SURPRISE!

My better half left Friday morning (our wedding anniversary!) to go on a fishing trip to North Carolina. Fishing is not one of his favorite things to do; he would much rather be golfing. However, he went with his father and brothers. All of them live out of town, so it is a treat when they can be together like this.

And as I tend to do whenever he is off gallivanting across the country on trips, I decided to "change" something. Mmhmm...he has arrived home many a time to discover I was a busy little lady while he was gone. Not all of the things I alter are major. Some are.

One time he pulled into the driveway to notice that I had completely redesigned the front flower beds. Gone were some flowering bushes which I felt obstructed the view of the door (I transplanted them to the large flower bed in the back yard). I widened sections. The harsh angles of the beds were replaced with curves. I planted grass to fill in areas where there were once some plants. He laughed and shook his head.

As his mother was nearing death, he went alone to spend a few days with her. To help me chase away the sadness, I wallpapered the dining room. Never mind that my previous wallpapering experiences consisted only of putting up wall borders. But, I am willing to try darn near anything. So, I did floor to ceiling wallpaper. It was gorgeous. ::huffing on my fingernails and buffing them on my shirt::

I had decorated our den/study for him to make into "his" room. He never used it. He preferred the family room. Off he went on a trip, and I painted the room and put up a wall border. I took out the television. I dragged out the recliner and replaced it with an overstuffed chair. Up went a new valance. I moved the desk to a different spot. I brought in some feminine knickknacks and candles. It was now MY den/study.

Another time I ripped down the wall border that lined the entire kitchen. Then, I painted...an entirely new and vivid color. The bay window area I painted to match the family room walls.

Those are just a few of the ways I have greeted his returns. ::smile::

Now he is in North Carolina. Until Thursday. What have I done this time? I am redoing our bedroom and master bathroom. No painting, though. I prefer the ecru walls we have. It sets off our cherry furniture nicely. I bought a beautiful overstuffed and oversized jacquard comforter and bedskirt (but it is not jacquard, just tone on tone stripes). In a burnished gold. It plays well with the drawer pulls on the dressers and night stands. The valances are the same jacquard/stripes with cording. The accent pillows are trimmed with cording or fringe. I brought navy blue into the scene via a couple of throw pillows. The navy goes well with the new navy towels and bath rugs. The window above the bathtub has the same gold valance that is in the bedroom. Everything looks SO FABULOUS. And it is one heckuva change from the previous colors. It looks slightly decadent, yet romantic. I am more than eager to see the hubster's reaction.

Get the idea I like changes? Surprise changes? Impulsive changes? Yep. I do. I have never regretted any of the redecorating I have done. Looks like this time will be no different. ::wide smile::

"But there's always a creative side to me; even when it's quiet musically, it comes out in some other direction, like painting or decorating or planting a garden or writing a children's book or putting on make-up like a Kabuki artist." ~Carly Simon