This week’s self-portrait challenge: It’s as American as apple pie!

“This week’s challenge is to look around your home and help us showcase the history and folklore of America! Dust off your Americana relics! Let no wagon wheel go unturned! Let no bobble head doll go unnoticed!!”

Not an easy challenge for me. First of all, my home is not my own. Second of all, even thinking about when my home was my own, when I lived in my own house that I decorated, I had no Americana. None. Zero. Zilch.

Ever since I can remember, any home I’ve lived in has been full of ‘les objets d’arts étrangers‘. My grandparents lived in Japan for three years, so there house was full of Asian paraphernalia. My mother loved to travel, so our home was full of Hummel figurines, Lilliput Lane Cottages, Lladros, and any other number of assorted foreign pieces.

And I followed suit, only my obsession has been centered around the francophone countries (with the exception of a few Lladros which I picked up on different trips to Spain). Having started studying French at the age of 11, living in Belgium as an exchange student and then going on a mission for my church during which time I live in both Switzerland and France, I suppose the love of all things French makes sense.

So, here are some photos of the few things that I have pulled out of storage, as well as a picture I “stole” off the internet. Interestingly, most of the stuff I pulled out of storage is kitchen related (that’s what happens when you work at Williams-Sonoma for three years as a second job for the discount).

The truth is, I own nothing that I would say falls into the category of “Americana”. It’s not that I’m not patriotic (I love this country), but I guess I think that this is where I live and I want to display the things that show where I’ve been.

And while I have a number of Lladro, this one happens to be my favorite. This particular figurine was commissioned by the LDS church when they built a temple in Madrid. Combining my faith with my love of Lladros (which probably stems more from me associating them with my mom than actually loving porcelain figurines), when I had the opportunity to go back to Spain for work a couple of years ago, I knew that this was the one “souvenir” I wanted. Luckily, I purchased it right before my bag was stolen and my credit cards were long gone.

I have to say that I absolutely love SPT. It makes me think about things I don’t normally think about it…and that is kind of rare, since my brain never seems to stop. Oh, and the picture of the pillows at the top is just because they are red, white and blue. That’s the most American thing I own…my bedding.