Wednesday, January 20, 2016

A beautiful life takes time....


As a younger woman, I dreamed of a lavish life, filled with travel, French perfumes, designer shoes, and antique jewels.

I was a young, single Mum for many years, and that life seemed, for a long time, unreachable.

But that didn't prevent me from keeping my scrapbooks, and poring over Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and Gourmet Traveller, keeping that dream alive.

This was pre-internet and pre-Pinterest days, so back then, I kept a three ring binder of pages full of ideas for how my life would be one day.


I labelled the first section, 'My Home' and filled it with pictures of beautiful traditional family homes,  rooms furnished in the style I liked, and articles on how to grow roses and lavender and fruit trees and herbs. 

In the section notated 'Personal', I kept advertisements for Chanel No. 5, gorgeous shoes, antique jewellery, and women I admired whose style and grace I hoped to emulate one day.


The 'Travel' section was chock-a-block full of views of the Eiffel Tower, the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London, shows I wanted to see on West End and Broadway, the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean, chateaus in France, castles in Italy. 


 It took forty years, what I hope is less than half my life, but eventually I saw most of the pictures in my 3-ring binder come to life.

By the age of 40, I had found my true love, completed my family with a daughter after three sons, and bought a home that we sculpted into our dream with our own hands. 

My darling showers me with the jewels (both real and faux), shares my love of travel to far flung destinations,  and enjoys seeing my face as each small dream is realised. He too, was in my 3 ring binder. Not as a picture, but as a list of qualities. A man who is kind, gentle, creative, and sensitive. A man who is not afraid of hard work or hard times. A man who loves me for who I am, not how I look.

How can you fulfill your dreams, if you don't know what your dreams are?

Pinterest is a wonderful modern day tool, but for me, that 3 ring binder was my slender cord to the life I wanted, and with patience, perseverance and focus, it has all come to pass. Do not underestimate the power of a book that you can hold in your hand and leaf through each day to keep you on track and focused on what is important to you.

Don't be afraid to say no to people or things that do not fit with your long term view of how you want your life to be.

Each day brings you closer to the life that awaits you.

These photos are of some of my more tangible treasures. Some real, some vintage, some faux, some hand made. I love them all.

Of course, the real treasures are my husband, sons and partners, daughter and grandchildren. And believe it or not, they are the most unexpected jewels of all.

Dream big. Set it down somewhere where you can view and review the dream constantly. Then over time, your dream will find you.

I promise.

Find that 3 ring binder, and fill it with images of the life you want. Then lets work together to see it to fruition.
 
...Mimi...
 
Sharing with friends at...
 
Winter Blues Wednesday
Stone Cottage Adventures 
Roses of Inspiration

20 comments:

  1. This is a terrific idea Mimi. I have just started re-reading Sarah Ban Breathnach's book " Something More" and in it she recommends keeping a self-discovery journal full of the pictures of things that one likes, that resonate with oneself and things that one wants to bring into their life. As you say "How can you fulfill your dreams if you don't know what your dreams are?."

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    1. Sherri, thankyou. I am familiar with Sarah's book through a friend, but haven't read it. I'll be looking out for it now. I'm a very visual person, so having those pictures really helped me. It also meant that if I spotted a trinket that was in keeping with my future decor, I could snap it up and feel like I was one step closer, you know? I had many trinkets before I fulfilled my dream of a rambling family home on acreage, but now they all take pride of place in that home as a reminder of my humble life back then. Mimi xxx

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  2. Simply lovely Mimi and oh so true about your greatest treasures and jewels of all. :)

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    1. Yes my darlings are the jewels in my life, that is for sure. Thanks Debbie. Mimi xxx

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  3. This was such a sweet post, dear Mimi...filled with lovely pictures of some of your 'treasures' too! I am so very happy to hear the Lord granted you the desires of your heart and also blessed you with a daughter! He is good...all the time! Thank you for sharing lovely inspiration today...I too love something I can page through - although Pinterest is also a firm friend o' mine!
    Hugs to you!
    Kelly-Anne

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    1. Thankyou Kelly-Anne. You are sweet to say so. I had many lessons to learn before I was granted the life I desired, but that made me appreciate it all the more. Hugs to you too, Mimi xxx

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  4. Glad you never lost sight of your dream. A great way to have faith and believe that life will get better! Wonderful idea!

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    1. Robyne, my faith never wavered. And even when I faced challenges that seemed insurmountable, I knew there was a lesson in them, and just trusted that the lesson would be made clear to me somewhere down the track. It always was, and here I am now, living a life that was but a distant dream back in those days. It's so important to believe that life will get better, but also to learn from your mistakes. Don't you think? Mimi xxx

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  5. I was (am) a three-ring binder gal myself... And Chanel? My teenage bedroom was wallpapered with their ads! :)

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    1. Ah Jes. You truly are a girl after my own heart. I knew we were soul sisters! Mimi xxx

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  6. Good Morning Mimi, I really enjoyed reading about your journey to finding true love and the life you wished for yourself.
    I remember as a teenager keeping a scrap book of things I loved and I really wish now I had kept it, but I have lived in different countries throughout my married life that often things were thrown away, but your memories have fired my memories of my scrap book and it so so lovely to remember my precious book.
    Best Wishes to you.
    Daphne

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    1. Daphne, the loss of your teenage scrapbook is perhaps a sign that your dreams of that time, are different to the dreams you now harbour in your heart of hearts. Sometimes it's good to start over with new dreams too, and not let old ones hold us back. I bet it would be an interesting experiment for you to start a new book of dreams. We are never to old to dream. Love, Mimi xxx

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  7. Being in the early stages of grandparenting there are certain things I want to do with my grandchildren and the relationship I want to have with them, a notebook along these lines would be perfect. Thanks for the inspiration. By the way, it's a beautiful post!

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    1. Patsy, I have a Pinterest board called Nanna Moments for that purpose, but to be honest, it's my book of dreams that makes me remember what was important to me as a child. Sometimes Pinterest and blogs can actually be a distraction from what is important in life. We don't always have to be 'doing'. Sometimes it's good to just 'be'. My happiest moments with my grandaughters and grandsons are the ones where we just talk and sit....Mimi xxx

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  8. As much as I love Pinterest I like something I can pull out now and then and pour over. Many of my images are culled from the older Victoria Magazine and now many from Maryjane's Farm. I suppose over the years I've become a bit of a refined farmgirl!
    Hope your day is lovely!

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    1. I'm with you Laurie. I have magazines that I refuse to part with because of their beautiful images. I love that you describe yourself as 'refined farmgirl'. Sounds perfect to me! Mimi xxx

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  9. There is something so wonderful about holding visual images in your hands! I love the idea of keeping a journal with pictures! Have a beautiful week, Lynn

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  10. Who needs Pinterest when you have 3 ring binders! A beautiful collection of thoughts and dreams are a wonderful thing to look back on and amazing when you are able to tick off some of those dreams!

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  11. Precious friend, what a sweet and lovely post. How I love seeing beauty every where I look and keeping a binder full of beauty is a delightful idea :)

    Thanks for sharing with Roses of Inspiration. I hope to see you at the party tomorrow. Hugs!

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  12. Thanks for sharing your treasures! Thanks for sharing this on the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop! I also pinned this to the Thursday Favorite Things Pinterest Board.

    Shellie
    www.thefabjourney.com

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I love hearing from you! I always respond to comments, so don't be shy! Mimi xxx