On naming houses, using the good china, and making ordinary life feel a little more magical.

Somewhere along the way, I decided that if I was going to spend my days folding laundry, making meals, homeschooling my girls, and picking up the same things approximately seventeen times a day, I might as well make the whole thing a little more whimsical, but not in a buy a linen dress and move to the English countryside sort of way. (Although, if someone would like to make that happen for me, I’m listening.)

I mean finding little ways to make the life I already have feel more beautiful and storybook. Let’s face it, the list of chores as a mom/wife/homemaker regenerates overnight, and it can get a little depressing. The facts are that I’m 36. I’m a mom of three girls. My days are full of the wonderfully ordinary things that come with raising a family, and I’ve found that I don’t need a completely different life to make mine feel special. I just need to pay a little more attention to the one I have.

Here are some of the ways I’ve been romanticizing my life lately.

1. I Named My House

Yes, my house has a name.

I realize this is perhaps a little eccentric, but I also think it’s delightful. There’s something about giving your home a name that makes it feel less like a building you happen to live in and more like a place with a story of its own. Our home is where my family grows, where the seasons come and go, where we celebrate birthdays and make memories and eventually collect all sorts of stories. Why shouldn’t it have a name?

I love the idea of a house having a little personality, even if it’s a perfectly ordinary suburban house with a pile of shoes by the door.

Especially then, actually. Do you want to know what I named it?

2. I Name the Rooms, Too

We don’t just have rooms. We have a library. A theater room. The baking pantry vs the larder…spaces with names make them feel like destinations rather than just another part of the house. It sounds like such a small thing, but naming a room changes the way you think about it. A spare corner could become the reading nook. A room with a television becomes a little home theater. A sunny spot by the window becomes the perfect place to sit with a book. Growing up, my Grammy had a blue room and a pink room and we called them just that. Maybe I come by this room-naming thing honestly.

3. I Style My Bookshelves

I love books, and I think bookshelves should look like they belong to someone who loves books. That doesn’t necessarily mean arranging every book by color or buying a collection of matching decorative objects. I like shelves that feel collected, personal, and a little bit literary. Books mixed with meaningful treasures. Objects that remind you of a trip, a person, or a particular season of life. I will say, this requires a bit of compromise with my husband. “You’re covering the books!” He will say. Am I? I prefer layering.

A bookshelf can tell a story about the people who live in a house. It can be beautiful without being precious, and it can be full without looking like a storage unit.

4. I Bought Fancy Fuzzy Slippers

This one might be the easiest place to start. I have decided that a woman who spends much of her day at home deserves a pair of slippers that make her feel like she’s living in a Nancy Meyers movie, even if she’s actually walking into the kitchen to unload the dishwasher. My friend Kayla and I loved watching the Renee Zellweger movie, Down With Love. Have you seen it? There’s this great scene where the main character has been giving a stunning high rise apartment to live in by her publisher and she is floating around it in a gauzy pink robe and feather, pink, high-heeled slippers. That’s the vibe I’m after, without the impracticality of the heels and sheer robe.

Even though, there is no practical reason my house slippers need to be especially lovely. Ordinary slippers would do the job perfectly well. That’s not the point. There’s something rather wonderful about making even the most mundane parts of your day feel a little luxurious.

5. I Use My Fine China

I have never quite understood the idea that the beautiful dishes must wait for company.

Of course, I understand wanting to preserve special things. But I also think there’s a certain sadness in owning lovely things that spend their entire lives behind glass, waiting for a day that may or may not come. I want to use the pretty plates. I want to drink out of the nice teacups. I want an ordinary lunch at home to feel a little more special simply because I put it on something beautiful. Will my children occasionally spill something? Almost certainly. Will someone probably use the wrong fork? I imagine so, but the dishes are meant to be used, and meals with my family are exactly the sort of occasions worth celebrating.

6. I Decorate for the Seasons

Seasonal decorating is one of my favorite ways to make ordinary life feel special.

