"The Touch"

Once again, over the weekend I had the pleasure of visiting someone who has "the touch." And I don't mean the Cheese Touch, for those of you familiar with Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I am of course talking about the ability to make one's home appear as if it has jumped off the cover of Better Homes & Gardens and landed in a small Iowa town. It's kind of like being able to spell. I think you're either born with the ability, or not. (And I have children of both varieties to prove it!) Anyway, after failing miserably in the 21-day Organization Challenge, it is even more disheartening to see how easy it is for others to decorate oh-so-cutely AND keep their homes spotless. 

So on Saturday some friends called up to see if we'd come and play cards. After realizing that I desperately need to go out and buy a copy of "Euchre for Dummies," I took a tour of their home. What I had already seen was pretty darn impressive, and it only got better. This was an old farmhouse which was completely renovated. Great refinished wood floors, crystal chandeliers, clawfoot tub...the works. Decorated in mostly white (Hello! Of course they do NOT have little kids!) it was BEAUTIFUL!! Everything fit together just perfectly. Unlike my place, where we are still sporting Christmas decorations (just a few), my mud room is an obstacle course and my month-old couch pillows still have the tags on them. (I just want to make sure they match before I commit!)

I keep thinking that someday, somehow, I will have "the touch." Everything in my home will match and it will be fabulous. It will probably require subscriptions to several thousand home decorating magazines and hours of HGTV. Either that or a million dollars to hire someone else with "the touch!"