I am the Country mouse. She is the City mouse. So City called Country and said... you have to check out the Travel Channel Beach Houses show... Different time zones made that impossible as it was just ending. Recently they did a re-run of it and I checked it out like a good sister would. I was stunned!
Beach house. I'm thinking thatched huts. Weather worn driftwood. Wood remnants. Minute cottages. The house that was being featured was $27 million dollars!! Perhaps the 4-1/2 acres of land bordering the ocean upped the price? The off-camera narrator guide, in telling how comfy this house was, used words like... cozy sitting area to sit and banter in. The decor was described as whimsical, fairytale-like. If you needed a week away rental then it was a bargain, with full house and amenities available for only $139,000 for the 7 days.
I am so in the tent for my beach house!
These places were absolutely magnificent. Gold fixtures in some. A huge bathtub with 3-side walls carved out of one boulder. Skyward ceilings. Rugs special woven. Special woven fabrics for windows. Imported marble. Dining rooms to seat lots of guests. Sikorsky encrusted chandeliers. Truly there was no end to the opulence. Also there was no sign of life. Not one thing indicated people lived in this place. Maybe it was spiffed up for the Travel channel tour.
Because I've never lived, rented or visited a true mansion and also because I'm the Country Mouse then it's hard to imagine relaxing and feeling sheltered in such an expanse. It would be fun to tour it though.
Those big mansions need big items. So many available items for houses are over-sized! You and I can also have large items to celebrate the Christmas season. Costco really caught me off guard with the 6' Nutcracker ($240)-, 9' Tree ($350), 60" Buck ($100), Santa in a Sleigh ($100) and a 5 pack of 8" globe-shaped ornaments. After you get all of this finery situated in the house, you can admire how things look, and sip Hot Cocoa Classic from Starbucks. You know it's worthy because right on the box it states...."made with ethically sourced cocoa". Are we out of control or is it just my imagination?
Maybe it's just perspective? My childhood Christmas decorations, on our approximate 5' real tree were large multicolored lights, bright colored glass globes, and icicles/tinsel (did not enjoy picking it apart, strand by strand, as my Mother insisted!). there were 4 small candles that were choir boys and 4 equal sized angels. (We'd arrange and rearrange them on the TV cabinet) That was it. Things were stored in a very small box.
So I'm all uppity about The Hampton's and their mansions and how gigantic Costco decorations are and yet my own worldly self has enough totes to fill a truck with Christmas decorations. An embarrassing amount!! (and that's with downsizing. well, one time we did that deed.) We are ready to decorate for Christmas. Now. All over the place!
If I mentally line up my life's worldly possessions- no matter the size, the price, the grandeur or the ordinary...the balance I want to retain is this---when I go to the Temple and sit in the Celestial room, I want to feel at ease and comfortable, relaxed and at home.
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Let not your hearts be troubled;
for in my Father's house are many mansions,
and I have prepared a place for you;
and where my Father and I am,
there ye shall be also.
--Doctrine & Covenants 98:18
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