I love the feeling of a home changing with the calendar. I don’t think you need to buy an entirely new collection of decorations every few months. In fact, I love greeting my seasonal decorations every year. “There you are, friendly Thanksgiving turkey”. “Hello there, Christmas village.” A few thoughtful touches can be enough to mark the change.

I love a seasonal wreath, branches in a vase, a bowl of miniature pumpkins, a stack of books that suits the weather, a special tablecloth brought out for a holiday. These little changes give me something to anticipate. They help the year feel like it has chapters rather than one long stretch of school days, grocery shopping, and laundry.

I want my girls to grow up remembering that our home changed with the seasons, that there was always something to look forward to, and that even ordinary weeks had their own little celebrations.

7. I Put on Music

A house feels different when there’s music playing. A quiet morning with a cup of coffee calls for something different than a kitchen full of girls getting ready for the day. I love putting on music that suits the mood I want to create, whether that’s something peaceful in the morning, worship music while we go about our day, or a cheerful playlist while we’re cleaning. French cafe music while I’m making dinner is enchanting. Music has a way of transforming an ordinary task without changing the task itself. I’m still making dinner, but suddenly, we’re living inside a little scene instead of simply getting through a list of things to do.

8. I Keep Flowers in the House

Fresh flowers are one of those things that can seem unnecessary when you’re thinking strictly in terms of a household budget.They’re not groceries. They aren’t school supplies. They aren’t something the family absolutely needs, but I think there’s room in a well-lived life for things that are simply lovely.

9. I Light Candles

There is a very particular feeling that comes with lighting a candle in the late afternoon, especially when the light outside begins to change. A candle makes an ordinary room feel softer and dinner feel a little more intentional. It gives the evening a sense of beginning, as though we’re transitioning from the busy part of the day into something quieter.

10. I Let the Natural Light In

One of my favorite things about a home is the way it feels when the sunlight pours through the windows. I love opening the curtains in the morning and letting the rooms fill with natural light. I love the way the light changes throughout the day, moving across the walls and floors. I love a bright kitchen, a sunny reading spot, and the feeling of a house waking up with the morning.

It’s such a simple thing, but it makes me happier in my home.

11. I Hang Flowing Curtains

I know curtains are a fairly ordinary household item, but I think they can make an extraordinary difference to the feeling of a room. I love curtains that hang softly, that frame a window and move a little when the breeze comes through. They add softness and movement to a space that might otherwise feel rather flat.

12. I Treat Ordinary Days Like They’re Worth Celebrating

This might be the real secret behind all the others.

I don’t want to wait for a birthday, a holiday, a vacation, or some future version of my life before I start enjoying the days I’m given. I want to make a regular Tuesday feel special, too. That might mean setting the table with pretty dishes, putting flowers beside the kitchen sink, playing music while I cook, or making an afternoon cup of tea feel like a small event.

It might mean reading aloud with my girls, taking the long way home to look at the trees, or making a simple seasonal tradition out of something we already do. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It doesn’t have to cost money, and it certainly doesn’t have to be photographed and shared with anyone.

Some of the loveliest moments in a life are the ones that belong only to the people who were there.

I want to cultivate a home where my girls learn that ordinary life is full of good things, that beauty is worth noticing, and that we don’t have to wait for something extraordinary to be happy.

A Little More Magic in the Life You Already Have

I think there’s a temptation, especially in this season of motherhood, to believe that we’ll have more time for beauty later.Later, when the children are older. Later, when the house is finished. Later, when the budget is bigger, the schedule is quieter, or the laundry is finally caught up.

But I’m not particularly interested in waiting for later. I’m 36, and this is my life right now. It’s noisy and busy and full of ordinary responsibilities. It’s also full of little girls, books, music, changing seasons, family meals, and a home that holds the story of our family.

I want to make it beautiful in ways that are meaningful to us. I want to light the candle, use the pretty dishes, hang the curtains, and give the rooms names that make us smile.

Not because a beautiful home is a perfect home, but because I believe there’s something good about noticing the beauty that’s already available to us.

P.S. I live at Maple Manor.