5/13/09


Today was interesting. It was Zinabu's last day of preschool and because he could not wrap his head around the fact that it wasn't Friday, he asked me 2.5 million times what day it was. My beloved mother offered to watch him this afternoon so I could hit Home Depot and look at paint colors, bathroom sinks, kitchen cabinet hardware, and a new microwave. Turns out I am a home improvement slut--I'm easy. Very easy. The appliance man looked startled when he told me about the microwave he said is a good choice and I said, "Sold!" No dilly-dallying here, no ma'am. I grabbed 300 paint swatches, 297 of them being greyish tanish neutralish. Lily wants her room to be turquoise, and I am considering some orange for the boys' rooms. How do you settle on the right shade of orange?
Then, since I had a few extra minutes I stopped off at the mall to buy some birthday gifts. I can't remember the last time I was at a mall, by myself, in the middle of the day, no less. It was just me and several high schoolers playing hooky. I winked at them conspiratorially, but they sneered back. I guess they don't like old ladies like me making eye contact with them when they're trying to be rebellious. Grabbing the bull by the horns--that's what living dangerously is when your kids aren't with you, right?--I had a chocolate milkshake for lunch. Yum. I even got to browse through the bookstore, where the Twilight books were assaulting me from every corner and Robert Pattinson's face glowered at me. It's hard for me to remember LBT (Life Before Twilight). I scanned some decorating books to look for orange rooms, but that must be so 1970 because I couldn't find any. However, I heard a Jackson Five song that made me smile. Gets me every time.
Anyone have suggestions about the many shades of orange?

7 comments:

Vivi said...

You crack me up. You SO remind me of a very good friend of mine here.

Orange...we had a burnt-pumpkinish shade of orange in our family room for a few years and I loved it. It depends on if you want a bright shade...like sports-orange, or something more brown-ish orange. I vote the latter, but I'm very much a tan-olive-neutral girl myself. And a fellow home improvement slut.

Not suprisingly, I have what appears to be a nearly identical shade of toenail polish on right now. :)

hotflawedmama said...

we've done orange too. I'm a fan of almost any shade of orange (but I do agree the toenail polish was a no brainer!)

Zinabu cracks me up.

How many days until HP? So excited.

Chatter said...

No suggestions on the paint. I am a fan of color in homes. I need a variety. I'm getting ready to pick out colors for the boys rooms. Good luck with that.

Had to laugh at your story about the mall. It sounds like you had a nice day. Hope you enjoyed the milk shake; yummy!

Deirdre said...

We spent about a year and a half with something like 42 patches of different shades of orange painted on the wall of what is now Nora's room. For the record, the room is now yellow. Orange is hard, but I love it!

Old Men Reflect said...

Don't do orange for the boys, it will incite aggression. (Seriously look up colors on the internet that incite aggression) You will be much better off. Think Zinabu - Think " A Clockwork Orange"

Paint black and gold in honor of CC.

Go Tigers.

KC said...

Cathy,

This a website with lots of design ideas for children (lots of nurseries, but easily modified for older kids). There are many rooms that use Orange for paint and as an accent color:

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/home-tours

Good Luck!

Kacy

Courtney O. said...

we used Behr Falling leaves on our living room walls but if "old men reflect" is onto something then I'd stay the hell away. Green works.