Come Into My Bedroom...

I love my bedroom. It is by far my very favorite room in the house. It's amazing how a box of a room can be transformed into a beautiful get-away.

Now, to the average rich bitch or the pimpin' mac daddy, my bedroom probably holds no fascination. For me, it's pure bliss. I have little treasures and trinkets... things I absolutely love & lust (see Denis Leary & Gavin DeGraw below). I'll explain in pictures... it's the easiest way! The pics are a bit grainy... they were taken with my cell phone... but I think they capture what I see when I walk into my little oasis. Enjoy!

Our bed is so comfortable, I just look at it and literally feel my eyes start to flutter, and a little bit of drool starts coming out of my mouth...
My mom introduced me to 600+ thread-count sheets a few years ago, and I'm now truly a sheet whore! I love them! I can't get enough! My birthday is December 1st... sheets please! I'll love you forever! ;)

As many of you know by now, or are about to find out, I am in absolute lust with Denis Leary. I can't help it. I look forward to Rescue Me like it's a drug, I have The Asshole Song on several of my mixed CDs, I have Denis on my desktop at work (HA! I wish... I mean my computer) and when his book Why We Suck came out last year, he was in my bed... a lot! :)
As I've mentioned before, his beautiful wife, Ann, was the author who encouraged me to start blogging. I read her blog, and fell in love with it. I still read it daily. I sent Ann an email praising her blog, and she quickly responded with nothing but encouraging words. When I do publish my book one day, Ann will be mentioned...
So, anyway, back to my bedroom... Ann Leary was sweet enough to have Denis send me an autographed picture earlier this year. I have it proudly displayed in my bedroom...
He is the cause of my one deadly sin... lust. ;)

Believe it or not, this is my wedding bouquet. I had a small bouquet at our wedding, and we had it freeze-dried and framed. It was pricey, but worth it. I think it's beautiful. And it has remained beautiful for over 10 years now. Good investment.
Th sconces hanging on each side are Home Interiors, which I purchased at a dirt-cheap yardsale for 50 cents each... I love them. I love all things dirty & cheap...

This doesn't appear to be a very interesting corner, but for me, it's my little library, among other things... You can't see the mirror above my night stand, but it's gorgeous... another yardsale find... as were the crazy flowers (they reminded me of me). I love my little book basket, or magazine rack, as most folks call them.
My Grandma Pat gave me the night table years ago. It's beautiful. I now also have the hutch that matches it, which will be a focal point in our new home. We don't have room for it at the current house. It sits in the garage, waiting patiently.
My Nicholas Sparks collection is in my little book basket, along with my lovely book "Book Lust" which is a journal for readers. Nicholas Sparks spends lots of time in my bed, too. I heart him.
I think my lamp is absolutely adorable. My scroll calendar was a Christmas present to myself last year. And my mom gave me a beautiful music box last year, which holds all of my hair thingies. :) Little hiding spaces make me happy!

Whenever someone goes on a vacation to the beach, I ask them to bring me back shells. I love shells. I love the beach. I truly don't want to have to ask anyone for anything... I'd much rather curl up in a ball and ride along in your suitcase to the beach itself.
I found some great shells in Atlantic City last November! Mom & Dad go to Myrtle Beach a lot, and they bring me back colorful shells from the gift shops. I'm not picky... but I do LOVE my starfish and my sand dollar.
As you can also see, I have a headless woman holding my necklaces. I thought it was rather strange at first, but headless chick has grown on me. I'm sure her head would be very pretty if she had one.
I can't take it anymore! I MUST talk about Gavin! The picture in the very pretty frame, is me holding on for dear life to Gavin DeGraw, and completely ignoring my husband.
Gavin is a sweetheart, and Joel is an even bigger sweetheart for putting up with my mad crushes. This picture was taken in August of 2008. I was then blonde. I now... am not. ;)

Here is a closer look at the picture of the picture of Gavin & I... and Joel. LOL
You can also see my stack of paperclips, which I tend to leave in my scrub pockets at work.
I always take them back! Jeez! Give me a freakin' break... and please keep this on the down-low :0) That's how rumors start people! Hehe...
The box below the picture & paperclip population is full of seashells from Atlantic City.
I wanna go back... right now...

I was once an Avon lady. The mirror and shadow boxes are from my Avon days. The vine going up my wall is from Uppercase Living. I absolutely love their stuff! I have a friend who sells it.
It's difficult to see in the pic, but my perfumes sit on a very pretty mirrored tray.
I really like oil warmers... I have several... and my candle, in all it's prettiness, has pink sand surrounding it. A beach with pink sand would be my dream location.. I don't even need a house... I'll just sleep on the pink sand & jump in the ocean when I start to stink... It would be lovely!

My jewelry chest is one of my most prized possessions. It's gorgeous, and I've had it for several years now. It's packed with jewelry (most of it isn't real, so no thievery please...)
The mirror is also awesome! It was an Odd Lots special years ago...
and my candles were a freebie from hosting a PartyLite party... they have the greatest incentives! I used to host a party once a year & get hundreds of dollars worth of smell-goods for next to nothing!

Last, but certainly not least, is my "Be Yourself -Everyone Else is Taken" embellishment from Uppercase Living. This is one of my favorite sayings.
I live by it. I love that it says it's okay to just be me...
Good rule to follow... cause I really can't change the facts.
Acceptance is the first step, right?

Okay, hope you enjoyed the tour...

I'm going to my room.

Polishing-Up

I painted nails today... lots of nails. If you were to add all of the individual nails I painted, the total would add up to well over a hundred. Many ladies now have very pretty fingernails for Easter. It's amazing how a little coat of paint can bring such huge smiles... and wonderful stories!

I remember my great-grandmothers fairly well. Great Grandma Walker never let us leave her house empty-handed. She was always armed with those little cups of ice cream and other little treats. Plus she always gave dollar bills. I remember how sweet she was. She was very loving and giving.

I also remember my Great Grandma Timson. She was a hoot! She loved shoes. She kept them in the boxes. I've always thought that it's quite odd to leave shoes in their boxes. It's similar to stuffing clothing into the bottoms of drawers you rarely open. You forget about them. Not to mention the fact that if your shoes are lined up in front of you, it's so much easier to choose a pair to go perfectly with your outfit for the day. I don't get it. Obviously Great Grandma did, but I don't.

I also remember Great Grandma Timson, Grandma Pat, Mom, Tara and I going to the jewelry store to have jewelry appraised, and going to Mansfield to shop. I always thought having jewelry appraised was strange, too. The jewelry items being appraised were obviously important to my grandmas. If they had no intention of selling them, why did it really matter how much they were worth? i never quite understood. I still don't.

Today while I was painting nails, I thought of my grandmas. I remember their funny little rituals. Grandma Timson liked to shop, shop, shop, and then return everything she bought! I wonder now if it was buyer's remorse, or if she had OCD. I imagine that was the case. If so, I know who to blame for my quirky rituals. Thanks Grandma.

I heard so many stories today. I truly enjoyed the time I spent with each of the ladies. One lady confided that she had never had her nails painted before coming to the nursing home. Another lady told me how beautiful her nails were "for such an old woman." The women who are blessed enough to go out with family for Easter services told me they feel prettier with their nails polished. It's very sweet how such a small act makes them so extremely happy.

While I was filing and painting, I realized that almost all of the women asked about my family, and how I was doing personally. One of the women even asked me how the economy was affecting our family. I was amazed how interested they were... in my life!

I realized today that the generations of people ahead of us truly care about other people. They don't anxiously wait for us to finish our stories so they can one-up us, or reply with a story of their own. They just honestly enjoy listening.

I'm guilty of jumping in on occasion. I love telling stories. I have even been known to interrupt people. How rude I've been!

I decided today that I will no longer wait my turn while someone is confiding in me or telling me a story. I will just sit back and listen, enjoying the fact that they care enough about me to share with me.

I really think that the younger population is very self-centered. Feel free to send hate mail... I realize that I'm generalizing. There are some really good younger people out there... people that care about others, and don't focus on boosting their self-esteem and crowd appeal by over-exaggerating their own life stories. There are wonderful people who don't put others down to make themselves appear superior. I just don't believe it's the majority.

I am vowing to be one of those few good people. I want to one day be remembered for how much I cared for others... not for my amped-up tales. I want to be like those ladies with polished nails. They have taught me to listen, learn and give. Taking is so overrated. I want my kids and grandkids to not only remember my crazy antics one day (although I hope they do), but also my giving spirit. That is my wish.

Sometimes we all need a little polish.