Ever pretend it is 2010 like I do? Today’s one of those days. Keep the TV off and your smartphone out of sight, and you just may escape a world gone mad. For 15 minutes. 2026’s anxious information overload with everything happening everywhere all at once can become too much on a beyond weary day. Exactly when did hyper-vigilance about current issues global and local become a virtue? How are we to be still and know or escape to the desert for 40 days? Are we all thoroughly addicted to chaos now? We won’t solve the cultural clusterfrackness of all that here in this strange corner online where I have always sought to share timelessness for homes and hearts.
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Hello Lovely Stories to Visit
In these early Fall days, mild temperatures are such a blessing. Here’s a peek at our summery backyard. There’s a beautiful forest preserve with a trail adjacent to our property.
So much beauty blooming and nature on the prairie to enjoy across the seasons. Once upon a time, I wished I had created the sort of blog with only my own content from daily life. This is how our hydrangeas look in late summer…blahblahblah
But now? I’m relieved to not have the haunting pressure of re-invention and impressing with photography or my daily life’s beauty.
Behind it all, life is more scrappy than fancy, and scrappy demands a different sort of content and crowd. Could I grow that audience? Sure. But I tire of myself quickly and don’t aspire to be aspirational enough to hop on the obligatory #livinmybestlife bandwagon.
Friends, in case you were wondering, your girl isn’t livin’ her best life at the moment. Times are hard where I rely on divine mercy flowing in and through me. We’re all fighting battles so I know I’m in good company. A little precursor. 2018 was a doozy. I developed chronic pancreatitis, the most painful ailment of my life. I was relentlessly harassed and extorted online that year while an abusive ex of someone I love turned the summer into a frightful living hell. We lived in fear for months. Then 2020 happened, and before the virus wrecked my circulation, a rare blood disorder nearly killed our newly-graduated-from-law-school son living at home as my husband and I tackled a renovation of his new home. When I say we narrowly survived, I mean it. We lost a strong healthy family member like so many did in 2020. Only by Grace did we make it moment by moment. The last two years have been rough and brought fresh trials I never saw coming. I averaged 4 hours of sleep nightly, was diagnosed and treated for Lupus, and it all nearly killed me. I’m sleeping normally now while still in the throes of family strife and face challenges with daily spiritual guidance. We’re not special in this family. Not protected. But we’re sustained, held, and loved. There’s love AND addiction, mental illness, physical illness, power struggles, lies, heartbreak, betrayal and so much fear. There are life and death matters cash will not correct or ease. With this present pain and confusion, I am surrendering it for purification. I’m sinking into my heart, in constant prayer, growing more fearless, and trusting God to animate me. 2 Chronicles 20:12 – We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you. My faith is strong while all else wavers, and you know what? Maybe with the proper vision, it’s giving #bestlife vibes after all. Hahahahahaha. I am grateful for a sense of humor in the valley even with all these tears. Do you need courage today? Sending some.
Hello Lovely Interiors Inspiration Stories to Visit
See more beauty from the Giannettis in this:
So much beauty is shared on this inspiration blog, and if you blink, you could miss a treasure trove of beautiful design goodness!
I have shared our living room (HERE) and family room (HERE):
What a relief when you can simply keep refining finishing touches rather than inhale dust and serve as cleanup crew!
It’s a joy to report our walk-out basement is now finished! You may have seen my mood board for the bath we created:
We don’t have a TV on the wall or much decor, but the big pieces are in place, and we were able to add 1,000 square feet. Here’s the kitchenette and desk area.
I don’t like the counter stools with this pub table so I’m selling them and using some old Louis-style ones that look better. We added a sink to this kitchenette area:
and I painted the cabinets SW Carbonized which is a lot like F&B Railings, a deep navy/black/espresso. The cabinets were in our original primary bath as the wide vanity. They are solid cherry and fit perfectly in this niche with a beverage frig at the end of the cabinet run.
In this bay area of the basement is our very first Danish kitchen table and chairs I painted Carbonized as well. We bought the table in 1987 when we lived in a condo in Skokie/Des Plaines…how how how is it nearly 40 years old?
Did you see the beauty happening for fall in this story with inspiration from Amber Lewis?
And don’t miss the inspiring work by deVOL in an amazing castle:
The older I grow, the more I think if you spend your day with the determination to have a good time, you will undoubtedly change the world for good. 🙂
I recently shared ideas for bargains I found in THIS.
Coastal chic never falls from favor, and if you love the sets of Nancy Meyers movies like HOME AGAIN, consider this:
Calm vignettes like this inspiring one have enchanted my Pinterest followers:
There’s just something irresistible about cozying on down with candles, a good book, and a mug of deliciousness on a rainy day, and I think that shot with the lunaria captures the quietness.
See what timeless textural interior inspiration has me inspired in THIS:
Calm and cozy finds are always on my radar.
and you know I love me some beauty products…especially skincare makeup with a minimalist vibe:
I so admire how these antique dealers decorate with a light hand:
Another minimalist we often spotlight here? Michael Del Piero with her amazing book and multiple locations in the Hamptons and Chicago:
The ups and downs of life may leave us vulnerable to cynicism, despair, and hopelessness. Certain inspirational messages (Count Your Blessings!) can even make me feel worse.
I find this comforting, helpful, and less likely to trigger shame:
You simply get started with one itty bitty thing. Get inspired for the holidays with this French Christmasy romp:
Most of my prayers these days are wordless or simply:
What a blessing that when strength leaves, there is a prayer beyond words the Spirit prays in me.
The stories of others have changed, deepened, softened, perplexed, challenged, and stretched me to see in fresh ways.
Seeing in a pure way is still a deep desire.
Even that desire gets me in trouble. What about the other senses? What about all there is for me to taste? I keep getting it wrong, and it’s humbling. So I continue to step over myself as I approach THE NEW, THE MYSTERY, THE UNCERTAIN AND THE UNKNOWING.
What does my spiritual journey toward God have to do with interiors blogging or paint colors? There’s a mystery there, and I don’t understand the mechanics inside realms we cannot see. I only know God seems to come to us disguised as our ordinary life, and mine at the moment involves media and pretty rooms. If pillows, paint, and internet pass away, and my life becomes simply birdwatching, I’ll still be met on the journey.
Need a relaxing blue paint color idea?
Step inside this Parisian style mansion HERE!
Find even more inspiring quotes from Brene Brown in THIS.
If you read this random rambling collection o’ weird, you are so kind. Thank you. I can smell my delicious sourdough in the oven and need to run. I wish you could smell it.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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