What do you do when you have a funky corner in your living room that is too small for a couch, too big for a chair, and totally asymmetrical?
What do you do when you want to arrange your kids portraits on one wall, but there are three individual shots and one group shot...and some are landscape and some or portrait orientation?
What do you do when your builder calls you to ask you how your want the bricks on your floor arranged?
I don't know what you do...but I know what I do. I put in a 911 call to #335. I have had her private number memorized as long as I have known my own, and I have to take a minute to say thank you because she always answers and/or calls me back. I've blogged about this before, but how can some people look at something and just know what color it needs to be or how it needs to be arranged, and some of us look at the same thing and have no clue. I will stand up for myself and say that as the years have gone on, I have accepted the fact that I am #1 - color blind. Khaki, beige, taupe...it's all the same to me. Same goes for navy, black, and dark plum in case you were wondering. And #2 - I have no eye for detail. I would be hard pressed to tell you what color the curtains in my house are even though I know that I was instrumental in picking them out. All I will say is thank goodness for people like #335 and thank goodness that she takes pity on me.
In my old house, she saved me from painting my front door LSU purple as opposed to a very conservative maroon. Same goes for my baby boy's room which I originally thought would look great in this color
as opposed to something more like this color.
She also helped me with the above mentioned corner in my new house be recommending this fun piece of furniture.
And the weird arrangement of pictures that really looks great and not weird the way that she suggested.
And as a house warming gift (in my new home that apparently needed height), this great arrangement that I have right next to my bed and helps me get into my happy place when I am relaxing.
Then there was the story about the bricks that goes like this. My builder calls me at work where I am swamped with patients. He very politely asks, "Ms. T, the brick layer is here to put down your brick floors. How do you want the arrangement?" Silence by me. He tried again, "Basket-weave? Herringbone? Running Bond?" This time about 10 seconds of silence. Sigh! I mean, this is important, right? Hopefully this will be the last house that I will build, and I will have to be looking at/walking on said brick for a long time. I knew what I had to do. "I'll call you back in 30 minutes." I said. Then I made my emergency 911 call to #335 and made an emergency run to her house at 8:00 am to look at her brick so that I could make an intelligent decision (read- ask her opinion and then repeat it to the builder) as to how this needed to go. Saved!
In addition to being my personal style consultant (weather she wants the job or not), she has been a part of my life, my whole life. She and her husband (aka #2) have been friends of my parents since I was born. There has been tons of fun trips with the families and just with the girls. One in particular that stands out as a good time is when #335 brought us to Harwin Street in Houston. I will say that we got some really great deals while we were there. I will also say that I was looking over my shoulder for the cops to raid the stores every second we were in there. On this same Houston trip, she came along to help us cheer on our favorite tennis stars. She had no qualms at all about batting her eyelashes and holding out her paper and pen for an autograph from one of the Bryan twins. I think her exact words were, "Hi Bob...can I have your autograph?" with a wink and a smile and a batting of her eyelashes. And who can forget those trips to Canton where #335 (who was in the know about these things) got us up at 4:00 am with our flashlights (and extra batteries) so we could get to the "best" booths that were located in the middle of the town square. I really can't remember details because I was eight months pregnant for B and it was cold and dark, but I think the prize that we got for our sacrifice was some sort of painted vase? Or maybe it was a crocheted baby hat? Hmmmmm... She is also in a heated battle with my mom (and me, truth be told) as the Marshalls/TJ Maxx/Ross Dress for Less queen. She has been instrumental in my quest to find the deal of the century at any of the above locations on any given weekend.
Seriously, I consider #335 a surrogate mom because I know that whatever I need she will help me out. Sometimes it's decorating advice. Sometimes it's the decorations themselves. And she is always willing to face paint at any school function that I need a volunteer for. Thanks #335 for always being so much fun to be around, for using your talents to help us poor affected folks, and for being a great role model of how a great mom operates. :)
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