Lori Alexander took our advice

[Chowder Head]

I still am trying to get over that she paid 1.5 k to redo those couches.

[Snarknado]

I still am trying to get over that she paid 1.5 k to redo those couches.

Me too. My brand new couch was $800.

[ViolaSebastian]

Sometimes I wonder if God gets irritated that people like the Maxwells keep bugging him for answers to every little issue when he gave them Google, encyclopedias, and other reference materials.

Hell, God probably gave us Google, etc. just to get them to STFU.

[FJismyheadship]

Hahaha I don't even have an style. I have an orange couch and an orange chair that are roughly 50 years old, a brown hideabed that has been clawed by cats and probably has just about any human fluid imaginable in it (even though it gets cleaned up) and various other items that don't really match. If I had the money, my house would look like a rainbow came in and threw up. I have thought about buying one item at a time.

[OkToBeTakei]

I suppose like weddings and registries and food and OH Gosh well all types of mundane yet interesting topics we shoot the breeze with here, it all comes down to our own perspectives, tastes, cultures, demographics, geographical differences and opinions. From mine though, she just browned her life :lol: It was a 'look' here about over 5 or so years ago. I indeed did do the beige carpet brown leather and accent cushion thing. It was............well it was brown. Taste is a personal thing good to compare and comment on, I like that part of FJ but this is never learning passive aggressive Jesus loves us better small peen and bitter wife, so I'm Ok saying that's fecking minging :lol:

LOVE LURVE this though..

In this day and age, when so many pastors are preaching that Jesus wants all of us to live in a large house and have nice things, we must know the Word and teach it without fear.

What? Just really WHAT? Jesus is now all about square footage and accessories? I know Ken likes to cherry pick the bible to excuse his lacking and need to feel all manly and all, this though is epic in it's fuckwittery :lol:

THEN we have this.

Studies have proven that indoor air is more polluted than outdoor air.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Who knew?

They are finding that all these toxic chemicals are causing disruption of hormones, cancer, autoimmune diseases, autism, etc.

OH MY GOD! The ETC!!! Because hormones, cancer, autoimmune diseases, autism are just not specific enough ...at least we all now know the cause. Errrr..indoor air. Black salve that toot sweet (toute de suite.)

I have started using newspaper to clean windows and mirrors with and it works beautifully, just like Grandma told us it would. It leaves no streaks or lint, so start saving up newspapers {if you still get them}. I use one sheet of newspaper per bathroom for the mirrors and when I am done, I just throw the crumbled up ball underneath a sink and it is dry by the time I need to use it again.

'Gads' as we say here. Means ewww or yuck. You can tell a lot about somebody by the newspaper they buy, is that the same over the pond? The different publications would be lost in translation so any US input would be fun. Yuck because why would you save a used piece of newsprint when generally if you buy a daily or even just a weekly that is hardly required.

Finally Ken 8-) Why yes I am totally spewing feministical wordage with the odd *gasp* profanity, you totally made an imbecile of yourself attempting to engage on this forum. Nothing changed. NOT. A. THING. Goggle did not bow to your outrage. Nobody ruined your smiley business. Lori is still not learning. Your hero Cabinetchap had a slightly (very) better grasp of the English language than you, although his teenage drama outbursts were eerily similar.

Here we all still are, now though I feel the urge to be totally snarkish because for a while I lost sight of how fun it was and feel the need to say.... incredibly immaturely but with great and humorous glee, that you have an incredibly tiny head. Big hair but a really tiny head. Just wanted to spew that off my chest.

[HoneyBunny]

My own experience with using newspapers to clean windows was a disaster. Newspaper ink all over the white window frames. Took lots of "nasty" chemical cleaner to get it off. No, I'll stick with microfiber cloths, correctly laundered, thank you.

[Meeka]

Can you imagine how quickly a wet crumpled up ball of newspaper in a bathroom would go moldy? No chemicals to get you sick but would only have to deal with mold spores.

[Chowder Head]

personally i don't care what or how people decorate their rooms but 1.5 k to redo couches that are not antiques is just :cray-cray: imo

[salex]

My own experience with using newspapers to clean windows was a disaster. Newspaper ink all over the white window frames. Took lots of "nasty" chemical cleaner to get it off. No, I'll stick with microfiber cloths, correctly laundered, thank you.

