Decorating Advice and Stuff

Sometimes there are people you meet for the first time, and you think that you must have known them all of your life. You feel so comfortable and so at ease with them. You just have a great time because they laugh at all the things you laugh at. That is how Toby and I felt when we met Greg and Sondra while in the Metro area. We had a great time visiting with them and my brother’s family. They are the kind of people you want to see again and again. I am glad my brother brought us all together.

Last night we got a message from Jesse. We missed her call while we were out taking a walk, but she informed us that she was having a great time. She was taking scuba lessons last night in hopes of going scuba diving today. They had played some miniature golf, and it has been raining. That is all I know – maybe I will hear more tonight. She will have a good time no matter what.

A friend of ours wrote and sent pictures of his future home in Alaska. The pictures were wonderful – made me long for the mountains (especially since it is August in OK). He is buying a condo that is not finished yet, and therefore, gets to pick out flooring, paint, etc. He asked for decorating advice. He does not really need it, and I am sure he has already taken care of it, but it made me think of what advice I would give.

Choose carpet that is fairly light (not white) because dark carpet makes you feel like you live in a cave. Also, it shows dirt and stuff almost as much as white carpet. Choose carpet with a little color to it so that when you drop things, they blend in somewhat – makes for less vacuuming. We once lived in a house with some 70’s shag. It had all sorts of colors like green, orange, yellow, etc. It really was not bad carpet, but if you dropped anything, you might not find it for days. I was afraid to put the baby down in the floor – afraid we might not find her for awhile. Although if she did get lost, she could have lived for days on food we had dropped and not found. Also, I like ceramic tile. You just can’t go wrong. Tile is very hard to destroy (although when you drop something breakable on tile, the object will be destroyed. I am still finding parts of a cereal bowl Jes dropped while unpacking). Tile takes mud and abuse well. It is easy to clean. Saltillo tile is the best since it has all sorts of defects like puppy feet imprints, unevenness, different colors – all of which make it difficult to see dirt so you spend less time sweeping and mopping. Other ceramic tile is good too which is what we have now through out my house. We once had a house with white linoleum tile stuff. I spent way too much time sweeping and mopping since it showed everything spilled or dropped. I would much rather spend time living life rather than cleaning especially if I lived someplace like Alaska. Personally, I like white walls (well, maybe a little color) and lots of paintings on the wall. Add color with throw pillows, nic-nacs, and of course, paintings. I love lots of windows and light, but you need plenty of inside wall space to hang lots of pictures. If anyone needs any pictures, just let me know. I have a few in storage. Here is my basic philosophy on decorating – keep it simple – enjoy life.