Remember Quick Snap? That “series” I created to show you little peeks into how I live, via still life pictures and routines? Ok, you’ll be forgiven if you don’t, because I posted my first and only one nearly EIGHT MONTHS AGO. But we’re back, baby! I’ve been doing some arranging recently and felt like it was high time to give you another little peek. Today I present to you two small places in my home that bring me immense amounts of joy: the nightstand and bedroom dresser display.
THE NIGHTSTAND
If you wanted to know how “with it” I feel in life at any given moment, you could look at my nightstand and guess. It varies from looking put together, neat, and tidy, to a total mess, with books and papers and stray water glasses left for days. Right now I’m in a phase where I’m trying to keep the house super clean (chalk it up to family visiting, or the new year approaching, or a new Sunday night routine in which I put down the phone for half an hour to reset the house and make sure I start the week off right). No matter the phase, you’ll always find a stack of books and an iPad on my bedside table. Recently, the weather shifted in SF and my hands became so dry, they actually cracked in a few places (not pretty and ow, painful). My problem is that I always forget to apply, because the product isn’t right there in front of me. So off to the store I went, to find a couple different hand creams I could place around the house. I bought this Ellis Brooklyn Rrose cream from Credo. It was a little on the pricey side, but since I use one small pump in the morning after getting dressed and one more at night before bed, I figured it’ll last a while. What really made it worth the splurge is the scent — roses! It’s very feminine and elegant, and I love smelling it before hitting the sheets. I also bought an inexpensive Burt’s Bees hand salve that I’m keeping at my desk in the office, and I glop that on during the day.
At night, I have long had the habit of pulling my hair tie out right as I fall asleep. I actually try hard not to sleep with my hair up in a bun or ponytail, because I find that it not only ruins my hair for the next day (all but ensuring a top knot), it kinda pulls at my scalp and hurts in the morning! This cup with hair ties is a recent addition. I used to throw the hair tie on the nightstand, and I’d amass piles of them until I’d finally transport a bunch back to the bathroom. Not cute. Now, even in my sleepy haze, the ties make it into this cup (for the most part), and if they don’t, there’s at least a neat little place to throw them in the morning.
My grandmother has given me a lot of her vintage costume jewelry over the years (her collection largely inherited from her mother), and these are probably my most favorite pair of earrings. They’re just so intricate and beautiful, and those purple colors! I actually do not have pierced ears, and it is extremely rare that I wear earrings at all. A couple weeks ago I went to my book club get together and on a whim, decided to pull these babies out of storage and wear them. When I got home that night, they ended up on my bedside table, and in the morning I realized how happy it made me to wake up and see them there, winking at me. I opted to leave them out, because they bring a lot of joy everyday, even just looking at them. It’s been a good reminder to display those things that make the happiest, clearing away other clutter and junk. And that’s what really spurred me to bring a vintage tea cup out to collect hair ties, too!
THE DRESSER
Our dresser is an ever evolving assortment, but I always have this mirrored tray displayed. Over the last year I inadvertently revamped my entire perfume collection (I say inadvertently because this all started when I bought La Dame Aux Camélias at Anthropologie. The bottle was so pretty and the scent so otherworldly that I realized I was stock piling a bunch of perfumes that were definitely expired, and nearly everything got chucked). At some point in the last eighteen months, I got a shipment from Sézane, and when I opened the box, the most beautiful fragrance wafted out. I loved it so much, I actually contacted the company to find out if it was a home spray or something I could buy. They told me it was a perfume, called L’eau Sézane — one they would be launching soon! And launch it did. To my utter dismay though, they could only ship it within France, so there was no way to get my hands on it. When my buddy Jess was in Paris a couple months ago and mentioned she was going to Sézane’s shop, I immediately texted her and asked her to buy me a bottle of this. She brought it to me in Napa, and it’s been a regular “everyday” perfume ever since. It’s no wonder I love it — it’s a mix of citrus, jasmine, and peony. I LOVE anything jasmine scented (jasmine and roses, that’s me). But my fave perfume find of the year has to be Diptyque’s Olene. I get complimented on it every time I wear it (I think my fave is when an Uber driver once told me “You could get a new boyfriend with that perfume.” It was so awkward and random.). Perfume’s kinda the best, isn’t it?
I also like to feature little collectibles that matter to me: a tiny shell dish I found during an antiquing trip with my grandmother; a small glass and brass jewelry box from her collection (she has a whole bunch of these in her closet that she’s collected over the years); interesting rocks and seashells that we find on the beach. My favorite of these is a tiny piece of coral in the shape of the letter V; Joe found this on the beach in Kauai and it felt meant to be. Everything sits on a mirrored tray that I found at the Alameda Antiques Faire probably 6 years ago. My dresser is my last stop after getting dressed and ready each day, and it’s a good thing too because it makes me happy to look at!
That’s it for this edition of Quick Snap. Hopefully it won’t be another eight months before the next one. ;)
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