Source: SWEET SALVAGE
So today we are visiting some Vignettes that were Inspired by the Movie 'The Secret Garden' at the SWEET SALVAGE 'Now Showing Event'. And after all, who doesn't want a Secret Garden Type Environment somewhere on their Property?
Whether it be an Exterior Actual Garden or an Interior Garden Room or Conservatory there is just something about Creating your very own Secret Garden Space that can't be matched.
I have been a Fan of Garden and Conservatory Style forever... you should have seen my Room while I was Growing up... you damn near needed a Machete to get thru it! *Winks*
And so a Wonderfully Created Secret Garden is a place that I can get totally Lost in and Absorb every Detail! Myko Created such a Space in her Vignettes for this Event and the Secret Garden even extended into the next Space opposite hers for a Huge Secret Garden Experience!
From the Smallest of Details...
To the Panoramic Views it was all Enchanting!
And one of the first things I headed for was the bucket of Vintage Millinery and Trims! *Winks* I wasn't absolutely Greedy, I did leave some Vintage Millinery for you too my Friends... but not much... my Adoration for it has no limits you see and it was all so Divine that I scooped up a great deal of it for myself I have to Confess!
Yes, I'd done some Covert Recon once I knew Brett and Myko were going for 'The Secret Garden' Movie Theme for their Inspiration... you know, in Casual Conversation, "Soooo... Myko... will there be any Vintage Millinery making their way into The Secret Garden I Wonder?" *LOL*
I know, I'm Bad... and I happen to know that my Friend has as much of a Penchant for Vintage Millinery as Yours Truly does and I was Hoping she might be parting with some of her Collection for the Event! *Winks*
As well as some of her Coveted Collection of Vintage Postcards and Ephemera... I wasn't disappointed, there was an Impressive Selection of it all!!! *Happy Dance!* Even if I can't Buy it all, I can Behold and Photograph it all so the Visuals Feed the Soul and the Senses, just like a Wonderful Garden always does.
A Day spent in a Garden Setting always Uplifts me and Restores my Soul, how about you?
And even though it was Pastel Pink, this tiny Cabinet with all the Drawers caught my Eye. You're probably Lucky it was Pink and so I Passed on it and left it for You, since I'm going 'Dark' again here at Bohemian Valhalla! *LOL*
And since I 'Scored' almost all the Vintage Millinery and this is all that I left for you... perhaps I was Feeling a tad bit Guilty and Overindulgent too... NOT!!! *Bwahaha!!!* Sorry, I'm just Keepin' it Real my Friends!
Hey, I left you some Awesome Galvanized Tin and Silver for YOUR Secret Garden Transformation... Work with it, I know you all are uber Talented at Transforming your Spaces too, remember I've seen your Blogs and those beyond Awesome Homes, Gardens and Studios you have me Lusting over all the time! *Smiles*
You know, those Spaces you all seem to be able to COMPLETE and Photograph in Panoramic Shots that blow me away... instead of the incessant Close-Ups that I can only Share because the rest of my Spaces are in absolute Shambles and more reminiscent of an Episode of Hoarders than of an Editorial Stampington Magazine Spread! *LOL*
Yeah, my 'Secret' isn't a Garden, it's more like the Reality that if there was ever to be a request for an Editorial on my Spaces they'd need to also bring a convoy of the 1-800-Got-Junk Trucks, a Design Team and a Merry Maids Convention along to get it Photo Ready before they ever took the first Panoramic Shots!
I know, you might be Thinking I'm Exaggerating and Embellishing the Hot Mess that it presently is... and Saying, "Dawn, it can't be THAT bad?"... Alas, no... I'm... NOT! It's THAT bad right now... but I'm Working on it... well, sometimes... other times I'd rather be doing ANYTHING else! *Winks*
You know, like Visiting other people's Wonderfully Complete Secret Gardens and Styled Spaces that actually got Finished! *LOL*
In their Actual Lifetimes! *Smiles* And not just upon the Canvases of their Imaginations!
I know you all have Mad Busy Lives too, so HOW DO you DO IT? I don't even know... I might manage to stick a Peacock Feather in a half finished Vignette and call it a day before I'm just running damage control around here... so I'm duly Impressed when you all seem to be able to Finish a Project within your Lifetime, I really am! I think I might need several Lifetimes to pull mine together and Complete the Vision at the rate I'm going. Either that or ditch it all and go back to Nomadic Gypsy Living where all I had to take care of could fit in a Vehicle and be Transported at the drop of a hat to the next Destination!? *LOL*
Source: SWEET SALVAGE
And perhaps therein lies my Issue... I never had to take care of a Panoramic Place or Space... a Home without Wheels for most of my Life. I never stayed put or put down Roots and now that I have it's kind of Overwhelming me because when you're NOT Nomadic you Accumulate so much STUFF and have so much Space to take Care of!!! Maybe I need to Downsize more... and keep Curating and Culling harshly so that I can get my Rhythm back in Caring for what I have adequately?
