I’m Bohemienne and I enjoy wearing dresses, asking lots of questions, and not getting out of bed until my husband decides it’s time for brunch! We live together in America with our rescued Bengal & Corgi. For years I’ve passionately read and theorized about beauty, personal growth, animal behavior, homemaking, and other enriching feminine topics. This blog is my treasure trove of advice on those subjects (and whatever else catches my eye!)
My Dream
My greatest aspiration is to relax on the front porch with my husband. Our children will be there with us, grown and possessing only the normal amount of issues that require therapy, and their children will be playing with their cousins in the front yard. We’re content, even happy, after a long, fulfilling day of barn chores. Maybe we’ll be taking a break before cleaning up to go see a symphony, maybe we’ll be waiting for friends from church to arrive for a cookout, or maybe its just us cherishing a regular night on the farm because when you have a massive family who else do you really need?
My Youth
As a third generation horsewoman, many of my childhood evenings were spent just like this. I was reared in a hay-field of bucolic delights… newborn foals prancing about in the sunrise, stray cats finding solace in our overflowing food troughs, hens roosting cozily anywhere there was space to be found. What I loved more, both then and now, than the comfort of routine and the conquest of learning animal husbandry was the spirit of republican motherhood shared among the women in my family. I was surrounded by women whose resolute feminine characteristics made them strong. They taught me volumes of immeasurably valuable things that I will access forever. I intend to pass these lessons, and others, on to my own granddaughters.
About This Blog
There’s an old tradition of building daughters their very own hope chests. A hope chest is a sturdy, heavy box which you fill with precious and useful things. They often contain rare spices, pressed flowers, and photo albums. Inside one, a young woman will place an heirloom garment to be given to her future husband, or maybe some scraps of hand woven lace to be added to her future wedding gown. A wife will store family recipes to be passed down for generations and the sourdough starter from her mother in law’s kitchen. When her children outgrow their favorite blanket and are baptized in handmade Christening garments, those items will be stowed away there, and will resurface when those children are grown and formulating ideas and aspirations about their own families. Maybe a daughter inherits her mother’s hope chest, or like me, her father makes her a hope chest of her very own when she meets her intended.
We need to, individually and across our society, bring back the hope chest. May we each fill our own with all the best dreams, ideas, and memories in order to create the most beautiful and enriching life! I’m starting with this blog, a written hope chest containing my favorite ideas and bits of advice. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it helps you to begin filling a hope chest with feminine dreams and plans of your own.