Month: February 2016

Ongoing beginnings

When my darling husband and I first started our journey together I shared some of the ups, downs and pitfalls of house hunting. Our quest for the perfect nest was somewhat less than smooth. In the end, though we chose the path of least resistance, it was not a choice entirely without drawbacks. Specifically, there were some immediate decorating challenges.

So we unpacked, and immediately began correcting the decorative deficiencies.

We build our library in the weird little empty room off the patio, so that this:

original library

Ended up transforming over a few weeks into a home for my books:2012-12-29 12.32.32  Place to be library

And made me so happy.

We then painted and decorated both the library and the cold white living room so the main floor was fit for entertaining.

original living xmas party time

We eventually painted and decorated the master bedroom and master bath (yes, it was not only poorly laid out but poorly decorated as well).

We then equipped my art room/office for my needs.

original artroom croppedhome officeIt had natural light but needed some upgrades to be able house my clutter.  Now it definitely holds my clutter

My beloved designed and laid out my garden retreat.

2013-05-18 13.52.14 -> 2014-04-28 20.17.03 -> 2014-05-11 21.01.55 -> 2014-05-16 20.59.02

We have come so far, but the war is not yet over. There has been a lull in activity for the past ten months, but we have been mustering our strength for the next battle.

We are renovating our kitchen. Because really, who could be expected to live with this?

kitchen reno window pic

I am going to need all my strength to pull this one off … and really patient contractors.

A shibboleth in red

redhead what have i doneLord help me, I am accidentally a redhead. It must be punishment from god for my vanity.

I was doing OK, letting my natural colour see daylight for the first time in two and a half decades. But then I spotted a grey hair and my world came crashing down around me. My stylist, my fabulous stylist…I though she could rescue me. But she has only been my stylist for 10 years. I learned 20 years ago that my hair is greedy for red. She did not know my hair 20 years ago. How could she know? Why did I not remember?

redhead youthI used to go red in my youth. It looked good then, I had the flawless ivory skin and the blue-green eyes that actually look good with red hair.

But now I’m 47 and I have rosacea, my skin is less ivory and more white, I have some fine lines, and my jaw line is starting to sag a bit. I look like a trope. You know that trope… the middle aged woman who goes flaming red in an attempt to convince the world and herself that she is still vibrantly alive.

old vivienne fashionistaTo pull off red hair after 45 you either have to actually be a redhead or be Vivienne Westwood – cos Vivienne don’t give a rats ass about aging. Vivienne Westwood is a redhead with chutzpah and redheadedness is her badge of non-conformity.

I, on the other hand, am the shibboleth of the aging western woman, pursuing youth at all costs, oblivious to her privileged place in the world. Ugh. I am not Vivienne Westwood. In fact, in a particularly ironic blow to my sense of self, my favourite Vivienne Westwood dress is pink, and one simply cannot wear pink as a redhead.

My darling, devoted husband is standing by me through this. He really is a gem. Our love can overcome this set back. Specifically, our love must overcome this set back before Feb 25th, which is when I fly to meet him at a convention in Las Vegas. Let’s be honest, going to Vegas in itself is a sad enough trope, and the cliche would only be compounded by showing up there looking like a redheaded cougar wannabe. I might as well just throw up my hands in resignation, buy some dresses with sequins, and play the slots until all the doctors come fetch their wives from the casino for dinner.

redhead pretenderSure, I could bravely take the opportunity of the Las Vegas age-postponing catch-phrase to pretend that I am still young, but it would most certainly come back to haunt me later.

redhead 20 yrs laterNo, I have to make this right. It has been two days and I have washed my hair seven times. If I can fade this colour to auburn then I can be a (possibly the only) dignified trophy wife in Las Vegas. I’m going to put on my favourite beret and head out to buy more shampoo now. Wish me luck. Otherwise I will be forced to spend the whole trip to Vegas in my hotel room. There’s no way my husband would enjoy that.