Happy Spots...Happy Thoughts!

Peace -
that was the other name for home.
~Kathleen Norris

My friend Cherie had made a post this week and gave a challenge to share things in our home that made us happy!

Even though I just LOVE my kitchen because cooking is one of my favorite things to do, one of my favorite spots to be is my Living Room.
My Living Room is always in order and it is peaceful in there. It is a place where I can sit and meditate and be to my thoughts or read a book.
Or, visit with friends, or where we sit and sing a song as a family for our Family Night.

This is what my Living Room
looks like in the afternoon.

One corner of my room is lit up by a gorgeous stained glass lamp that belonged to my sister. I LOVE the color purple and her favorite color was purple and so it is so fitting that it is providing light and filling the room with such a nice warm glow.

This ratty old chair is my favorite place to sit in my house. It was FREE in one of the cars that we bought. The man that sold us the car told us we could have it or take it to the dump.
SO, we shampooed it well, threw a colorful throw over it to tie it into our other furniture and it does the job. Someday, I hope to recover it in some colorful fabric.

Most afternoons you will find me sitting here and eating my lunch. It's my place that I sit when I look at the coupon ad's for the week and where I sit and read most any book. My VERY favorite thing I used to do in this chair is rock my babies to sleep, but they are too big for that now.
Oh how I miss those days!

This is the view from my rocking chair.
I LOVE looking at my curio of our treasures!
Each shelf has a theme to it.
My curio stays the same all year, except at Christmas all of these treasures get put away for a little bit and it gets decorated for Christmas.

This is the top shelf of my curio.
It is full of keepsakes for marriage and love.
A Logan Temple my mother made for me,
Willow Tree statues depicting True Love and a family of four.
An anniversary clock,
Cupids that we have had since we were first married, a LOVE cross-stitch I made for Tracy on one of our anniversaries and a little house that Tracy gave me for Christmas inscribed with the following on the bottom: "Merry Christmas '96...Look at this little house and dream of our own someday soon. I love you!"

The second shelf is full of keepsakes from our trips and getaways we have gone on as a family. This photo will always be on this shelf as it was from a Cruise that we went on with my family the year after Kandee died.

The full view of our second shelf...
rocks, statues, stained glass, pottery vase from Roatan, tops, shells, etc... from our family adventures. We add something new every year to this shelf.

This is the center shelf of my curio..
a shelf that is a tribute to my sister Kandee.
My sister died in 2003. She suffered from bi-polar disorder and depression and ended up overdosing on her medication. The things on this shelf are the treasures of hers that I got the privilege of getting...her vase of flowers she had on her kitchen table. scarf, perfume bottle, luggage tag, box of jewelry, lamp and I found the statue in the back right hand corner that matched the statue on the lamp and the 2 photos were the last 2 photos that were taken of her before she died.

My adorable, sweet sister Kandee!

SISTERS forever!

The fourth shelf has photos
of both of our grandparents.
The photos on the left are Tracy's Grandparents.
The photos on the right are my grandparents.
Both of our grandpas were farmers and so that is why there is a little tractor. Our grandmas both loved pearls (these were the pearls I wore on our wedding day) Tracy's mom's first camera was a "Brownie Hawkeye" and we were thrilled to find this at a second hand store. Tracy's grandma Beth crocheted the doilie and the antique purse is just for fun.

The bottom shelf has trinkets
from Tracy's and my youth.
The crocodile and clown were made by Tracy's Grandma Zona.
The frame of stamps are various stamps Tracy collected when he was on his mission.
The baby shoes, and 2 figurines were trinkets from youth.

These are our Parents...
Tracy's parents on the left....my parents are on the right.
Our parents photos are in a cute little frame sitting on my window sill.

These pieces of art are also on the wall.
There was a 92 year old man in our community when we moved in our house that loved to draw people and this was a drawing he did of me.
The sketch on the right is a drawing of Tracy when he was just a little boy.
Treasures!
I love this "Recycled Glass Vase"
hanging between my 2 windows. It is such a unique color and I love filling it with greenery/flowers for whatever season we are in.
Tracy's mom bought this as a gift for me when we went to "Art in the Park" with them in Boise a few years ago.

I LOVE being in my Living Room at night.
It has such a nice glow and I love to come and sit after the kids have gone to bed and think and ponder and be to my thoughts for a bit.

I also LOVE my 1960 Cable-Nelson piano. It was a Mother's Day gift from Tracy and the boys in 2005. We got it at a second hand store for a great deal and we spent a little money to get it tuned and it makes beautiful music. Even though a bigger piano would be nice, this little spinet fits my small room perfectly and I love to sit and play and Tracy enjoys laying on the floor listening to me play while he reads the newspaper or a magazine.

We also have in-wall speakers in this room so I can enjoy beautiful music as I sit in my favorite chair.

Family...
"When you look at your life, the greatest happiness is family happiness"
SO grateful I have a place in my home to have happy thoughts about my sweet sister and my grandparents.
There isn't a week that goes by that I don't ponder and reflect with happiness the wonderful times I once shared with these special people in my life!