I like the Cote de Texas blog. It's a lot like.... me : ). Let me explain that. My mom is French. I was born in the states but my first language was french. When I was 6 we moved to France for my Dad's job and lived there for about 3 years. We then moved to Austin, TX where I lived for 8 years until I went to Houston for college. I attended grad school in the TMC and met my husband in Houston. In all I lived in the Houston area for 19 years until DH and I moved with the kids to the Carolinas in 2008. I'm French and I'm a Texan (thus the username "southernfrenchie".) I get that Joni's style is not for everyone. It is definitely french with over the top TX flair. She definitely works with the upper crust. While I appreciate her blog I myself prefer a lot more color. Those photos are eye candy for me - a glimpse into how the other half lives. I can get an idea here or there - and will figure out how to implement it on my Home Goods budget : ).

Some very interesting conversation starters shown! Most people coming to our house for the first time comment on the view. Once inside the architectural style of the house itself often gets a "Wow" as from the outside the house looks like a typical 2 story traditional farmhouse but inside it is multi-level with beams and cathedral ceilings. Here's a fall view - View at sunset. This is facing north so the sunsets are not as vivid this direction. Recent pic just after a snowfall. Should have waited another hour to take this as the sun came out and the sky was blue. These pics were taken from my back deck - in the views from the dining windows the lake shows more.

I don't care for most of the rooms in the article--or perhaps I should say I have a hard time relating to them. They're overly formal, overly opulent, overly staged. But I try to keep an open mind about some of the trend pronouncements. What I find, speaking strictly personally, is that I'm a bit slow to like many trends, whether it be in fashion or decorating. Of course some I just NEVER learn to like, but others have to creep up on me, I have to be exposed for a while before I embrace them. Is that just marketing? Maybe. I also find that sometimes I develop a liking for something that later ends up being trendy and I think "wow, I was ahead of the curve on that!" But was I really, or was it subliminal exposure to a coming trend that finally reaches market saturation? One example is sun faces: I started acquiring them several years ago and then suddenly noticed them being sold everywhere. Here's another example: I was browsing an old, maybe 2004, decorating magazine and saw an white ceramic owl vase/umbrella stand. It was instant lust, I really loved that thing. But in the process of trying to track it down I suddenly realized that owls are everywhere. I suspect that my attraction to that owl vase was from being exposed, unaware, to the increasing number in the marketplace. So I'm trying to dampen my knee-jerk antipathy to some of her pronouncements, like white walls/woodwork when I really enjoy strong-colored walls and white woodwork. I suspect that with enough exposure I'll come around. Not that I want to be a victim of trends: wall paint is easy enough to change, but I'd certainly have to think long and hard about painting floors or furniture. I can't see giving up my oriental rugs. I like light furniture, like my antique scrubbed pine cupboard, but I'm not crazy about the washed-out settings they seem to be displayed in now. I wonder if some of these designers are watching too many vampire movies! Oh well, enough navel gazing.

Everyone has such a different take on this subject. I'm one of 8 children. When Dad was alive, we'd make an effort to get as many of us as possible together at his house a couple of times a year--he loved this. This would result in multiple cars at his house for a few days--two in the garage, three in the driveway, 2-4 more out on the street in front of his property (he had a double lot, so there was room enough). Some neighbors would comment to us that Dad must be happy we were all visiting. Some neighbors would nervously inquire if Dad was okay--all the cars made them think he must be dying or something. And the guy who parked all his cars in front of Dad's empty lot most days would complain that we were taking up all the street parking. Cars are part of day to day life. It strikes me as odd that seeing a car on a residental street could be seen as wrecking a "view." People have cars; they need a place to park them. If seeing a neighbor's cars really bothers you that much, then probably best you move someplace where that is regulated.