The light in the midst of my illness or allergies

Okay, I have to keep this brief because I am pretty sure that I’m coming down with some sort of cold. Which, if you’re playing along at home, is the second cold I’ve had in less than a month. I told P that I was getting sick because I woke up with a scratchy throat (always a sure sign of impending illness for me) and he said it’s just all the cedar in the air. Apparently the cedar count is THROUGH THE ROOF.

But in my experience seasonal allergies don’t garner nearly the same amount of sympathy as a cold so I’m sticking with my cold theory. However, I may or may not take a Zyrtec later on just in case it’s the cedar. And really, it’s not like any sort of malady gets me much sympathy around here. It’s like I think if I’m sick that Caroline will tell me to put my feet up while she fetches me a warm blanket and some chicken noodle soup.

As a matter of fact, last night I told her I wasn’t feeling well and was going to take a hot shower. She told me she was STARVING (starving in her vocabulary means that she could eat half a chicken nugget) and could I please fix her dinner first. She wanted fish sticks and macaroni and cheese. I said, “It will take a while for the oven to preheat. Let me shower and get in my pajamas while the oven heats up and then I’ll fix your dinner.”

She replied, “Go ahead and microwave that mac and cheese before you get in the shower. I’ll have it now for an appetizer and you can get the fish sticks to me later for my main course.”

What a fount of sympathy and concern. And also a child who has eaten at her fair share of restaurants. I didn’t know what an appetizer was until I discovered fried cheese at Bennigans when I was a freshman in college.

But enough about me having what is probably the flu. Let’s talk about the biggest excitement in my life right now. Seriously, I am so excited.

For several years now there has been a sweet girl named Holly who reads my blog. She and I have emailed back and forth over the years and she even ordered some sugar cookies from one of my very best friends for her son’s birthday party. I don’t really know what that has to do with anything, but I just felt you should know. Oh, and she’s a fellow Texan.

Anyway, at some point, Holly mentioned that she is an interior designer and I didn’t really think much of it because Caroline was just three years old at the time and I was kind of out of the home decorating mindset since my living room was basically decorated in a style that can only be called Early American Fisher Price with a hint of Naked Baby Doll thrown in for good measure.

Then one day I was looking around Holly’s blog and noticed a link to where she’d been featured in Better Homes and Gardens in 2005. And, you won’t believe this, I totally remembered that entire article because I had LOVED her style so much. I don’t even subscribe to Better Homes and Gardens but just happened to buy that issue way back in 2005 while on a business trip. I even tore out pages from the magazine to keep for future ideas because I used to keep a big file folder full of future home decorating ideas before I started this blog and abandoned all other hobbies.

So, Holly and I were emailing back and forth one day about a month ago and I casually mentioned that I wished we lived in the same town because I would totally hire her to come help me make some changes to my living room because it’s grown a little tired and stale. (Did you see the pictures of those ducks swimming under my pew yesterday? I need some help.)

And Holly emailed me back with the best news I’ve ever heard.

We don’t need to live in the same town because she totally does consultations and design work over the internet. She said I could just send her some pictures and she’d help me put together a plan and give me some ideas on how to freshen things up based on my budget. It can all be done through the email. My living room will be forever indebted to Al Gore for inventing the internet. TECHNOLOGY IS A WONDER.

I emailed her back and said SIGN ME UP. We decided to wait until after Christmas because of the tree in the living room and all that, but now I’ve spent the last two days snapping pictures of my living room from every possible angle and sending them to Holly with helpful descriptions like “It’s not a goldy-gold, but more a of brownish-gold” and “It’s a little bit of leopard print but kind of cheetah-ish” and “I don’t know what I like but I’ll know it when I see it”.

Bless her heart.

But the amazing thing is that after just two of my incredibly helpful, insightful emails, Holly began to email me back with ideas and suggestions that I adored. She is totally getting my taste and what I want. Which is amazing considering that I didn’t even know what I wanted.

As we go through the whole thing, I thought it would be fun to do occasional posts on the progress with before and after pictures. It’s not going to be anything extensive (especially since I promised P when we bought this couch that we’d keep it until Caroline hauled it off to college while complaining that she can’t believe I’m making her take our beat up old couch) but I think it will show how some small changes can make a big difference. And, also, how the internet is AMAZING because how else can you explain that the person that I saw featured in Better Homes and Gardens FIVE YEARS AGO BEFORE I EVEN HAD A BLOG is helping me decorate my house.

(Well, not my whole house. Just my living room. At least until I can sweet talk P into getting off his wallet so I can make some changes in the kitchen.)

Lastly, you have got to go check out Holly Mathis Interiors. Her creativity astounds me. Plus she might be able to help you since, THANKS TO THE INTERNET AND DIGITAL CAMERAS, she isn’t limited by proximity.

Hooray for technology.

And hooray for finally getting rid of the fake plant that resides behind my couch for the sole purpose of catching dust.

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