How to use (or not) rugs.

This is for my friend Kat, whom I promised a rug post many moons ago...and my mom can also see how my house is, kind of, decorated.  

So there is the big living room rug, here, with the couch firmly plunked on one end... And peach chairs not really on the other...

This rug was actually inherited from my grandparents....I like the size, it could be just a bit bigger... Definitely not smaller...next we come to the dining room, where I just switched out the rug with the one now in the guest room.  This rug actually makes the room look bigger.   And yes, I am looking for the right piece of art for over the buffet.

Next we have the hallway and office/library...  And no, I'm not afraid of color.  Most of the following rugs were bought at IKEA, because color...

The other thing this shows is that I don't do matchy matchy.  The chair above actually matches the couch, but it just was not working seating wise.  Now the ottoman provides a nice spot for my computer snacks....

This is my don't.  The rug really needs to be longer.  Although I adore the color.  No one seems to make hall rugs anymore, as you can also see in the upstairs hall, where it just needs to be a little bigger...

Then we have two bedrooms, the guest and the master...

How Barbie taught me what to wear...

So I've been seeing a post about how the one lady in Australia is making over Bratz dolls...  and I started thinking...  and put two and two together one of the last times I went shopping, because of the types of clothes I was gravitating towards...

I grew up in Kuwait, and in Egypt.   In the 70s.  So we had some "girly" barbies, but we also had a variety of clothes for them and for Ken.   (In fact, Ken and Barbie sometimes shared clothes... mostly jackets and tops...some clothes, Ken filled out better!) as you can see in the following photo...

We had tons of accessories, as well as a few handmade things.  Most of the outfits came as separates, or with scarves/vests/jackets/etc.  Unfortunately, the truly ugly iconic ones are the ones that survived better...  not the well-loved ones.  

But I see a lot of Barbie elements in my closet today...

take jumpsuits...

Or dresses...

Or even sweaters or nighties....

And I recently realized that I've been looking for a pair of boots similar to Barbie's..

Barbie also inspired some of my love of big jewelry..  Although that may also be from my paternal aunts and grand mother.  I don't think it mattered so much to me what I wore, as what Barbie wore, that shaped my taste...  It certainly is not boring...  


But you know what? For all you parents who are concerned about your kids playing with Barbie?  Just get them a variety of clothes, because that is where it begins...