Yes, I'm Talking About Curtains

When I was looking for a house to rent, I forgot about all those extras you need - you know, like curtains. I seriously have not worried about curtains for, oh, five years or more? And now that I've been consumed in the curtain world for the past week, I've discovered a few things:

1) More often than not, you can only buy one curtain panel at a time, even though you really need two to make your window treatment look right. So when you see a pair of curtains in the picture, you're not actually getting a pair - you're just getting one panel.  I do not want to pay outrageous prices for two panels, especially when each room has at least two windows. That means I have to buy four panels. This is madness, and needs to stop!

2) Curtains are expensive unless you get the curtain sets for $15 that look like some two-year-old put them together and are made from paper-thin fabric. I found that out after succumbing to the price tag, and now those sets are back in the store where they belong and not on my windows. I really am trying to be thrifty with my money, but when it comes down to it, do you really want to buy something that looks cheap and hang it in your room for how many years to come and make the entire room look cheap? Me either.

3) Vintage curtains are not hard to find. However, the perfect vintage curtains that fit the extra large window in my house are, indeed, nearly impossible to find. I spent a week - yes, a week - looking for vintage curtains at thrift stores and online (I particularly love Etsy!). Last night, when I'd all but given up, I opened Etsy and searched just for the heck of it. And then, the heavens parted. A pair of '50s vintage curtains popped up. They'd just been added to the seller's shop and they were exactly what I wanted. I snagged them up immediately.

4) There are cafe curtains. And valances. And priscillas. And thermal curtains. And then there are drapes. The list goes on. But, you must have the proper hardware for each type of curtain. Cafe curtains require a special rod in addition to the valance rod. You can go with the cheap, metal rods or you can get fancy with all sorts of funky metal or wood rods. Then there are curtain clips. And tiebacks.  I never knew there was so much to-do about curtains! Truth be told, in the houses I lived in before, they either already had curtains up or blinds and I didn't bother to replace them. In short, I was young and I was lazy. Now, however, I'm older and hopefully wiser, and I want the right curtains for each room.

5) I cannot decide on the kind of color and style for each room (except my kitchen) to save my life. I wanted vintage cafe curtains for the kitchen, and I found them. However, I have a living room, a bedroom, and an office yet to do (my daughter wanted purple paneled curtains for her room - I found them on sale for $6 each! Bargain!!!) and I do believe I have succumbed to a version of curtain hell. Do I want thermal drapes for the living room to help with heating costs? Do I need a valance or do I want to use a draping scarf? Too many decisions!!!

I decided yesterday that I could never build my own house. There would simply be too many decisions to make - counters, counter top, paint, curtain, types of fixtures, and the list would go on and on and on.

And of course, in the midst of all this, I have only packed four boxes, which leaves me with approximately 2,785 boxes yet to pack. Hubby has been painting all week, I cleaned carpets the other night, and have to finish that this weekend.

Oh yes...and then yesterday, my tooth started to hurt, and not one of the teeth that I've had fixed, but a new one (and it doesn't have a cavity, so that isn't the problem!). So now every time I take a cold drink, I about shoot out of my chair. The dentist isn't available today, so I am getting antibiotics and pain medication to get me through the weekend.

I don't have time for tooth pain! I've got curtains to buy! And apparently I don't have much time for blogs, either, as I've been woefully inadequate at visiting you all this week. Forgive me!

Now I'm off to look for those bedroom curtains...