room details

A varied collection of needlwork. Most were thrifted (the pink one is from Carol). The Beatrix Potter themed sampler was stitched by my mother for Ellie after her adoption. (Sorry, the paper is on the glass to hide our last name.)

The girl in the kimono is from my childhood. My grandparents brought it back for me from Japan in the late 60's or early 70's. There's a matching girl in a blue kimono that belonged to my sister and they were nearly hung side by side over the headboard, but I just didn't like how it looked. The more I thought about it, I decided Trixie should keep one in her room just like Cindy and I did. The other shadow box is Ellie's footprint from the time she learned to walk. The angel was a gift from my mother and has a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt on it. (Ellie was named after her.) I realized as I was taking photos that I've yet to switch out the pictures in the frames on the dresser. For now she gets to look at a picture of her brother as an infant and a former pet of mine. The oval frame holds one of her referral pictures from China.

I'm hoping this becomes one of her favorite parts of the room. She finally has a place to play with her dolls that is out of the way and that Trixie can't bother(in theory anyway). The awesome kid gloves came in a package from Carol. Also on the sewing to do list is a cushion/cover for the chest so the finish doesn't get too scratched up. I'm hoping it'll look like a window seat when it's done.

One of my favorite things in the room - a rug from Chris' grandmother and grandfather. This also dates to the early 40's and used to be in their dining room when Basia was growing up. We used it for a time in the old house before converting the room it was in to Glenn's bedroom. I can't believe how well if fits this room.

Finally, to answer blackbird's question - How did we keep this a secret? The guest room has a lock on it, so that helped a lot. I just had to remember to use it even when I was in there. Glenn was also sworn to secrecy as he helped me move things and saw the place in process. She did see me painting things, but I told her I was doing the work for a friend who wasn't very crafty. (Sorry Pam, she totally believed me when I said it was you who couldn't paint.) I also told her that Basia wanted the large bed back, but Ellie never asked why, which is unusual for her. She thought our moving the computer out of the guest room and into our bedroom was to make it easier for us to use. When I told her she couldn't go in there even with me because I had presents that needed to be wrapped in the room she totally bought it. In other words, I lied, lied, lied.

It was all worth it, she loves the room.