Lipstick on a pig. It ain't pretty.

Quick Announcement: The Elliott Homestead will now be putting out a weekly newsletter recapping the week's posts and sharing life-altering, incredibly important information. As always. To subscribe, simply fill out the form located in the right-hand column with your name and email address. Then we can be email friends forever and ever. Amen.Do you ever wonder what people are thinking when they come over to your house?Like, do they notice the nasty base boards?Or the dusty shelves?Or the disorganized tupperware cabinet?Does the house have a particular 'scent' that you've grown accustomed to over time?I shutter to think.I've been thinking about our home a lot lately - mostly because it's a short-term rental and we've been putting our feelers out there for other available options come spring.The other reason being, no matter how hard I try, it just doesn't ever feel clean. The poorly painted walls, so reflective of rental-house style - the deferred maintenance - the horrible landscaping - the fact that I'm convinced one day soon the toilet is going to fall through the rotten subflorring. You know. Rental house stuff.I've tried my best to perk the place up - but let's be honest. It's like puttin' lipstick on a pig.I can dress it up as fancy as I'd like... but it's still a pig.Now, please don't hear me saying that I'm not grateful for this home - because I am. The Lord put us in this home for a reason and it's been good to us over these past months. It's close to the school and church, in a safe neighborhood, and on a quiet road. All of which are blessings. And none of which we deserve. But in my quest to continually dress up the pig, I recently made a Target purchase of $20 (don't worry, Dang Dave, I used a gift card). With this $20, I was able to purchase 4 twin flat sheets. Combined with some free bamboo we cut out of the jungle in the backyard and friends, we finally had some window treatments!Eight months we've gone with bare naked windows. I hated it. But I hated the idea of spending $25 on a single curtain panel even more.If this were our permanent home, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase the appropriate hardware and panels for window dressings. It's not that I love the 'natural' look of the bamboo either - it ain't really my style. That being said, it was free. So let's just keep this in perspective, shall we?For the time, it at least helps to soften and privatize (is that a word?!) the dining room. I love fabric. It's a fabulous thing. And this soft grey is neutral enough that we transfer the panels from room to room, if need be.By the way - how much pooling at the bottom of a curtain panel is appropriate? I hate curtain panels that are too short, which I have in the living room naturally, but these ones are quite pooled. I like the look, but I'm not sure what the 'standards' are for such a panel.Ah, why do I even care? There aren't Curtain-Panel-Pooling-Police that are going to come and arrest me! Give it a rest, Shaye!The way I see it, there's a few benefits to using sheets anyway. For starters, the price is way better. These organic, cotton sheets normally sold for $15 a piece - but they were on clearance!A second benefit is that instead of having to sew a pocket for the rod (or bamboo), I simply had to cut two small holes (one on each end of the sheet) for the bamboo to slip through.And lastly, once we are in a permanent home where we can invest in real curtain panels, we can utilize the sheets as craft tarps, scrap fabric, tent-building supplies, etc. There's always a use for an 'ol sheet.It's still a pig, no doubt (you should come have a look at my sloppily painted, maroon kitchen cabinets) but it is a pig that is ours to care for. At least for the time being.It's a good pig. Even if it's an ugly pig.