A More Beautiful Place

I was brought up in a house full of books.  When I was young, my parents had a plush, plaid armchair that easily fit a fully grown adult and a half-grown child.  I used to curl up in that chair with pillows stacked around me and read for hours.  My favorites where books by Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, and mysteries by Agatha Christie.  But one book from my young childhood that I always went back to (I can still remember the smell of the pages!) was Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.  No matter how old I was or how old I get, that book will stay dear to my heart. 

Miss Rumphius is a sweet story of a head-strong woman who tries to make the world a more beautiful place and does so by planting lupines everywhere she goes.  I always admired the character Miss Rumphius, or the Lupine Lady, as the children refer to her in the book, because she seemed so thoughtful, went on adventures all across the globe (and she was from the mid 1900s when the hassle of international travel was much more complicated than having a five-hour layover in Amsterdam), and always remained a Miss.  Above all else, I admired her determination to make the world a more beautiful place, and the fact that she acted on this simple conviction.

I don't know much about flowers (though I can recognize a lupine thanks to Barbara Cooney!), but I too would like to contribute something to this world that allows it to be a more beautiful place.  In addition to a magnificent contribution (working on it...), I would like to make small offerings of beauty every day, simple things that bring light and happiness into someone's life.  As my life changes over these next couple weeks and months and I settle in my new routine in England, I want this blog to carry the idea of creating and working toward a more beautiful world in every post.  I don't want this space to be trivial or negative, I want it to be a positive space where I can share things that catch my eye, progressive movements that inspire me, and the things I do that make this world so amazing and special.  Above all else, I want this space to be mine, full of original content and blossoming ideas.  It may be spring outside, but it's spring in my soul, too, and I feel as if I'm suddenly beginning to blossom anew.  

Over the next couple weeks, things will be changing, weekly features will be decided, and this space will become more organized and polished (I have big big plans- look out London!) and I hope that you continue to share this journey with me. 

xox