Two Unique Daughters: Collecting Antiques vs. Contemporary

I have been blessed with two daughters, just 18 months apart and inseparable through their childhood. They are both now ‘all growed up’ and are as much alike as “two peas in a Porche’.” These young ladies now have totally different tastes.
First, the oldest. Dee loves a lot of our antiques and collectibles. She enjoys the unusual items we place around, and in the house. She appreciates my ‘nudies’ while the younger one, Jay, avoids them like the plague. She has no desire to be in the same room with these gorgeous ladies who chose to display their attributes to all who would enjoy them.

Dee likes feathers, leopard skin and fancy ladies. Her home is decorated in an eclectic style – you never know what you’ll find when you enter a room. (Her somewhat shy father-in-law will attest to that.)

Jay prefers a tasteful water color or painted scene rather than deal with the ‘fantasy figures’ in these old prints. She would wrinkle her cute nose and say “butterfly wings, on a girl? That does not make any sense. And what man wears a jester’s suit anyway?”

Jay loves quality glassware! She proudly presents her lovely items in well-lit curios and prominently displays and uses her finery! She appreciates my glass items, especially anything with Waterford in its name. She hints about leaving her name taped to the bottom of a vase or cut-glass bowl. She need not worry – to Dee, these are just objects to clean. They’re OK to serve in, but if they can’t be popped in her dishwasher, who needs them.

I love ‘whimsy’ in the house and my ‘pig-butt picture’ is known far and wide. This was purchased with our granddaughter when she was about 6. I can remember that she picked it up at the yard sale and asked ‘how many pig butts are there?” We counted them and came up with 11, plus one proud farmer. I HAD to have this picture and it hangs in the back hallway, near the ‘farm-primitives.’ Dee is wild about it; even found bars of soap with pig butts on them so I could keep the theme going. Jay scoots past it on the way in the house, obviously not a favorite of hers.

Jay loves elegance! Fine china, top quality pottery and the classics. Her home is filled with beauty, almost all new, and in such good taste. Friends and family alike are impressed with the way she decorates her home.

Dee loves to shop at thrift stores and proudly boasts of great finds such as plaster cherubs and velvet paintings. She calls to tell about a funky picture she found for their unique bathroom or funny piece of yard-art. And she uses everything, many times having to get creative. She has used broken china to make a new top on a miserable-looking table. It now looks wonderful!
And jewelry-now we are really world’s apart. I like long, dangling earrings, the sparklier the better. And long ropes of crystal or rhinestones. Dee asks if I was born to gypsies, but admires them just the same. Jay love top-quality pieces. Real gold, gemstones, pearls; once again, the classics. I think my jangling unnerves her a little, but her attempts to make me more conservative have not worked.

Loving them both is easy! They are delightful ladies and I am proud of them! So, Dee wants the ‘basement stock’, and Jay wants the ‘corporate stock’, it’s just what makes my ’small world’ go ’round. Now, can you guess which one is which? Dee & Jay or Jay & Dee