Letter from the Editor

by Tristan Weeks

This issue couldn't have come at a more opportune time for me. My fiancé and I recently bought a house, and we were both surprised at how much trouble we had in the beginning. We searched everywhere from Blue Ridge to Woodstock over a period of eight months. It was often discouraging, but finally we found our first home.

We soon received our keys and promptly decided to paint every room a different color. It was originally a horrible shade of asylum white throughout the entire house. Miracles of miracles, we agreed on paint with very little problems and we (naively) thought that we would never argue over house décor since we had no problem with paint. Oh, how wrong we were.

It started with material for curtains. My fantastic future mother-in-law offered to make curtains for us in order to save us some money. I headed to the fabric store with excitement because I had a bohemian look in mind and knew just what I wanted. Jared did not share my vision. He preferred a leafy material. Dead leaves, actually. For two days, what Jared so lovingly coined as my “gypsy” taste and Jared's “I-want-it-to-look-like-fall-year-round” motif caused a riff in our previously peaceful relationship. Don't worry; we now have really lovely curtains that were donated by Jared's mother, and they fit perfectly in our house. In spite of that horrible time, it was actually beneficial for us. What came to be known as The Great Curtain Debacle of 2009 caused Jared and I to really consider the idea of compromise.

It turns out there is a lot of compromise and work that goes into a house. There are things that need to be fixed and rooms that need furniture. Not to mention, eating off styrofoam plates and drinking out of plastic cups gets old after a while. That's one of the reasons I'm excited about this issue. Between the pages of this magazine, you'll find all kinds of dishes, curtains (hopefully with no dead leaves strewn across the fabric), linens, furniture, bathroom accessories, appliances, home décor and any possible thing a new bride could possibly need or want in her new home. Each location mentioned is full of people who are willing to create your vision (and your intended's vision as well) in your home.

A new home and marriage is a blessing. Remember that whether the items in your house are new or hand-me-downs, they aren't what makes a home. It's the people you share it with. I wish you happiness in the future!

 

Tristan Weeks

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