This post is a “classic” from Tea Party Girl in 2007. The same concept holds true today. A place of respite amidst the storm is a necessary in todays world. Jenny Wells shares her personal journey into creating a “Tea Space” of her own.
Can you relate? Comment, tweet it, Facebook share and send it viral. There are so many women that need support!
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We all need a corner of our own in our home for hibernation.
Like many middle-class suburban Americans, I live in 2000 square feet we clean, live in, mess up, and attempt to decorate. Carol Burnett once said, “Cleaning house with children is like shoveling snow when it’s still snowing.” But for many years, I tried anyway. Because my children’s primary education is at home, I am rarely home alone. Activity permeates these walls. And I was constantly frustrated and discouraged.
“Gee! I wonder why!”
Until a few weeks ago. Something clicked. During the week, I keep one room the way I want it~my bedroom and bath. This isn’t foolproof, I do share it with a man after all. But for the most part, it’s working.
This post enters me into Brocante Home Chronicles’ Puttery Treats Challenge. I am squeaking in by the skin of my teeth. But I had to try because Alison currently inspires my homemaking and tea lifestyle more than any other current blogger. She gave us a gargantuan list of ideas to bring life to our homes. Here was only one of the many I want to implement:
“Wrap your Christmas list books in ribbon, add a couple of glitzy pens, a box of deliciously spoiling chocolates, a few pairs of snuggly scoks, (yey it’s sock time!!), a favorite novel, and some magazines and put with your house jumper in the basket next to your armchair. Get yourself an oversized vintage velvet cushion, choose a cranberry coloured juice glass and a large decadent mug for long Autumny drinks and hibernate in your very own corner of the house.”
Alison, I’m not sure what Christmas list books are in Britain, but here’s a picture from my corner of the world; seasonal books that inspire me just by looking at them.
My indoor tea corner is a work in progress. Just like my life. And I have yet to add all the puttery treats Alison suggests.
- The glitzy pens are on order.
- spoiling chocolates…hmmm…I’m thinking those are chocolates that can ruin me for the ordinary when I bite into them. Anyone want to vote in the comments for their favorite?
- snuggly socks, check
- favorite novel, check
- house jumper: translation sweater, I believe.
- a cranberry colored juice glass-sigh-I just discovered my love for vintage colored glass.
Well, at least I designated the place and uncluttered it:
And I uncluttered the view of what I see when I’m sitting in my corner.
And the only thing I actually BOUGHT to bring to my hibernation corner was a warm wintry nightgown I can feel pretty in. Pretty is key.
Many days I am overwhelmed by the amount of work it takes to help five lives stay healthy, fed, clothed, enriched, and safe. I find myself pining away for the day where only the rich with servants were expected to be literate, throw parties, dress fabulously, and manage estates. At the check-out line in the market, my eyes narrow at the home magazines as if they were exploiting women’s bodies instead of just our dreams and expectations. Who can compete?
But giving up is not an option. And whether I feel up to the task or not, I am the primary homemaker. Today, my children felt at home making multiple paper crafts, eating pomegranates and swinging on a rope swing they built in our two-story entry way. Not activities exactly chosen for neatness or a Country Living
Have YOU made your indoor tea corner yet?
A work in progress – that’s what it is…you will always find something to add to your cozy tea spot – something to make it even more your place … maybe a little framed photo, a candle…well, that’s just what I would want added. You rose to the challenge with your Puttery Treats post! Very good!
What a great idea! I definitely need a little corner to call my own.
Hmmmmm……I once had a closet so large that my husband put a twin bed in it with black out curtains so that I could nap alone. Then the closet turned into a nursery for two little boys so that they could sleep without disturbances. Currently, I dream of a prayer closet, which I think resembles your cozy tea spot idea. Right now I am in 925 sq ft and our baby woke us up this morning having found an old McDonald’s soda on the counter and oops! accidentally spilling it ON MY HUSBAND as he slept. There are two large boxes of “winter clothes” taking up couch space and we are watching an extra child today, so that makes EIGHT! When I want to “be cozy”, “sip my vanilla chai tea”, or simply “be alone”, I bundle up, go outside to the only pretty spot in our yard….locking the porch door so babies can’t follow! We may not all have the option of extra space, but we do all have the option of cozying in by ourselves. I can remember days when I would wake up and say, “Honey, I want to read all day, and never come out” Then, the whole family accomodates me. How many date nights have we had in our own little trailer? A pretty lamp with romantic light, a $6.75 sheer material improvised canopy over the bed. IT CAN BE DONE! Enjoy whatever creativity comes to mind this fine, crisp, November morning. As for me and my house, we are snuggling up together and watching a Shirley Temple movie before we make a mad dash for the day before Thanksgiving clean ’til you scream extravaganza. Tally Ho!
What a lovely post. I am trying to figure out, from my memory of your upstairs rooms, what corner you have claimed. It looks lovely!
I don’t have children, but have often lived with chaotic, messy roommates, and it was vital to my survival that at least my bedroom was orderly and pretty and peaceful. I would usually have a rocking chair piled with homemade quilts or afghans. Close at hand a little bookshelf or end table to hold my tea/lemonade/fancy coffee, and books, journals, cards and stationary for writing notes. (I can’t believe I once had time to write letters!)
My roommates these days are clean and organized, so I don’t have to hide in my room to find a cozy corner to curl up in. But I still like to make a pleasant spot for thinking in my room. I have an old letter writing desk set against the foot of my bed, serving as a footboard. On the raised level I keep a vase of flowers, a spray of dried lavender tied with ribbon, and a leafy plant in a straw basket. I try to keep the surface clean with just a note pad, my journals, bible, and whatever I’m studying at the time. It overlooks my bed piled high with pillows, a fluffy down comforter, and homemade quilts. I don’t have much time for letter writing here, but if I need to make a todo list, this is a pleasant spot to do so. I actually took a photo the other day with the intention of posting it on my blog.
Thanks for the post and the ideas for some Christmas cozyness. I’ll get some pretty ribbon this weekend. Happy Thanksgiving!
Try Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels! Gourmet taste without the price tag! The combination is truly wonderful!
Happy Thanksgiving, Jenny!
I have an area over by my fireplace that has been buried with papers and things to sort…the vintage chaise needs to go to my pal’s home and until then I won’t have my nook back–BUT I have a stunning view from my window as it overlooks a lake.
For now, I’ve just picked up a flowery table cloth and will use that for the moment.
As for chocolate, Godiva for sure but mostly anything small and dark.