dining by candlelight ...
It's amazing just how much one needs to set up house. And that's what it feels like at the moment - it feels like I'm playing house. I create the rules. I can do as I wish. Design as I wish. Cook as I wish. I admit this is very fun! I've made great headway in unpacking. The only room that's still topsy turvy is my own bedroom but it was more important for me to set up the main living areas for the children, so that they could feel settled... so they can feel that this is their home too.
I've gone a much more sophisticated route. The antiques have come out. We're using an old settee I inherited from my mother. It's temporary seating, until I can find a piece that is practical, elegant and yet comfortable. I'm actually looking to get a white sofa. Practical? I hope so! The children are old enough to learn to wash their hands when they sit in the living room. They're old enough to treat things with respect. And white, sometimes, is easier to wash and take care of than, say, a patterned sofa.
The only rooms with lights are the kitchen and the bathrooms. We must make do with lamps in the other rooms. It's darker than I am used to, but now that Springtime is here we seem not to need as much light as we would in the wintertime. I've been lighting candles. I haven't really used candles in years. I love them so. I love the tone they set. The elegance. The calm and serenity. Candles are cheaper than leaving lights on all over the house!
We had salmon for dinner last night. (Oh I can not wait until I get a grill!) And we dined by candlelight. It was all so very sophisticated for a newly single mother and her three children!
Despite the sea of boxes I brought over and a few pieces of furniture that were mine by inheritance, I do not have much here in the house. (If you head to my other blog, The Entertaining House and go to the piece called Settling In you'll see what I've done to be creative.) But it's not just the furniture, or lack thereof, that needs to be purchased or replaced. For starters I needed kitchen basics and cleaning supplies... lamps, beds, sheets... window treatments, vacuum cleaner, microwave, toaster oven, blender, etc... I've been borrowing vacuum cleaners and we've managed well without a microwave (which I only ever use to reheat veggies or rice if I've cooked them for a meal in advance). I used the oven instead of the toaster at the moment. I miss the blender. I used to make the kids smoothies all the time. Maybe I'll buy myself one for my Birthday... but really, I would love to get a grill... and learn how to use a grill. Yes, a girl can grill and I will be that girl!
We're doing well, the children and I... we're doing better than well. We're doing great! I'm happy and at peace after a long and painful journey. I'm comfortable with where I am, both literally and metaphorically. We're at a good place. Our little house is shaping up to be a lovely warm and welcoming home.
I've gone a much more sophisticated route. The antiques have come out. We're using an old settee I inherited from my mother. It's temporary seating, until I can find a piece that is practical, elegant and yet comfortable. I'm actually looking to get a white sofa. Practical? I hope so! The children are old enough to learn to wash their hands when they sit in the living room. They're old enough to treat things with respect. And white, sometimes, is easier to wash and take care of than, say, a patterned sofa.
The only rooms with lights are the kitchen and the bathrooms. We must make do with lamps in the other rooms. It's darker than I am used to, but now that Springtime is here we seem not to need as much light as we would in the wintertime. I've been lighting candles. I haven't really used candles in years. I love them so. I love the tone they set. The elegance. The calm and serenity. Candles are cheaper than leaving lights on all over the house!
We had salmon for dinner last night. (Oh I can not wait until I get a grill!) And we dined by candlelight. It was all so very sophisticated for a newly single mother and her three children!
Despite the sea of boxes I brought over and a few pieces of furniture that were mine by inheritance, I do not have much here in the house. (If you head to my other blog, The Entertaining House and go to the piece called Settling In you'll see what I've done to be creative.) But it's not just the furniture, or lack thereof, that needs to be purchased or replaced. For starters I needed kitchen basics and cleaning supplies... lamps, beds, sheets... window treatments, vacuum cleaner, microwave, toaster oven, blender, etc... I've been borrowing vacuum cleaners and we've managed well without a microwave (which I only ever use to reheat veggies or rice if I've cooked them for a meal in advance). I used the oven instead of the toaster at the moment. I miss the blender. I used to make the kids smoothies all the time. Maybe I'll buy myself one for my Birthday... but really, I would love to get a grill... and learn how to use a grill. Yes, a girl can grill and I will be that girl!
We're doing well, the children and I... we're doing better than well. We're doing great! I'm happy and at peace after a long and painful journey. I'm comfortable with where I am, both literally and metaphorically. We're at a good place. Our little house is shaping up to be a lovely warm and welcoming home.
Great job Jess, looks like u r settling in just fine!
ReplyDeleteXxxx
Best of luck!!! Were you not able to move the beds, etc. from the old house? That sounds rough.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, no I got very little except for what was mine before marriage or from my family. The kids needed new beds and that was the one area I splurged. Amazing how well they sleep now! Now I'm jealous... I'd like a new bed! :)
Yea! So glad to hear you're settling in and making the house YOUR home! And candlelight is divine. It's a normal everyday thing in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (mainly because of the cold winters, but also because it's gorgeous!)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are settling in nicely!
ReplyDeleteI'm just shocked that your ex wanted the cooking supplies...especially considering you have the kids most of the time...does he want them to go without cooked meals?
I'm with the SubPrincess...what man wants the kitchen stuff? Especially if he isn't cooking for the kids? So weird...but glad to know you're settling in.
ReplyDeleteWe ate by candlelight for years and I used our "good" silver even when having meatloaf or some other relatively cheap meals. Silver and candlelight make every meal a little more special.
*sara*
I have a feeling that you will make any house a home ... and you will do it with grace, style and class.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anonymous!
ReplyDelete