Love Notes

Welcome my loves, to the *Love Note* party, where together each Monday, we celebrate little drops of beauty ... in flowers, food, fashion and fun (and travel too).   And today, it's party time!

We have another birthday to celebrate (which I actually missed, it was September 28th) ... drumroll please... the Love Note just turned 5!   I can hardly believe it - and its all thanks to YOU.   What if I had tried pilates with the same commitment five years ago?  What if - what if - what if?!  But the point is, I kept at it - this weekly writing thing, and YOU supported me, and it all took flight.   See for yourself how far we've come, here  - ouch ouch ouch that first note was downright pitiful, and I'm embarrassed to share it, but that's exactly my point.  We've come a long way baby.   Just for balance, here are a few of my favorite notes - here and here.  READ MORE

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I started out thinking today's note should be set to Ella Fitzgerald singing "Autumn in New York" ... and yet before I knew it, Nina Simone was crooning "Feeling Good" in my ear (so good!), fast forward forty minutes (which flew by) and I had created this playlist, neatly bookended by the two songbirds.  In my mind's eye, I'm picturing it as a soundtrack for a Nancy Meyers movie with you as the protagonist ... camera pans as you stroll through Central Park (or along your favorite hometown walking route) ... the director calls for a zoom in as you pause to kick a few leaf piles, and a red maple drifts up toward the clouds.  What is our lovely protagonist (YOU) thinking in that moment?  What is she longing for?  Where would her story lead, if she dared to write the next scene herself?  READ  MORE

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Autumn arrives with shorter days and brisker nights, and suddenly the comforts of home feel like treasures to be gathered close.   Perhaps it's our response to the return of a regular (perhaps even bustling) routine - following on the heels of August's dreamy la la land of seemingly endless daylight and loosened schedules.  Or maybe it's just our primordial call to bake.  Whatever the reason, fall seems to call us back to our nests.     Here are a few little indulgences to just sprinkle a little fall stardust into your world:  READ MORE

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Life can change in an instant.  The last few weeks reminded us to love a little harder and hug a little longer. 

Last Tuesday, at 2:30 am, a drunk driver hit a telephone pole near my house.  He and his passenger walked away miraculously unscathed.   And he left a large wake of debris for the road crew to clean up, as well as three downed power lines - plunging our neighborhood into total darkness.  I woke to a group text from a thoughtful neighbor summarizing the situation and the expected time of power restoration:  3:00-5:00 pm or possibly tomorrow.  READ MORE

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Here we go fall.   I’ve decided that I would find September and October much more appealing if they didn’t come right after August ... say for example, if they were slotted in to follow December.   Just picture some nice golden leaves wafting outside your window, and a bonfire to look forward to, say right behind all the holiday bustle.  Doesn’t that sound nice?   I'm realizing that it’s not September or October's fault that they took summer away -  I think it's time I try to be nice to them.   READ MORE

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