A Valentine You Can Afford

When we were dating, we had no money. But still we splurged on gourmet expensive suppers and flowers, thanks to Mr. Visa. Now we’re married, older and wiser, and we’ve kicked Mr. Visa out of our lives, which generally means that the high-end eating in AND out came to a slow and painful death, but…on the positive side of things, I learned to cook!

We’ve been affected by the recession like most people, and running our own business makes it quite a ride. This year (like last year….and the last…) I don’t have extra slushy money to go buy my husband a cool new tool from Home Depot. Instead I decided that the best gift I could give us was a really clean and tidy bedroom, one that feels restful from the moment you enter.

This year, my offering for our bedroom was new pillowcases. I made these pillow cases myself last week with some vintage looking fabric. My husband says they remind him of his grandmother. I laughed and said that it was a good thing we happen to have loved her very, very much!

Making pillow cases is not too hard. Just google “free pillowcase patterns”. And no, they don’t have to match your sheets!

Don’t they look lovely next to the colored artwork my 5 year old thought Mom and Dad would love above their bed?

We’ve never bought anything expensive for our home or bedroom, which is a good thing because I love the look of shabby chic/flea market/make it do. The bed is a futon with a locally made mattress of cotton and wool stuffing. And the round chair was one I bought from my college days. It’s still my favorite place to sit. I made the quilts myself. The rest of the blankets are….well, old. But clean and well cared for. I make the bed every day. I suppose every woman has their “gotta do’s” in their home; this one is one of mine. I find it soothing to see it during the day, and delicious to climb into a crisp well-made bed in the evening.

Here’s a close up of one of my quilts. I just love the whimsy little birdy!

I like a little bit of black in every room. In our bedroom, we have a stove that magically turns on with a switch, and a beautiful bentwood cradle that my husband used as a babe. It’s a good reminder that babies are a natural fruit from a good and godly marriage. I don’t take my fertility for granted; and I know I will mourn the day when it goes. I am thankful for my six children. I don’t pine for more, but they are welcome should they come. I have peace. And a cradle I love.

This was one of the splurges of the house: the biggest picture window we could get. It looks north, and I can see my dairy goats, hens, ducks and dogs meandering about in our little clearing in the woods. From my chair I can watch the driveway for my husband when he is coming home late. Sometimes I think about drapes. Then I think about cost, dust, cleaning, and cutting the view. I have no neighbors other than the coyotes, so I don’t worry much about privacy. Not that I walk in the skin!

I think every married couple needs a framed photo from their wedding in their bedroom. A good reminder of that time when your spouse sent you flying over the moon in love. The spark is still there. Remember it.

This was an old antique refrigerator given to us by my husband’s *other* grandmother, who I regret to this day not getting the opportunity to meet. I’d love to fill it full of quilts. Right now it’s full (full!) of old piano rolls for our player piano. Which thankfully is not in our bedroom!

On the floor I have a basket full of silk hydrangeas. I generally do not like *fake* flowers (or even dried dusty ones), but these I could not leave at the store! So I just fluff and dust them regularly and enjoy them.

In case you’re wondering, our baseboards are large. They are 7 inches tall! And the paint is called “Indian Painting” (8283w). It’s pink enough for me, clay enough for my husband. I love how it looks with the northern lighting; it’s very relaxing.

We don’t keep a TV in our room. Actually, we don’t keep a TV anywhere in the house anymore, but even when we did, the TV was still banned from the bedroom. So was (and is) the treadmill. I don’t like the look of big electronics and machinery in our room. I want our room to be a sanctuary, not a storage room either. That doesn’t mean, however, that it is always clean and neat as a pin.

Don’t have money for a valentine? Maybe with a little time and attention, your bedroom can become the one big valentine that will last the whole year through. Hearing my husband settling in for the night with a satisfying sigh in a room that encourages relaxation is, to me, worth the amount of effort and time on my part as a small token of my love.

Tagged as: holidays, homemaking