Shady, I Know

The lamp you see here has quite a history with the women in my family. Actually, 'female' is a better word, but that sounds weird. My mom had this lamp when she was a little girl. She handed it down to me and I had it in my room growing up. When my brother had his baby girl about six years ago the lamp was loaned to her with the promise that it would be returned to me when I had a little girl of my own. I never actually imagined it traveling out west, but when Scarlett was born my sister-in-law mailed it to me. It was such a fun surprise.

Unfortunately the lampshade had seen better days, so I needed to find a new one. It took almost a year for me to get my act together and look for a replacement shade. It amazed me that in such a prosperous, sprawling city like Los Angeles I found it impossible to find a shade I liked (or a knowledgeable salesperson to help me). It may seem odd, but I knew there was a store in my small hometown that would have plenty of shades to choose from, so I packed the lamp in my suitcase and it traveled back with Scarlett and me to the east coast this past summer. It took about a minute of looking around the store to find the perfect shade. The kind people who worked there also installed a new harp and plug and fixed some of the fraying wires. They also instructed me on how to properly pack it to ship and supplied me with a box and peanuts. Not in a million years could I see that happening in one of those lame lamp stores in Los Angeles I visited, but I digress. My mom shipped the whole kit and caboodle out to me and it arrived shortly after we returned home. It now sits in Scarlett's room where we read her stories before bed. I love lamp!