I treated myself to a walk through Peddler’s Mall today. I said I was going to look for cloth napkins (our stash at home is running low – my napkins are like socks that disappear from the drier!), but I really just wanted the trip down memory lane. Secondhand and affordable antique stores are always filled with bits and baubles from my childhood, and it’s fun to wander and think about how I could repurpose this or rescue that. Plus, deep down, I’m always hopeful I might find another lady head vase.

A couple of these lived on a shelf at the home of my great aunt (the one with all the fabric hexies) and I find them charming. They were originally produced in the mid-1900s by florist companies and marketed to hold tiny bouquets. I have three that adorn various corners in my home and I fill their hats with zinnias in the summer, but they’ve also held make-up brushes, paint brushes, broken jewelry, or nothing at all, existing solely because the sight of them brings me joy.

That’s high praise, considering I require most things in my home to be both beautiful and useful. Perhaps the lady head vases can be my reminder that I don’t always have to earn my keep. I’m worth being kept just for being me?