Hand-lettered Love Quotes, All Things Heartful & a Secret is a lightHEARTED entrance to twelve new chapters. In this fresh new year outstretched, it will be difficult to not demand too much from it. Surely many of us will bring grand expectations, intentions, and commitments. I don’t have a resolution, just a continuing desire to keep my heart open.
Hand-lettered Love Quotes, All Things Heartful & a Secret
I was particularly moved by our son’s humble champagne toast last year as we went around the circle and voiced wishes for a new year. (Remember, he is the son who fought for his life in 2020 with a rare blood disorder and the virus).
His toast was simply, “May 2021 be just a little bit better.” Its sheer humility caught me by surprise. For he has learned how it looks to live moment by moment, to feel gratitude for ordinary days. On the cusp of 2022, I raise my glass and his humble wish once again:
may it be just a little bit better.
I’ll have much more to share with you about heartfulness and hopes for the new year. And I’m sharing a secret when you meet me at the finish line…but on this freezing cold and snowy first of January, I’ll first share handmade and heart loveliness.
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Just a thought. But since it’s a new year, and we’ve no idea what it will hold…why not begin journaling even if you’ve never ever done it before!?!
Here’s a primer for you:
If you’re in the mood for more romantic French Country interior design inspiration, tiptoe over HERE.
Hand-lettered Love Quotes
Find the handlettered canvas art pieces by Katie Daisy spotlighted below RIGHT HERE.
Cheerful Lovely Finds
Heart-Shaped Beautiful Finds
Valentine’s Day Inspiration
Oh, Chocolate, Be My Valentine!
Love, Hearts & Valentine Vibes
Handmade With Love
Mary Oliver on LOVE
NOT ANYONE WHO SAYS
Not anyone who says, “I’m going to be
careful and smart in matters of love,”
who says, “I’m going to choose slowly,”
but only those lovers who didn’t choose at all
but were, as it were, chosen
by something invisible and powerful and uncontrollable
and beautiful and possibly even
unsuitable —
only those know what I’m talking about
in this talking about love.
A Secret
While I still love our house and struggle to let it go since we touched every square inch with love and renovation, we will be moving on to a new adventure. In fact, the adventure is underway as we renovate what will become our new home. It’s not far from our present home so that has been a great blessing. Coming home to a comfy, all done house to rest after working on the new one has been wonderful. Because in case you’re wondering, renovating in your 50s is a different animal than weekend warrior-ing in your 40s! We are still out of our minds, and we have the aching muscles to prove it. Will I have time to blog about this new journey? I hope so, but if you knew how much work blogging entails on top of how tiring this “hobby” of ours is!?!
Anyway, the new place is a traditional, well-built Georgian on acreage. We’re re-imagining fussy formal interiors to bring them into the 2020s and calm down. Lord knows we need a gentle landing place, and we’re doing it all ourselves once again. Nothing about real life renovation is ever easy, so wish us luck!
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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Good morning,
Too Soon? A resounding YES!
We haven’t even got Christmas more than five days behind us or turned the page on 2019.
Waaay too soon to focus on the next “retail event”.
Author
I so agree and totally understand your annoyance! But you have to understand the blogger side. It’s the nature of the beast since the blog is no longer a hobby to report on what I’m doing on a given day (readers have no attention span or interest in that anymore – they want answers to questions they search online.) This blog provides inspiration and resources, and readers are seeking INSPIRATION for the next event NOW, so it’s simply a Google thing – my apologies. 🙂
Hello Michelle. I love your site. I look forward to seeing it every day. Have you ever done a theme or considered doing a theme just on flooring. I love the limestone and wide plank old look flooring and would love to find resources and ideas. Thank you from Debb J
Author
It’s an awesome idea, Deb. I will have to do some research first but I know plenty of readers would appreciate that topic – thanks so much for reading.
Happy New Year, Michele, to you and your family. Thank you for reminding us that matters of the heart are meant to be on our minds daily.
Author
Sending light and love and wishes for mercies and comfort to you and yours in 2021! Thank you for reading with such tenderness – it’s an honor to have you here.
Love looking for hearts year round! My mother didn’t want us to buy her birthday presents so I started buying or finding hearts for her … for her birthday or any holiday or occasion which made her happy. Now that she has been gone, I have all those hearts in a corner of my kitchen … a kitchen that I always dedicate to her because of my childhood memories when I sat on a stool and watched her make our meals. … your blog only reminded me of her and those hearts. Thank you and take care! T
Author
What a blessing you’ve shared, and what a blessing you are. Beautiful memories and what a touchstone you’ll always have. Peace to you.
I felt the same way as Jeannie when I first found your blog! And now years later …love it even more than I did then! ❤️ I’m excited to follow your new renovation…how exciting!
Author
Awwwwww. Thank you for your loyal readership. It gets so lonely as a writer, and I love having your friendship here. I think we are even crazier now than we were in 2015 when we tackled this whole house. The new place poses the most challenging design we have ever encountered. And we’re old! Like us, the house feels old which we love, but we need it to function for our modern lives which are not fussy or formal. What we fell in love with was the beauty outside and the opportunity to give a well-built but quirkily designed house a chance to lighten up.
I love your blog!! I’m fairly new here and what you create for us to enjoy means so much to me. The lovely little quotes sprinkled throughout actually make me stop and tell my family I love them or read them to my husband. I thank you for that! The interiors that you post I thoroughly adore. What you create is beautiful and tasteful. Thanks for your all consuming, well rounded, stunning blog. It truly is one of my favorites. Have a wonderful New Year.
Jeannie
Author
Oh, what a blessing you are, Jeannie. Thank you for finding me and spending time here – I so appreciate the support and kindness. Happy new year, friend!
Thanks! And you as well!
Jeannie
Author
🙂