Just as our relationship and marriage has changed and evolved over the past ten years, Justin and I have gone through the motions of settling down, packing and unpacking only to pack again and move homes. When we met he was taking some courses to be eligible to apply to dental school, and I was in the process of changing jobs and careers while living in San Francisco. We lived together during our courtship and began to turn our little apartment into a home after our first son was born. It was such a period of growth and change for us personally that our focus was primarily learning how to be parents and maintain a healthy relationship between the both of us at the same time. Our sweet little apartment was filled with hand-me-downs and decorated somewhat haphazardly, but we loved it and it was our treasured home.
By the time we moved to New York City with two children, my relationship with Justin had solidified and rested into a keystone of trust that we both leaned on with all of our heart and soul. So much was being sacrificed by leveraging our marriage and family against the pressures of dental school coupled with moving to a place where we were away from anything or anyone familiar. We spent lots of time and energy in making that little apartment in Manhattan feel like the coziest and safest place for all of us. We had our furniture that belonged to previous family members laden with familiar afghans and cloaked in their framed photos. We rested easy knowing that our home was our retreat and while we didn’t spend much on its decor, it was precisely what we needed at the time: comfortable, clean and familiar.
Justin graduated four years after we moved to New York. We packed up another moving van and traveled to the other side of the continent, but our souls and saddlebags were filled to the brim with the experience and knowledge that comes with persevering through so much life stuff. It was like starting a whole new life in California, and we were able to finally buy a few new pieces of furniture to begin the next phase. We took care in purchasing things for our home and thinking about what means the most to us when it comes to interior design: comfort, warmth, space and light. Of all the rooms that we put effort into, our bedrooms came first and they still do. We spend our serene, quiet and safe moments in the comfort of our bedrooms and for me that was an easy, small enough space to begin to decorate. We’ve chosen a couple of collections from JC Penney’s Royal Velvet line, as they are sold both separately and in sets so it was easy to build our master bedroom beginning with the textures and color lines of the Royal Velvet styles. Especially during these holiday months when I’m personally wanting to decorate in rich, warm tones, these collections are the perfect accent for our home and the royal moments we so cherish as a family.
We’ve gotten to the place in our marriage and as a family where we feel like we can finally lay roots down of our own in our hometown. The initial stress and feelings of uncertainty are quelled with the security of our jobs and knowing our families are close, and our home feels and shows it. We have a long way to go, but we’ve also come a long way and I am so proud of where we are and the strength our marriage has shown through it all. Enjoying the holidays here in our home with family all around is exactly what we have wanted for so long, and I’m having fun dressing up the place just a bit in honor of that.
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