Without the sophistication to realize the value of “real,” I am a faux kind of woman. It started when I was in my teens and I was given a beautiful little necklace of a dove carrying an olive branch with a diamond at the tip of the branch. The tiny stone fell out and it was replaced with a beautiful blue stone, (cheap glass, not a sapphire or anything “real”). I thought the blue matched the jeans that were my standard wardrobe at the time, and that necklace became one of my most cherished possessions.
When getting engaged and faced with the fact that getting a diamond was a tradition, my thoughtful hubby to be picked out the perfect engagement ring for me – a tiny diamond in the middle with navy sapphires forming the shape of a flower around it. It was awesome, and I still wear it today, not desiring a two- or three-carat diamond when my ring is so much more colorful and personal.
One of my first years married, my in-laws gifted me with a white fur coat for Christmas. I loved that coat, and wore it for every special occasion. It was exquisite; warm and toasty. I would not have preferred to have a “real” fur (unless the furriers hunkered down on the ice floes waiting for the polar bears to die a natural death and then made a coat out of them). Another favorite coat hung in my closet, and I received many compliments on it. It took me a while to realize that everyone thought it was leather and not the $24.99 jacket I had purchased on sale at JC Penney’s. It managed to fit me elegantly.
This life changing realization actually came to me the other day while getting out of the shower when I noticed our bathroom counter. As an avid watcher of “House Hunters,” the strict demands of the house buyers often fascinated me; people would be knowledgeable about what material was the most stylish and which material was mandated, such as marble countertops.
Looking at the cheap plastic countertop surrounding our bathroom sink, it looked like marble to me. The “tile” in the bathroom floor was just vinyl, and the white cupboard looked like wood (but was just particle board with the “wood” part uncurling in a few areas). The bright, cheerful flower arrangement on the back of the toilet was made of artificial flowers, and a plastic ivy plant curled around the circumference of the mirror. My whole bathroom was faux, and I was suddenly thankful that at least the toilet was real!
“Real” for me are the things that meet my needs. I am not envious of people with huge diamonds and marble countertops, but I admire their beautiful choices that are right for them. “To each his own,” my mom used to say. I may not always be perfect, but I’m always me, the “real” me!
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Comments on: "I am A Faux Kind of Woman" (15)
Beautifully written!!!
❤ Alana
I love the look and feel of “real” stuff, but when it comes down to it, I don’t have the heart to wear blood diamonds or chop more holes in the earth for counters that will be out of fashion in another ten years. Give me simple, clean and functional and leave the minks and polar bears to live another day.
I’m a faux sort of woman too!
My favorite coat was a fake fur. But every time I wore it around my kids, they would shout, “Thousands of little polyesters gave their lives for that coat!”
Oh that is sooooo funny!!!
Loved it!!
I, too, am a faux girl. I love my artificial hibiscus flowers in my home as well as fake framed flowers on the wall for color. I love my faux leather boots that I bought at Penney’s (I love Penneys) for line-dancing and didn’t have to break them in. I have Formica on my counters. They don’t require any work to keep them looking nice. I’m happy to have what I love, what makes me comfortable. I don’t envy those that can afford more. I’m happy for them.
I figure that if something in my house does it’s job well, it works for me. Although the finish on my 39 yr old bathroom fixtures has been scrubbed away in many places. The former owner must have used sandpaper to clean the bathtub and toilet. One of these days I’ll see about getting them and the worn Formica on the countertops replaced. I don’t get hung up on real versus fake, or things like brand names, but for some things, I really do like quality. With some inheritance money, I was finally able to do something about my kitchen countertop that I’d hated for 15 years. Because I’ve always had a love affair with rocks, and granite and quartz in particular, I was able to have a granite countertop put in. Every day when I look at it, wipe it down, and use the heck out of it, I still absolutely love it. I sometimes just stare at it.
You are a real Rabbit.
You know the value of being an authentic person and the rest is just window dressing.
wonderful
Couldn’t have said it all better myself 🙂 Diamonds and furs, posh labels and marble are all very overrated!
Your post is soo well done. You are quite a lady. Your family and especially your husband is soo lucky to have you to love.
Thank you for your appreciation.
Wonderful post! i just looked around my bathroom and it’s the same as yours…Hey it works! who care’s right!
My hubby has only bought me “Candy Necklaces and Bracelet” he vowed never to buy me anything real since I lost a very expensive ear-ring he gave me as a present not long after starting to date…I don’t blame him! For my 20th Grad Reunion I wore a “Faux” diamond ring and I know it got some looks (good ones)! Shhhhh…just a secret between us ok?? lol… 🙂 T.