Decorating for Free.

[ChickeyMonkey]

Wow. That was depressing. And so not cute.

[gustava]

While I agree with FJer's on this decor, I wonder if we're snarking on someone who's in no position to do any better? What if she's a submissive helpmeet whose head doesn't earn much money, and she's doing the best that she can? Granted, she seems to have a few luxuries, but what if that's pretty much all she has?

She isn't like Kelly or the Duggars; she doesn't seem to be boasting. Perhaps she's doing the best that she can under her circumstances.

I love to snark. I also want to help fundies see outside fundiedom. Perhaps we could ask this woman, nicely, why these items are what she has to work with.

And go back to snarking at Kelly and Lina.......

[mbeezer]

While I agree with FJer's on this decor, I wonder if we're snarking on someone who's in no position to do any better? What if she's a submissive helpmeet whose head doesn't earn much money, and she's doing the best that she can? Granted, she seems to have a few luxuries, but what if that's pretty much all she has?

She isn't like Kelly or the Duggars; she doesn't seem to be boasting. Perhaps she's doing the best that she can under her circumstances.

I love to snark. I also want to help fundies see outside fundiedom. Perhaps we could ask this woman, nicely, why these items are what she has to work with.

And go back to snarking at Kelly and Lina.......

That's what I was thinking too, I kinda feel bad for her.

[formergothardite]

If she would get some sort of covers for the sectionals, it wouldn't look as bad. I wonder if she can sew so she could make some.

[denimjumper]

Those photos are the epitomy of house poor.

[oscar]

That's what I was thinking too, I kinda feel bad for her.

deliberatedoodles.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/people-need-jesus/

I know very little about this lady, but I am not sure I feel bad for her. The tone of this entry, which begins by poking fun at the words and actions of an elderly neighbor who "does not know Jesus," really rubbed me the wrong way.

In her October 4th entry, which is a plug for Samaritan Ministries, she writes that many of her readers should remember her children's medical emergency from 18 months ago. Her archives only go back to September 2011. Does anyone know where she used to blog?

She is asking other people to sign up for Samaritan Ministries so she can benefit from their affiliate program and offset her costs. deliberatedoodles.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/samaritan-ministries/

[Crackedeggs]

That looks like something a homeless person put together under an expressway bridge.

[Crackedeggs]

Ugh. The first link on her links is NoGreaterJoy.org.

[ZebraBrains]

Oh that's just BAD.

I decorate my home from artwork the kids made (give them a canvas and paints and they are quiet all day LOL), artwork I made myself, and reclaimed pieces from garage sales, salvation army, etc.. Spray paint, modpodge, etc.. go a LONG way. Painted murals on the walls, etc..

I decorated for almost nothing yet the difference was that people would see in our windows from the street, pull up, and ask me to decorate their homes (which I never did.. my technique takes too long to be profitable)

I mean what she has works fine, it's functional, but it's not decorating

[Sinister Rouge]

Ugh. The first link on her links is NoGreaterJoy.org.

And she has a child named "Nethaneel", which TBH sounds to me like a shampoo ingredient. Honestly, was Nathaniel too hard to spell or something?

Those, plus the rabid pro-life stance, and I think we've hit a fundy trifecta :)

[Unbalanced]

That living room is one stained mattress on the floor away from looking like a crack den.

[darkplumaged]

I'm nearly speechless, that room is so awful.

And she has a child named "Nethaneel", which TBH sounds to me like a shampoo ingredient. Honestly, was Nathaniel too hard to spell or something?

Those, plus the rabid pro-life stance, and I think we've hit a fundy trifecta :)

Aaaand this is why I don't feel sorry for her, no matter how little money she has or how pathetic her "decorating" efforts are.

[Rosa]

The juxtaposition of titles in the one suitcase is really depressing. What would you think if you walked into someone's house and they had these books on display?

• 
  A boxed set of McGuffey Readers
  LoTR
  The Help Meet's Journey
  a book I don't recognize
  Her Choice to Heal: Finding Spiritual and Emotional Peace After Abortion
  The Music Hour First Book
  Abortion Questions and Answers
  a torn-off cover or page from a children's picture book
  Modern Arithmetic through Discovery
  A Child's Garden of Verses
  The Money Marathon
  Prince Caspian.

I would think, whoah, someone robbed the Crisis Pregnancy Center Reading Shelf.

Is it possible she's being ironic, or self-deprecating? Because the place looks like a squat, but she did literally spend $0 and 0 effort, and it is the kind of thing one of my friends would subtitle "House Beautiful" to be cute, knowing it's not.

Also that stupid "make a post, add a question" thing is like Monetize Your Blog 101. Are they all reading the same how to make money from home ebook?

[Rosa]

Also, she gets points in my book for posting homemade English Muffins because I've never seen that on a frugality blog (I do it, because I came across it on accident looking for bagel recipes; I use the same dough for both) but ew, she puts sugar in them.

[celestial]

I know very little about this lady, but I am not sure I feel bad for her. The tone of this entry, which begins by poking fun at the words and actions of an elderly neighbor who "does not know Jesus," really rubbed me the wrong way.

Yeah, that was so not okay. Nope, don't feel sorry for her at all.

[CanadianHippie]

Oh that's just BAD.

I decorate my home from artwork the kids made (give them a canvas and paints and they are quiet all day LOL), artwork I made myself, and reclaimed pieces from garage sales, salvation army, etc.. Spray paint, modpodge, etc.. go a LONG way. Painted murals on the walls, etc..

I decorated for almost nothing yet the difference was that people would see in our windows from the street, pull up, and ask me to decorate their homes (which I never did.. my technique takes too long to be profitable)

I mean what she has works fine, it's functional, but it's not decorating

Nope, it's using what you have to make what you need.

