I combine 4 unfortunate factors:
- Is an HGTV Addict
- Has an impeccably organized mother
- Is lazy and doesn’t really know how to care for a house versus a small studio apartment
- Has a husband who cannot see that you wipe the dog hair off the stove BEFORE YOU COOK.
We moved into our house in Michigan in May, 2014. The VERY first thing I did was walk through and make a list of everything I wanted to change.
(Please be charitable and realize this was MY. FIRST. HOUSE.; I’d only ever had apartments or moved into my spouse’s well established house once I flew the parental nest).
My list included (but was not limited to; provide me some ability to save face):
- REPLACE X2 WOODEN TOILET SEATS
- SPRAY PAINT ALL BRASS FIXTURES
- BUY WALLPAPER STEAMER
3.5 years later, we have invested significantly in home improvements, but I’ll let you guess:
- We still have one wooden toilet seat, because we barely use that bathroom. The other we replaced because the whole toilet broke and we went with an all-porcelain look.
- Our handful of brass fixtures are still brass, and while I merely tolerate some, I’m coming to love the industrial style light in our master bathroom
- We have removed wallpaper in exactly one room of the entire house, the master bath.
We still have carpets (Boo, and stained to shit, unfortunately, due to eldery dogs and cats); I’m still trying to convince my husband that the original 1920s wood chair rails would look SO much better stained white; our white wooden shingles definitely need repainting; but I learned that I LOVE. OUR. HOUSE.
This house is not for anyone but me, my husband, and our pets. And it works for us.
I spent last night touring the house and marvelling at how much I loved it all. Including the dancing bear wallpaper in the downstairs bathroom.
It’s messy. It’s not perfect. But it’s us, and I love it.
