1.  Himalayan salt rock lamp.

On a friend’s recommendation I picked up one of these for all three bedrooms to they purify the air and ease allergy/asthma symptoms. You can read the science-y explanation for it here, but know there are other sources that say science (scientific science, that is) doesn’t support these claims. I don’t know from all that, but I can say since I put one in my bedroom I sleep better and it feels more peaceful.

2.  Comfy overstuffed chairs.

We have one of those master bedrooms with a sitting area that holds two enormously comfortable overstuffed chairs. They’re definitely not used for all the deep thought pontificating I have time for now that my kids are back in school. Things they have come in handy for: out of the way heart-to-hearts, a soft place to hide when I’m on a private call (crazy concept, I know), and dog snuggling.

3.  Earplugs.

It’s not sexy. Then again, I’m less likely to murder someone pre-coffee if I get a solid night’s sleep. That’s sexy, right? So earplugs.

4.  Excellent blinds.

We have a lot of windows in there. Five, to be precise. And five windows let in a whole lot of light at really inconvenient hours like six in the freaking morning.

5.  Toddler photos of the kids.

Man, it is hard to believe they were ever that small. Sweet smiles, chubby cheeks, joy oozing out of every pore. Looking at these pics is a solid antidote when things get a little too teen hormonal around here.

6.  A quilt rack.

BrightSide’s dad made us a wonderful quilt rack – yeah, he’s the sort of guy who has a workshop and isn’t afraid to use it. He also sanded down the cedar chest in there. It was my childhood toy box that my mom, in one of her more misguided moments, painted white. Now that it’s back to its original state it is absolutely beautiful.

7.  Plus the quilts.

The rack holds a couple of very special quilts. One is from BrightSide’s grandmother, and the other? My mom made that one. She took fabric patches – from my brownie uniform, my first communion dress, outfits I adored through the years – and painstakingly stitched them together into a story of my life. All this years after her Parkinson’s diagnosis when that sort of crafting was a true labor of love. Then she gave it to me at my bridal shower. Yeah. There weren’t enough tissues.

8.  A humidifier.

At the moment this is just an enormous paperweight on my nightstand, but in the winter it saves me from dry air. How we can have air that dry in a state with 300% humidity eight months out of the year is beyond me, but there it is.

9.  A stash of word search puzzles.

I keep one in my nightstand drawer for those nights when sleep refuses to come.

10.  A silk pillowcase.

At the risk of sounding all ooh la la using a silk pillowcase really is a game changer for us curly girls. Cotton pillowcase (even that high thread count stuff) = friction = bad frizzies. If I’m going curly, this keeps the curls calmer. If I’ve straightened my hair, this helps it last longer. That’s a win all around.

Check out my kitchen list here.