Ramblings of a Day Dreamer

Today, as I flipped through the channels on TV my eyes caught a quick glimpse of something that I hold near and dear to my heart, an equestrian dressage competition. I, like many former little girls, am a horse fanatic. I took horseback riding lessons (both English and Western) and each week, before my lesson, I remember the palms of my hands getting sweaty with nervous excitement. I remember opening the passenger side door of my mom's big, brown Dodge van to the smell of hay and manure and wanting to be no where else in the world. Oh I just loved, and continue to love horses. My favorite book at the library was always "How to Draw Horses" and I would...constantly. Even now, when my mind wonders at church or during a phone conversation, I find myself doodling horses all over the closest napkin, paper towel or scrap paper around. I would still be ecstatic to simply muck stalls all day every day if it put me within touching distance of a horse.

So, as I watched this competition, my mind began to stroll down memory lane towards the first horse I ever fell in love with. And for any of you horse lovers out there, you know what I mean. You know you're a horse lover the moment that you fall head over heals in love with your first horse. It hits you like a ton of bricks. You can think of nothing else (much like the way Velvet Brown falls in love with Pi in the movie National Velvet) and the one thing you desire in all the world is a horse of your own. Well, the first time I laid eyes on The Black Stallion in the 1979 movie, it was over. The way he ran on the beach, every muscle glistened against the ocean and his legs were so delicate and powerful in a way that I could not take my eyes off of the screen. Sigh...my heart still races at the thought of him.



And then, this memory took me to my next horse love...Denny, from The Man From Snowy River. Oh Denny is rugged and real. A mountain horse from the ranges of Australia. Just beautiful. That is probably one of my favorite movies of all time because it has everything...action, drama, romance, comedy and horses. Lots and lots of horses.



So then I start thinking about the kind of horse I would want if I could have any horse I wanted. A Fresian. Most definitely a Fresian. They have the elegance and beauty of Black and the power and vitality of a wise mountain horse.






As I dwell on my perfect horse for a while, my mind travels to the stacks and stacks of sketch books I had growing up of all the different horses I'd drawn over the years. Sketch books. Sketch books and scrap books. Not of pictures of friends and family mind you...nope. I would go through Pottery Barn catalogs and cut out pictures of my dream home. How I would decorate, paint, arrange things. Pottery Barn, a modern day mecca of interior design and decor. I love Pottery Barn. I pour through each month of my Pottery Barn catalog over and over again as though I could wish the products into being...right in the middle of my not-so-Pottery Barn living room. And then I start thinking of kitchens...





My dream kitchen is the kitchen from Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I love the sleek lines of the stainless steel appliances and the glass tile around the double wall oven. I could really create in a kitchen like that. Man oh man. And I'd fill it with scads of kitchen accessories and tools from none other than Williams Sonoma. Have you ever smelled a Williams Sonoma? It's incredible. I urge you to walk into a Williams Sonoma any free day and breathe it in...aren't you inspired?



Well of course, I have to have a house to put all this amazing stuff in. I know just the one! It's a large, white house in Pasadena, CA. You've all seen it. The house from Father of the Bride. Beautiful and simple. Complete with a white picket fence and a basket ball hoop over the garage.

So there you have it. 20 minutes worth of day dreaming. And then I look down at my husband in the floor with our two little creations and I realize, I have everything I could ever want...right here in the middle of my not-so-Pottery Barn living room.