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| artist Mark Schwartz |
I have always loved pretty things. As a child I was constantly drawn to the laciest, frilliest and most glittery. I can remember, around the age of seven, being positively enamored by my aunt's collection of pointy-toed, high-heeled shoes; my favorite pair were a bold canary yellow. And around age 10, I remember fixating on the walls of a beautifully appointed hotel suite that were wallpapered in a lovely, broad pink stripe. Tastes do evolve, (thankfully), but for me, the allure of the pretty has never waned.
Several years ago, I experienced that same magnetic pull when I spotted a small, French-style cottage with a steeply pitched roof, a stone and reclaimed brick facade, casement windows, copper rain gutters, and the cherry on top -- it was covered in Boston Ivy and had a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard. Like a moth I was drawn to its flame. I quickly learned that it was outside of my price range, however, and it sold just a few days later. But I was undeterred. I made it the subject of my nightly prayers and altered my route home from work just so that I could get a glimpse of it. I became a house stalker, driving by frequently hoping I could ascertain its layout. What's more, it spurred me to become a student of interior design aesthetics as I fantasized about how I might decorate it. I spent months devouring dozens of interior and garden design books.
About a year later, sans the technical details, my husband asked the home's then-owner if she might sell. As it so happened, she did want to sell because it had become too small for her family, and, Voila, a few months later mine moved in!
I became acquainted with the lovely little ivy-clad cottage and learned all its assets and deficiencies. I quickly found out that that gorgeous Boston Ivy was capable of jumping up the house wall, over the rooftop and down the hill if left unsupervised! But its softness and riot of Fall color make its every-few-months clipping worth it.
Besides, don't all of life's beautiful things come with a price? Sometimes they require a little bit of effort, sometimes a lot, but to bring pleasantness and charm to ease life's sometime-bluntness is worth it. And that's what this blog is all about: lovely thoughts and things that add warmth and bring new inspiration to life.
I hope you'll join the conversation. I look forward to meeting you!
xo Keri
