Style. My style.
What an odd concept. I think I left “stylish” in the dust more than a decade ago. But, I suppose style and stylish are different concepts. Not stylish, never was that, but …
Does “eclectic” count? Is “anything goes” a style? Perhaps.
In my world, I need balance. Colors, sizes, and shapes need to go together. Harmony. No jarring incongruities in form, shape, or color. The size of the TV needs to have a healthy relationship with its base. That’s why even if it fits, you can’t put the black 50-inch flat screen on the small, square, blond oak DVD cabinet. That would keep me up at night.
I need colors to not clash. They don’t need to match (I prefer that they not match, actually), but I can’t have them screaming angrily at each other. Any art goes with any other art. Of any era, by any artist.
I need art. I need beautiful things so when my eyes roam, they find something to rest on.
I need to be comfortable. Both of us need it. From head, including brain-space, to feet, which scream for cozy, we want soft, accommodating places to rest. Easy, mobile furniture. From the adjustable bed with its cloud-like mattress, to the reclining love seat, everything is soft, forgiving, back-friendly, and comfy. And movable. Nothing is fixed or rigid. There are no hard corners or rough edges.
All my clothing is loose. The car is boxy, easy to get in and out. The closet may seem random, but everything is hanging. Nothing is just stuffed in. The floor is free of clothing. Dressers are tightly packed, but contain no junk. Cameras are lightweight, each carefully put away in its own protective case. And it’s a dog-friendly world.
Meals are simple, nutritious, easy to throw together and even easier to clean up afterward.
All things added together, I guess it could be considered a style. Cozy, comfy, easy. With occasional hints of elegance and mystery.
BATHROOM REDO AND THE BUSYNESS OF LIFE – Marilyn Armstrong 
COUNTRY VERSUS CITY LIFE – ELLIN CURLEY 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Is the painting Balboa Park and various other San Diego scenes?
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No, it’s Jerusalem, Israel. Same difference 🙂
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Not really. There is a watercolorist in San Diego who puts the Hotel del Coronado, a famous bridge in Balboa Park and a bell tower in Balboa Park all together in a painting. In your photo the tower is similar and the cupola appearing thing on the building to the left facing made me wonder; other images didn’t fit.
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The artist, whose name I knew but have temporarily misplaced — my memory being like a sieve — is American, but last I knew, living in Israel. Tomorrow, when there’s enough light, I will look to see if I can make out the signature. I love the style. It’s playful — and if you can see it closely, there are Hebrew signs on the buildings. It really is a collage of the city. Makes me homesick. It used to be over my desk in my office, but I don’t spend much time in there these days and wanted it where I could see it.
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It’s a very cool painting.
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I love it 🙂 It’s a favorite.
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Your home looks so comfy and cosy – a great place to relax in.
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It is. Except for the dirt and the dogs and the phone and the world which keeps intruding.
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Loose and comfortable is a style. And we wear it well. ^_^
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I like the framed picture of those wooden arm chairs. Comfort and grace is priority when it comes to clothes. Those who know me they say I’m stylish but I have never worked for it. May be the way I carry myself makes the difference.
I think its your charm, thoughts and personality which makes you a stylish woman that you are !
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I hope it’s my charm, because my body is kind of a mess 🙂 You are young and beautiful. I think you would look great in anything you choose to wear.
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Thanks for the compliment. Mrs.Marilyn there is something wrong with my internet connectivity today that I ‘m not able to comment on your posts. Since none of your post is uploading so I only liked them but were unable to read and comment. I will try doing that as soon as the connection gets strength.
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There have been a lot of WordPress problems lately. I hope this goes away quickly.
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I hope so. Though it happened with few blogs. I could read very few blogs.
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That’s why I’m pretty sure it’s the WordPress servers that are having problems. It’s affecting various people in various places around the world. Not just me or you.
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When I worked, the suit, blouse, heels, purse – they all matched. The older I get the more ‘comfy’ defines my style for sure. After a cross country move, I also became somewhat of a minimalist and I’m comfortable with that too. 🙂
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When I stopped working, I had a huge wardrobe of business casual stuff. I never wore any of it again. I finally, gradually, piece by piece, gave it away, donated it, moved it on. Somehow, the closet is STILL overstuffed. Probably all the blazers i’ll never wear again! I’ll get to them. i will. I will, I will.
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You do have style, Marilyn. It is all yours and speaks of your thoughts and what is important to you. It is very real and no pretense to it.
Leslie
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This is good. Because physically, I’m a wreck.
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So fun to window peek into each others’ lives! Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed seeing your musicians again. I’ll send a pic of mine one of these days…http://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/08/04/fitting-in/
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Nobody has to wonder what our house looks like. It’s pretty much “out there.” So is yours, actually. I love your house. It’s so bright and full of Morrie.
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He’s feeling very put-upon because I’ve released him to the outside and companionship with the other dogs. Just as he was starting to think he was “special.” He’s having lots of fun running around growling and barking at the men repairing the roof. They’ll be around for a few weeks doing silitre repairs and a number of other projects. A local artist needed rent money, so time for all those repairs I’ve been making a list of to be tackled. Luckily no rain a couple of days this week as they worked to seal my domes, roof and gutters..an ongoing job keeping the house in repair.
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Scotties are very important. Bonnie has explained this to me many times. She is very nice about it, very charming, friendly. But important. More important than any other dog or person or anything.
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So maybe you could take a picture of Bonnie for Morrie to pin up in his cage???
