"Little boxes on the hillside...

How do you make your little cookie-cutter a home? Do you identify your residence by the walls that define it? Would "home" feel the same if you were to pick up and move to another corner of your street, neighborhood, city, country?  As someone who has moved most of her life, I find that "home" is as mobile as a turtle's shell...sure it is defined by the belongings that I have come to love (some lovingly carted across oceans and land, and some acquired along the way...each object has been gleaned and has some sort of history around it) (I have a terrible case of pack-rat-itis, and find it notoriously difficult to part with "stuff"!!!). But home is definitely defined by the lives lived within....by the human beings and relationships that inhabit.....

I'd like to share with you some corners from our home..these are some random shots of tabletops at home...

side table 1.

The table is lit from underneath with a small thrifted lamp. The deer I've had since college days...they've seen some pretty amazing places along the way...also seen in the background...our lucky bamboo that travelled ~1,800 miles with us when the moving company guy refused to take plants along in his truck. It was the dead of winter, and this resilient guy survived it all! We gave away most of our other plants, but hubby was determined to bring this along. I'm so glad he did! :) Also seen, my mom's old brass lamp- the peacock falls off, but I've fixed it with some thread &glue. Our Ganeshji, who made it across many miles with us on our last trip to India. Branches in the background---courtesy the many thunderstorms in our current neighborhood. :)

side table 2. you might recognize this from my header..

 The little bamboo box visible underneath the table housed an herbal tea set--a gift from my BFF. It said "numi tea" on top--the box was too pretty to throw away, so I covered "numi tea" with a black paisley (spray paint, zindabad (long-live)!!)

side table 2, lit up at night...

coffee table

(Yes, I know there's a crumply paper towel sitting in the corner---I haven't edited out the paper towel on purpose...I was cleaning the table, trying to get it streak-free...it's a part of life and I don't think things should be perfect all the time!!!) This is our coffee table...every object on it has a personal history..the acorns and pinecones travelled all the way from our previous home ( they have been collected by my child and I on our numerous walks around our little new england town...the shells were gifted by my sis, there's a little dried playdough star in there that my little guy had made for his mommy....the bowl itself was a parting gift from someone very close to hubby's heart........you get the picture!)

So there you have it folks...bits of our life, scattered on tabletops. I'm linking up to patty's blog for the tabletop linkup...