Writing Samples
Everyday Beauty
Old window by Sergiu Vălenaș
My Old House, Unlovely and Loved
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A story about how I made peace with a seemingly unlovable house after I found aspects of myself in it.
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I adore old houses. I love the charm and character, the original detail, the idea that somehow I share space with other humans who have come before me. Their stories, nuanced and colorful as they might be, are not that different from my own. They are captured in the little scuffs on the wooden built-ins and in the creaks of the floor, right alongside mine. So when my husband and I bought our first home together - a 1925 bungalow - I was excited. I quickly began bringing to life my ideal of picturesque perfection. I planted begonias in the flower boxes along with a little vegetable garden and fiercely protected the peonies, my favorite flowers, from my minimalist-yard-loving spouse. Walls were painted and furniture was arranged with precision. Curtains flowed in dramatic fashion and at least one room in our home was so pretty, it couldn't be touched, and was reserved for the elusive "special occasion." All looked well and when the house was finished, it was something out of a Jane Austen novel.
I now live in a house built in the middle of the 19th century. It has no flower boxes or vegetable gardens. In fact, it doesn't even have a yard to speak of. There are holes in the uneven floor that have been hidden with tape. The pocket doors in the dining room stick and get off track. The kitchen is tiny and outdated. And the basement is like a dungeon, complete with a few leaks. In spite of all that, I have learned to love the old house in a way that was not possible with the pristine bungalow. It is a love that has sprung from feeling the soul of the house and recognizing it as my own. That is probably the best definition of love I've ever heard, come to think of it.
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Also, Bella Grace Magazine (The Cozy Issue, Volume 7, 2024 and also Fall 2021, Issue 29)
Antique tea set by Ali Ramazan Çiftçi
The Tea Set
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A celebration of my grandmother, told through a story of recovering her dishes, including a nearly 150-year-old tea set.
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On an aged built-in shelf, among glass plates, gilded cutlery, and ornate serving dishes, sits a nearly 150-year old tea set. The story of how I came to be in possession of such a treasure is one of admiration and respect, grief and acceptance, joy and Love. It is sweet, simple, and perfectly ordinary. And it is more. For the attentive and discerning, there are all the heroines and heroes, goddesses and gods, legendary battles, and brave rescues of any epic tale, and even a quest to save the world that spans generations.
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Also part of the body of writing that will be featured in an upcoming book by Kristine Stark, author, photographer, and founder of Farmhouse Green.
Rain on blossom by Maddy Hunt
The Promise of Spring Rain
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A piece about the beauty of the moment just before it rains in the spring time.
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I sat on the front steps of my 1925 bungalow, surveying the street lined with its brick houses and big trees. A precious little leather-bound notebook lay next to me, beckoning me to pen my thoughts and reflections. I was in a sentimental mood so I obliged, opening the book and thumbing the pages until I reached the first blank one. It was full of promise and so seemed the world around me.
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Lilac by Tanya Trukyr
7 Bits of Beauty to Collect This Spring
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A piece about the easily overlooked, everyday beauty of spring.
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The breeze is faintly dewy. Bird song is welcomed by the golden-pink dawn. Crocuses and snowdrops dot the horizon with pigment, and something like the romantic haze of an impressionist painting begins to form. I watch intently and find myself caught in the slow, exquisitely deep inhale that is the return of Spring.
I wonder at the possibilities available in the Spring, the opportunities to gather up magical moments like flowers in May Day bouquets. Is it possible to collect them - not with our hands, but with our hearts? To let them grow more colorful, as memories tend to do? To experience them again and again whenever we need the season's optimism? To make them our own?
It's certainly an endeavor worth pursuing and a lovely way to be with life as it unfolds. To that end, I'd like to submit to you - the ardently attentive, the deeply devoted, the seekers of all that is simple and sacred - this little list of 7 bits of beauty to collect this Spring. Be inspired.
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Sunrise and tall grass by Rose Erkul
Quotes from the Classics: September
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September-inspired quotes from classic novels introduced with a story about a family tradition of watching September sunrises and how it began.
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When my oldest baby was an actual baby - no more than 2 or 3 years old - we began a tradition of watching September sunrises. This didn’t happen as it would in the movies. It was not the result of arduous pre-planning or creative brainstorming. It spawned from pure chaos, like the best ideas often are.
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Travel Writing & Reviews
Left lane driver bottleneck by Muhamad Guntur
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A humorous piece about the frustrations of highway travel, when drivers use the left lane improperly.
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Few are aware of this fact but there are travel gods that rule the open road. They are of the Old Testament variety, the smiting kind, the ones that dispense judgment and wrath amply and often. We travelers were once relatively well behaved and the gods intervened little. It is different now. The gods are displeased. How do I know? Well, sometimes, a driver has an opportunity to commune with them in the course of a journey. I had one such experience.
