Life. Oh, Life.

Dad, Marshall,Me( LeAnn), Mom and Baby Karalee

Dear Friends,

For whatever reason, today is the day I felt compelled to share with you some personal news:

Several months ago, everything we were excitedly working on suddenly came to a halt. Our new website, our yoga meditation retreat plans —life as we knew it— all came to a screeching halt when Alex and I returned from Italy to visit my mom who had been ill. The moment I saw her—saw how frail and thin she had become, I decided to stay and help care for her until she was well. 

We had every expectation she would make a full recovery, yet it was not to be. I woke up one night to check on her and found she had left this world. My dear, sweet "Gita" was only 70 years young. This was in June but seems like yesterday in many ways. The reunions and holidays have come and gone and our entire family is still reeling. . .so surreal to lose the most integral thread in our family tapestry. 

The sweet song of Gita was woven throughout all our lives in such a way...we will always yearn for her physical presence, her beautiful voice, her silly sense of humor and most of all, her love. Her legacy is this unconditional love. I know I am fortunate to have experienced such love—to have experienced such a special being as my mother in this lifetime. As devastated as I am, I hold on to this and feel immense gratitude for the gift she was to me and to everyone who knew her. 

I love you forever, sweet Geet! 

Thank you for being you! ~LeAnn

Anita Harris Brown
July 28, 1944 - June 10, 2015

FOR THOSE OF YOU anxiously awaiting the debut of our new website {linenlavenderlife.com}, we thank you for your patience and for hanging in there with us as we find our way back.  Despite our infrequent posts and pins, we are still receiving new subscribers and followers every day and are so grateful to all of you for your continued support and enthusiasm.   Sending light & love ~LeAnn & Alex  

go to new site now:

www.linenlavenderlife.com

Here's to New Beginnings

We've been working away on a new l&l Lifestyle website and are excited to share it with our readers in 2015. 

 www.linenlavenderlife.com 

As we begin this new year, we give thanks to all of you dear friends and kindred spirits who share our philosophy - our love of home, nature and exploring the world.

It brings us great joy to pass along inspiring ideas, philosophies and creativity - in all its many glorious forms around the globe.

We are so grateful.

In light and love,

xo

 and   

P.S.  Have you heard our cozy 1927 cottage in Southern California is now available for let?

We invite you to visit:  

{Romantic and Peaceful Retreat by l&l Lifestyle.} 

see our new site:

www.linenlavenderlife.com

Life. Is Beautiful.

Today, I looked around at the aftermath of the week's activities and sighed at the mountain of housework at hand. Then, for whatever reason (Divine Intervention?), my perspective shifted and I was inspired to snap some shots of the everyday vignettes you see here.  Flowers past their prime... 

...dirty dishcloths hung out to dry

...and cobwebs and dust awaiting my attention.  (Oh, trust me, they're there.)

From my new perspective I could see...right alongside my long "to-do" list was also the beauty of life.   — So glad I didn't miss it.

images by LeAnn

linen & lavender


visit our new site:

www.linenlavenderlife.com

P.S.  I wrote this post yesterday and today, watched Super Soul Sunday.  I was happy to see it was an interview with Rainn Wilson, talking with Oprah about his production company and life's passion to bring spirituality to the world in a fun, playful way: SoulPancake.  

I've mentioned before how much Alex and I both look forward to Super Soul Sunday {see my post "Soulful"} and we always enjoy the quirky, humorous and touching SoulPancake features.  

Today, interspersed throughout and after the interview, they showed several SoulPancake videos.  I particularly found the "Air Orchestra" heartwarming:

  

There was another SoulPancake video shown right after the interview that sent me marching out to my studio to publish this post I had written yesterday. –Watch it and you'll see why.  :) 

Wishing you a beauty-filled day!~L

SoulPancake

Super Soul Sunday 

Sunday and a new perspective...

The first flowers to grace the new island counter–peonies.  
I'm still in the midst of a bit of renovation mess and frustrated by delays and mishaps, but then today I happened to notice this still life comprised simply of these floral beauties, a stack of dinner plates waiting to be put away and the remains of our Sunday morning tradition–cappuccinos and chocolate croissants.  Just the few moments it took me to grab my camera and capture this transported me to another state of being far away from renovation woes and to-do lists.  —My own little island sanctuary you might say.  :)

linenandlavender.blogspot.com

Peonies

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready

to break my heart

as the sun rises, 

as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open —

pools of lace, 

white and pink —

and all day the black ants climb over them, 

boring their deep and mysterious holes

into the curls, 

craving the sweet sap, 

taking it away

to their dark, underground cities —

and all day

under the shifty wind, 

as in a dance to the great wedding, 

the flowers bend their bright bodies, 

and tip their fragrance to the air, 

and rise, 

their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness 

gladly and lightly, 

and there it is again — 

beauty the brave, the exemplary, 

blazing open. 

Do you love this world? 

Do you cherish your humble and silky life? 

Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath? 

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden, 

and softly, 

and exclaiming of their dearness, 

fill your arms with the white and pink flowers, 

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling, 

their eagerness

to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are

nothing, forever?

~Mary Oliver

(us)

visit our new site:

www.linenlavenderlife.com

Worth a Second Look

I've shared this image before, but it really caught my eye today as I was browsing around.  Maybe it is because it is yet another beautiful sunny day here in Southern California and once again, the bluest of skies.  It was the ideal temperature to have my cappuccino outside at our wood trestle table this morning -embraced by our immense stone fireplace with the sun filtering through the vines.  The gurgling fountain and birds chirping away...I spent a perfectly blissful hour reflecting on happy times spent there and looking forward to those to come -alfresco dinner parties and celebrations of milestones in our lives-  good times.

This image courtesy of Veranda Magazine, a feature on Axel Vervoordt's estate.   Also worth a second look is the rest of the original post: {Axel Vervoordt: Openduerdagen} -Beautiful images now enlarged due to linen and lavender's  recent format change! 

linen & lavender

 Axel Vervoordt's Timeless Interiors

in the emporium

Editions in English:
(us) ~ (uk) ~ (ca) ~ (fr) ~ (de) ~ (it) ~ (es)

Editions in other languages:

(fr) Français

(de) Deutsch

visit our new site:

www.linenlavenderlife.com

dinner for two

Though we don't get to spend Thanksgiving with our family this year, I want them to know they are in our hearts with us today and always.  We feel blessed and grateful and send a big hug to each and every one of you!

So here's a toast to my family and to all my readers out there:

    

Wishing you peace and love. 

~May gratitude so fill your day...

you find room for nothing else!  

 xoxo

linen & lavender

image via:  Maisons Côté Ouest

You might also like:
Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude

see our new site:

www.linenlavenderlife.com