Welcome to Inside Out Inspiration…the blog. My blog….my new baby that has been in the incubator of my mind for a long time. Why that name? I am passionate — let me repeat, PASSIONATE — about having surroundings that lift me up and make me feel special. I love being surrounded by beauty. I have had the privilege of traveling to many places and imbibing in the ambiance of every one. As I did, I began to realize that I too could create the feelings that those destinations evoked in me in my own home.
Ambiance is defined as the character and atmosphere of a place. I believe that is why travel is life-expanding—it causes you to look at what you are surrounded by and experience it all as a whole. Even a day trip can inspire. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes and culture as a whole casts an imprint.
But let’s face it…vacation is not only a luxury, but it is a fraction of our lives. We steal away on weekends, and if we are lucky, we get to experience a vacation for a week or two, a year max….but what about the other 50 weeks a year? I want ambiance in my everyday existence and I found most people who visit me appreciate it as well. So I set out to create it in my own home and garden.
The name Inside Out Inspiration has another meaning for me (as well)… One of my favorite quotes is “Never compare your insides to everyone else’s outsides”… This quote is by Anne Lamott and it rings so true. Traveling within yields many revelations.
So much of my life I have tried to be what I thought was expected by people I didn’t even know. As a young mom raising three children in the 80”s and 90’s, I was surrounded by women who were doctors and lawyers and had careers… and I felt inferior. In retrospect, I set out to be the best homemaker I could be, and as Martha Stewart came to the forefront of all things house and garden and cooking, I took solace in the fact I could achieve excellence being “just” a mom and homemaker. The mundane tasks of cooking, cleaning and gardening were elevated by her and that inspired me.
Fast forward decades, and I realize how much I have learned by trial and error. Failure is so frightening for many of us. But it is the only way to learn. Nothing is a failure as long as you learn from it, whether it be cooking something that absolutely sucks, or painting a room a color that is horrendous, or planting a plant that isn’t right for the conditions….and that’s just around the house!
Getting my website up and this blog started has been an excellent example of learning new things…thank goodness for the help and guidance I have had from the women who have been my rocks and trailblazers. Please be assured that I have failed at a lot of what I have tried. The stories will be many…but in all of those steps and missteps, I have learned so much. My home and gardens have been the laboratory for a lot of experimentation and my hope and desire is I will be able to be a guide.
I want you to have a home and garden that inspires you every day. The present moment is your PRESENT. Wrap it up in beauty. You don’t get a redo of the day you say goodnight to. Give yourself the gift of a home/garden that nurtures your soul and expresses who you are, where you have been, and where you want to go. Live in an environment that lifts you and all those you share it with. There’s no time like the present. It’s your present. Honor it by honoring you.