Ahh, winter. Time for Cocoa, fireplaces, big cozy sweaters, and peeping into people's houses.
HUH???
;)
Yes, I am going to admit here that I LOVE it when people leave their window shades open when it is dark outside and they are home with lights on. Am I trying to see some family dispute, a torrid love scene, something titillating? Well, no-- unless, like me, you are completely enamored with home decor, which can be quite exciting!
It gets dark around 5pm now, and I drive to work around 5:30. My favorite part of the drive is seeing in all the houses! I am so intrigued by the paint colors, the furniture choices, the layout of the rooms, and the actual architecture of houses, it is a wonder I stay in my lane. I hope for red lights so I can look in and at the houses. I love the tiny houses that have upstairs. I love the Brady-Bunch "modern" slab houses with the funny little carports. I love the big old farmhouses, and I love to hate the random huge new-construction homes that pop up in the middle of modest streets and never seem to sell, forever vacant with their oversized garages and no yards and no lawns and no trees, and their for sale signs out front, eventually replaced by for lease signs. I love to see how many people have a television as the ONLY thing in their living rooms besides a recliner, and I love to see funky kitchens with brown or green refridgerators and a hundred pictures of grandkids on the walls interspersed with kitschy needlepoint blessings and half hearted collections of all kinds. I love the ugly houses that look like hip IKEA showrooms inside, and I love the gorgeous homes with nothing in them. I just love it all.
I always close my curtains, maybe because I am so keenly aware of how easy it is to see everything inside a lit up house when it is dark outside. I am not some sicko, just a very curious person who finds so much of human behavior absolutely fascinating, especially when it comes to artistic choices. If I had a dog to walk, I would probably be more subtle in my peeking. I have babies to walk, but when the weather is nice enough for that, it is usually light out until way past bedtimes...So for now, I will limit my peeping for the carride to work--and if the idea of people looking in your house freaks you out, then for goodness sake-- close your curtains!!!!
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11 comments:
:) Joy, you make me laugh. If you looked through my front window right now, you'd see a neat (amazing feat in and of itself) living room with a tree decorated in red and gold with LOTS of ornaments from Jon's and my childhoods. Past that, and slightly higher (since it's a California split) is a very brightly lit, though not very neat kitchen. It was sparkling two days ago, but life got in the way since. My kids helped themselves to yogurt and granola this afternoon, and got the granola all over the floor. I/we cleaned it up, but there are still crumbs on the floor. The kitchen is decorated for Christmas, and you'd see a gorgeous painting of fruit from my mom hanging on the wall. I'm glad you couldn't see the kids' bedrooms though. I don't even want to see those myself. :)
Is all that a nice mental picture for ya? I think it's delightful how interested you are in the way other people live.
I'll lend you Moxie for a night every now and then if you'd like to peep during the summer at night! I absolutely LOVE looking inside houses for the same exact reason. Now I have my own dastardly demon to admit: I secretly almost always think that my decorating is far more tasteful and more out of a magazine than most homes. Granted, I am not walking along Lake Shore Drive, but in normal, common homes..well, it actually makes me love my own home so much more. In fact, sometimes, I wish we lived on a lower level just so I could show off my taste. Hahahah, that would just give some other person the chance to appreciate their own decor that much more. Okay, I either sounded super silly or people will know what I am talking about. See you soon! Love ya!
P.S. I don't think my place looks like a magazine picture persay, just something that I think should be in a magazine. again, why am I justifying this to some fantasy critic?
LOL!!!
Too funny - I am exactly the same way! Only I'm not so subtle, and I've even waved to the people inside when they caught me craning my neck to see what's in there!!
Here's the crazy thing - I leave my blinds open almost all the time. I figure turn-about is fair play. Since I'm poking my eyes into the neighbors windows I don't bother covering my own. There's not usually anything even remotely interesting to see. Oh, but it's a nasty view in my kitchen window -- you see the cluttered top of my fridge! Yuck.
Anyway, I just think it's funny that you're admitting to this. My kids get embarrassed by the way I so obviously stare at each house as we walk by :-) Tough, as you said, if you don't want me to look then close your blinds!
Hey, me too! I'm also always interested to see what people are watching on TV.
You know, I miss being able to sneak a peek as I drove/walked/biked by our neighbors' houses in Iowa. Here in AZ, everybody is in these low, dark ranches and there's nothing TO see. What always amazed me most was in how many homes the TV was prominent and always on. See, I knew I liked you the moment you walked in Rixa's door ;)
I guess I should clarify that...here in my neighborhood in AZ it's all ranches. There are plenty of peek-able homes elsewhere in the valley...but not by me :)
Hee hee... so happy to see so many other peepers out there! You guys crack me up.
Now I get to see lots of christmas trees, and who has the big bulbs, who does a "color theme", and who, like us, has a total hodge podge of all kinds of lights and crazy ornaments. FUN!
Jen B and I stood outside of my house tonight and could have watched a movie through my neighbors window. I was nodding while reading this. If I see something of interest, I sometimes use my kids to get inside their house..YKWIM?! I especially like seeing the inside of houses that have a similar floorplan to ours or ones that I see being remodeled..
Oh Yeah and it never ceases to amaze me how many people have everything but a car in their garages. I have seen SO MUCH 'extra' stuff that it makes me wonder what they're doing with all of it. I am so much more aware of it when I see it since I started my decluttering frame of mind.
Shhh, me too! ;) I love those glimpses into people's homes.
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