Friday, August 5, 2011

Things that are annoying me (part 2)

So, in case you don't know, I don't have a job right now. Therefore, since I have moved here, I've been enjoying having the time to do whatever the heck I want, which has mostly been reading, exploring my new neck of the woods, and decorating my new apartment (which is really fun now that I have complete control over it, rather than having to collaborate on decorations with roommates). Now I'm getting to a point where I'm trying to embark on some creative projects. One of these is curtains. I have a sewing machine. I have the time. So why not? It should be cheaper than buying ready-made curtains, right? WRONG!

Fabric is expensive! Right now I'm referring to drapery fabric. But even the non-drapery fabric is expensive.  Here I am, trying to be innovative and creative-- a la Project Runway-- and I would be better off just going to Ikea because their curtains cost the same as 1 1/2 yards of fabric from the fabric store (and I would need at least 6 yards for the two windows in my bedroom alone), and I really like the fabric they use at Ikea too. I feel like my creative juices are just draining out of me!

What happened to the days of my youth where going to the fabric store and making something on your own was cheaper and more original than going to the store? And it's not like I'm going to Mood Designer Fabrics, I'm just going to Joann!! I tried calling my mom to ask her if drapery fabrics have always been this expensive, but she has no service up at girls camp. Vai de mine.

Speaking of Project Runway, one of the designers on the show, Olivier, has a unique, kind of British sounding accent. He also looks asian which is intriguing. Turns out Olivier grew up in Ohio until he was sixteen, and then he moved to London and other countries for a little while, which couldn't have been that long because he's only 22.  If you live in the U.S. for the first 16 years of your life, there is no way you would just pick up a British accent!! If you move when you're 4 or 5, then that's another story.

There was another guy I knew who served his mission in England and came home with a full blown British accent that he just couldn't seem to shake off. I'm not buying it! I understand coming home from a mission with some of the same speaking mannerisms, but an accent? Nu-uh. If you go and watch interviews with Madonna once she had become an ex-pat celeb living in London, you will kind of hear the same thing happening.

People that are posers with accents annoy me! (And for the record, this rant has an educated background, because I took a couple of Linguistics classes where we talked about dialects and accents of the English language and how and when you pick up on dialects, which is either based on the dialects of your parents, or living in a place when you are still learning the language, which is usually the first ten years.)

Well, anyway, those are just some of the issues that I will have to work through. But seriously, what should I do about the curtains?!

Happy Friday. Love, Annie

5 comments:

  1. I made my own curtains and immediately regretted it. They look awesome, just like I wanted, but I ended up paying $380 for fabric, and that was 3 years ago. I paid $60 for the curtains on another window, and I didn't have to sew anything. Purchasing seems to me to be much more practical than sewing. I will never be creative when it comes to window treatments again.

    About the accent thing, I totally agree. However when I worked for a British vet, I would occasionally find myself mimicking his. I always worried that it offended him, but he didn't ever seem to notice.

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  2. I'm totally on board with you ranting about people who are phonies and try to make people think they're more cultured because they have an accent or some shiz. But it's not always as shallow as just pretending you have an accent; people who talk about their international prowess in general get under my skin pretty easily.

    That's why reading Sarah's Mad World has become such a debilitating chore recently.

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  3. Buy them! Maybe making pillows or runners is still cheaper? I want more photos of your flat, mate. (Said with a fake Australian accent that I picked up the 4 days I was in Sydney.) haha! Love you!

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  4. I don't know if the prices are any better, but you should check out www.fabric.com. I just bought some fabric there to make seat cushions out of for the window seat in my living room. It seemed like they had a better selection than the fabric stores.

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  5. I think if you like the IKEA fabric as much as Joanns, then buy for sure! The only time I sew is when I just can't find what I'm looking for, so I end up picking out my own fabric and being domestic (i.e. pillows and an outdoor tablecloth which was $25 and a total rip compared to store-bought ones, but I like!)

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