{p,h,f,r} Master Bedroom Challenge

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter

God bless Auntie Leila! She knew that a project was exactly what I needed to help pull myself out of this funk I've been in. So she said, "Make your bedroom beautiful and useful!" and frankly, it's the beautiful that has been lacking. The useful we've got plenty of!

You know, I wish my house was a cozy house like Auntie Leila's. I've never been there, but the feel I get from her pictures reminds me of my grandparent's tiny farmhouse and all the stories wrapped up in all the charming little things scattered here and there. It seemed like everything in my grandparent's house had a story behind it. But that's not my house and I'm ok with that. God gave me this house to live in... suburban neighborhood, built in the late 80's ranch style house (which is very different than a ranch house!). It works for us and we are thankful for the space and shelter it provides, but sometimes, it feels a little stark, a little utilitarian. I find it hard to make "suburban" feel cozy but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try.

"It's a gift to your creativity as a woman to be finding ways to make all sorts of things, especially humble things, more beautiful." ~ Auntie Leila

{pretty}

Decorate with what you have is the lesson I learned from Auntie Leila. Her beautiful little red box inspired me to pull out this one I had hidden away in my jewelry box. When Sean worked for a Franco Italian based company, there was one year that they sent him to France for a week. I would have loved to go with him but we had little little ones then. He came back with a pair of pearl earrings for me tucked away in this dainty red box. Well, opening up my jewelry box to find it brought squeals of delight from my girls and mumblings of curiosity from my boys. I realized... here were lots of stories! The pearls my husband gave me as a wedding present with matching earrings. The Belgian lace handkerchief I carried on that day that I purchased when I was in Belgium the year before I even met my sweetheart. A charm bracelet with charms representing all of my children. Stories to share with the sweet ones who gaze and wonder...

{happy}
Opening up that jewelry box also reminded me of a project I've been wanting to do for oh...maybe... 18 years!

When I went to Rome my sophomore year in college, I collected earrings from the places I visited. I have always wanted to come up with a way to display them. Last night, I took a cheap wooden frame that was actually in the Goodwill pile, touched it up with a little metallic blue paint and stretched a piece of sheer fabric between it that I pulled out of my stash box. It's got little sparkles on it which catch my eye when the sun comes in.

Venetian glass earrings from Venice in the middle. Mosaic earrings from Ravenna on the far right. Fashionable (at the time) earrings from Paris (bottom right). Tiny little floral earrings from Berlin on the far left corner that I purchased in a train station on my way out because I almost forgot!

 More stories!

 I even found a way to hang my Scottish thistles which are clip-ons that I found in an antique shop in Edinborough by attaching a piece of ribbon on the back and letting it drape over. The little pearls dangling from the gold bow are the earrings Sean brought from France. I thought they deserved a place on this display too which allowed me to put my wedding earrings in the tiny red box.

{funny}

This funny girl likes to put things on her head and say, "Hat!". Things like towels and toys and my underwear, everything!!! (Need to move my drawers to a drawer she can't reach, I guess.) Everything that is... except an ACTUAL HAT!!!

{real}
Real is this...

and this...

Right now, our room is not totally our own. It's Cupcake's too. And that's OK. I know Auntie Leila would agree. Beautiful AND useful is the balance we strive for.