9.14.2008

My Favorite Things...

My buddy, my darlin' pal, my friend did a post about what makes him happy, materialistic things that make him happy, and it got me thinking - what makes me happy? I like the idea of thinking about that... thinking about what makes me happy, thinking about what makes the day easier or brighter. The non materialistic kinda blends with the materialistic though... however, we are living in a material world, right? And I am a material girl, right? So let's see what I come up with, shall we?


We first have my bed... little story about the bed - we needed a new mattress, ex and I (long before we were exs) and we had a double bed... with a headboard and all, a hand-me-down, and I liked the bed so I thought we'd get a new double mattress but he wanted a queen mattress - and I said but we don't have a queen sized bed and he said that's ok, I'll make one. And so he did. We bought a book on old shaker style furniture, I picked a pattern for a pencil post bed, and he made it from wood discovered years earlier in his grandfather's old barn. The wood is walnut, only finished with an oil so the wood is natural and gorgeous. I love this bed. Someday I'd like to get a feather topper for the mattress, the most decedent pillows and a ton of cushy linens that make it poof up like a cloud - but that's an expensive endeavor that will just have to wait. Oh, and I put some books on the bed because I love books... without books what good would life be?

Then we have my knives - probably one of the more creative Christmas gifts the ex ever gave me. I told him he was a brave man to buy me killer knives (a joke before learning of the second affair). They were expensive and I love them... find it impossible to cook without them - I actually take one (or more) of them to my mother's during the holidays when we cook because she has horrible knives that barely cut. I am now a knife snob... I make no apologies for it either

Last photo in the row is of my favorite picture of the kids. It was taken on Hilton Head the summer of 2004. I hired a woman of considerable talent at considerable expense and she spent a long time taking some of the best pictures. This pic was taken toward the end of the session... daughter was sitting on son's knee and just spontaneously turned to kiss him and the photographer caught it at just the right moment. The look on son's face is priceless and daughter was so proud of herself - I absolutely adore it. The picture sits on the dresser I reclaimed about a year after ex moved out - I took all of his things out of it, boxed them all up and then stripped the dresser and refinished it. Next to the pic are the two things I wear everyday: Amber Romance spray and lotion from Victoria's Secret - ohhh la la

Alrighty - having fun yet? I sure am... he he.


The first pic on the left is of my conte crayon drawings of the kids. The drawings were Christmas gifts from the (now ex) in laws. They were done from photographs of each kiddo when they were two - the son's was done first and then the daughter's about six years later. I think they commissioned them from a catalog... these works of art are two of my most prized possessions, truly treasures to me. People always ask the "what would you save from your home if you only had a few minutes to get out" question... I think I'd grab those pictures if I could.

The Christmas ornament is a representation of all my Christmas ornaments... it's the latest to my collection, a gift my son brought me back from Disney World. I love shopping for Christmas ornaments... I have lots of Noah's Ark, all very different and creative - the more unusual the better. I like hand blown glass balls and glass ornaments - I have one in the shape of a station wagon with a tree tied to the top. It makes me think of the movie Christmas Vacation and always, always makes me laugh. For a few Christmas's in a row ex bought me a Waterford dated ornament as a gift - it was special to me - the act of doing that, I looked forward to seeing what he'd picked out every year - he did it five times and then he stopped, never did it again and a few years after that he left. Son surprised me one January a few years ago with a beautiful blue dated Waterford ornament - he and girlfriend had been shopping at the outlet mall in Myrtle Beach and saw it - he remembered how much I treasure the ones I have so he bought me one. It was the sweetest, most thoughtful thing... it made me cry.

Last picture in that row is of my foot... yeah yeah I know a little odd huh? I took that picture this morning after my shower... nothing like smooth, lotioned legs to make you feel fresh as a daisy. I was wrapped in a towel but I guess you didn't need to know that (and I wonder why people laugh when I talk about joining a convent). But ... I always paint my toes - always... no self respecting southern woman would go out into public without her toes properly painted. Right now they are a rich shade of burgundy but I often will just do a French pedicure on them in the summer. Having nice toes makes me feel pretty, makes me feel pulled together, and I happen to think perfectly painted toes are sexy... or at least it makes me feel sexy... so they're always done. And the toe ring... that's the one piece of jewelry I always wear. I bought it at my favorite jewelry store... I thought it was different and quite unusual - it was a tiny little splurge that made me happy.

So there you have it... I could add more I suppose - sunflowers, rain, autumn leaves, sweet tea, BBQ from Henry's, crab cakes - but I won't right now... I think the above is a nice little sprinkling of me... besides the sunflowers/rain/leaves/food thing isn't terribly materialistic now is it?

No comments: