"A fine balance – As we see it the purpose – and beauty – of restraint is to give rise to abundance." Hadley and Peter Arnold via DwellSadly I have no photos from the weekend.
It rained pretty much non-stop, which made for a lovely, cozy couple of days but wasn't great photo taking weather now that I refuse to use my flash (you'll see evidence of this refusal in the somewhat dark photos I took for the little shop, but never fear, I'm working on better photos...I'll get there ;-)
And speaking of the shop, I added a few things this weekend (dark photos notwithstanding.)
So this weekend was cozy and rainy and totally mellow (one of our first truly mellow weekends in a couple of months.) We hunkered down and played games, watched The Beatles Anthology with Audrey, drew and cooked + hosted a dinner Saturday evening for our couples book club.
I also spent the better part of Sunday going through my "inspiration folders", and I came across this story I'd ripped out from the June Dwell.
According to the owners and architects of the gorgeous house, Hadley and Peter Arnold, Saints Francis of Assisi and Paschal Baylon are the patron saints of their home..."Francis is thin and austere, the saint of restraint and simplicity,: he is the environmentalists’ folk hero, “doing more with less”… Paschal, a chubby, spoon-wielding cook, is the patron saint of hospitality and abundance."
I loved this, as it's pretty much the goal for how I live...this idea of simplicity and restraint balanced with open arms and abundance. The luxuries that seem most appealing to me (despite the nubuck messenger bags and big chunky rings I often dream of) are stacks of fresh white towels, full bookshelves, a farmer's market haul waiting to be made into a big, cozy meal for a load of friends... not running out of red wine.
I want a little Francis and Paschal for my house...
