Magazines and my house

I just read Ree's latest post on Pioneer Woman and her photo shoot with Southern Living. I have to agree that Southern Living is THE magazine for the south...vacations, houses, gardens, food...FOOD. I can't remember not having a Southern Living magazine hanging around the house (or my grandparents' house). Even at a young age, I'd pour over the recipes and make subtle suggestions as to what sounded appealing. "MOM!! Can you make THIS???" I think she got the hint.

However, I happen to have a love/hate relationship with Southern Living and Better Homes & Gardens. Why? Because I feel inept when I read them and look at all the pretty pictures. My house doesn't look like those. My yard most certainly doesn't look like those. And while I am more than capable of preparing their recipes, I just don't have the time or energy at this point in my life. So, I browse through them, absorbing one page at a time (except for the ads for the newest prescription and all of its side effects). I get lost in the cozy bedroom with the warm headboard and sheets that look like I could bury myself in for hours. The kitchens hold my undivided attention as I long for an island with character. Okay, so I long for an island in my kitchen, period. All of the lush backyards and gardens so carefully planned out make me excited and want to go dig a hole and plant something...right now! I can't get through an issue without wanting to start a little herb garden for my kitchen windowsill (that's dirty and desperately needs a valance over the top of the window). I get through all of this, close the magazine, take a deep breath, and then take in my surroundings.

My bedroom is not cozy...it's rather haphazard and has a pack'n play set up in it. My headboard is not warm. It's metal and it hurts when I whack my head on it from trying to sit up in bed and watch tv. And you can see that bare corner that I've got the bed angled in through the metal bars...and it hurts my eyes and (limited) sense of style. Our floor needs a rug to add character to the room - but I don't want to get one because then I'll have to vaccuum it. And the walls are so bare that I no longer notice them except after I get finished reading one of those magazines. Then I wish I had someone to come in and revamp the room. The baby's room is no better. I feel like a delinquent parent because it's not really a fun baby room. However, all he does is sleep in there because he plays in the living room. Which leads me to the living room....sigh. it needs work. My pathetic attempt at a swag over the window is just plain sad. And the baby pulls on it. I've given up on keeping it "swagged" so it just sags. The few things we have hanging on the wall do more to accentuate the bare spots than make the room feel inviting. We have one of those huge tv's that stands all by itself - too large for an entertainment system but too small for the large wall it's up against.

Yet, somehow after those magazines have opened my eyes to the design shortfalls of my humble abode, it's still my home at the end of the day. It's warm and cozy because that's where my husband and I have made our lives with our child. Eventually, we'll get around to the details, but they are not what matters right now. And with that, I'll stick to the recipe section of those magazines the next time I happen across one - perhaps I'll find a crockpot recipe. I can handle that!!