All You Need Is Love.

How many times do you find yourself reading a subscription, then "Ooh! Shiny thing!" and you're onto another shiny thing, and then yet another until an hour later you're wondering where your last hour went?


I was reading the latest Design*Sponge  post, which let me peek inside this lovely little apartment belonging to this adorable little couple, of Harold & Jane - Handmade Vintage Jewelry, and what struck me wasn't so much how awesome everything looked, but more importantly, how I felt while snooping around their crib.

Not everything blantantly matches or seems like it was part of some well thought-out design. On the contrary, the only thing that every thing seems to have in common, is that it appears loved. Well, that is the most lovely design, isn't it? Each item in their home seems carefully chosen, touched...smiled at. I picture them walking around this apartment affectionately regarding the objects that make up their home. They are reminded of trips they took together, the recall the beginning of collections, they make plans for to go together next.

Now, this mind rambling might mostly be because I'm freaking nosy. But aren't all shelter blog junkies? Heck, we're all the kind of sort that love the dark nights of winter when the leaves have fallen off of the trees so they no longer obstruct our views of people's living rooms. We try to be stealthy, we imagine getting caught craning our necks for a better look, "Oh, don't worry, we don't want to see your panties. No ma'am, we just want a closer look at that armoire". But I digress...

So I'm oggling photos of trips, snow, couches, etc. and then I decide to read. Wow, are these guys for real? Is this guy for real? His words made me cry, and not just because he said lovely things, but because their photos illustrated that they are lovely things. It made me feel lovely. And hopeful.


It made me feel hopefully lovely.


"Sitting here typing away on the now famous Chester I look around and realize just how blessed we are. However, it’s not our material wealth that blows me away. Rather it is the love and support of our family, and the legacy that they have given us through their hard work and time that humbles me. It is the knowledge that I am well and truly loved by my wife, by my parents, by her parents. It the deep seated faith that even if our apartment burned to the ground tomorrow we would be alright because we have each other. The beautiful things in our house are just a reminder of the larger truth: we are loved.

All you need is love...." - Ellias Carson

Amen. 

It's funny to me the things you see just by looking at a photo of someone's butterfly collection, or a vignette of dishes, a grouping of mirrors. It's beautiful what you can feel. 


Looking into the life of two people I don't even know, I found myself so happy that they found each other. I prayed for their future. I thanked God that they are so blessed. I was grateful to be a bystander to it even if in this electronic way. And my point isn't to really drive home that I might be a crazy stalker, I'm totally not, but to highlight that we are all surrounded by beauty. We are immeasurably lucky even if only as subtly as reading a shelter blog in the morning because it makes us happy. It connects us. We touch each other. Someone's brain invented Chevron. Someone else's painted it on that floor. Another someone fell in love with it and shared it with a friend. Now, Chevron lovers unite. The fact that every day we have the ability to affect one another, to connect with our souls and send out positive energy to people we likely won't ever meet? 

Well I think that's pretty darn kick ass stuff. 

xo

(aren't they beautiful?)

To see more of their awesome, check out their website: Orange Juice-etc.com