Decorating With Words

As a former English teacher, I've always collected favorite quotations to use in writing and crafting.  But in recent years, "WORDS" seem to have become popular in decorating as well. From subway art to stamping and stitchery, we seem to be increasingly drawn to expressing our thoughts through the accessories we choose...or create... for our homes. It's one decorating trend I'm really enjoying.

Lately I find myself attracted to pillows that "talk". I found this one last fall at LL Bean for $19.00.

I love its message and homespun feel as well as the way it personalizes the couch in our family room.

And then, just last week, I spotted a similar pillow on Clearance at Home Goods for $8.00. Needless to say, it jumped right into my cart. I love how it warms up the reading corner in our master bedroom.

I wonder if it's partly because our lives have become so busy, and technology is moving so fast, that simple words in our homes bring such comfort?

I've always enjoyed stenciling them on walls.

"Good words are worth much, and cost little."- George Herbert

"Words that emanate from the heart enter into the heart of another." - Midrash

I guess I just like using words as a means of self-expression in my home....humorous words, loving words...

And timeless words.

How about you? How do you use words in your home?

This post is linked to:

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Transformation Thursdays at Shabby Creek Cottage

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground

Fridays Unfolded at Stuff and Nonsense

Feathered Nest friday at French Country Cottage

Delicious Ambiguity

A New Year's gift for you...some of Nancy's favorite quotes to inspire you...and maybe make you laugh... for 2011:

"People will not always remember what you said. People will not always remember what you did. But people will always remember how you made them feel".

 "Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."

- Gilda Radner

    "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died."

                  ~Erma Bombeck

"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead tell your storm how big your God is!"

"I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult."  ~ E.B. White

 " It wasn't enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em - and it's that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?"  ~Dorothy

Do you have a favorite quote to add?

A Woman Should Have...

This is the bulletin board in Nancy's craft room...decorated a la Mary Engelbreit, whose art she loved. Aside from her crown (it's good to be Queen of your own craft room) and her cancer buttons, I noticed that she had tacked up a poem...I thought I'd share it.
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to …

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
a youth she’s content to leave behind…
a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to
re-telling it in her old age…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
one friend who always makes her laugh
and one who lets her cry…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
a good piece of furniture not previously owned
by anyone else in her family...

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal.
that will make her guests feel honored…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
a feeling of control over her destiny…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW
when to try harder..
and when to walk away…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that she can’t change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that her childhood may not have been perfect… but it’s over…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she would or wouldn’t do for love or more…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to live alone… even if she doesn’t like it…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
whom she can trust,
whom she can’t,
and why she shouldn’t take it personally…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
where to go…
be it to her best friend’s kitchen table…
or a charming Inn in the woods…
when her soul needs soothing…
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she can and can’t accomplish in a day… a month... or a year…

Nancy did a pretty good job of living her creed. She may not have had a "juicy" past but she sure had a lot of fun...and there was that night at the Chinese restaurant! She had her own power tools and she knew how to use them. She cooked many a meal that made her guests feel honored, whether it was just Kit and Erin or her whole Gourmet group. Nancy had lots of friends to both laugh and cry with and they all loved her. Before she married Aaron, she had to learn to live alone and she did it well, while teaching full time and raising an amazing son. And even with cancer, she took control of her destiny and fought like hell. Nancy knew how to soothe her soul.
(The only area in which she may have let us down was in the lingerie department. A black lace bra??? Nancy's version of Victoria's Secret was a jog bra or t-shirt...no scratchy black lace for her!)

I'll share more quotes from Nancy's craft room on another post...school day tomorrow. And, by the way, this little blog has TEN followers now...I'm so excited! The fact that 8 out of 10 of you guys have no face is no problem for me at all...I'll keep writing anyway.