if you could save one thing...

i was working on a project last week where i was asked what precious object i own that i would save from my home if i could only save one thing.

it's something that as I thought about it, i came up with quite a few things...and so many stories. most of the objects in my home have a story. that's why i love having them around. especially those that have been in my family for ages. 

stained glass windows

My mom found these stained glass windows at a flea market when she and my dad first got married. They lived in a little apartment and she always cherished these windows and made them the focal point of the room. As I was growing up, she’d move the furniture around and sometimes these windows would be above the fireplace or in the windows, turned one way or another. And I always loved that when you turned them you could see something new in the shapes and colors. 

When we bought our home, I asked if she still had the windows. They’d been in the basement and when she brought them over we found they perfectly fit in either side of our kitchen window, our favorite part of our house. And they haven’t moved since.

nestle baker's clock

As I was growing up, I remember my mom baking all of the time. She saved up her Nestles chocolate chip packages and mailed them in so she could win this baker’s clock. I always loved the way it not only tells the time, but a smiling moon moves across the top with the days, so you always know what is best to bake for that month and season. The clock came with a color coded recipe book that you’d match the placement of the day on the clock with a recipe in the book.

When we bought our home I mentioned to her how much I loved the clock and she said my grandmother still had it in her kitchen. I couldn’t believe it was still around and it still worked! We don’t have the cookbook anymore, but it’s still so fun to watch the clock turn with the seasons and to see that smiling moon.

valentine painting

When I lost my job in 2009, I created this painting as a little valentine to myself, to heal my own heart. My sister-in-law had gifted me with a few gorgeous vintage wallpaper books and all I wanted to do was sit out in my backyard, draw flowers and cut out paper shapes like I did as a kid. I hadn’t painted in ages, even though it was the thing I loved most. This painting was one of the first in my series of whimsical mixed media paintings.  Every time I look at this painting, it reminds me to continue to nurture myself and do what I love. 

birthday necklace

I never met my grandmother, but she left this necklace on the doorstep for me on my first birthday. Even if this necklace didn’t have such sentiment, I would still love it. It’s so simple yet elegant and kind of perfect that she purchased it for me as a one-year old. I’ve only heard stories about how my grandmother drove a corvette with her name on the license plate, played bridge with Frank Sinatra and decorated her kitchen in bright yellow, white and black. All of these things are something I feel in me, but I don’t see in anyone else I know in my family. This necklace is a real connection to that part of myself and where I like to believe it all came from. I only wear it for special occasions and on days when I need to remember that part of myself. 

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what objects would you save if you could only save one thing? it's a fun thing to think about...


hope you had a lovely weekend, everyone!