I just got back from visiting my sister in California. She has fabulous taste in home decor. Her style is clean, modern and fresh. She loves art and always has new paintings or decorative pieces for me to ogle. It’s like she lives in a catalog, and I always love to see what’s on display.

Occasionally her art selections have had a darker edge to them. Like the year she gave me a picture of 3 dolls for Christmas, one of which was headless. I wanted to like it. I smiled and said it was cool. Because I knew it was – if it were in her house. But in my house, hanging behind my papasan chair* and next to a cheap IKEA print – it would’ve been the thing that left visitors thinking, “I wonder if Amy is a serial killer.”

*Please note I no longer have a papasan chair. I got rid of it in 2005…only 10 years past its prime.

This week I was visiting my sister in her new house. She was giving me a tour, and upon walking into her bedroom, I said, “I like your bedding.”

She replied, “I’m surprised you don’t recognize it. I got it off your Pinterest page.”

This caught me off guard. I looked back at the crisp white duvet cover, realized why it looked familiar, and uttered the first thing that came to mind: “You BITCH!”

I am a JV level Pinterest user. I initially loved it, and pinned things I thought were cool, some of which I truly wanted for my house. Then I remembered – oh right, I am poor – and it wasn’t as fun anymore to lust after things I could never afford.

What once was mine (on the Interwebs)

Hence my belligerent response to my dear sister poaching that dreamy, unattainable duvet cover. I know, I know – sharing is the purpose of Pinterest. It’s not fair to fault her.

But I need to blame someone for this painful reminder of my financial status. I mean, even her dog has a nicer bed than me.

I recovered quickly from my foul-mouthed reaction, and assured her that I thought it looked great and I was happy for her to have it. It looks better in her house than it would in mine anyway.

But I cannot deny that as my own twisted form of payback, I used a ton of paper towels when I was there.

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On Pinterest: If you do have a zeal for Pinterest, this is a great post by The Next Martha about how to beautify your boards.