Blue and White Vignette

I’m back from vacation!  Did you know I was gone?  If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen some snippets from my vacation in MIchigan and my Instastory of my BIL and SIL’s gorgeous lake cottage.

Want to hear the best part?  I didn’t gain a single pound…and that’s an incredible feat considering it felt like an eating fest.

I got right to work taking down all the 4th of July decor and restyling some spaces in my home.  I get super excited for each of the holidays, but when it is over I always find putting it away and starting with a clean slate refreshing.  I think it gets my creative juices going.  I wanted something to brighten up this spot in our home and blue and white was just what I needed.

I gathered up some blue and white and just starting playing around with the arrangement.  The ginger jar right in the middle is probably one of my very favorite pieces.  Each side of it has a different painted scene.

For now, I’m still happy with the shutters, but that’s not to say something else might catch my fancy later…but I think I’ll always have something architectural above this secretary.  I think I could hold my own estate sale just with mirrors.  No vampires here!

I know that sounds random, but mirrors are kind of a big deal for me.

…it all started when I was 4 or 5 years old and my brothers let me stay up with them and watch Bram Stoker’s Dracula while my parents were out on bowling league night.  My bedroom, on the 2nd story of our home, was converted into one large bedroom from two small bedrooms years before.  I had walk-in closets on opposite walls of the bedroom and spent many a night worrying Dracula would come out of one of those closets to get me.  I was convinced…the kind of convinced 5 year olds believe in for weeks…months.

A mirror solved all my problems.  One day, my parents put a pretty dresser in my room with a beautiful attached mirror and it sat on the wall right next to one of the walk in closets.  It just so happened to be placed in the perfect spot to reflect the closet door from the other side of the room.  Night after night I would go to sleep staring at the reflection of the closet door in the mirror while looking at the closet door right next to it.

Everyone in my family knew how deathly afraid I was of Dracula.  My poor mother put up with many a sleepless night because of Dracula fears.

One day, my brother said to me (trying to be clever) “Nancy, vampires can’t be seen in mirrors so you wouldn’t be able to see him anyway!”.

“Aha!” I exclaimed, “I won’t be able to see him, but I will see the door open!”  There was no argument against that.  That bedroom mirror helped me get over my fear of Dracula (many months later).  I’m sure my parents were so happy.

Disclaimer:  I know this is not a post about Dracula or mirrors, but really, how much can you say about beautiful blue and white chinoiserrie without being totally and utterly boring?

Happy day friends!