It's In The Mix - Part 1

I'm not sure where it all started, my style.  (Tongue firmly planted in cheek.)

Maybe it was when I was a little girl, growing up on a dairy farm in Central Texas.  Playing with my Barbies & baby dolls in the dirt.  Nurturing a plethora of mutt puppies that appeared regularly around the homestead.  Getting into trouble for ruining my ruffled bell bottoms, suede oxford shoes and fur-trimmed winter coat when I fell into the manure-filled cow pen after I lost my balance on the wood fence while I was singing to the cows waiting to be milked.

Maybe it was when my interior decorator Aunt Dianne taught me how to dream big as a grade school girl by taking catalogs and circling items I would want to put in my own home when I grew up.  Brilliant.  I started with Sears, JC Penney and Wilson's and then realized I needed to round out my visions when I raided my Aunt Dianne's stash to find such mail order goodness as Horchow, Spiegel and the like.  It was the Pinterest of the 70's & 80's.  She also taught me to use at least a touch of black in every room  as an anchor because it's classy, timeless & goes with everything.

Maybe it was being the daughter of a man who wore jeans, boots and a white t-shirt with Kool cigarettes rolled up in his shirtsleeve every day to work as a dairyman, and a suit and tie to church on Sundays as the Chairman of the Deacons. "AM Country" blared from his dusty, un-air-conditioned  truck with the windows rolled down, as well as from his dairy barn.  (I think the cows gave more milk because of the music.  This is why I sang to the ladies waiting in the pen to enter the barn.  But I digress.)

Are you sensing a theme?  I come from a long line of Texas sass & swagger.  I can't help it.

Maybe it was being the daughter of a real-life Superwoman who could bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan in heels (and even go-go boots!).  [Anyone else smell a whiff of Harper Valley PTA?]  A farmer's wife & mother of 4 who could effortlessly entertain 20 or more people, even in a 2-bedroom farmhouse, after working 40 hours a week in town!  I still don't know how she did it.  (I bow the knee.)

Me & Craig on our 25th Anniversary

Perhaps it was when I grew up and married a full-time minister.  The vast majority of ministers are not known for their cushy bank accounts, so I had to get creative (especially in the early years) to make a series of rentals "homey." (This is one reason why I so identify with and am inspired by The Nester.)  Our first couch was rescued by my Mom just before it was thrown into a dumpster at an apartment complex.  It still had a life to live!  I can count on one hand the times we've had the money to buy new pieces of furniture from a proper furniture store.  The vast majority of the contents of our home have come from basically what other people didn't want anymore.  And I'm not complaining because it has taught me to be resourceful and creative.  I've learned that most things can be cleaned, painted, reupholstered and remade into a new life.

To be continued...