February 28, 2014

Very Little




I often think 

that besides the basic necessities of life,

I need very little. 

That if I have my running shoes,
and my knitting, and a book,

and someone to love
wherever I go

that life is pretty wonderful. 



Artwork by Gayana at Etsy.

February 24, 2014

Wabi-Sabi

Iglesia de San Francisco, Antiqua, Gratemala
Mr. Fix-It and I were down in Nashville this week. The land of yesteryear, where recycling is a new concept, folks are still smoking in bars, and where life is lead with conservative thought. 

We had some really good BBQ however and were fortunate to feel the warm spring sun upon our faces. Not to mention the friendly people, good music, and wide open spaces. 

I missed the wabi-sabi of New England however. 

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection. "Wabi" is the kind of beauty that is caused by imperfection, such as found in a handmade vase. "Sabi" is the kind of beauty that can come only with age, such as the beauty of older people. 

Wabi-sabi is flea markets and antiques, not big-box stores and man-made building materials. Wabi-sabi celebrates the cracks and crevices that time leaves behind.

Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace the lines on our face, furniture that has seen better days, the vase of no longer perky flowers, and the march of time they represent.

What if we could be content with our lives, exactly as they are today?

That is the wabi-sabi question I leave us with.

Special thanks to both Liz and Sandi for educating me on wabi-sabi.

For further reading on the wabi-sabi of our perfectly imperfect bodies click here.

Have a wonderfully wabi-sabi week :-)


February 12, 2014

Lovely Little Things

Thank goodness for Valentine's Day. What better way to occupy ourselves amidst this long, bloody cold winter!

I've been trying to keep the mojo going making cards and crafting, whilst watching the Olympics. If you aren't a card maker, or are short on time, Paperless Post has some sweet ones to email your valentines for short money ( and even some free ones). I especially have a passion for the texture of letterpress and am going to change this one into a Valentine.

Canadian designer, Mags Kandis, has written a great book called Gifted, that is chock full of 30+ great ideas to knit, crochet, and felt all year long.

And Valentine's wouldn't be Valentine's if we didn't have a little romance would it? Thank you to Caroline for sending this clip along. I love it. It's from the New York Time's Modern Love column and it's titled Falling In Love At 71.

Two minutes of optimistic sweetness.

Tra-la!

Happy Valentine's to you my dear readers. As I begin a new year, I want to let you know how much I appreciate you, and how much I continue to love having Lines of Beauty.

XO,
Louise


February 05, 2014

Greater Than

Nobody tells you
it's okay to call yourself beautiful
it's okay to smile at mirrors
and it's perfectly fine
to say your own eyes are pretty

it is wonderful to love your own waist
and your legs
regardless of their size
and you are not conceited
if you use your fingers to list
everything you're good at
rather than point
at all your own flaws

you can acknowledge you're smart
and that you'll go places
and you will be someone
greater than your mistakes

you can't always expect
other people to believe in yourself
for you


~Anonymous


There is big news this week for those of us guiding how our culture sees older women. American Apparel, the clothing company that targets ages 20-35, has chosen a 62-year old to be their lingerie model. Oh ya baby. How great is that? Have a peak here and say Halleluiah!

Also, on the tail of last week's video, I found another one that I like even better by the same creator called Let's Make Our Day Harder:

Darling Magazine recently released its third video in the That’s What She Said series with Soul Pancake. It’s a feature on the beauty of aging.
Read more at http://www.ryot.org/video-get-excited-aging-soul-pancake-darling-magazine/554685#p6LIA5x1Gl6jbuMD.99
Darling Magazine recently released its third video in the That’s What She Said series with Soul Pancake. It’s a feature on the beauty of aging.
Read more at http://www.ryot.org/video-get-excited-aging-soul-pancake-darling-magazine/554685#p6LIA5x1Gl6jbuMD.9
Darling Magazine recently released its third video in the That’s What She Said series with Soul Pancake. It’s a feature on the beauty of aging.
Read more at http://www.ryot.org/video-get-excited-aging-soul-pancake-darling-magazine/554685#p6LIA5x1Gl6jbuMD.99