[blisterine]

egds! it's what i imagine EMILY would decorate like if she ever saw HGTV!

[batwing]

The juxtaposition of titles in the one suitcase is really depressing. What would you think if you walked into someone's house and they had these books on display?

• 
  A boxed set of McGuffey Readers
  LoTR
  The Help Meet's Journey
  a book I don't recognize
  Her Choice to Heal: Finding Spiritual and Emotional Peace After Abortion
  The Music Hour First Book
  Abortion Questions and Answers
  a torn-off cover or page from a children's picture book
  Modern Arithmetic through Discovery
  A Child's Garden of Verses
  The Money Marathon
  Prince Caspian.

Our living room bookshelf reads "heathen". Some of its contents:

Edith Hamilton's Mythology

The Kitchen Witch's Cookbook

The New Joy of Sex

Webster's Dictionary - which is obviously a tool of the devil because it does not contain the word "alot" and "whenever" is defined totally wrong.

[oscar]

Our living room bookshelf reads "heathen". Some of its contents:

Edith Hamilton's Mythology

The Kitchen Witch's Cookbook

The New Joy of Sex

Webster's Dictionary - which is obviously a tool of the devil because it does not contain the word "alot" and "whenever" is defined totally wrong.

batwing, I think I like your bookshelf. Mrs. Doodle's suitcase full of sadness made me think I would not want to have a conversation with her, but if you switched out her books for yours, I would feel differently about that living room with its sectional and nick-nacks and stained tablecloth. Despite the baffling attempts at "decoration," it would suddenly seem like a much more welcoming space to me.

Here's the stack of titles on the table in my living room. Jeepers, it's funny how exposed this makes me feel.

• Mathematical Population Genetics I. Theoretical Introduction
  Coalescent Theory
  Gene Genealogies, Variation and Evolution
  Vintage Knits for Modern Babies
  Lonely Planet guide to Cape Town
  The Lost Lunar Baedeker: Poems by Mina Loy
  Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein.
  On What Cannot Be Said: Apophatic Discourses in Philosophy, Literature, Religion and the Arts
  A Humument
  Slow Homecoming
  Travels in Siberia
  Faithful Ruslan - this book is so sad.
  

[Spider Burps]

Am I the only one that saw this and immediately thought "crack house"? But... I guess crackheads would've pawned the suitcase by now...

I have a bunch of environmental policy books on my shelves, but I've never read any of them (they're my fiance's from grad school)... MYYY books, to name a few of the good ones, include everything David Sedaris has published, The Hitchhiker's Guide series, The Zombie Survival Guide, Devil in the Kitchen, Good Omens, Bushworld, Reefer Madness, Twilight*--carved out with a flask in the middle (from fiance's fundie light cousin, ironically), and cos I'm a nerd, the Merck Manual and DSM-IV-TR. :D The cookbooks are on another shelf in the dining "room" (open floor plan, so no proper room) but are definitely not fundie friendly because none of them contain a recipe using tater tots... Ad Hoc at Home, The French Laundry, Bon Appetit Desserts, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (vols. 1 and 2), The Joy of Cooking, The Bread Bible, etc.

*this is the only book of mine that I've never read, for obvious reasons...

[dormouse]

My first apartment when I was 18 was prettier than this, even if it had plain white walls and furniture found on the curb.

[batwing]

Am I the only one that saw this and immediately thought "crack house"? But... I guess crackheads would've pawned the suitcase by now...

I have a bunch of environmental policy books on my shelves, but I've never read any of them (they're my fiance's from grad school)... MYYY books, to name a few of the good ones, include everything David Sedaris has published, The Hitchhiker's Guide series, The Zombie Survival Guide, Devil in the Kitchen, Good Omens, Bushworld, Reefer Madness, Twilight*--carved out with a flask in the middle (from fiance's fundie light cousin, ironically), and cos I'm a nerd, the Merck Manual and DSM-IV-TR. :D The cookbooks are on another shelf in the dining "room" (open floor plan, so no proper room) but are definitely not fundie friendly because none of them contain a recipe using tater tots... Ad Hoc at Home, The French Laundry, Bon Appetit Desserts, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (vols. 1 and 2), The Joy of Cooking, The Bread Bible, etc.

*this is the only book of mine that I've never read, for obvious reasons...

Good Omens! I have so much love for Terry Pratchett. My first was Small Gods, which would be a very interesting read for fundies I think. It's light, but when you think about it, it's really not.

We have bookshelves in each room. The boys have their own that are near collapse because they're so full- someone bought them What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs (http://www.amazon.com/Really-Happened-Dinosaurs-2004-publication/product-reviews/189334522X/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar) and we keep it around for snark value. The husband has a whole shelf of The Shooters Bible and I've been collecting the Lllewellyn Magical Almanac since 1996. I have multiple copies of Lolita, The Diary of Jack the Ripper, and a small Judy Blume collection (scandalous!)

[flojo]

She's dedicated a whole post to those snarking here at FJ

Still, I think Emily's is worse.

[Beeks]

She's dedicated a whole post to those snarking here at FJ

Still, I think Emily's is worse.

I actually really like her post about the snark. She seems really secure and took it better than I probably would have. Good for her! I wish I could send her some things...we've been downsizing like mad lately and I have cute stuff that's going to just go to Goodwill if I don't find a home for it. I wonder if she'd want anything or if she'd go Emily-style and be insulted.

[Effie]

Here's someone who knows how to decorate for free: creativejewishmom.com/crafts-recycling/

I find her ideas to be amazing. Plus she is a very sweet person. I love her blog!