Our room at Hunters Namibia Safaris –

When my husband and I were in Africa, the attention to detail where we stayed – at Hunters Namibia Safaris – was impeccable!  From the homey breakfast table’s lazy susan to the beautiful dinner each night with the Patrick Mavros Tree of Lights centerpiece …it was a page out of safaris from a by-gone era.

One of the most delightful details to me was the decanter of port wine in our room.  Now, that may now sound like a bit deal to you, but for a wine drinker this was heaven!  As I got ready for bed every night and settled in the chair at the foot of the bed to write in my travel journal, it was just the right touch to make the day perfect!

I really missed having a “nightcap” of port wine when we got back to the US.  In my mind, I was trying to create a version of this in our own bedroom.  And then one day, it all came together.  I was browsing a thrift store in Homewood when I found a giraffe lamp for $10.  It was just perfect since seeing the “safari of giraffe” on our last day was one of my most favorite memories of the trip.  When I got home, I got to work on creating a little bit of Africa in Hoover.

I moved furniture around upstairs and put a green upholstered rocker chair in the corner.  Next to it, I added an end table and placed the lamp on a crocheted doily my great-grandmother made.  I found crystal glasses at another thrift store along with a beautiful decanter.  I feel like the spirit of Africa was with me in finding all these things at once to turn this corner into my vision.

My thrift store decanter and glass with a special bottle of port I had been saving for a special time.

Next, I raided my wine collection and found a bottle of Warre’s Warrior Porto Wine Reserve that I had been saving…apparently just for this perfect opportunity!  I poured it into the decanter and placed it on the end table and VOILA!  But Wait!…something was missing… I added a photo of me and my husband in our safari hats and that completed my vision!

I don’t always have a moment to sit in that chair and enjoy the port wine as I did in Namibia, but it’s nice to know it’s there and ready for me when I do have time.

A little piece of Africa in Hoover, Alabama…