if i were maria.

i think that raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens are very nice.. and cute.. but these are not my favorite things. nope. if i had written that song, my favorite things would be things like.. hot coffee on a cool morning. autumn leaves. a nice breeze on a tropical beach. a super cute and comfortable (ha) pair of jessica simpson shoes. the first day of warm weather after the winter and you put your windows down in the car and your favorite song comes on... yah. i am happy just thinking about those things.

i have things like that in my home too. things that when i see them i just think, i LOVE this thing! so here, for your viewing pleasure, are my absolute 'favorite-will-never-be-put-away-so-i-can-always-look-at-them' things.

i bought this bird at target during the christmas season. i suppose it is 'supposed' to be a christmas decoration, but i think it is too beautiful to only be out one part of the year. it sits out all year in prominent places so i can see it! and i think it probably cost me less than $10. and i adore it.

this is my big, fat, red apple. it cost me $0 because it had belonged to my mom and she gave it to me. it's a candle inside (that smells absolutely wonderful) and once it's done being a candle you can turn it into some kind of cookie jar or something. i don't care what's inside. i love this big fat apple. i realize this is me entering into 'crazy land' but i just want to give this apple a hug. that is how much i love it. i know this means i have to check into an institution.

this is the little trio on my dresser. i couldn't pick whether i liked the birds better or that big green thing (whatever it is). i saw the brids at marshalls and didn't buy them. i thought i didn't really need them as much as i needed other things (we had JUST moved to georgia and needed lots of things). this was a mistake however. i thought about those birds every day and was sad until i got some money from my wonderful husband a month later. i went to see if they were still there. they were. : ) (thank goodness! i would have regretted that so long!) then i knew i needed something green and tall with them. i saw this at marshalls a month later and grabbed it up. no way was i letting another perfect thing i love be possibly bought by another person. i knew it belonged in my room and i didn't take the chance. so glad! they are among my very favorite things! (this whole set probably cost me about $30.. they were some excellent deals.)

ahhh my cute-as-a-button bird lamps. complete with leaves, twigs, a bird and little crystals! come. on. love them. my sister found these at mashalls for $20 a piece (one for each side of the bed). i said, "ohhh, i can only get oneeeee. what should i do? not get it?" and this is when my sweet, wonderful, angelic sister said, "i'll buy the other one for you." what a good sister. seriously. so i had two lamps i LOVE, phil didn't have to be upset that i went $20 over my budget because i didn't, and now my lamps remind me of my sweet sister and her generosity. <3

my chair. oh how i love this chair. it was $130 at marshalls. i was allowed to spend $100... which i had already spent.. oh dear. i KNEW it belonged in my space. i thought maybe, just maybe.. phil would let me buy it. it ties all the colors of my space in together. blue, black furniture, gold, silver with the studs... had. to. have. thankfully i have the sweetest husband alive who, after coming home from work, drove me back to marshalls to buy me the chair. *sigh* what a gentleman, making such sacrifices for his lady..

this is dangerous to say... but this might possibly be my absolute favorite thing of all the favorites.. i don't know. the silver bird, if a second, is a very very close second. i got this little canister at our second wedding reception in indianapolis (so glad we did that!). i didn't register for it. it was just one of those surprise gifts you get. i loved it right away. i put it in a prominent place in our last apartment and looked at it a LOT. then when we moved here and painted the fireplace wall blue, this little baby looked even better. i am seriously madly in love. i never even thought to look on the bottom to see who makes it. guess what. it is from 1-800-flowers. i saw it online, it comes with an arrangement in it. yah! somebody gave me their old flower arrangement container! why they would give this thing away i have no clue. it's lovely. but i have to say, i'm not really mad at all that they did. i think it's a little weird that somebody bought them a gift of flowers with this and they gave it away to somebody else, but oh well. i adore it and will most likely always keep a place to display it.

 i find it funny that all my favorite things were relatively inexpensive. the most expensive was $130 and that was for a piece of furniture. maybe that's part of what makes me love these things. either they were free and given to me, or i got such good deals on them so there was no guilt associated with purchasing them. whatever the reasons, these are my favorite things and i just know they will be seen around my home for some time to come.