Love Notes

Apr 22, 2024 • #architecture #boca grande #golf #interior design #washington

Magnificent Places, Beautiful Spaces 4/22/24

We talked last Monday about classic style. Yet we just scratched the surface. Let's pick up again with classical design. A friend of mine wrote a book about the physical response you get from seeing beauty, “Feeling Beauty”, by Gabrielle Starr Harpole. While I can't do justice to paraphrasing the neuroscience she lays out in exquisite detail, I do intimately know the physical feeling she's describing. You walk into a magnificent building or a beautiful room, and your involuntary response seizes control - you take a pause, an audible deep breath, then emit a sigh, while a smile takes form.

One of my favorite spaces in Washington is the National Building Museum. I get that pause/big inhale/sigh/smile every time I walk in. READ MORE

Apr 22, 2024 • #architecture #charleston #travel

Classically Lovely: CHS edition 4/15/24

I spent last weekend in Charleston combining a myriad of favorite pastimes ... a visit to see my younger son, a visit to fabulous gardens, a girls trip with a dear friend, time spent with a wonderful new friend, all amidst rich American history and exquisite architecture. And of course, no trip for me is truly fabulous without really good food. And we had plenty of that. And I gained four pounds.

Charleston, I'm in love. READ MORE

Apr 10, 2024 • #gardens #Lilac #spring

Glories of the Garden 3/8/24

Sometimes I feel as if our merry band of Love Note readers is essentially a support group for those of us who longingly await the birth of spring, and might need a little help in so doing. I am grateful for you holding my hand, as I am clearly one of those in need, (I founded the support group, after all).

Today, I sit at my desk, watching a steady rain fall over my border resplendent with Angelique tulips, one of which rewarded me with a blue ribbon at this week's garden club meeting. Behind me, a Carolina jessamine has robustly climbed up, over and around its trellis, this week reaching peak bloom. My smile is wide, as a robin repeatedly visits the spines of our patio umbrella, in what I hope is a final housing inspection. Please oh please build your nest right here. READ MORE

Mar 29, 2024 • #Daffodils #easter

A Blooming Easter 3/25/24

Here we sit - six days before Easter, five days past the vernal equinox, six after the beginning of the zodiac sign of Aries. What does this mean? My brother asked me this week, "Do you ever run out of things to write about?" Yah, most certainly. You can be the judge of that this week - and as always, feel free to skip down to the pretty bits below.

Let's pick up on "what does this mean?" How about we go in reverse order ... The Daily Om Horoscope tells us that Aries season has a "go-to vibe", and that no matter what your sign, you may feel a pull to "let you inner child out to play". "Follow your passion." "Get physical". Yes please, I'm good with all of these.* READ MORE

Mar 24, 2024 • #boca grande #pink

Pretty OG 3/18/24

The expression "OG" has recently been popping up in my world of daily reads, so I did the usual and asked my husband if he knew what it means. "Is it Latin?" was his response. Hmmm ... pretty sure not Latin, so let's turn to Webster's:

"OG, short for “original gangster” or “original gangsta,” is a slang term for someone who's incredibly exceptional, authentic, or “old-school.” OG was originally used in gang culture, but it is now used as a general term to praise someone who is an expert at something." READ MORE