Confessions of a Non-Hoarder

As I peruse blogland I continually see references to the show Hoarders and how many of our fellow peeps are just the opposite. I am one of those opposites too but I must confess that I was not always that way. My "collection" of stuff was not ready to make the reality show circuit but I certainly was running out of room to store things. Fast forward to today...if I have two junk drawers I feel like I am a hoarder so I just have one :) O.K. I know that was an exaggeration. At the moment as busy as I am I want less things around me. Here is anothr confession (notice the title of this post. LOL) my aversion to having a lot of chotchkies really stems from laziness, or the fact that there are not 48 hours in a day. It's probably a little of both. I like my house clean and orderly because if it isn't, after a few days I become out of sorts and just a wee bit cranky. O.K. a lot cranky. And quite frankly when the cleaning chores come around I want to get it done lickity-split and not have to move or dance around a lot of stuff. In my mind clean means clean and that includes the areas no one even sees (a little OCD are we?). I am a "nook and cranny" cleaner. O.K. here is one more confession before I wrap up this true confessions saga...my sewing room/studio is a disaster at the moment. There is just a bit of hoarding taking place in that space and I am trying very hard to keep it from spilling over into the spare bedroom. This area is going to require at least one weeks vacation time to get it in order (again) and reorganized (again). This will be a task of epic proportions because I can't pass up sewing or crafting items at tag sales. However my rule here is, and this is a good rule, it has to be useful and it must meet my crafting needs. Here is my excuse though...sewing and crafting will be my future full-time job (it is only part-time now) and when that time comes, oh baby am I going to be ready.


This is a picture of my family room taken 4 years ago, right after we moved in. We have since gotten window treatments and that glaring empty space next to the sofa has a table. My styles will change throughout the years but my heart will always be with the Cottage style. That was my previous home's decor but when we had to stage that home to sell it and make it "neutral" I spent countless weeks clearing "stuff" out and swore that I would never put myself through that again. There was something liberating about it too. I was able to walk into the home and "breathe". Our previous 1100 square foot cottage home was just that, a little cottage and she wanted to be dressed in cottage decor and in my mind that meant lots of things were needed to fill this tiny home. My current home wanted to be Traditional. I grew up with very Traditional decor that included some strong timeless furniture pieces which my mother still has and they are still beautiful. Traditional is also what I have now with some well placed decorative pieces and for me at the moment it seems to make a little part of my life simpler which is what I desperately need at the moment. But to get my Cottage fix I am going to do the guest bedroom in Cottage style.

Big weekend hugs,

Confessions of a High Maintenance Gal - Part 1

I am not rich and I do not long for high end things (well maybe that Mercedes, pre-owned of course) but the older I get the more I want to pamper myself with not so inexpensive products. For the most part I am very practical. To me bragging rights means coming home from Macy’s after their Super Saturday sale and having $700.00 worth of clothes and spending only $150.00 or less (yes it is possible with some determination and patience, just use the Macy’s card for that additional discount but don’t forget to hop on-line and pay it off the same day!). I do want to go on record however and say that I dislike clothes shopping more than anything (I heard the gasp from here ladies). I only clothes shop when I have to, so those $150.00 worth of clothes better be practical, multi-tasking and last at least a couple of years. As far as my pampering and facial products are concerned that is a different story. I like only certain things. Do I think because it costs more it must be better? Probably, but there are just some things that really work me, but I will never go super crazy and spend $250.00 on a facial moisturizer. Paula Deen's favorite is a $250.00 Chanel moisturizer. Never, never, never! That is just obscene.

These are just a few and I mean just a few of my favorites (notice the title says Part 1)


Clarisonic does an amazing job cleaning the face. All those facial products work better when your face is impeccably clean. I highly recommend it.

Philosophy Purity facial cleanser IMHO is hands down the best facial cleanser. I use this with my Clarisonic. It even gently takes off the eye make-up.

Philosophy Miracle Worker is my new favorite facial moisturizing products. The eye treatment is a little on the heavy side and I have to wait about 10 minutes before putting on my make-up but it is worth the extra effort. It has really brightened up my eye area.

Philosophy's Amazing Grace scent is just that, amazing. I love this bath/shower gel and body lotion. It is the most light and feminine scent and I constantly get compliments when I wear it. The body lotion is really nice.

More confessions to follow!
Big weekend hugs, Sue