I like a comfortable Home... one that invites relaxation, rest and has a calming effect... where I can feel contentment and Peace. That isn't always possible in the outside World and so our Homes have to be our private Sanctuaries... our personal Valhallas that we can retreat to, restore ourselves, nurture and raise our Families and welcome our Friends. How each person chooses to feather their Nest depends on their personal style and character. Our Homes are a reflection of ourselves in many ways and a fairly good indicator about our priorities, taste, what we like or love, how we chose to live, how we express ourselves outwardly and what we feel comfortable around. For me our Home would not be complete without comfortable furniture, sumptuous fabrics, beautiful Art, exotic scents, Family photos and those items collected over time that evoke fond memories. I'm very sentimental and nostalgic so the price, brand name and value of items doesn't move me so much as what it represents to me on a more personal level. I am a Romantic by Nature and an Artist, so the aesthetic of pieces is a priority... I can't remember 'settling' for any item I chose to decorate with. I've been resourceful, thrifty, a scavenger and done without... but I refuse to 'settle'... I have to love something and have it appeal to me or it's just not coming in. I've always been puzzled when someone has said to me about something they've feathered their Nest with, "Well.. it'll do for now..."!? It's fairly obvious they settled and would rather have something, anything, rather than nothing until the right thing came along. I wonder sometimes if that trait spills over into their relationships... settling... I Pray not... but I certainly don't think it's a good habit to get into and so I've never taken that route. I'd rather wait for something, even for a long time, that was worth waiting for... and bypass the rest that just did not move me and I felt "ehhh" about. Quality over quantity would be more my Mantra, buy the best you can afford or wait until you can save up for that special piece, that anchor piece, that piece you were definitely attracted to. And... if that piece just happens to have no value whatsoever... and you Love it... go with your Heart and get it anyway, because to you it will probably remain priceless. Just because something may not have value to others, or marketable monetary value, does not necessarily mean it has no intrisic value... if you find it to be valuable to YOU, that is certainly value enough in my book. And now to show you one of my favorite comfortable spaces... our bed... come lounge for awhile with kitty and I... it feels like a cloud... or what I imagine Angelic Heavenly Cloud Lounging should feel like *winks*...
Oh how I love luxuriating on a comfy bed, as does our ancient Cat, Miss Rat Boy *smiles*... surrounded by Down filled squishy pillows of all shapes, sizes and sumptuous fabrics, Vintage or Antique preferably... but some of my own Pillow creations made of Vintage and Antique fabrics I love are equally pleasing. Have you noticed "it" yet? "THE ONE" that I have been lusting over and fondly for months at NOT TOO SHABBY Boutique every time I visited? The one Proprietors Kim and Katie said couldn't have been more ME than any Pillow they had ever seen and so they instantly thought of me when they acquired it... and they were right... which is why I could no longer resist or risk waiting... especially since this day it had been ON SALE... those magical words that excite every Woman! *winks* The fabulous oversized round Antique Pillow made of soft mottled Velvet in the most perfect color palette and an amazing Rose Floral Needlepoint center... the back is even more mottled Velvet and an Emerald Green aging Courderoy with just the right amount of shabby wear spots... and filled with horsehair... which isn't as cuddly as Down, but speaks of the age of the piece. I remember when my Parents had a horsehair filled Livingroom set comprised of Sofa and winged Armchairs... they never wore out and the feel of them was quite distinctive! *smiles* I'll soon be sharing my recent visit to NOT TOO SHABBY ... and the photos of the fabulousness they have stocked the Shop with just in time for Valentine's Day. And I Hope that Cricket over at GYPSEA NURSE is not gonna hate me... but that Gypsy Love Song piece was STILL there GF... and I took it as a sign... that perhaps it was waiting for me??? I had managed to resist it not once, when the Shop Gals actually brought it over to show me just after they acquired it, knowing it's definitely "my thing" *LOL*... but TWICE actually... but on this 3rd visit, when it was still waiting patiently there for me to succumb... sorry, hadda finally give in and have it!!! Oh, and another thing The Man found for me... via an excursion to an indoor Swap Meet we had never been to before... a place called STONE SCENTS that carries an amazing array of colorful essential oil scented Sea Salt Rocks, about 65 different varieties of beautiful aromatic scents... mine naturally was Nag Champa. *wink* Each bag comes with 1/4 oz of essential oil to refresh your Salt Rocks and they give Military discounts too in support of our Troops, both active duty and retired, since the Owner's Son is serving in Afghanistan. It smells absolutely divine and you can see some of it I've placed openly in Milk Glass Bowls... and the rest I've put in my lidded Middle Eastern Brass ornate vented Incense Holders, which keep little prying hands at bay on the lower vignettes *smiles*... the aroma now wafting through the house to complete the ambiance. I Hope your visit has been a restful, relaxing, calming one? That you will come away rested and restored... and that you will come back often, whenever the mood suits you... because you are always Welcome my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian