The Beauty of a Home With In-Direct Lighting
Who knew that I could spew forth this many thoughts in the 2 whole days that I've officially been a "blogger" (which sounds like a wordy-derd if you're not Internet savvy).
There's a house in our neighborhood that I drive by several times a day--not because I'm necessarily a stalker (although that's open to speculation) but because it's right on my "beaten path" of everyday activities. This house was purchased earlier this year by an overly-attractive, young couple. For starters, this house is fabulous--a typical Heights bungalow that had been completely remodeled (read: 2 bathrooms, granite countertops, crown molding). In fact, when the house was still on the market last year, Kevin and I went over just to be nosey and check it out. Not only was it the perfect house, it was also very expensive. This is why, when I saw this perky, young couple moving in after the SOLD sign had been added to the realtor sign in the front yard, I felt a stab of jealousy. Only adding to this jealousy was a few months later when I saw this perky, young couple walking their precious new yellow lab puppy up and down our street on many weekend mornings. They'd sometimes walk the puppy with their little expensive, Starbucks stainless steel travel mugs in hand. Sometimes, I'd see one of them frantically running with the dog down the street--usually around 9PM at night, in an obvious (and probably futile) attempt to "poop out the puppy before bedtime" in the hopes of getting a good night's sleep. Over the past year, I've watched this yellow lab puppy grow up as he's been going on walks in front of our house. He's grown from a gangly, hyper puppy, barely being constrained on his leash, to a stocky, handsome little man who's a dreamboat on a leash. I've also watched his walking partners morph from happy couple to just the guy. I've watched their perfect little house be decorated for Valentine's Day, with a cute little shabby-chic heart carefully attached to the front door, to a Springtime wreath bursting with brightly-colored flowers. The last new front door fixture that I saw was some sort of Summertime herby-looking wreath. Now, driving by, I see a withered, brown herby-looking wreath. I really didn't think anything about it for a long time.
Recently, driving by their perfect bungalow, something struck me as odd--I realized that for days, weeks, possibly months, the front blinds (perfect, custom-made wood blinds, I might add) had been closed. That doesn't sound so odd, right? This is Houston, for goodness sake--it's darn hot when that punishing sun shines through your windows. Good quality blinds can make the difference between a $50 energy bill and a $300 energy bill. After days on end of driving by this precious house and cringing at the closed blinds, thinking how dark and dismal the inside of the house must be, it dawned on me: No woman, who puts up seasonal door wreaths would obscure the sunlight from her perfect, 2 bedroom cottage. I surmised that there was trouble in paradise. I'm still not sure exactly what is going on at the "dream house"--all I know is that there is only 1 car parked in the driveway in the evenings, I only see the handsome lab being walked by the handsome guy, the blinds have yet to be open in the past few months and there's still a sad, dead, withering wreath hanging on the front door--as well as 2 hanging baskets that are rotten and brown.
This got me thinking of what typical guy behavior this all is. I feel certain that if I didn't live in this house with Kevin, he'd probably not open the blinds in the mornings and close them in the evenings like I do. He'd also not appreciate the importance of lamps and the fabulous in-direct light that they cast about the living room--he'd definitely rely soley on our overhead lights. I know that Kevin probably wouldn't light the millions of candles that I have placed all over the house as well--not only for their scents, but also for the beautiful glow that they cast on our surroundings.
For the first time in almost a year don't feel even the slightest twinge of jealousy toward this seemingly perfect couple and their perfectly remodeled bungalow. There's so much more to a couple, their relationship and their home than how many square feet it has, how much custom cabinetry there is and if this house still has it's original claw-foot tub. I love my 1980's style townhome with cheap-o apartment-quality, prefab cabinets and everyone who lives within it's walls. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
There's a house in our neighborhood that I drive by several times a day--not because I'm necessarily a stalker (although that's open to speculation) but because it's right on my "beaten path" of everyday activities. This house was purchased earlier this year by an overly-attractive, young couple. For starters, this house is fabulous--a typical Heights bungalow that had been completely remodeled (read: 2 bathrooms, granite countertops, crown molding). In fact, when the house was still on the market last year, Kevin and I went over just to be nosey and check it out. Not only was it the perfect house, it was also very expensive. This is why, when I saw this perky, young couple moving in after the SOLD sign had been added to the realtor sign in the front yard, I felt a stab of jealousy. Only adding to this jealousy was a few months later when I saw this perky, young couple walking their precious new yellow lab puppy up and down our street on many weekend mornings. They'd sometimes walk the puppy with their little expensive, Starbucks stainless steel travel mugs in hand. Sometimes, I'd see one of them frantically running with the dog down the street--usually around 9PM at night, in an obvious (and probably futile) attempt to "poop out the puppy before bedtime" in the hopes of getting a good night's sleep. Over the past year, I've watched this yellow lab puppy grow up as he's been going on walks in front of our house. He's grown from a gangly, hyper puppy, barely being constrained on his leash, to a stocky, handsome little man who's a dreamboat on a leash. I've also watched his walking partners morph from happy couple to just the guy. I've watched their perfect little house be decorated for Valentine's Day, with a cute little shabby-chic heart carefully attached to the front door, to a Springtime wreath bursting with brightly-colored flowers. The last new front door fixture that I saw was some sort of Summertime herby-looking wreath. Now, driving by, I see a withered, brown herby-looking wreath. I really didn't think anything about it for a long time.
Recently, driving by their perfect bungalow, something struck me as odd--I realized that for days, weeks, possibly months, the front blinds (perfect, custom-made wood blinds, I might add) had been closed. That doesn't sound so odd, right? This is Houston, for goodness sake--it's darn hot when that punishing sun shines through your windows. Good quality blinds can make the difference between a $50 energy bill and a $300 energy bill. After days on end of driving by this precious house and cringing at the closed blinds, thinking how dark and dismal the inside of the house must be, it dawned on me: No woman, who puts up seasonal door wreaths would obscure the sunlight from her perfect, 2 bedroom cottage. I surmised that there was trouble in paradise. I'm still not sure exactly what is going on at the "dream house"--all I know is that there is only 1 car parked in the driveway in the evenings, I only see the handsome lab being walked by the handsome guy, the blinds have yet to be open in the past few months and there's still a sad, dead, withering wreath hanging on the front door--as well as 2 hanging baskets that are rotten and brown.
This got me thinking of what typical guy behavior this all is. I feel certain that if I didn't live in this house with Kevin, he'd probably not open the blinds in the mornings and close them in the evenings like I do. He'd also not appreciate the importance of lamps and the fabulous in-direct light that they cast about the living room--he'd definitely rely soley on our overhead lights. I know that Kevin probably wouldn't light the millions of candles that I have placed all over the house as well--not only for their scents, but also for the beautiful glow that they cast on our surroundings.
For the first time in almost a year don't feel even the slightest twinge of jealousy toward this seemingly perfect couple and their perfectly remodeled bungalow. There's so much more to a couple, their relationship and their home than how many square feet it has, how much custom cabinetry there is and if this house still has it's original claw-foot tub. I love my 1980's style townhome with cheap-o apartment-quality, prefab cabinets and everyone who lives within it's walls. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
posted by Jenny | 7:50 PM
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