The Stories Our Homes Tell

When I visited friends in Highlands, North Carolina, I noticed how they decorated their beautiful home. Each framed picture, whimsical art, and carefully chosen piece showed a willingness to go beyond the usual. It was inspiring. My French country home with its blue-and-white dishes is different from their mountain retreat with vivid colors, but the main idea is to open your mind and welcome creativity wherever you are.

It’s not about decorating; it’s about learning to see differently.

I received the silver tray as a wedding gift thirty-three years ago. Have I ever used it? No, not once. I bought the glass cloche twenty-something years later, and it happened to fit the tray. Featuring the baby shoes in the center was a sweet statement, but it started to look a little too minimalist. I added a Swedish Dala horse, a hand-carved toy and Scandinavian tradition in our house.

Letting the genie out of the cloche

Then I saw it! I happened to find a letter written to me from my Norwegian Grandmother and was excited to include such a personal touch in this family collection. I also liked the mix of paper, wood, glass, and metal. When I read the letter, I remembered she told me to “think carefully about who you marry”. She was referring to Greg, my husband.

Apparently, I “forgot” to mention the letter to Greg at the time. He read it, and since we have a marriage as old as the tray, he didn’t mind my displaying the letter.