You know what the worst thing is about trying to keep us with The Joneses?
It's that by the time you think you've caught up with them, they've moved on to the next Big Thing.
We've all been a bit guilty or even a lot guilty of following the trends The Joneses follow. Especially we blogging folk.
I know I've done it. Own up. You have too.
The great thing about getting older, or blogging for longer, is that hopefully you also get wiser, and realise that your name isn't Jones (apologies to those whose name is!), and that you can find your own way in life.
I know what makes my life sweet, and it's not Chevron striped homewares or wire cage tealight holders, no matter what the DIY bloggers and KMart try to tell me.
Chevron stripes alarm me a bit. All those sharp pointy angles. It's not soft and pretty at all. It's a bit like when I told my husband that we were not to have one more pointy plant in the garden (he loves Yukkas and Agaves), and that we had to plant lots of hydrangeas and roses to break it up. It didn't take him long to point out (no pun intended) that roses have pointy things too. They're called thorns. Yes. But they also have beautiful scented flowers...the Queen of all flowers, don't they.
I like blogging about what makes my life sweet. Living a simple life when you're surrounded by consumerism is not always easy. But I love the challenge of having the pretty things in life by crafting many of them myself. That said, I also acknowledge that sometimes it's less expensive and a better use of my time, to just buy things I like. Where's the sense in paying to have my own photograph of the Eiffel Tower blown up and printed on canvas, when I can go to the Dollar Store and buy one already done, for the price of a lunch for one?
So here's a list of all that is sweet in my life...
Family
Photos....I love 'em...everywhere
Music
Roses...fresh, dried, in pictures, on fabric
Home
My kitchen with all my pretty utensils and crockery and silverware
Creativity
The internet....I'm so glad I've lived to see this wonderful tool and all it can bring to our lives
Fragrance
Lavish textures from silks and velvets, lace and tulle, to sequins and crystals, pearls and gems
Friends
My life....right where it is now. I cannot think of a single need or want in my life that is not fulfilled
This little vignette I composed encompasses many of those loves.
A froth of tulle, frosted bottles with tinted water housing lavender and an old fashioned rose from my garden and pearls. I like it. It's me.
What's 'you'? Find it, nurture it, treasure it.
We're not all The Joneses.