Purging, Organizing And A Cool Find

During the holidays last week, I came down with a serious case of organizational fever.  Ever hear of it?  It strikes without warning and the only cure is to jump in, purge some belongings and set about organizing the rest.  The girls' room was the main source of my concern.  The room itself only contained two twin beds and a dresser.  That's it.  All the girls' toys had to be stored in their closet because I simply didn't have any buckets or shelves or bins to organize elsewhere. And the closet was getting way too full.  I was mentioning this dilemma to my dad and he suggested taking an extra bookshelf from his house and using it for my organizing pleasure.  Not only did I find the bookshelf to be the perfect size to fit the space, but I also found a stash of baskets at my parents' house (my mom had quite a basket collection).  And then I set about the task of going through each and every toy, game, book, puzzle, doll, etc.  I got rid of quite a bit and then grouped the rest into different categories.  The baskets came in extremely handy for this!  When I was done, I looked at the shelf and wished I had one or two special items to display-- something unique and special.  Not sure exactly what I wanted, I put that thought on the back burner, and moved on to Christmas decorating.

Once again, I headed to my parents' house because I wanted to incorporate some of mom's ornaments on our tree.  While up in their attic, I discovered a box my mom had labeled "Emily Nostalgia".  Intrigued, I opened it up to find so many precious things (of course I cried).  There was a framed needlepoint piece that my mom had done in 1985.  It had my name, some hearts, and a special quote and an "I Love You".  I remember that it had hung in my room as a little girl.  I found my old point shoes from my senior year in ballet, some trophies, some old stories I had written, and a special doll named Lucy.  Lucy was my mom's favorite doll when she was little.  When my mom was young, her family didn't have a lot of money, but her parents had worked hard to give her this special doll.  Next to Lucy was a suitcase full of doll clothes that my Grandma had made.  I remember my mom letting me play with Lucy and dress her up.  I thought she was pretty special then, but had forgotten what had happened to her.  Well, here she was, staring back up at me with her glassy, blue doll eyes.  Then it hit me- -this is exactly the sort of special item I want to display on the girls' new bookshelf!  Yes!

I took her home and the girls instantly thought she was very cool.  I told them the story about Lucy; how she was Grandma's doll when she was little.  I reminded them that she is fragile and that if they want to play with her, they need to ask my permission.  They loved going through all the clothes, imagining which dress would look best for different occasions. Their enthusiasm for Lucy reminded me of my own.  It was a perfect fit.

Here's the new bookshelf.  The framed picture on the top is a pregnancy portrait I had taken when I was six months pregnant with Hannah and Leah.

Lucy in her party dress

The suitcase of doll clothes

The detail in these clothes amazes me.  The time my Grandma spent in sewing and crocheting these items just astounds me.  It truly speaks of her love for her daughter.  I love the little navy felt skirt with red rick-rack and the matching red top.  So cute!