Whatever happened to Kitty Bartholomew?

I'm cat (Eva) and bird (Bob) sitting for Jen this weekend while she joins her siblings for a trip to Oklahoma to see a U2 concert. It's a perfect opportunity for some quality bonding time and something that I think will happen more frequently now that Jen has moved back from Los Angeles.

There are a few little projects that I'm going to do for her while I'm here...one wall in her dining room needs a paint touch up. She hung a shelf on that wall and didn't like it once it was up. She's my daughter - no question about that!

But that won't take the entire weekend. Yesterday I haunted some used book stores and a couple of thrift shops. Did not find anything I couldn't live without, however. I'm planning to give it another go, today.

Last night while I was watching television (HGTV) with Eva on my lap and Bob prancing around the living room, it occurred to me that most of the designers on these home improvement channels are incredibly young and just a little bit too perky and just a little too something-that-I-can't-put-my finger-on.

I'll admit that there are some fun to watch shows that entertain and offer good tips for updating and repairing stuff around the house. Most of them are geared toward do-it-yourselfers. I'm not knocking do-it-yourselfers...I'm one of them. But I miss shows that feature beautiful homes, gardens and renovations that you can't necessarily do yourself. I like watching shows that feature my "dream home" whatever that is. I like a little fantasy...if money were no object what could I buy?

I miss Chris Casson Madden and Kitty Bartholomew and all those great designers who used to be all the rage. They were real designers with real credentials. They gave exceptional tours of beautiful abodes...some of which I could afford but many that I couldn't. Fantasy. Dream homes. I miss that.

Was wondering what ever became of Kitty B. so I looked her up...she's still in Santa Monica in her 2000 sq. ft. cottage but it's on the market for a little more than 2 million bucks! Good for her; I hope she gets it. I can't tell you how many times I'd really think about her mantra..."It's not what you don't have; it's what you do with what you do have." And it would tweak some bit of creative genius in me. She was probably the original recycling and repurposing queen! But she did it with class.

In hunting her up I found another fun blog called Hooked on Houses. There are photos of Kitty's house in the section called Celebrity Homes. I'm going to explore all the yummy looking tabs on Hooked on Houses...

Another tab called "Are You Hooked" caught my eye. A list of questions that will help determine if you're hooked on houses...I answered "yes" to EVERY SINGLE QUESTION!

This will not surprise my hubby.

Who knows what I'll find, today.