When I think back to when I was a little girl, I remember the pretty off-white and pink pearls that my mother and grandmother wore for what I always assumed was "dress up." Whenever they went anywhere special, like church on Sunday morning, or celebrated a special event like a family birthday party, they slipped on their strings of pearls.
Sometimes they let me try them on too, as long as I was careful. I remember admiring myself in the large mirrors on top of their dressers, framed by pearls and sitting on a rose covered bedspread.
Thinking back, pearls and roses have always been a common theme in my life. Both my mother and my grandmother had furniture that was slip covered in big, bold rose fabric. Even the carpeting had sculpted roses and floral patterns. I can still see my mother and grandmother, wearing their pretty pearls against perpetual backdrops of roses.
No wonder I both love and surround myself with anything pearls and roses, whenever possible. They remind me of the times I spent with my mother and my grandmother, growing up, listening to their stories, learning how to become a woman. Women of my generation must all experience the same feelings of nostalgia that I do when they discover themselves surrounded by roses, pearls, and anything pretty. My love of pretty things extends to vintage hankies, hand-embroidered with beautiful roses to tuck into a handbag or display like a doily on a nightstand. A teacup from someone's vintage china pattern – it never mattered to me if it matched anything else in my cupboard, or if it was handed down from someone that I knew. It's the delicate beauty that captures my heart and makes it part of my collection. Feminine quilts in pink and off-white roses remind me of the hours I spent stitching and talking with my mother and grandmother. Somehow, even then, knowing that no other moment in my life could ever make me feel as complete.
When you visit the boutiques at Make Mine Pink, you'll find yourself surrounded with beautiful collections that will fill you with nostalgia for your own memories of pearls and roses.
Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink
Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday February 12th 2010 as we present "Roses and Pearls"
© Copyright 2010 Roy Tennant, FreeLargePhotos.com.
For as long as I can remember, roses have captured a very special piece of my heart. From the gentle scent of the first spring rose, to a delicate hand painted rose on a favorite piece of repurposed furniture, I love to surround myself with their beauty.
If you pick up a romantic decorating magazine, you'll find rooms filled with the inspiration of roses. In a bedroom, it may be a rose needlepoint cushion, trimmed in the finest silk, adorning the seat of a boudoir chair. Or perhaps a beautifully stitched heirloom pillow, boasting lavish roses and lace, to adorn the bed. In a powder room, a porcelain bowl hand painted with gorgeous roses, might be filled with rose petal potpourri.
As I look around my home, I see I have included roses in the décor wherever possible. Vintage tablecloths with colourful roses fill my china cabinet. Mismatched china pieces decorated with softly faded roses sit on the shelf nearby. Linen pillowcases embroidered with tiny, perfect rosebuds are neatly folded in the linen closet. On my dresser, a pink porcelain rose is tucked into the corner of the vanity tray that once held my mother's prized perfume bottles. The memories of her that the tray brings back are as sweet as the rose itself.
....... on such a Winter day. Doesn't this bright Hollyhock needlepoint remind you of hot lazy summer afternoons lounging in the hammock and playing 'dancing dollies' with the hollyhock blossoms? Too bad we had more snow last night. It is a sloppy gloppy mess around here. I am going to grab a minty ice tea and create a pillow.
We are in the 'dead of Winter' here in South Dakota~ frankly it bites~eerrmmmm~ I mean the cold bites your nose! I have been avoiding any outdoor exposure at all~ even running errands. Last week the avoidance had to come to an end. So I warmed up my car~ turned the seat warmers to high and off I went. I had a list, a plan of attack and a mission. At 6* the mission was to be back home as quickly as possible. But alas~ a distraction! There was one of my favorite antique stores with a parking spot right smack dab in front of it~ a quarter in the meter and I got to shop for 22 minutes. A temptation to good to resist. Well worth it~there waiting for me was this gorgeous needlepoint. Magnolia blossoms~ I have never seen Magnolia Blossoms up close and personal so this needlepoint will have to do for now. By the way~ it is snowing again today and I am very sure there is no hope for the groundhog tomorrow~ not only would he have to dig out of his burrow but he would have to dig through 12 inches of snow cover to even take a chance to see his shadow~or not. Oh well~ 6 weeks is just 6 weeks ~ right?
