Sunday, August 22, 2010

pretty



two evenings ago, josh and i were expecting a guest at our house. because guest visits are not terribly common and also because i have 2 little whirlwinds of boys, the house was quite out of sorts and needed to be straightened up. i spent the few spare moments in my day cleaning fingerprints off of the glass doors, dusting the top of furniture that hadn't seen a dust rag in far too long and polishing the bathroom faucet to a high shine. when everything was sparkling clean, i looked around me and gave a deep sigh as i realized that even though my house looked tidy enough, it was missing something. it didn't look pretty.

i'm the kind of girl who can't bear to open the pages of home decorating magazines because i instantly feel overwhelmed with what my house lacks. when looking at other people's facebook albums or blog posts, i often stare at the background of their photos, noticing how cute and decorative their homes look and wondering what i could do to make my home look a little more put together and cute and homey and...pretty.



so, i decided to add a bit of color around my home without spending a penny. i used flowers from my backyard and whatever kind of containers i could find (in one instance, a salt shaker) and went about adding splashes of bright, happy color to every room.



our guest called later to cancel her visit and for a moment i felt as if i had put all of this effort in for nothing. but as i was washing dishes that evening, i kept glancing up at my windowsill where a humble bouquet of geraniums and bachelor buttons smiled brightly at me and i realized that a little bit of pretty shouldn't be spared until there is someone else to notice it. natural beauty was given to us for our enjoyment, to remind us of our Creator and from now on i intend to enjoy it fully, even if i am the only one who does.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes and yes. enjoy the pretty things. This is why I have pretty dishes.
~shannon

Sarah D said...

I love the flowers coming out of the salt shaker, what a great idea! That photo looks like it came from a magazine! Flowers make a room look instantly brighter & fresh... wish I had them around here a bit more...hmmm... ;-)

sedachfamily said...

Yes- I LOVE the flowers in the salt shaker idea. What a great way to display them! And I love your cosmos too. Mine didn't pop up this year :( so it makes me enjoy looking at your pretty picture even more! You have completely inspired me to go plant the flower seeds that have been collecting dust for months- Thanks Heidi!

Kathy said...

The pretty is so good for our spirits. Your flowers are stunning.

Kathy said...

I came back to spot the salt shaker. Very cool. I thought it was made for flower stems. You, Heidi, are a genius!

Thoughts on Life and Millinery. said...

Great idea Heidi! Flowers in the house also seems to make everyone feel like the day is special. You did good!

Julie said...

So pretty! Im going to try my hand at gardening next year and you inspired me to plant some flowers. I may have to get some pointers from you, as to which are easy to grow and are pretty at the same time.

Jessica LaTour said...

So adorable! And your home is awesome, just ask the boys ; )

Plus you're amazing with plants, any that I bring home are totally doomed.