Plus, how is this household tip blog worthy, sense it has been around for at least 40 years.

And, who gets newspapers on paper any more... and who saves the used damp one.....

\

[polecat]

Yeah, the soggy newspapers under the sink thing grosses me out.

[2xx1xy1JD]

What? Just really WHAT? Jesus is now all about square footage and accessories? I know Ken likes to cherry pick the bible to excuse his lacking and need to feel all manly and all, this though is epic in it's fuckwittery :lol:

I suspect that this is Lori's attempt to slam Joel Osteen without actually naming names.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Osteen

Lori's not a fan of the "prosperity Gospel", which basically gives tips for positive thinking and suggests that God wants you to seize the day and make money. I think Oprah's a fan, and Osteen has a mega-church. According to Wikipedia, Osteen also isn't that much of a fire-and-brimstone guy, and don't tend to tell folks that they are all going to hell.

In basic English, Lori is saying, "no, Christianity is NOT just about some self-help tips and getting rich, there are some actual teachings and commandments and some of them may seem hard and won't be popular".

As for style - I'll confess that we did everything in our house 7 years ago when we renovated and moved in, and it's all variations of cream, beige and brown. Then again, my wardrobe consists of basic black with flashes of charcoal gray for some excitement.

I won't snark on the cleaning tips. If she feels compelled to blog every day, telling readers how to make DIY non-toxic cleaner is better than telling them again how to spank their kids harder.

[slickcat79]

My mom always said to use newspapers to clean windows. I've done it before and it worked fine, but now I just buy windex wipes :shrug:

I moved from a 450 sq foot studio to a 2 bdroom apt last month, and didn't even spend $1500 to furnish the whole place. That included a mattress set (overstock.com), a couch, an armchair (dumpster dive, and it was spotless), a dryer (floor model on clearance), various storage furniture and random items.

[2xx1xy1JD]

My mom always said to use newspapers to clean windows. I've done it before and it worked fine, but now I just buy windex wipes :shrug:

I moved from a 450 sq foot studio to a 2 bdroom apt last month, and didn't even spend $1500 to furnish the whole place. That included a mattress set (overstock.com), a couch, an armchair (dumpster dive, and it was spotless), a dryer (floor model on clearance), various storage furniture and random items.

If she really wanted to encourage young wives to be frugal homemakers, why not talk about thrift shops and getting things for a fraction of retail price and sewing your own slipcovers for couches that you pick up for free?

She has no clue what frugal living looks like.

[polecat]

If she really wanted to encourage young wives to be frugal homemakers, why not talk about thrift shops and getting things for a fraction of retail price and sewing your own slipcovers for couches that you pick up for free?

She has no clue what frugal living looks like.

It's incredible -- she's reusing dirty, soggy wads of newspaper to save a dime while spending $1,500 to get her living room set recovered. The furniture DOES look like it's held up well, but you can re-upholster your own furniture with a bit of time and creativity, and it wouldn't have cost nearly as much.

[littlemommy]

Her "Always Learning" decorating tips could be the fundie version of "Goop".

[usmcmom]

I suppose like weddings and registries and food and OH Gosh well all types of mundane yet interesting topics we shoot the breeze with here, it all comes down to our own perspectives, tastes, cultures, demographics, geographical differences and opinions. From mine though, she just browned her life :lol: It was a 'look' here about over 5 or so years ago. I indeed did do the beige carpet brown leather and accent cushion thing. It was............well it was brown. Taste is a personal thing good to compare and comment on, I like that part of FJ but this is never learning passive aggressive Jesus loves us better small peen and bitter wife, so I'm Ok saying that's fecking minging :lol:

LOVE LURVE this though..

What? Just really WHAT? Jesus is now all about square footage and accessories? I know Ken likes to cherry pick the bible to excuse his lacking and need to feel all manly and all, this though is epic in it's fuckwittery :lol:

THEN we have this.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Who knew?

OH MY GOD! The ETC!!! Because hormones, cancer, autoimmune diseases, autism are just not specific enough ...at least we all now know the cause. Errrr..indoor air. Black salve that toot sweet (toute de suite.)

