Thrifted: An Asian Influence . . .

My dear Hubby spent three years of his life in Taiwan.  Two of them were during his service as a missionary for our church. The third year was spent intensively studying the Mandarin language at a Chinese university in Taipei. It was during this final year that the Hubby and I became engaged on a beautiful mountain top overlooking a waterfall in one of Taiwan’s beautiful treasures called Taroko Gorge.

My redheaded, freckle faced Hubby has the Asian influence running through is blood. He loves the people.  He knows the language well enough to have majored in Mandarin Chinese in college.  He can wield a pair of chopsticks like nobody’s business.  And he can stomach just about any kind of food after being around stinky tofu and fried chicken claws for years! 

Unfortunately, my decorating style doesn’t really favor the Asian style, so some of the pieces the Hubby brought home from his mission have made there way to his office for decoration or into a box for safe keeping.  We have incorporated a vase and a few statues into our home.

The other day while making a quick thrift store run, I came across this beauty:

It is a hand water colored, professionally framed print of an Asian girl on a bridge surrounded by lovely birds. The colors are a perfect match for my dining room with blacks, gold and a taupe mat. The Greek key detail on the frame is very chic right now in the design world. It was priced at $10 so I snatched it up, hung it in the dining room immediately and then played a favorite game of mine when the Hubby came home. It’s called “Find something new in the house.” {Not sure he loves that game.}

He really liked the piece and I feel happy to have found something with an Asian influence that nods to the Hubby’s history and to our shared experience in Taiwan.

A close up of the Greek key detailing.

PS. A reader asked if I take Ollie thrifting with me.  The answer is a resounding HECK NO!  Most of the thrift stores I visit are crammed with junk and have no real aisleways where I could push a stroller.  I usually make my runs while Hannie B. is at piano and Big C is at home watching Ollie.