My Room!

Hi all,

This is a picture heavy post because I wanted to show you my new room! It is constantly getting shuffled around because a certain person around here gets bored with seeing the same things. So, if my room changes in the next few months, don't panic!

I really like how my room looks now, though, so it probably won't get changed for a while. I've carefully arranged some of my travel souvenirs around my room, so that I will always remember the fun I had traveling.

So, are you ready for the tour? Then, let's go!

This is my bookcase. We built this out of a wooden shoebox and an extra plank of wood (for the shelves) that we bought at the craft store. I painted it blue, one of my favorite colors. It also contrasts nicely with the lavender walls. On the shelves, I have some of my favorite books, dolls, and stuffed animals.

My desk is a roll-top desk from the 1930s. Isn't it beautiful?

I keep my laptop, iPhone, iPod, and camera on top of my desk, along with several travel souvenirs. My diary, celebrity scrapbook, and photo album rest on top of the desk, as do a gooseneck lamp and the Eeyore figurine Marsali gave me.

I have several movie and travel posters up around my room, but my favorite wall hanging is my ribbon board. I like to keep treasured postcards, awards, and school photos on display, and this is the perfect way to display them.

Down here I have my beloved travel trunk. I brought this thing all the way from Paris. It was a gift from my grandparents, and it's packed full of souvenirs and treasures from home. Most importantly, this is where I keep my passport!

My current bed is a simple wooden bed with a silky purple comforter. I have another comforter that I love even more, but it doesn't fit well on this bed. I've packed that one away for now, but I'm sure I'll use it again sometime. I keep my two UglyDolls, Ice Bat and Abima, on my bed. Yes, I have Ice Bat now! I fell in love with Ice Bat when I saw Inky's, but it took me a while to track one down. When I finally found him, I gave Moxy to Lindsey. I didn't really want more than two UglyDolls, and since Abima was my first ever, I knew I had to keep him.

Behind my bed, I have another bookshelf for larger books. On top of the bookshelf, you can see my beloved traveling gnome, my Belle doll, a totem pole from Ketchikan, Alaska, and a shell I picked up while in Florida:

I keep some of my favorite clothes in my room, although since all of us girls in the dorm like to share clothes, we keep most of them in a larger armoire. I like to have my French flag on display in my room at all times, so I have that hanging over my clothes rack.

Finally, here is an overall look at my room:

Thanks for letting me share it with you!

~Sophie

Home again, greeted with presents!

So, I'm home! I arrived home completely exhausted on Halloween. I was so tired and dirty that I just refused to be seen, heading up to my dorm for a much-needed bath.

The following day, I had a thorough medical exam, followed by an emergency eye surgery (I'm good as new now!). I went into the hair salon and had my hair re-conditioned. The ends had gotten quite frizzy during my extensive travels. While I was there, I decided to put some curl into it. I knew the curls wouldn't stay for long, but I think my hair looks better with a little bit of volume to it.

When I was finally feeling up to it, I decided to take a walk around my neighborhood, getting the feel of it again. It felt so surreal to walk the streets I was once familiar with! It was a gorgeous day out, though, and I had fun looking for signs of autumn.




So, here is an up-close look at my hair. I've always wanted to put some curl into it, but I've never been brave enough to do it until now. How my hair looks curly reminds me of my favorite character Angélique in the film À la folie... pas du tout!



When I got back from my walk, I found a package waiting for me, from my best friends, Sora, Lorikeet, Violet, Lyre Chickadee, and Zipporah Valdez! They had been hinting about having birthday presents for me, but they didn't want to send them until I made it home.

When I opened the package, I pulled out a black tee with a jeweled Eiffel Tower on the front. How cute is that?



I also found the book Lassie: Adventures in Alaska (reminding me of my cruise!), a beautiful travel journal, a bottle of my favorite soda, several little Disney toys...



...and, best of all, this wooden Eiffel Tower! The quints obviously know how much I love to be reminded of Paris. I'm going to have so much fun painting this!



Also in the box was a message in a bottle. After carefully pulling the message out with a pair of tweezers, I read what it said:

True friends
are always
together
in spirit.



However nice receiving physical birthday presents is, the best present of all is definitely friendship! In this very modern world driven by individual success, friendship can be hard to come by, so I feel very grateful indeed to have best friends like Sora, Lorikeet, Lyre Chickadee, Violet, and Zipporah Valdez!

Thank you, girls, for the nice birthday gifts, but also for your friendship!

So, to my readers, what is the nicest gift you've ever gotten from a friend?

~Sophie