I walk in silence beside my mother. She’s listening to classical music on her iPod. I’m thinking about beauty, specifically how it doesn’t have to ...
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Four sunflower heads floated in shallow plates of water on the dining table. Earlier that day they had lined the path at a wedding. Now ...
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Chicken noodle. French onion. Potato leek. Beet Cabbage Borscht. A bowl of warm soup hits the spot and offers comforting nourishment. And nourishment is so ...
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I was at a craft fair recently and over the course of three days, I heard several women comment, I’d wear that as a scarf, ...
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In the 1990s the crime rate in New York City fell suddenly. Violent crime decreased in cities across the country as the crack trade declined, ...
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Touching the towel can serve as a silent meditation to be present. For me, it’s about connection. These quotations are from interviews with Caryn Cushman ...
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One day, a few years ago, when I was making a deposit at the bank, the teller, Cindy, asked me about my business name, “Whimsy ...
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In December, I invited you to join me in a unique project to bring beauty and hope to survivors of domestic violence. I wanted to ...
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The day after Claire’s boyfriend kicked her while she was holding their baby, he was nice to her. She knew then that he knew what ...
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My senior year in college my uncle came for a visit. After I cooked us a vegetarian dinner in my basement apartment, he kindly offered ...
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I have been interviewing a few customers about the towels, napkins and table runners they purchased from me. I am curious to know how they ...
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Last November my friends Amy Halko, Holly Jordan and I held a Clay Wood Cloth event at MIX Garden in Healdsburg, CA. We donated a ...
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One of my high school English teachers instructed us not to use the adjectives "nice" and "interesting." According to my teacher, to describe someone as ...
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I've been settling into my new more permanent home and running move-related errands: opening bank accounts, registering my car, finding a vet, getting a landline ...
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My friend Helena asked me what a world without beauty would look like. At first words like gray and bland came to mind. Then I ...
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The other Sunday I had a lovely massage. As I sat in the waiting area with a warm neck wrap and a cup of mint ...
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If you’ve been reading my newsletters for the past few months, you know that I am passionate about using beautiful things in everyday life and ...
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Several years ago I traveled back to India, to the foothills of the Himalayas where I grew up. My class was having a reunion in ...
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I've been talking with friends about the ways they bring beauty into their everyday lives and have been moved by the depth of their responses ...
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I have been conducting a little experiment. What I'm learning from this experiment is deepening my understanding of the importance of beauty in the everyday ...
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"There once was a Velveteen Rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his ...
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