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Dec. 17th, 2007 07:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI picked up Alexandra Stoddard's Living a Beautiful Life: 500 Ways to Add Elegance, Order, Beauty and Joy to Every Day of Your Life at a friend's going away party. As you might guess, it's a very pretty book, full of drawings of pleasant domestic scenes (without people).
I really like the premise:
For example, writing notes is more pleasurable if you have a nice pen that writes smoothly. I also enjoy drinking hot chocolate out of my favorite mug, which I use every time unless it's not clean, even though it has Santa Clause.
However, after reading it a while, I can't help thinking of that scene in "The Simpsons" where the kids take some kind of test that suggests a career for them. The tests get mixed up, and Bart comes out as policeman and Lisa comes out as a housewife. Lisa is despondent, and Marge tries to cheer her up by showing her that being a housewife can be fun. She organizes the eggs and bacon into a smily face. Then the boys gobble it up the same as if it were a boring-looking bowl of mush.
Buying things that are pretty but hard to clean, likely to break, or even just add to clutter or drain the bank account is not my thing. Usually. So, although the book has many specific ideas, there is also a lot of general "things should be beautiful" talk which kind of creeps me out a little. I guess because it's just so easy to overdo it.
More later. I've been interrupted twice to watch a movie ("Vibes" and "The Incredibles") and now it's tomorrow. Bed time.
Journal Entry of the Day - Michael Hurley/Lounge Lizards Concert at Empirical Question. She writes about music well and even has a link to Michael Hurley singing, in case you're getting curious. "I don't play guitar, so it is hard for me to judge, but there appeared to me to be an intricacy, and occasionally strange stop-go element, to his playing, which balanced out the roaming quality of the lyrics."
I really like the premise:
In my work in interior design, I've noticed that many people have a tendency to save up 95 percent of their money and effort to spend on 5 percent of their lives--festive occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and holidays, and the special, more public places in the home, such as the living or dining room. Instead, the way to live a beautiful life is to make the daily 95 percent of your life wonderful.
For example, writing notes is more pleasurable if you have a nice pen that writes smoothly. I also enjoy drinking hot chocolate out of my favorite mug, which I use every time unless it's not clean, even though it has Santa Clause.
However, after reading it a while, I can't help thinking of that scene in "The Simpsons" where the kids take some kind of test that suggests a career for them. The tests get mixed up, and Bart comes out as policeman and Lisa comes out as a housewife. Lisa is despondent, and Marge tries to cheer her up by showing her that being a housewife can be fun. She organizes the eggs and bacon into a smily face. Then the boys gobble it up the same as if it were a boring-looking bowl of mush.
Buying things that are pretty but hard to clean, likely to break, or even just add to clutter or drain the bank account is not my thing. Usually. So, although the book has many specific ideas, there is also a lot of general "things should be beautiful" talk which kind of creeps me out a little. I guess because it's just so easy to overdo it.
More later. I've been interrupted twice to watch a movie ("Vibes" and "The Incredibles") and now it's tomorrow. Bed time.
Journal Entry of the Day - Michael Hurley/Lounge Lizards Concert at Empirical Question. She writes about music well and even has a link to Michael Hurley singing, in case you're getting curious. "I don't play guitar, so it is hard for me to judge, but there appeared to me to be an intricacy, and occasionally strange stop-go element, to his playing, which balanced out the roaming quality of the lyrics."