Erin Here, Hello!

I am grateful to have the privilege to introduce myself today as the third blogger of Shabby Pine Cottage and fortunate good friend of April and Wendy.  Although each of us plenty different, we have a distinct common tie.  What binds us, beyond enjoying a “cuppa” tea daily, is our passion for discovering what comforts us, keeps us, and just simply helps us get through the requirements of daily living (thus, the sanity breaks involving kettles of tea!).  

You will find me the complete and total lover of all things Mid-Century Modern (or  MCM).  It started with a little magazine called Domino (some of you may remember, though unfortunately no longer published).  Its contributors were genius at combining styles in a broadly appealing way.  Shortly after, I was enticed to make my first modern purchases, a set of Harry Bertoia wire chairs and a large hanging Noguchi lamp.  Pairing them with a round, wood Crate and Barrel dining table, I completed my first eclectic design schematic!  Every day thereafter, I loved sitting at that table, feeling so proud of myself.  

Harry Bertoia Wire Chair, Circa 1952

My excitement over MCM décor was further propelled by nostalgia.  My grandmother had many Heywood- Wakefield furniture pieces.  Many of you may be familiar with their beautiful champagne colored finish!  Now, they have been handed down to me (the only one in the family interested in this “old stuff”).  Every day I sit at my new/old dining table, thinking how cool it is that my dad sat at this table every day while growing up with his family.  As many of us do, I imagine past eras as more romantic and sweet than they may have actually been.  I picture my dad and his three sisters, along with my grandparents sitting nicely to a well-prepared dinner, each taking his turn to talk about his day with responding words of support and encouragement.   

My dad might laugh at that notion!  Truthfully, it was probably more like today.  My romanticization and reality parallels probably end with every evening sitting down for dinner together (we’ve managed to keep that tradition for now).  It’s more like kids squirming in their seats to a frantically prepared meal while doing their best to make the others laugh with inappropriate sounds and dinner talk.  I think that they think dinnertime is a forum to try out their performing arts skills (i.e. things they learned at school from friends that day)!  Either way, undoubtedly, these moments bond our family, much like they always have through time.

We all need those things in our lives that make us smile each day and help us remember all things good.  I hope you, too, have those things, whether new or old, big or small, physical or simply a memory.  I will share some of those things of mine, along with my lovely and funny compadres.  Please feel free to share with us, as well, or simply just read.   

Erin