my room ♥

a girl's room is the most sacred place of all. a place of refuge from all the worries of the world. a place to cry, to love, to dream--nightmares or passion. it's a place to poorly apply makeup at your vanity, to drag lipstick over lips, apply copious amounts of mascara & to brood about tomorrow. to write bad poetry about imaginary boys, the moon & flowers. to sulk & bite your cheek until you draw blood. to impulsively cut your hair in front of the mirror. to kneel and pray in front of holy images & a girlish altar of the Virgin Mary begging to fight off impulsions & temptations. to take amateur photos in your mom's old clothes & anoint your perfumed oils at the side of the neck, wrists, above the breast. to text insane things to a lover. to be hysterical or impassioned with melancholic stupor, to pull your hair, pick at your skin, rub at your bruises & bite your nails. to prance around in your silk dresses & loungewear while listening to obnoxious music that your parents tell you to turn off. to lurk craigslist & read lonely manifestos on the "missed connections" tab. to girlblog on myspace, wordpress, xanga, blogspot or livejournal for an audience of none. to examine & hate your body, to tremble from regret & the intensity of embarrassment. to endlessly spiral & fixate on insecurities tossed down from generations for you to deal with. to ruminate on delusion & fantasy. it will forever be my favorite place. now a woman, it holds the same purpose for me. some things just never change.

curating your vanity is essential. is there a gorgeous perfume bottle you want to display? little small frames of art or even a vintage jewelry box? a vanity is where you showcase your most beautiful items. nothing gives me more joy than getting ready in the morning, looking at all my mini perfume bottles and vases of dried flower arrangements. it's sacred. there is so much pain & strife living in this transient world. one can spiral thinking of all the things we can't control, but the few things we can control in our lives is our little spaces. why not make it a home?

vanity update as of 2023

candles are essential, especially beeswax candles. in terms of light, i prefer soft light in red or pink, for it's the most flattering on skin, aids in sleep, and easy on the eyes & head (fluorescent lighting gives me headaches & war flashbacks to waking up at 5 am to catch a good parking spot next to the science lab building for class with the most hideous fluorescent lights that would make me consider suicide for a brief second apart from dreading being in class. i'm pretty sure fluorescent light is used as some sort of torture method by the cia--convinced of it). death to led light as well. i can't stand them. nothing beats the gorgeous glow of a natural beeswax candle, it's romantic, soft & gives me joy to see it flicker and dance in the dark. i hate paraffin candles, but when on a budget, sometimes you have no choice.

the bed is my sanctuary, a place for comfort, safety and dreams. my favorite is satin sheets for the summer for a slinky cool feel & 100% cotton for the winter. my favorite pillow cases are made of a beige silk velvet. i love the way silk & velvet hangs off the bed, languid and picturesque on an unmade bed. velour sheets are essential for added warmth on super cold winter nights.

small corners to display holy images and affection to the saints and God. i grew up with little altars my mom would usually situate in corners of a room. it's an act of devotion & love to gaze upon beautiful reminders of those that devoted their life to higher things. do you have a patron saint you love? why not place their image in your space, like you would of a family member that has passed away.

(left pic) a cute print of Our Lady of Roses. painting originally by italian artist, adolfo simeone whose paintings were popularized in the early 1900s (very much loved by the edwardians). his works are gentle and soft, this depiction of the Virgin Mary is so sweet, it's one of my favorites that i own. here She is gazing upon Heaven as roses fall from above with the golden crown upon Her head as the Queen of Heaven. 

(right pic) it was so lovely to find this piece of the Virgin Mary, circa 1940s. it's backed by velvet intricately arranged with a plastic Madonna placed above with a crowned halo of flowers--they light up too! (unfortunately, i don't have euro plugs). the glass is a curved bubble glass (my absolute favorite) with a brass frame, oxidized, but i love the look of oxidized brass anyway. originally from france. i always feel warmth every time i look at it. i especially love when the sunlight bleeds through the curtains & hits the glass every afternoon.

i've been collecting plastic / celluloid Virgin Mary figurines, especially those that glow in the dark. these were all acquired from various antique malls throughout the years

i've collected holy / prayer cards for the majority of my life, which serve as beautiful art to place in small frames. middle photo is a beautiful art deco silver plated Virgin Mary placed on blue mirrored glass, a rare and unique find.

i love busying myself on what things i'll hang on my walls. put on your favorite album and spend hours decorating, rearranging, etc. my favorite kinds of things to display include favorite pieces of art, movie posters, and bouquets of dried flowers i've made. one thing i love doing is to find an antique piece of clothing that is falling apart and use it as a display piece to showcase your collection of pins & brooches. it brings new life to that clothing & serves as piece of art in it of itself. 

the beautiful items you display

i've been collecting cute japanese taisho / showa era "pose" dolls. the pipe cleaner dolls are precious too. i'd like to learn how to make my own one day. on the right is a cute nun doll i found at an antique shop in ichinomiya.