A Happy Birthday Bedroom Tour

Regrettably, my third-born's birthday happened while I was away in Malaysia.

I missed it completely.

So as soon as I rolled back into Danang and settled in to spend my last few days in Asia as her roommate, I decided to make up for lost time. My first order of business was to make my baby a happy birthday banner.

Thankfully, I had brought my paints, brushes and art paper with me from home. 

I even thought to bring some coordinating string and a fresh roll of tape. 

And I found a perfect assistant in the form of Sally, the ten-year-old daughter of the family with whom my daughter lives.

^ While the birthday girl was off at work, Sally and I set straight to work and whipped up this little gem. We hung it up on the wall, and then Sally settled into playing a game on my daughter's laptop.  

I snapped a few shots of our banner, and noticed with fresh eyes all of the cozy little touches that my daughter has added to her home away from home.

^ Well. Her mint-colored baby blanket. And this cute stuffed little tiger, a parting gift from her baby sister. Even when we are all grown up and traveling the world, we still like to keep our comforts close at hand, right?

^ Above her dressing table, my daughter has a well-curated collection of art: 

drawings from little girls who adore her, 

photos and postcards from family and friends, 

an assortment of necklaces 

and a soft silk rose. 

^ Sally was not impressed by my photo shoot. She played on.

^ This woven rug, positioned near the bathroom door, perfectly captures the spunky, colorful charm and simple style of the room. It's also tiny, like my itty bitty third-born, and I love to see her stand on it, with her little feet fitting just right.

^ This name art was a little gift I made just before my daughter left home last year. She carefully wrapped it up and told me that she would hang it up in her Vietnamese bedroom. And sure enough, that's exactly what she did. 

^ And still Sally sat, completely engrossed in her game. She's a regular visitor here in my daughter's room, and with her precious chubby Asian cheeks and adorable school uniform, she makes another lovely addition to this cozy space.

* * * * *

About an hour later, the bedroom door burst open and my daughter whooshed in, hot from her ride home and eager to join us in the air conditioned room. Her eyes quickly fell on the new banner, and Sally, finally looking up from the laptop, excitedly burst out with the whole story of how she helped me make it.

Then we all laid on the bed together and watched Sally finish her game. And that was a very nice start to our belated birthday celebration.

* * * * *

Once there were two best friends named Jane and Audrey, and I wrote about both of their stylish bedrooms. Read the other story here:

The Room Of Audrey Paige