We're continuing our Girl's Day Out through MELROSE VINTAGE and if you're anything like me, there are just some Shops that make you want to learn New Crafts, Art Forms and expand your Repertoire... this would definitely be one of those places!
And since they hold various Workshops at the Store you can learn new things surrounded by all this Beauty and Inspiration. I even hear that renown Artist Christie Repasy will be Teaching a Rose Painting Class after the first of the Year!
But even if you're not the Artsy Type or don't have the Time to Create your own... there are Gorgeous Art Works for Sale here as well... along with Vintage and Antique Furnishings for the Home.
And the Bedding and Linens... to die for!!! Sumptuous Fabrics that make you want to crawl up into the Bedroom Vignettes and take a nap or read a good book! Can't you just see yourself curled up and encased in such Loveliness?!? I can... I just wanted to Feel how it felt to lie here?!?
And I could definitely see Princess T with a Room Decorated in these Lovely Pastels... so Soothing and fit for a Princess!
Blissful Dreaming is after all one of our favorite past-times.
And I WANT this Fabulous Crystal Sconce... I really do!!! This happens to be one of my favorite Styles of Vintage Wall Sconces.
Being in a Scrapbook Store actually got me to thinking about the areas I want to ramp up when it comes to the Projects I've been neglecting or sidelining at Home. Starting with Creating Beautiful and Interesting Photo Albums that show our Family's Journey of Life.
I've always been an avid Photographer... sometimes the Family and my Friends have joked "annoyingly so", but in hindsight I've captured Moments that if nobody had been obsessed with capturing through the Eye of the Lens, we wouldn't have to Share with everyone, so no regrets at taking so many Moments and Preserving them in film.
I've often heard others lament that they didn't take enough Photos, especially of Friends, Family and those Special Moments they want to Remember and Preserve for others to be able to see and Share or be Inspired by beyond the Moment in Time... but I've never heard anyone say they took too many... NEVER!
I'd rather have a Library of Images than a paltry few. And perhaps a part of that comes from my own Parent's Experience of not having so many Images during their day of growing up, because back in that time it was more of a rare Luxury to be Photographed or to own a Camera.
Both of my Parents were Thankfully Excellent Storytellers of the Past and so even with the lack of actual Photographs they brought the Images Alive through their many Stories onto the Canvas of my Imagination... but I remember wishing that I could Visually see it all in Photographs too, to Enhance the Great Family Stories and see some of the Family during various Seasons of their Lives.
To Witness even one Image of my Beloved Dad as a Child. To Witness both Mom and Dad as Infants. I recall one of the most Treasured Moments being when Mom gave me a Precious Package that held just the few Photographs I'd never seen before of her as a Child... and looking into her Face in those Images was like gazing into a Mirror of when I was a Child, a Reflection that Mirrored some of our own Features as Children... and seeing the other Family Resemblances that my Children and Grandchildren Share that were Inherited from her side of the Family!
I've been really Slack in recent years about compiling Photographs into Albums... or even doing something more Interesting to Create Family Albums that would Showcase the Precious Images. Or even to get them all developed and off the Photo Cards, which is sadly one of the quandrums of being able to instantly see your Images in the Viewfinder and Online. Back in the day of 35mm you were so eager to see how the Photos turned out that you took them to be developed right away into Photos to put into an Album or Frame.
Now I often Forget to get them developed or put anywhere but Online after I've seen them... and Family often take Great Images with their Phones or to Post Online and then Delete them after they've been viewed... and so they're never put into Albums or Saved at all to Enjoy into the Future or Share with Generations to come!
We've become such a disposable Society inclined to Instant Gratification that it can become too easy to fall into those habits or discarding and forgetting to Preserve. I don't want to be that Person... I've always Prided myself in being a diligent Keeper Of The Past.
So one of my Personal Vows to Self... and to Future Generations of our Family... is to get Serious again like I used to be about Creating those Wonderful Albums with the New Images I've taken that we want to Preserve and Share more than just Online, but in Person as well.
To not continue to be Slack about the Inspiration Books I used to carefully construct and build a Library of. Yes, Pinterest is Wonderful and I Love my Blog... but I do still go "Old School" at times and gleen my Inspiration and hone my Daydreams through my actual Inspiration Books and Inspiration Boards here at Home too.
Each of them is indeed an Opportunity to Create another Art Form and as an Artist I want to make and take the Time to spend doing some of those things that I know hold Personal Meaning and will be a Blessing to the extended Family in Future Years, so it's Time well Invested.
And perhaps they will Appreciate the Time I did spend Documenting our Personal Story and Journey as a Family... and of the many Good Times we all Shared... and the Places we went and the People we held Dear to our Hearts... because I know I will.
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian