At 26 weeks the nesting has hit hard. Really hard. No closet or drawer is safe when it comes to organization and purging. The donation pile is big, and there is a room full of decor and furniture waiting to be sold more on that later. Going through old things is so hard to start, but once you begin it’s easy to get wrapped up in the process and difficult to stop. After combing through the kids’ rooms I’ve moved on to the storage space in the basement the place things go to die. Furniture, snowboarding gear, holiday decor, and boxes upon boxes of everything from my younger years are down there.
When we moved into this house my parents delighted at the idea of sending me home with a box or two of my “childhood memories” every time I came over. “You have as much storage as we do now!” Can you see my eyes rolling? As I started going through the decor, I came across 11-year-old Gwen’s prize possession: Felicity Merriman. American Girl dolls were the ultimate gift during my late elementary years, and I spent months before every Christmas and birthday circling and starring the outfits and colonial furniture pieces I just had to have.
One look at the four poster bed and Milly was requesting to see more. Instead of spending that afternoon deciding what lamps and mirrors to keep, we spent it opening up little boxes with bright red cloaks, pretty white petticoats, and delicately embroidered muffs.
I mean, I took this stuff seriously.
I knew my love of traditionalism ran deep, but it’s amazing how much our childhood affects the things we are drawn to as adults. From the windsor chair to the little, marbled notebook, it’s easy to understand why I like what I like. Now, let’s just pray Milly doesn’t destroy those things which planted my design desires…
What from your childhood may have shaped your design desires?
Melissa Smith Goldstein says
Thank you for sharing those sweet memories. I too have a basement with American Girl dolls and accessories from when my two girls were little. Someday when they have homes of their own, I will be sending boxes with these treasures back to them . . . “you have as much storage space as I do.” And I look forward to someday having granddaughters who play with Samantha and Addy and Felicity and Kirsten . . .. Love your blog!
themakerista@gmail.com says
Thanks for following along and yes, I know my mom is so happy to see her being used again too!
TNic says
Such lovely keepsakes! You are so lucky to be young enough (okay lucky to be so young!) to have experienced American Girl. It wasn’t around when I was young, and whenever we go in the Chicago store, I just envision what it would feel like to be my daughter’s age and be in such a world. I am a 70s girl, and funny enough, I realized how deep that ran in me by visiting American Girl. They had a showcase of memorabilia, and I practically jumped in the case when I saw the gym shoes roller skates! I kept showing my daughter Julie, trying to edge her towards Julie, but she has her own taste and chose Molly,who had glasses like her. Smart girl! (Literally :)) I could secretly live in super flares, turtlenecks, and clogs! ( tolerate skinny jeans and have even adapted to the style, but I”m always secretly waiting for flares to come back. Interestingly, I don’t think my home style is 70s, though. It’s fairly classic styling with some Bohemian accents, but I don’t think my husband could live with macrame and hanging plants everywhere. I am more like you that way, I like plants, but styled a bit more traditionally or in a more sophisticated way.
themakerista@gmail.com says
That’s cute! I’m glad she leaned towards an historic one even though she didn’t choose, Julie. 🙂 I’m sure that boho you love stems from those times, love this, thanks for sharing!
Haley says
So fun! I can’t wait until my daughter is a little older so I can break out all of my Kirsten stuff.
Norma | The House that Will says
Oh my gosh! That little inkwell is adorable! And the toile bedding.
It’s so true about how our past affects our design sense … I once bought a vintage 1930s light fixture for our bedroom and, when my mother saw it, she stopped in her tracks like she’d just seen a ghost. Then she told me that there had been an identical light hanging over the dining table in her parents’ house. Only when she reminded me did the memory of seeing that light come back to me. I have so many happy childhood memories of that house and now, apparently, I am subconsciously decorating our house like my grandparents’ house!
themakerista@gmail.com says
That is so amazing! I love hearing that. Thanks for sharing, Norma!