Featuring Brittany Bailey, professional DIYer and founder of PrettyHandyGirl.com.
Savvy Rest is very curious about sleep—and about people, too. From time to time, we ask interesting folks these questions to give you a peek at how others sleep…even what they’re dreaming about.
How did you feel when you woke up this morning?
Cruddy! I have a cold right now…normally I feel really good when I get up but today was not a usual day.
Can you remember a recent dream fragment?
I usually lose the exact details within an hour after I wake up but—we’re in the process of bidding on a house in our neighborhood to flip it, and I dream all the time about what it’ll look like. All the paint colors I’d use. Sometimes I dream that my house is a lot bigger and we have all these hidden spaces or extra rooms I didn’t know about. I have so many ideas for how to use those rooms!
What’s the first thing you do when you get up (after the bathroom)?
I walk by my English Shepherd dog who’s sleeping, and I pet him. He lies right next to my bedside. If I sleep in or am sick in the morning he won’t leave my side (not even to go out to pee). This morning, though, I took a pain med for my sore throat and lay back down. When I got up the second time I made my coffee and then got a shower.
What do you like most about mornings?
The way our bed is situated, I’m on the windows side. When I get up in the morning I get the best view. Right now there are no leaves on the trees so we see this amazing blue or pink morning sky. I just love getting up and looking out into the woods beyond our yard. I can’t imagine living in a major city and having to look out at a building.
What do you like least?
Having to get the kids up. One is 10 going on 16 because I can NOT wake him up in the morning. He has a habit of staying up late to read under the covers with a flashlight. The other one is so funny. We have a little game where he hears me coming and he likes to say, “Nope, you didn’t wake me up!” I only catch him asleep now and then. He’s the polar opposite of his brother.
If you could change one thing about your bedroom, what would it be?
I’d make it bigger. Probably not too much. Our bedroom is small and we don’t have enough room to expand our closet space or bathroom. And maybe add another window…I crave that morning light. Even though we live in a detached house on a lot of land, the builder didn’t include any windows on the sides. I think they built houses this way about 30 years ago so you didn’t have to see your neighbors. Which is funny because you see houses built right next to each other nowadays where you look out to see your neighbor’s siding.
When was the best sleep you’ve ever had?
I know when that was! I am not joking or being paid to say this, but it was the first night that we put together our Savvy Rest. We had a memory foam mattress that no longer responded and both of our backs hurt. So it’s really changed our sleep a lot.
The worst?
Probably when I was pregnant with our second son. We had a traditional mattress then, and we’d been through two or three mattresses in about eight years. It was just so hard to get comfortable. I was in tears. My husband helped me drag our mattress onto the floor in hopes it would help…because you can’t really say no to a weeping pregnant wife!
What would you like to hear to tuck you in, other than “Night-night”?
I listen to a recorded meditation every night to go to sleep. It’s kind of corny. You might think oh, I just want my husband to say good-night (and he does), but it’s the meditation that really helps me decompress and go to sleep more easily.