'Gads' as we say here. Means ewww or yuck. You can tell a lot about somebody by the newspaper they buy, is that the same over the pond? The different publications would be lost in translation so any US input would be fun. Yuck because why would you save a used piece of newsprint when generally if you buy a daily or even just a weekly that is hardly required.

Finally Ken 8-) Why yes I am totally spewing feministical wordage with the odd *gasp* profanity, you totally made an imbecile of yourself attempting to engage on this forum. Nothing changed. NOT. A. THING. Goggle did not bow to your outrage. Nobody ruined your smiley business. Lori is still not learning. Your hero Cabinetchap had a slightly (very) better grasp of the English language than you, although his teenage drama outbursts were eerily similar.

Here we all still are, now though I feel the urge to be totally snarkish because for a while I lost sight of how fun it was and feel the need to say.... incredibly immaturely but with great and humorous glee, that you have an incredibly tiny head. Big hair but a really tiny head. Just wanted to spew that off my chest.

^^The bolded up there?? THAT. WAS. BRILLIANT. Thank you, I needed the laugh.

[thoughtful]

Note to Self: Rent Dinner at Eight

I'm watching it again on TCM right now. :D

And I realized I never addressed the main subject of this thread. I admit I didn't go look at Lori's blog to see the decorating changes. I tend to be from the school of thought that doesn't snark on appearance, taste, etc. (unless it's relevant to what is awful about the snarkee -- see Doug Phillips, before my utter disgust made everything about him no longer funny to me). So I don't care much about Lori's taste in decorating.

Of course, her going on (and on) about how very right she is about everything is relevant to what is obnoxious about Lori, and I have enjoyed reading all of you snarking on that! :D

When it comes to having something reupholstered, whether it is worth the money really varies. I have a chair and loveseat that I found in separate antique stores, years ago. I recently spent well over $300 to have the chair reupholstered.

I'm an antique lover but not an expert, and have never been able to pin down their era, but I think they must have been made in the late 19th century or early 20th century. They are very well-constructed, with wood framing all of the upholstered parts -- this sort of thing (not mine, just a pic I found online):

And the chair is my favorite for comfort -- I'm on it now -- it certainly gets used.

Spending money freely is rare, for me -- I am a frugal person who dresses and decorates in thrift shop finds, doesn't travel, doesn't eat out, frequents the library, etc. I did source the fabric myself and got a bargain on that (so, yes, the money was all for having the work done, since I provided the fabric).

So I have no qualms about someone spending big bucks to re-upholster really good furniture, and having it done by a professional if they don't have the skill. I have recovered dining room chair seats myself, but that's about my limit. My antique pieces required lots of covered buttons, piping, new underlying supports for the seats, working around the wood, etc. -- they really needed an expert hand.

About 25 years ago, my parents spent a lot to have a couch and chairs that were made in the 1950s and 60s reupholstered. They are in a style that is fully covered in fabric, but fell into the "they don't make 'em like that anymore, or if they do, the cost is insane" category, so they felt it was worth it to do so.

My Mom still has the chairs and the cushions from the couch (the couch didn't fit in her new living room, so the cushions now sit on a wooden bench), and they are still attractive and sturdy.

Now, spending lots of money to re-upholster furniture that isn't made well is a waste, I will agree. And boasting about what a bargain it was is also pretty silly.

[Rebelwife]

personally i don't care what or how people decorate their rooms but 1.5 k to redo couches that are not antiques is just :cray-cray: imo

Maybe it's just me, but that's the one part of this I don't find crazy. (Now, the boring fabric choices are another story.) I have two couches I bought when I was first married almost 20 years ago that we paid a lot of money for, relatively speaking. They are still in excellent shape and should last another 30 years, but they're not antique.

I am looking to have them re-upholstered, and if you include the fabric I want to use it will be at least that much. However, it's good, quality fabric that should last another 15 or 20 years - the dog, cat and kids notwithstanding.

I do think that investing in quality furniture and fabric is a worthwhile investment (although I've bought plenty of inexpensive furniture too when I wasn't looking for that degree of longevity out of it).