I was driving back to Columbus from Cleveland, after having enjoyed a relaxing weekend. The sky was a vibrant cobalt and the sun had flared through the clouds just before setting, casting an orange and violet brilliance on the rolling farm hills below. Remarkably, I was in no particular hurry and decided to turn on some tunes, settle into my drive, and enjoy a rather uncommon January evening in central Ohio. A voice came out of the heavens and spoke these words to me. “The people have forgotten the most sacred rule of the road. Thou art chosen to remind them.” Which rule, I thought? A yellow light means move more quickly through the intersection? Show great disdain when approaching areas where U-turns aren’t allowed or where Michigan left hand turns are required? Beat Waze’s time estimates by the biggest margin possible and be filled with unbridled glee at making excellent time (for what, it matters not)? None of those seemed right – rules of consequence, certainly but not so important as to merit intercession by the gods.
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Portrait of An Aimless Left Lane Driver
Salad, china, pastry and art gallery at La Bohéme by April Eileen
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A review of La Bohéme, a restaurant in Detroit, Michigan.
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I had the pleasure of meeting one of the proprieters, Jean Jeannot, when I stumbled in after grabbing tea from Sister Pie. “La Bo-em!” I exclaimed. “I’ve been meaning to get here!” Jean congratulated me on my near-perfect pronunciation before telling me the café was closed and directing me to the hours on the door. I grimaced but was delighted. I hadn’t been rebuffed by a Frenchman since I asked for an English menu at a restaurant in the 5th arrondissement. #menudenied #figureditout #foodwasfantastic
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
She Dines: A Taste of Paris in Detroit
Roasted carrots, napkin, and photo of Ryan Gosling by April Eileen
She Dines: Midtown, Corktown, and in My Lady’s Chamber
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A review of Lady of the House, a restaurant in Detroit, Michigan.
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I did visit the next day. I was not jazzy, there was no babysitter, and it was not Saturday night. Instead, my mother and I were without a reservation and toting a three year old into a crowded eatery – every restaurant proprietor’s ideal situation, I’m sure. Christian, the general manager who I had been emailing about my book club, was super accommodating nonetheless. If you’re reading this, Christian, know it takes a village to raise a future gastronome and the foodie force is strong with the little one. She prefers a well-seasoned lamb chop with herbed goat cheese and lightly sautéed kale to chicken nuggets any day. Certainly, she eats dirt and paper too from time to time but hey, it looks promising. Thanks so much for everything!
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Bad Luck Bar and cocktails by Bad Luck Bar
She Drinks Too: The Mystery of a Modern Day Speakeasy
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A review of Bad Luck Bar, a speakeasy in Detroit, Michigan.
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“Go through the back door and into the dark alley. Make a right and head toward the glowing light. You’ll see a door with snake coils on it. That’s the place.”
Um, yeah…because this is From Dusk Till Dawn and I’m George Clooney and he’s Quentin Tarantino and we’re walking into vampire headquarters. Right. My thoughts raced beneath a furrowed brow as my husband and I got directions to Bad Luck Bar – a fairly new and very opulent 1920’s inspired speakeasy in downtown Detroit.
Let me back up. I heard about Bad Luck Bar from my very cool pottery instructor. No, that is not an oxymoron and no, I am not talking about a 60-year-old, retired hippie that still smokes weed every now and then (medicinal, of course). Really, this dude is a 20-something hipster, bartender, and soon-to-be attorney with impeccable taste that just happens to make a mean coffee mug. He tells me I have to check out Bad Luck Bar and while the cocktails are ridiculously expensive, it is really worth it. He says nothing more.
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Lan Su Chinese Garden by Aaron Clay
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A piece about Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon and how it inspires us to pay attention to, appreciate, and cultivate beauty.
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Lan Su Chinese Garden – a haven of peace and tranquility “designed to inspire, facilitate personal growth, and spark creativity,” according to its website – is located in the middle of the busy bustle and noisy mayhem of downtown Portland. Artisans from Suzhou in China’s Jiangsu province modeled Lan Su after their own historic Ming Dynasty gardens, which were intended to be spiritual utopias for their visitors and inhabitants. So why construct such a place downtown? It turns out the decision was very purposeful. The garden is meant to provide a bit of a break from the hustle of everyday city life, which is a concept I found interesting. While it is nice to wholly escape the perpetual grind (vacation, please?), finding calm in the midst of the storm is the order of the day for most of us.
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The Life and Lovely Things Blog, Love in All Things. Life and Lovely Things invites women to live everyday life with Love.
Be Here Now. How? A Lesson From Lan Su.
Guest Writing
Mug by lilartsy
Manage Perspective Through Reframing
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My thoughts on being resilient and maintaining optimism in the face of challenges.
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We often believe changing our circumstances will make us more positive, but I’ve found maintaining optimism during challenges is really a matter of perspective. Here are three, related ways to manage perspective. First, I rely on the following framework: this is all happening FOR me—for my growth, for my development, for my ultimate self-realization. My personal belief in the Universe, Love, the Divine, Magic, “the Big Good Thing,” as Frances Hodgson Burnett called it in “The Secret Garden,” or whatever you want to call it if you so choose, certainly supports that framework but I don’t think it’s necessary. Simply a knowing that by some ridiculously precise set of circumstances, you are here and alive and part of the ever-evolving world, connected to every other part, is enough.
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Blog by Words of Hope and Optimism - a collaborative space, focusing on uplifting literature that fosters positivity and inspires readers to envision a better tomorrow .