Are You Comfortable With Your Home Interior Design Choices?

Have you ever made a poor choice in decorating your home? If you did, was it your choice or someone else’s opinion you followed?

Design Mistakes

Blue, single-cushion, extra-long sofa

Blue, single-cushion, extra-long sofa

It was 1970. The sheer draperies recently were installed in my living room when a ‘friend’ said, “What were you thinking when you chose that color?” I thought the color was fine. Afterall, it was basically white!

The interior designer from the big chain store told me they were a great choice based on the other furnishings. My friend proceeded to tell me they were “too grey” with the other yellow-based colors I had in the room.

I was so embarrassed! I’d spent a huge amount of money on those draperies and knew my husband would be furious if he ever found out “they were wrong for the room!”

That wasn’t my first design mistake. It was one in a series. Buying a 95” sofa was one of the worst since it didn’t fit anyplace. My then husband, who was 6’5” tall, insisted on it in order to stretch out on it.

Design Classes

My friend’s comment was the last straw. I looked for a class to teach me about interior design. I found one through the parks & recreation department being held in a church and taught by a teacher from the prestigious Parsons School of Design. What a learning experience!

I became fascinated with the many guidelines of design. Many were totally impractical since I had a 2-year-old daughter and was going to have another child later that year. I made a new life-long friend who helped me put things into perspective.

She said, “If you want your home to be a showplace, you might want to follow the rules. If you want to have a comfortable home where you can raise a family and not worry about the mishaps that happen with children, use your common sense.”

She was a wise woman who shared lots of sage advice on numerous topics throughout our 40-year friendship. Sometimes the most valuable lessons learned are not from “teachers,” but from friendships.

Design Business

Within a year I had started an interior design business with several neighborhood ladies. We all were taking interior design classes at the local college. Our company was called, It’s About Design.

Each one of us had specific qualities we brought to the company. I was great at teaching classes that brought us clients. My focus was on the PRACTICAL SIDE of design. If you had children, pets, and/or didn’t like to clean house, I was your gal!

Now I do know the difference between yellow-based and grey-based whites. I’ve trained my eye. I also know, life is too short to focus on material things. It’s family, friendships, experiences, and the beauty of nature that means the world to me.

But if you have design questions, I love to share the pros and cons, the practical, and what truly matters in life. I’m glad to share my stories, experiences, wisdom, and sage advice. Just ask me!

Interesting Connection Between International Woman’s Day & the Number 8

In learning Feng Shui nearly 40 years ago I learned about the energy of numbers, especially the power behind the Number 8.

Number 8

Number 8

The odd numbers are considered masculine, and the even numbers are considered feminine.

In many of the Asian cultures the pronunciation of the word for wealth and the word for “8” sound almost the same. There is just a slight difference in the intonation. Hence, 8 (eight) is considered the MONEY NUMBER!

Yet the power of eight goes far beyond money. It is a double container of creation. Most of the numbers are “open” when you write them numerically, except for 6, 8, and 9. With 6 and 9 you only have one closed circle. The number 8 has two closed circles or containers to hold potential.

Taking that one step further in relation to the feminine body, think of a pregnant woman with her enlarged belly, which holds a new creation. It is DOUBLE the life force!

Infinity

Infinity

Another interesting aspect happens when you turn 8 on its side. It becomes the symbol for infinity! (∞)

A fascinating tidbit in my Feng Shui training was the power of the numbers energetically in correlation with the yearly dates. This is aside from the Zodiac Animals and Period timeframes. It goes back to my statement about masculine (odd) and feminine numbers (even)

The whole of the 1900 century was “masculine” because the first number was a “1” or odd, masculine number. When 2000 started, the energy slowly started to shift to a more feminine quality. I’m not going to go into all of that right now, and I will say the shift does take time. Yet you can start to see nuances toward feminine-based ways of doing things happening if you pay attention.

Add that the larger the single-digit number, the more power it has. The year 2008 was considered the beginning of “the Feminine Millennium” according to my Asian-cultured masters.

Knowing about these qualities or facts regarding the number 8, I find it interesting that International Woman’s DAY is observed on the 8th day of March because March has been designated as “National Women’s History Month.”

Let’s take this one more step –

What if all the symbolism I’ve listed about number 8 brings those energies to life, like:

Women growing their wealth

Women sharing their female qualities

Women being the Creatrix of new ideas

Women stepping into their power

Women honoring their intuition (a quality often suggested as more female oriented)

Women growing in positions of power

Then we add this year (2024) is a year with 3 even-based numbers (2-0-2-4 – The number zero isn’t assigned a masculine or feminine quality), and you have a potentially very powerful year for women.

As I said, just interesting thoughts.

Why I Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo - Dog, Sombrero & Maracas

Cinco de Mayo – Dog, Sombrero & Maracas

I’m not Latina, yet the Hispanic culture is part of my heritage. Many of my childhood friends were Hispanic, although we were not politically correct back then. We said they were Mexican.

My father worked for the railroad often working the Swingshift. The trainyard was in the heart of the Mexican neighborhood. Several times a week my mom and I went there to have dinner with him around 9pm. Sometimes he worked the Nightshift, which meant it was a 2am dinner. We’d have tacos or tamales.

The beautiful California Missions feel like my religious home. Most of my friends were raised Catholic; well, except for my Jewish boy friends. I’ve experienced many healings in and around those Missions.

I took Spanish in high school. I was in my second year of Spanish when my father died. Señor Chavez took me under his wing helping me through that horrible time. He let me slide on homework and asked me to get involved with a community project he ran.

His project was helping the VERY POOR in Duarte, CA. As the Vice President then President of the Future Nurses Club, I created a way for our club to gather food and clothing. We donated it to these families. I spent many hours several days a week with them for months. My Spanish improved – although you’d never know it now. (There’s a whole wonderful twist to this story that I’ll share at another time.)

Moving from Southern California to Northern California I lost a part of my heritage. I forgot my roots. I forgot the numerous trips my father would take us on to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico when I was between the ages of 9 and 12.

Blue 1955 Bathtub Porsche

Blue 1955 Bathtub Porsche

My father had been laid off work for a while. During that time, he worked at a used car lot selling cars. I’d ride my bike the 2 miles after school to spend time with my dad. Then they “hired” me to wash cars and paid me for it.

When my dad was rehired by the railroad, he was able to purchase a used 1955 baby blue bathtub Porsche. Joining the Porsche Club, they had rallies and planned several trips a year to Ensenada. I was stuffed in the backseat of this small car, hunched over because the roof was so low.

Each trip I would find something I wanted and would purchase with my “carwash” money because I continued to work at the car lot washing cars.

One year I purchased a BIG sombrero, bongo drums, and maracas. Packing all of those into the backseat of the Porsche WITH ME was hilarious! Of course, that was the trip I got the sickest. We had to stop so many times! My dad had to pull over, we’d unload all this “crap” (excuse the language, but that’s what my dad said!) as we were on the side of the road, then I’d get out, throw up, get back in the car, drive 3 miles, then do it all again.

Margarita

Margarita

When I saw the “Cinco de Mayo” image with the sombrero and maracas, it brought back these delightful childhood memories – memories I haven’t thought about in decades.

I may not be Latina, but my heart and mind rejoice in my youthful memories of tacos and tamales on Cinco de Mayo with our Mexican friends and family. In honor of those wonderful days, I enjoyed tacos for dinner. Yet instead of the childhood Coke, tonight it was an adult beverage – a Margarita.