There is that very Accurate Addage that to Whom much is Given, much is Required! And though being Given a lot in the way of Blessings is Awesome, it can also be a lot of Work to Maintain! And I'm not necessarily very Adept at that I'm coming to Realize! It's still fairly foreign to me to have a Lot and a Large Property and Home to Care for... and I kinda Suck at it I've Discovered! I did better with a Little and a Nomadic State of Being... because that's what I was Accustomed to Handling!
So this Downsizing Process I'm currently going through is Intentional because I've decided that it's best for me personally. I need to get rid of a lot of the Lovelies and severely Edit and Curate what is left to a point where I can Maintain it Stress Free and without it Consuming me or my Precious Time.
That was quite the Epiphany lemme tell you! Because, sure, I thought I wanted those large Amazing Spaces I see abounding and looking so Inviting and Ideal. But now I realize and have no Delusions of how much Work is Involved in Maintaining such a Space, especially with an active Family Living within it. And, well, it's probably not in my Best Interest to have it that way and with this Crew I've Discovered after carefully looking around me Objectively at the Results!
And The Man and I often Reminisce about the Times when we had practically nothing in the way of Material Things but we spent more Time Doing things because we had little to Care for and there was not a lot the Kids could make a Mess of no matter how hard they Played or how many of them there were at previous Bohemian Valhalla locales! *Smiles*
And I don't know how Successful I will be in Letting Go of most of it that has Accumulated in recent Years after we finally put down roots and quit the Nomadic Lifestyle we'd always had... but I'm willing to find out and Progress in that Direction of Letting Go and getting back to the Basics and the Lifestyle I had more of a Peace about and was Comfortable with Maintaining. Certainly I have plenty of Vintage Suitcases now to Pack up and Go with what we Need if the Wanderlust overtakes us! *Winks*
Because it is certainly True that not all who Wander are Lost... The Man and I have Wandered wide and far and are in Unity about not 'Needing' Material Things to be Content. They're Nice to have, but certainly not Necessary and so Attachments to them can be severed if need be... and that's the Process I'm Working thru right now. Which is much easier when I can make a Profit off of what I have accumulated since it's the Good Stuff many others like to have.
Yeah, it's True, I've Sourced and Rescued some mighty Cool Stuff and accumulated it over the Years and Owned it for a Minute and so now I'm Content to let most of it Pass Along so that I don't have to Care for it and be the Steward of it anymore. I'm still a Lover and Keeper of the Past... but I don't Feel the Need to actually Keep it all for myself.
And I'm finding that Treasures Shared with others is much more Gratifying than just Hoarding it all anyway and Attempting to Style with too much and Maintain it. It seems to gravitate to me effortlessly and by the Laws of Attraction since it is my Passion, but perhaps most of it is meant to Pass Through me after all?
Those that were Meant to Keep theirs and more Importantly are Blessed with the Abilities to Maintain it all must know it because it Feels Right to them and Flows Naturally... that just isn't the case with me and I'm Glad now that I got Introspective about the dilemma and challenges I was experiencing by trying to be THAT person and Failing at it miserably!
And a Blog Space to Journal the Journey and the Realizations as they Came to me. Which is much cheaper than Therapy! *LOL* And I know that I can Still have my Magical Space here at Bohemian Valhalla... it just won't hold as much as it used to in order to make the Dream and Fantasyscape come to Life in a way that I can apparently Handle and the Family can Live with in their everyday comings and goings.
And the Truly Magical and Transformative thing about Our Secret Garden will be that I'm FINALLY Okay with how it will have to be and how it will better suit us as a Family and me as a Caretaker of it all. It will be Darker and Ookier Garden than most folks might be Comfortable with, filled with our Beloved Curiosities and Oddities, but just enough of them that I won't be Overwhelmed in the Caring of it all and they won't be Overwhelmed in the Living with it and Helping me with it either. Simplifying was Our Answer. And that's a Perfect Balance of Desires, Serenity, Contentment and Necessity.
Be sure to come back Tomorrow to see even more of what is 'Now Showing' at SWEET SALVAGE. Such things as are Inspired by Movies such as 'Practical Magic', 'James Bond', and 'The Chronicals of Narnia'. And probably even others that I couldn't quite figure out because I don't go to the Movies a lot. *Winks* Not that you have to Figure It Out to be Inspired by it anyway!
So long as you Finally Figure Out what Works for you my Friends!!! And if I did I'm sure you will be able to also, if you haven't already come to that Realization and Acted upon it!?!
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian