There are several kinds of days that I love, however, there is one type of day, that I just adore. Those are the days where I get to stay home all day, tucked into my room, cleaning, dusting (once in blue moon), listening to music, organizing trinkets and treasures, and simply being.
It's so super lovely to just get to be peaceful in your own space. Folding laundry, tidying up drawers and taking a moment to appreciate the things that you love to surround yourself with…
Today I picked out some of my dried flowers to share with one of my beloved Madonna statues. I love to create little shrines, and made her a new little shrine space today. They bring me so much joy. I am also adoring the shade the coral roses dried in. A very dark brilliant pink…
I quite love lighting a candle or two, the warm glow is so lovely. Do you enjoy candles?
I think that it is days like this, that also infuse the soul, and replenish my mind a bit. It's like a tiny vacation. Playing with pretty things, and bonding with your space.
To add to today's loveliness, it has been lightly raining, and deliciously overcast (a treat in sunny Arizona). The storms are a reason you did not see me yesterday or earlier today. The storm has been playing with my internet connection madly. I hope I have success in posting this…
As for playing with trinkets – I like to move some of my things around, leave them in their new space for a while, then move them again. Do you find yourself doing that too? Part of collecting treasures is taking the time to enjoy them, and I do think that moving them around aids in the enjoyment factor.
My little vintage gold bag (clutch) above is a daily use staple for me. I carry immediate necessities in it. Library card, debit card and anything I need right away. I also carry a giant wallet and a 40 lb. carpet bag (clutch and wallet ride inside the giant bag), but that's a tale for another day (maybe it's not thaaaat heavy – more like 20 lbs.). I have been carrying the same huge carpet bag for a decade (you have seen it here before, I think?). I just fall in love with things, and they become a part of me in a curious little way. Do you have an item you have used for the past decade (or longer), daily?
One thing I miss from the city house are my perfume bottles. Even if I only use the same signature scent -been using my scent since I was 14, and never tell a soul, soory 😉 – I still love perfumes and perfume bottles. Too much scent gives me a headache, but a light breeze infused with a tinge of scent is quite yummy to me…
On these, cleaning of the little room days, I love to figure out ways in which to organize jewels and trinkets. Recently I picked up what looks like a cast iron fireplace surround (at Sue and Jerry's). It had some places where I could tie lace across, and so it seemed a perfect place to hang earrings and such from.
The tip about lace is that, it is perfect to dangle earrings from, because you can simply weave baubles (like earrings) through the lace, and they hold safely…
I will weave a few more earrings through the lace after I visit with you, and vacuum (something I like to do almost everyday).
A day to just be, is cherished indeed.
Actually, I do believe that I am off to snuggle in my red chair, read a little, and simply sit and watch candles flicker. I will vacuum tomorrow 😉
Yes yes, that sounds like the perfect thing.
That and, playing dress up with my wee boy…
😉
I think that scarf is totally him, don't you?
Oh Vanessa….
I just love these kinds of day too. I like to call them my “Everydays”. Simple times to reconnect with your own world. Appreciate sounds and smells and color. These are the wee little times in life that allow us to truly know what is important. Thanks for sharing your “Everyday” with us.
Kim
Gerushia’s New World
P.S. I’m having a give-away on my blog this week. If you have a spare minute, stop by and leave a comment, if you like! Would love to have you.
I love collecting things too! It’s so fun to rearrange them, I discover things I forgot I even had!
okay, 3 random things…
1. I paint my nails all the time, but can never decide what color I want to do. Immediately after painting them, I usually decide I wanted a different color, and sometimes redo them.
2. I collect and make jewelry, but rarely wear any. (no time, I’m always in a hurry out the door, or I just plain forget)
3. I own more throw pillows than an entire household would even need. I can’t be stopped! 🙂
P.S. Don’t be too freaked out about photos of you, you always look so beautiful!
I just discovered a food channel I get has episodes of Two Fat Ladies and I’ve set my DVR and been having such a lovely time watching it again! I love their back and forths and the way they talk about food.
well that was the nicest post about cleaning up that I have ever read!
I love the smell of dried roses, like little old ladies faint perfume.
wish I could say the same about my eyebrows!! haha
have fun hoovering
xxx
sheree
Well Vanessa, this was a most enchanting post, just enjoying the little things about home…my favourite kind of days. Yes, yes, I am a huge sucker for candles…they make everything look so lovely and magical. I also love to surround myself with things that make me happy, so everytime I walk into a room, little vignettes I have created make my heart skip a beat. My mister just returned from France and bought the girls and I some beautiful perfume – I am like you, don’t like cloying scents – they give me a headache, but the one he chose is lovely. I don’t know why photos of yourself freak you out…you are a beauty indeed, inside and out x
ooh, 3 things about me…I have always had a fringe – tried it without, didn’t feel right…just began pottery classes again after 10 years – yay! Number 3 thing, had a midlife crisis a few weeks back and on a whim, got my nose pierced – how funny!
Days to just be are good for the soul! I would love to have a little shrine, that’s a fun project for me to start.
The 2 Fat Ladies Rock! The are an institution here in the UK and team them up with “The Hairy Bikers” and you have the perfect night in. Definately check them out!
I have had a week like this. My daughter and her dad have been on vacation since Sunday. At first I missed my daughter horribly because she had just gotten back from visiting with her cousins, but then I just got into my routine. Clean a bit here and there and just relax, play with the cats, play with my blogs and even did a craft project. I haven’t done many of those lately.
I have tote bags that I’ve had for 20 plus years and some that I’ve had for at least 10 years. I can never have enough of them. I love tote bags!! Purses are just never big enough and I like to carry extra stuff like sweaters, brushes, and personal things just in case. My mom taught me to do this. Even if I’m just going out for a few hours I do this. Many would think it’s wierd but it makes me feel more secure.
I love your blog. I just recommended your blog to someone that did something with an Alice in Wonderland Theme (she spray painted dead roses red, lol).
You have amazing collections of beautiful things. I have a clear plastic bag of miniture parfum bottles (about 11), I have to keep them there because the different sents is too overpowering. I love them anyway. The shapes of the bottles are fun.
Perfect day! I am always rearranging-you are right about it making you see things anew! It is so funny to think of you and MrLovee watching the two fat ladies-I don’t know why but it makes me laugh! I like them too-I love their accents-especially Jennifer. I nver plucked my eyebrows either-whether that is a good thing or not I don’t know. I tried it once-did one hair-and it killed! So I thought better of it!
Matty looks cute in his scarf-if slightly sheepish. Cassie is recovering from her operation yesterday-she is still quite pathetic!
Have a lovely weekend.
x
Hi Vanessa,
Whenever I begin to tidy my art space, I end up finding things that so totally inspire me that I am off making another mess.
I love perfume bottles too, and dried roses are another favorite.
Have a wonderful day enjoying your lovely art space.
Karen
vanesa, HOW did you get the statue of my aunt kitty’s madonna???!
i’m with you on days like this. they are rare and luscious. and when i have a putter day and it rains, i am triple happy: no ambivilence about staying inside.
you are the doo-dad queen in my life. i thought i was the doo-dad queen before i met you.
🙂
kj
I have been doing that exact thing this week…moving treasures around; putting some things away; bringing others out on display. It’s always a delight. Just as it is always a delight visiting you and soaking up the atmosphere with your fab photos and beautiful words. As for not tweezing your eyebrows, that’s a good thing. I have overtweezed mine over the years and they are thinner than they once were, alas. But nail-biting is very bad, Vanessa! 🙂 Love you! xoxox
I was just thinking about days like this! Where you spend time alone, just cleaning and enjoying your space. It’s funny how the weather is for you. Rainy/sprinkly days are my favorite for being inside. I love to leave all of the drapes open and look outside and watch the water trickle down the windows. =)
PS. I have NO IDEA how I stubled upon your blog, but I LOVE it.
Vanessa I know the feeling, the thunderstorms in az last night were so beautiful! The clouds that hover above and the hard rainfall make me smile:) Love your shrine, it’s very antiquey (misspelled but I’m sure you get it). I have made a few shrines myself and I can just stare at them all day…Any who just wanted to take a break from creating nonsense, and sneak a peek of your lovely little abode.
I forgot about the Two Fat Ladies….LOVE their devil-may-care attitude (and the fact they are very plump & enjoying it) Speaking of funny shows – you’ve got to check out Billy the Exterminator (I know!)
Love the case your shrine is sitting in….Have you ever seen the book “Interior Alchemy”? by Rebecca Purcell….you remind me of her style.
VanessaPie; I love Two Fat Ladies. And I like your shrine… I am not a spiritual or religious person, but I do enjoy ritual and things that seem imbued with a great meaning. This is an altar in my house, studded with photos of wonderful people and dogs, treasured pieces of jewelry and a rock or two I love, even a feather from my little bird. Places like this make life bigger and remind us of how much we have. Yours is very pretty!
I do like moving things around in my house, but I’m lightening my load lately, trying to simplify. The little treasures I do like to see regularly get moved around often. They become new that way.
altered eyebrows? No WAY!
What a lovely post! I do that a lot, where I will just spend hours going through all of my trinkets. I am a major homebody so the things I have around me in my home are hugely important to me and affect my mood a lot. I just love candles too, but with two kitties running around I can’t use them very often! 🙂 I am glad that you are getting some rain! Here in downtown Tucson it has been a little sparse, but we got a really great storm in the middle of the night last night. Enjoy the rest of your lovely day! 🙂 ~Lauren
Hahahaa, that face…hilarious!
Love those days too V (wish I could have one today). I love trinkets and jewelry and such. The days where I know we don’t have to go anywhere and I can stay in my jammies till’ noon, and read and knit, and work in the studio, and play with the girls with no agenda…pure heaven! Enjoy yours day…
Jamie 🙂
Vanessa:
I forgot to mention in my earlier comment just how much I adore your Mermaid bottle. She’s absolutely enchanting. I collect all sorts of little bottles and vintage doo-dads, and this bottle is delicious!!
Kim
Gerushia’s New World
What is that fabulous little pastry precariously perched on your perfect little head? Please tell, for I must know!!!
Oh Dearest Fanciful Friendling, you are ever so wise as to not play with your brows. When I was quite young I had mine elecrolisized (?) to the thinnest little wisps and now in my dotage (I stole that word from Darling Deb) they have to be penciled in every morning :-O. I have a fear of one day leaving my cottage only to discover that I look like a clown…tee hee!!! Now I must be off to dust and sweep my own little trinkets and floors. A MOST HAPPY FRIDAY TO YOU!!!!
Much love.
I have been on a little bloggy break – taking care of things that must be taken care of and ignoring things I should be thinking about, and not getting around to visit my favorite people and places.
I see I have much to catch up on here.
I should have known before I made a commitment that the person I was to get involved with likes things to be put in one place and then kept there – forever and ever and ever and…
whilst I love to tinker and move and juggle and rearrange and add to…
it is an adjustment, but after most of a quarter century I don’t have the heart to break in someone new.
I love your use of found objects to decorate and display your other treasures.
Dear Vanessa,
I’ve been feeling the need lately to reorganize and change things around just a bit. Maybe it’s the time of season – or just an innate desire. I love seeing all your sparklies – they make me smile. Perhaps I shall find the time to do some “house cleaning” quite soon. And Matty looks most handsome in his lovely blue scarf.
I cannot think of three random things to share today. 🙁 I do promise to list some next time.
Enjoy a most wonderful weekend!!! 🙂 Theresa
Hello! Miss Vanessa
Oh! The Two Fat Ladies were a ‘scream’!!!
Gosh! I want to watch more, when I have the time. I am going to pass on the youtube link to both of my sisters. One of my sisters and her husband were able to live in England for fifteen weeks several years ago, so she will be delighted with the cooking programs of the Two Fat Ladies.
I loved how you strung a lot of your jewelry on lace…very sweet.
And I do love lighting candles as a friend of mine used to make them and I would sell them for her at a very nice craft show.
She made all kinds of yummy fragrances…Violet, Corn Candy, Blueberry,
etc… She would have a chemist create her fragrance oils to perfection. She even had one that smelled just like a 50/50 Vanilla/Orange ice cream bar! And the candle was white wax on the bottom and orange wax on the upper layer. She was very creative in making her candles.
I need to vacuum my 3,400, square foot, two-story house…not looking forward to it. Blah! I do use a dust mop on some of my hardwood floors and that works too.
The dust just never seems to go away #:(
It is nice you have had some rain…how refreshing!
Cheerio! and Tut, tut
Actually, tea sounds quite good right now…
Do you have any favorite teas?
I do not like scary movies, I would rather watch fantasy or Harry Potter!!!
I am so looking forward to the next H.P. movie November 19th.
XOXO
Miss Teresa
Dear sweet Vanessa,
I just love your blog. You are such an amazing, talented, witty, beautiful woman. Every time I come here, I leave with a smile both on my face and in my heart. You have such a beautiful and kind soul.
I love love love your Madonna shrine. I have several shrines in my house but they are not nearly as gorgeous as yours. I, too, love candles and usually have some burning whenever I am home. Enjoy your day and I can’t wait to see the twins grown up!
blessings
~*~
Oh, I just love those kind of days too! They make me feel so centered and good, like it’s the most important thing I could possibly do!
As for jewlery, I have two huge, ornate picture frames, one with chicken wire inside that I hang my necklaces from, andone that is a distressed and upholstered corkboard that I stick my favorite vintage brooches into! I do the same thing with a banner for my earrings, at least my favorites, and the pretty baubles above my dresser always make me happy!!
Blessings ~ Eileen @ Star’s Fault
OH KINDRED!! I have a frame with chicken wire too, that I hang
baubles from isnt it yummmm??
Vanessa
Valencia {A Fanciful Twist}
Website: VanessaValencia.Com
Blog:
A Fanciful Twist {Through the
Secret Keyhole}
In a message dated 7/30/2010 3:02:12 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
It is awesome today in Phx too! I was watering my backyard thinking “I wonder if Fanciful Twist is watering today?” ha!
I’m a nail biter too. 32 years and going strong.
OH! No watering today. I am about 10 degrees cooler than
Tucson… so who knows how much cooler than Phoenix?? I dont like to bite
because I lovehaving naturally nice manicured hands, but sometimes, biting
wins ;))) Oh, and it rained a ton last night, I mean a ton!! Woo
hoooo 😉
V~
Oh the two fat ladies link tickled me. So funny!! They appear to be having loads of fun. I adore this post!!
Have a lovely weeekend!!
Random: I’m addicted to Golden Oreo’s. If you haven’t tried them….you should 🙂
Yes, the scarf becomes him. Love, love burning candles and flowers. Your trinkets are many, but I especially love the gold clutch bag. That must really light up your life when you open the carpet bag and see it there.
I am in awe of how beautiful, magical and artistic you can make even the simplest of days seem. I read your posts and just wish I could come play in your world for a little while. Thank you for sharing and inspiring!!
Your opening paragraph is the perfect description of a truly perfect day. I just posted about something related but different about how it felt to start packing up my office for a coming move. Although it signals the start of a new adventure it still made me sad. My wife and I are planning some major cleaning of the basement soon which will involve some quality time spent with our treasures.
I love the pics of the city house. You have it decorated so well. Looks like fun and looks like you have really infused the space with you.
How gorgeous these photos are! Love the colors..and love your universe. It really looks like an Ali Baba cavern ^^ (and must say that those two fat ladies are very funny!).
thank you for sharing such a beautiful view of your lovely little world…and YES! vaccuming can wait!
I had the avon mermaid bubble bath bottle on your dresser since I was a little girl She was one of my great treasures, but when we moved into this house she broke during the move. It was so great to see her again. Thank you.
Dearest Fanciful Friendling, I had something so eloquent and charming to say about all of your dreamy photos and your sweetest of sweet fur boy, until I read my beloved Cori’s comment about her eyebrows, which made me think of my concern of how I never wear my glasses and practice “selective vision” and I fear one day when I leave the house someone will ask me if Bobo did my make up. I find in my dotage that my thoughts are quite flighty. It’s a pleasant flight though! Have I told you lately that I adore you, for I do I do I do.
**blows kisses** Deb
Yes I arrange and re-arrange my Lovelies constantly and enjoy them endlessly. Loving your Altar and photos…
Dawn… The Bohemian
bohemianvalhalla.blogspot.com
Greetings from the South. Read your blog faithfully and find you to be truly inspirational and you make all things in life seem dreamy and beautiful. Thank you for making all of your readers happy and as though their/our/my life is sprinkled with pixie dust every day!
I do have one question that I hope you may wish to answer…and that is how and what do you do to your photos to make them so sparkly, soft and lit so perfectly? I tinker and play with Photoshop but for the life of me I have no idea how you manage to make photos so lovely. Could you share your tricks? Pretty please with sprinkles on top? Even a cherry? I’m always looking to make my world more beautiful.
Much gratitude,
Heather
I adore candles! I light them day and night. I like to put little prayers/requests under the candles as well. Pretty them up with glitter glue…my love of candles is endless.