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I actually have quite a few. Inside, with Garry. Sleeping. Outside in snow. Sleeping. With Garry. Running away from the camera. Sticking her nose in the lens. Running out the doggy door. Sticking her nose in the lens. Sleeping. In the snow. I’ll make a little collage for you 🙂 Of Bonnie. Being Bonnie.
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Ah, thanks. I’ll print it up as Morrie has eaten all the other room decorations I have provided. I’ll hang it high!!!
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One of those is a favorite. It’s that “look” they give you. That superior “who do you think YOU are” Scottie look. It’s why we totally adore them no matter how bad they are 🙂
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I’ll have to look for that look. I have mainly seen the guilty look so far. Other than that he moves too fast to see any expression at all…and all that black doesn’t help any. I am constantly stumbling over him. I’ve taken to moving veeerrrryyyy slowly.
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Bonnie is invisible in shadow unless she is smiling. Then her white teeth — so expensively cleaned — shine through.
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I love the one of her in the snow…where she’s just a little black dot. Morrie will never have that experience, but I think I’ll take him with me to the beach this year. He’s not very social–barks at all newcomers. Hope I can break him of that.
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Scotties need to be socialized with other dogs. Otherwise, especially the boys can be territorial and over-protective. It’s a breed characteristic. Endearing only to a point. Warning warning, Scotties bite. If they are pissed with you or someone else, they will just … well … bite. They don’t savage you or try to tear out your throat, but they don’t seem to have a lot of compunction about it. Bonnie is not our first Scottie.
MacADog would walk casually up to you, look you in the eye, bite your leg, and walk SLOWLY away. Just letting you know how he felt. We have worked hard to discourage Bonnie from biting even in play. It has worked well and aside from mouthing our hands in play or pulling on a sleeve, she never bites. But she did as a puppy.
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Check your email!
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Yes Ma’am. Doing so now.
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They are twins! And her tail is shaped like his. So cute. I took him in swimming for the first time today. I held him and didn’t let him go, but he didn’t seem to mind it until he thought I was letting go. Then he struggled a bit and I put him on dry land. I’ve found the easiest way to bathe him is in the shower when I take a shower…Then he has a wonderful time squirming around on the long fuzzy rug to get dry–after a few shakes that blanket the room with a fine spray. I’ve never been able to bathe the bigger dogs myself, so this is a surprise. Thanks for the Bonnie pix. She’s a babe.
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I will tell Bonnie. She will be pleased and expect a biscuit. Watch out for dog hair clogging pipes!!
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Perhaps I’ll peroxide a white stripe down the middle of Morrie’s back..Will scare the neighbors and make him more visible to me!
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Paint would work. Spray paint? What a hoot. Send pictures!
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Perhaps for Halloween.
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It comes down to I like what I like, so glad you have what works for you too 🙂
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I think that’s the entire point. Because we all have to live in these places we call home, so they ought to at least make us feel comfortable.
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We probably have the most interesting living room on our street. Dignity. Always dignity.
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It is interesting. I love the interesting. Hate the dust.
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“Dust Be My Destiny” (’39-WB) John Garfield, Priscilla Lane, Claude Rains, Ann Sheridan.
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I finally spotted some footprints on your floor and I can’t tell you how happy it made me feel lol.
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If you were here, you could feel the grit and sand under your feet and you would have a much better understanding of our true life here in the dust bowl of New England.
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I have an ongoing battle with our floors and I never win. We have hardwood floors upstairs, laminate downstairs and it’s always dirty. If it’s not the dogs, then it’s us dragging stuff inside. If I would have on of these robot-cleaning-thingies..that thing would be running 24/7.
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It really IS a losing battle. No matter how often I wash them … and sometimes, it’s more than once a day if it’s autumn or winter and the dogs are dragging leaves and snow and sand and mud into the house … I’m always several washes behind the dirt.
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I cleaned yesterday, vacuumed the living room, and the stairs, mopped upstairs and downstairs. Today it looks the same as it did yesterday before I cleaned it. A dog toy popped and the stuffing is everywhere. I should just leave it and sometimes I wish I could.
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I really relate to that. I often wonder why I bother, but I can’t help it. I was raised to clean up. Even when it will look exactly as dirty as it was before I cleaned it as soon as I finish.
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Our house has (for now) floor to floor carpeting and THAT is a chore I can live without. I’d prefer to have dust under my feet that I can sweep away than live with the captured dust in these carpets. Ugh!
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That’s why we tore ours up and put down cheap laminate. It may be cheesy, but it’s better than the filthy old rugs!
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I hear ya. We did that with our last house, and it’s on our list of “things to do when we have the money.” But that list is has to wait at least a few months.
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I know the feeling well. Everything waits for the money and the time.
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Am with you most of the way, especially in the clothing department. Mr. Swiss is the artist of the family, he taught me a lot and I generally leave that part of living to him, he does it well, why should I intervene? I like inside to be tidy – no curtains, just the metal blinds at the windows and in any case in the months from April to September I am mostly outside on the patio. I believe with the years you organise the life style according to the comfort in your life. I know I do.
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We gradually molded life to fit us and as we got older, we made the world more comfortable. More back friendly. Easier to get in and out of. Softer. Easy to keep clean. We are need, though the dust around here is pretty aggressive. We keep the dust at bay, but it’s an uneasy truce. No clear win on either side.
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I got a big smile when I spotted Lil!
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She’s part of my “style” 🙂 She lives with the Sui dynasty musicians and I think she likes it there.
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