Shades of Blue: Home Sweet Cabin

I always joke that my cruise ship cabins make my college dorm rooms look like the Ritz! Like usual, my cabin on the Pride of America is teeny tiny. Although, this cabin is unique because it is shaped like a shoebox and was designed for three people. (I can't even imagine three people crammed in there living together.) So we have an extra closet, for all our shoes, and an extra bed, for luggage (and inflatable toy) storage! On my last two ships, like always, I hung up pictures and my little flags but it felt different than my first ship did. This little cabin finally feels like home again. My roommate and I really tried to make it feel homey by covering the walls with pictures and silly USA decorations. Luckily, I really do love spending time in there.

My wonderful roomie, Karlene, and I hated the garish curtains that were originally hanging in our cabin. They were horrible. The VonTrapp children would have probably refused to wear them. So I decided to make us new ones! I found two bottles of fabric dye, picked up some spare white sheets from housekeeping, and went to work! To start, I ombre dyed several sheets. It takes a lot of patience to accomplish a nice ombre because you want the fabric to get gradually darker. Then I good old-fashioned tie-dyed several sheets. I forgot how much fun it is to splatter dye around and not worry about the final product being perfect. It was a nice break from sewing. That day I was having such a good time that I just couldn't stop and dyed way too many sheets. I also forgot to put on rubber gloves before I began and dyed my hands hot pink. My hands looked pretty funny for a few days.

The sheets tuned out better than I imagined! I hung a big tie-dye one over my bed, and used extra scrap dyed fabric to tie the fabric up onto the little curtain hooks. Karlene loved the ombre fabric so I hung two curtains by her bed. Thanks to being raised by a Southern Living at Home mother, I fashioned one of the fabric pieces into a little princess curtain by the head of her bed. She is obsessed with it! I was on such a decorating high that I insisted on hanging ombre curtains in my dancer neighbors cabin too.

I love how I have learned to adapt to my environment and make myself feel at home wherever I am in the world. I am also proud of how flexible I've become. Years ago the thought of change and the looming future would bring me to tears. Thankfully, I learned early on to embrace this gypsy lifestyle of mine. I am so thankful for my amazing job, blessed by the wonderful relationships in my life, and love being a 24 year old who tie-dyes on their day off.