning commute is tough, friends. I mean, really tough.

   Just as the sun is crawling over the front field, I have to weave my way downstairs to my favorite coffee shop. Luckily I am always the first customer. And luckily they always get my order just right.
   Then, before I even realize what day it is, I have an early morning meeting with the CEO of our company. We almost always meet in the hot tub. Luckily he keeps a pretty loose dress code around here. And luckily he is really cute.
   Then, once I am caffeinated and have a decent grip on the day ahead, I have to battle gridlock. Chaos ensues when the chicken coop doors open and the guineas mix with the hens and and roosters. Sometimes I try to sort out the conflict; other times I tell them it’s their problem. Yesterday someone filed a complaint in HR over abuse of the clear water in the wading pool. It’s never ending drama around here. Luckily, I have lots of garden hoses to refill that wading pool. And luckily we also have a pond.
   Then we have the geese. They are the lobbyists around here: Noisy, overfed, and in my face when I could be doing so many other far more productive jobs. Luckily, four of them are afraid of me, And luckily, the fifth one loves me more than life itself.
   I try to stay calm on my morning commute. I try to work through the obvious difficulties and focus on the tasks at hand while maintaining a healthy perspective. You know, see both the forest and the trees.
   Luckily, I have the sweetest coworkers and am surrounded by beauty. 
   And luckily of course I never really have to commute anywhere.
   It’s a tough job, and I am so happy it’s mine.
   Linking up with Mama Kat today.
Prompt chosen because it was inspired by my good buddy Rose
who blogs over at OKRoserock.