a quiet place

recently, my mum and sister went for a visit to england to see my family. And now for some reason, ever since they left, all i can think about is my nanna's house. With it's familiar damp smell, a smell that might seem strange to others but to my siblings and I is a smell that comforts. We even go as far as to put our sweets and other small items in my nanna's cupboards while we're there so that the smell latches onto our items and we can go home with the smell. 

so in light of my sudden desire to hop on a plane and see my nanna and her home, I'm going to revisit some of my favourite things about her house.

- i love the thin carpets lining all the hallways and feeling the hard floor right beneath it. it's tradition when we're there that we have to walk on all the "bubbles" on the carpet. every single time.

- I love my Nanna's front bedroom where we stay. it's so grand and has a little sitting area with a mirror that reminds me of a 1920's dressing room. I love the big windows that each have a window seat. and my cousins and siblings would open the window and call out "welcome to new mexico" in the middle of the night during one of our sleepovers. with passwords and midnight snacks. that bedroom holds a lot of memories

- my nanna's living room is where we'd all get together to talk when we'd visit. I love the stools underneath the table covered in a red and white checkered tablecloth. i love eating nanna's toast with butter or coca pops for breakfast and sitting at that table watching the cartoons my nanna taped for us on the tv. Her phone and clock above the cupboards where she would keep the cakes and sweets she had bought for us. her tall blue chair and electric fireplace that she hangs her tea towels over when they're damp to dry. 

- the front room is my quiet place when I'm there. I love to sit on the window seat and peer through the sheer curtains and look at the people walking by. it's the room where you go to think and read a book... or practice dance routines with your cousins after you make band and change the lyrics to "Venga Bus." 

- the middle room or the green room is a room that isn't touched much. a fireplace and chairs line the walls with an amour near the front. and despite all these things in there, i can't say i remember any of us spending much time in there....which is why it makes such a great hiding spot when you play hide and seek. 

- and one of my other favourite places is my nanna's bedroom. simple, clean and neat. i never really go in there but I love to stand at the door and look at my nanna's shoes lined up in the corner. seeing the same hand cream my mum, sister and I use on my nanna's night table. 

this house holds so many of my childhood memories... even though i wasn't there for the majority of my childhood. my nanna's house is so quiet and peaceful, that when I'm there, i'm forced to be the same way and relax. which is probably why I've been constantly dreaming of being there for the last two months...