it likely comes as no surprise to anyone who’s been prego, or known someone who has been, that i’m at a point where the only thing i want in the world is to sleep…but there are things like heartburn, hips going numb and the nightly panic of waking up laying on my back (a no-no) that wake me up, and keep me up. it’s no joke when they say these last months of waiting for the babe are just prepping you for the sleeplessness to come.

i digress…it was during one of these insomnia fueled nights that i opened my laptop and started putting some more focus on re-nest’s social media endeavors. and i came across one of my latest shares from emily henderson where she redesigned a bedroom for a deserving tween girl…and it got me thinking (and discovering a revelation) about how design and creativeness and the home has always played a role in my life.

you see, yes it was my mimi who i have to credit for teaching me about craftiness…but as for home design, i have to give kudos to my mama. my earliest memory of getting to be selective about my bedroom was when we made the move from pennsylvania to indiana when i was nine. maybe it was a bribe or a way to get me to be okay with leaving pennsylvania, but my mom let me have my way with my bedroom. i was nine. looking back on that (and now with my “i’m a mama now” glasses), that took guts. maybe she saw something in me that knew i would put thought into it and not select something horrifying that would devalue the home from the get-go (or more likely she just knew that if that we’re to happen, she and my dad had parent veto power). whatever it was, it started a trend with me of always caring how my bedroom was designed. (note: in case my mom or dad ever read this, i said i cared about how my bedroom was designed. not how clean or picked up it was. i was a horrible offender of having a messy bedroom.)

not my cat border. but mine was just about as bad.

the year was 1988…i went with a pale pink, green and blue bedding set by benetton for my new, gold day bed, ala “can’t buy me love.” (remember benetton? remember mcdreamy in “can’t buy me love?”) oh, and at the time borders were all the rage in home decor. so i chose one with pastels and cats. (i thought i loved cats. and wasn’t aware of how horrifically allergic i am to them.)

that melded into a bright color palette as i moved into my tween years (we weren’t called tweens then). the bedroom transitioned into a magenta, kelly green and cobalt blue colorblock design…and the cat border said goodbye. which then transitioned into the time for the day bed to say goodbye for a full size bed, which meant new bedding! this time, it was a navy, sapphire, white and a splash of kelly green plaid combo that caught my eye. and that stayed through college until i had a place of my own.

it took reading emily’s post on decorating for a tween to remind me just how much home decor has been a part of my life, and not just from when i got a place of my own. it kind of feels like that benetton bedding and the cat border is to thank for where a huge passion of mine lies. so, thanks to jcpenney for the benetton bedding, and most importantly, thanks to my mama for giving me the tremendous opportunity to start exploring this love of mine at such a young age.

here’s to finding your passion,
ashley