Meet My Secretary

I am joining Barb at Grits and Glamour for a fun new party—Tabletop Tuesdays. Today I would like for you to meet my secretary…the closest I’ll ever get to having one. Barb, I hope this counts!

This is in our formal living room…and (I never really realized until today) filled with more than bric a brac. It is filled with keepsakes and things I love. Almost every piece has significance.

The small nooks and crannies of a secretary make it the perfect place to store small treasures that might be lost in a bigger space. The tiny porcelain pink and white shoe was given to me when our daughter was born—twenty eight years ago tomorrow. The rose is a Herend rose given to me by a friend I helped during a difficult time. It was her way of saying thank you. And now it reminds me to be grateful too.

This plate belonged to my great grandmother. I never knew her, but always loved this plate. There are no markings on it….except for the crack. I don’t mind the crack…it’s the face I love.

Even the books have meaning. The Amy Vanderbuilt book of Etiquette is the one I used to plan my own wedding and referred to when Sunshine got married last summer. I find that good manners don’t change much over the years. The Rumford Cookbook is a very old one that belonged to my great grandmother. The others belonged to my dad.

Beloved’s grandfather’s pocket watch on a small easel for display.

A picture of Sunshine and us when she was presented at Cotton Carnival. She promised she’d get married in this dress if I would buy it. It’s okay---I knew she didn’t really mean it :)

A porcelain dogwood bloom and a miniature teapot. There are three teapots in this secretary…I didn’t even know I collected them :)

Thanks for sharing this with me. You can visit Barb at Grits and Glamour here for inspiring vignettes. Thanks for hosting the party Barb!

EDITED--If you read my last post, I dont' know what happened! I'm back!