Sparkles and Sticks

.people say I am organized.

I finally came to terms with the fact that I am an organized person on the day that my friend Nicolette complimented me on my color coded closet.  We used to "shop" in each others closets before she moved to the East Coast, and one day we had a little exchange that went something like this...

Setting: A typical second bedroom in a typical middle class condo.  One brunette, Nicolette, stands in front of a closet with a sliding mirror door.  She is wearing a teal wrap shirt.  A blond, Jaime, lays on the bed, sipping an iced coffee drink.  She is wearing something pink, and something sparkly.  Though they would not be mistaken for sisters, their overall builds are similar enough that they can clearly wear the same size in clothing.

N-  "I love how organized your closet is.  It must be so easy to get dressed in the morning when you have everything color coded like this."  (she flips through a few hangers and pulls out a purple sundress)

J-  "Oh no, it's not very organized.  The sweatshirts and t-shirts are all mixed in with each other.  Also, I'm not folding my underwear anymore."  (she hangs her head in shame, clearly uncomfortable with her lapse of striving for perfectionism)

N-  "Jaime, no one folds their underwear."  (she replaces the dress and tries on a fluffy pink hoodie.)

J-  "They don't?" (she chews on her straw)

N-  "No!  And people don't organize their clothes by color, let alone type of clothing within that color." (she adds a puffy fuchsia ski-style vest to her ensemble)

J-  "Wait, really?" (she stops chewing on her straw in surprise)

N- "I don't." (she checks out her outfit in the mirror)

J-  (Spends a moment thinking about all the time she has spent rifling through Nicolette's closet.  Her eyes widen as she realizes that Nicolette's closet indeed is not organized according to color.)  "I thought that everyone did that."

N- "Nope."

J- "I learned it from my mom.  Sort of.  She organizes by type of clothing, then by color."

(pause)

J- "I guess that means that I am an organized person."

N- (Places a look that clearly says "duh!" on her face.  For what you do not know, dear audience, is that they have already had this conversation several times over in different rooms of the house, concerning craft materials, the refrigerator, kitchen cupboards, and many other nooks.)

It's so strange how we can be completely oblivious to talents and habits that are so glaringly obvious to those around us.  I think that is probably why God invented friends.

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This post is the first in a series about quirky and aesthetically pleasing organization techniques for home and hobby here on Sparkles and Sticks.  You can find the rest of the posts here.

.the post in which steve carrell is wisdomus.

I. Love. Lamp.

I bought this lamp at a thrift store while I was browsing for glass vases/candle holders for the wedding.  It was one of those things that was hovering around in the back of my mind as "something that I would love to have but will probably never see in person for a price I can afford."  But there it was.  In person.  For $4.  I plugged it in.  It worked.  I ran to the cash register before someone could point out to me that I needed glasses and wasn't actually holding a globe lamp, I was holding a jumbo sized sewer rat.

And now the most beautiful lamp in all the world is mine.

 

.it's true love.

I've already told you how much I love pink.

Now I've become obsessed with purple.

And somehow, I've managed to find a beautiful shade of paint that makes my "studio to be" look purple in the day and pink in the evening light.

It is the perfect color.

I am in love.

Someone better warn Ashley that there is a new love in my life.  Tell him he can win me back by showering me with dinosaur toys, dahlias, and kit kat bars.  'Cause I'm super mature.

.make it (not) pink.

Planning to include a boy in my life for all of eternity has made me a better artist. 

Seriously.

I haven't been penning epic love poems or busting out a sensational new love song on the guitar (I don't even have a guitar), but I have been learning to expand the selection of colors that I deem awesome.

For as long as I can remember, I've been a pink lover.  When I was a toddler, the checker at the grocery store asked me what my favorite color was.  I told her: "magenta."  

When I watched the last scene of Sleeping Beauty with my aunt I would "make it pink"

while she would "make it blue."  

Sure, there was a period during Junior High when I thought pink was the devil's color.  But I just refer to that time as "The Dark Period" now.  I mean, seriously.  It was Junior High.  Nobody knows that they are talking about in Junior High.

Basically, I've lived my life in a pink rut.  Then, a few weeks ago, Ashley dropped a huge bomb in my life.  I have known the boy for six years now, and I have never heard him utter this words "I hate pink" before.  But, out of his mouth those words came.

So, no more pink wedding.

No pink rugs in the living room.

No retro pink toaster.

Basically, I'm not going to be a bachelorette anymore, and our house should look like a couple lives there, not just me.  Let's face it, I wouldn't be happy if we lived in a living room slathered with Manchester United posters, would I?

Here are some colors I have learned to love while tearing myself away from my pink, knee-jerk reaction.

(target)

(potterybarn)

(weheartit)

(realsimple)

(weheartit)

Awesome, no?  I can definitely both see us being happy with these colors in our futures and my brain cogs of inspiration are working extra quickly now that I have burst my little pink bubble!