Navy, Lavender, and Grey Bedroom

Somewhere between travelling, making fewer but larger changes to the house, and trying to figure out what the future of Gusto & Grace looks like, I’ve heard that little whisper: get back to blogging.

The truth is, I haven’t been entirely satisfied with the quality of work I have put into the blog. I follow a lot of bloggers with already stunning homes that they tweak and photograph or majorly renovate, who have graphic designers and website techs on speed dial. I follow many bloggers whose full time jobs are to decorate, improve their photography, and network online. My social media feeds are a barrage of gorgeous work put out by gorgeous women. That, not being my story, seems to make blogging success and a strong readership unlikely.

But maybe I need to change my view of success. I love all the creative and inspiring content so many bloggers are putting out, and sometimes even wish I could do exactly the same, but I miss blogs of process. I miss blogs as a side hustle where the decor (fashion, food, etc.) featured is realistic for readers (those who aren’t getting the free product). I miss blogs that feel more authentic and truer to the everyday life I live.

Blog on!, that voice insists. So here I will humbly write, in hopes of finding my own voice, in hopes of being the blog, like the first few I discovered a decade ago, that is relatable and inspiring in a down-to-earth, i-can-do-that sort of way.

Vision finally struck for my very unfinished master bedroom, and I created a crude design board, completely void of accessories. I hope you’ll stick around for the next year or so, as I pull it together, piece by piece.

I am excited about the challenge of creating a comfortable, peaceful, and rejuvenating space for Anthony and myself.

After quite the saga of hunting down the perfect copper curtain rod, I hung curtains last week, and ordered the rug pictured. Over the last two weeks I have picked up some euro shams and a new comforter on deep discount. The mirrored copper side table is on my Christmas wishlist while the armoire, peacock, and inlaid nightstands are dream pieces I hope to pick up over time. Photos and sources to follow.

As always, thanks for reading,

Dominique

Ticket Stubs + Fillable Lamps

Last week I found out the lamps on our nightstands that had been bugging me also bothered my husband. That sounds like a justifiable excuse to go shopping for home goods if I ever heard one!

For me, it was that the scale was all wrong. As was the style. For him, they just didn’t function well enough. In his words the lampshades were too low (he would often accidentally bump them) and the lamps were wobbly. You can see our old scissor-arm lamps in our bedroom here.

I like the scissor-arms, but the lamps were a little puny. They didn’t draw the eye up to our tall ceilings, faux canopy, giant, bright blue P, or do anything to help our space feel put together. Even though they were smaller than our new lamps, they made the nightstands feel more cluttered.

If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve learned I like decor with stories. So, as the title suggests, I give you: Ticket Stub Filled Lamps!

Anthony and I have ticket stubs from the first day we met at the State Fair of Texas. We continued to collect out ticket stubs and had stored them in a small glass shadow box, which was quickly getting filled. Transferring the tickets to the lamps was a joyful game of Remember When.

Ballgames, Presidential Libraries, museums, movies, and more, memories of the adventures we’ve had, our new lamps store.

I love seeing tokens of our happy memories before I go to sleep each night. Beyond adding tickets from yet-to-be-had adventures, I can change out the tickets for seasonal decor. During the fall I can fill them with gilded acorns, and at Christmastime, ornaments or old string-light bulbs.

I filled our lamps with 3D glasses from when we went to see the Rockettes at Radio City, with the number we took when waiting in line to get our marriage license, with tickets to Oz with Orchestra I bought to celebrate my mom’s birthday, and Fitz and the Tantrums tickets I won on the radio. Atop our nightstands are souvenirs like our ACL wristbands, and badges for our annual Oscar Movie Marathon. The lamps are filled with VIP lanyards from the Austin Ice Cream Festival I helped plan and SeaPasses from our honeymoon cruise. They house tickets to the Colosseum in Rome, Sagrada Familia in Spain, and hotel key cards from our trip to Toronto.

Each time I change out the contents of the lamps, I take another walk down memory

Thanks for reading,

♥ Dominique

Sources: Lamps

This post is linked at Tatertots & Jello.