I love beautiful things. I’m very selective, but once I’ve fallen for something, I will enthuse about it forever.
At random times. In unexpected ways. Suddenly a passing word, a fleeting flash of colour, a sound, a particular level of humidity in the air, the frosty wind….something will trigger a memory of whatever I fell in love with and it will bring a smile to my day. I get really excited about texture, colour, form, a shape or line, a voice, music, reflection, a small discovered detail…a print…which is what brought me to write this post:
Printed skirt : Wendy’s Lookbook
(Clicking on the image will take you to the source.)
I love the ink-drawn lace-like quality of this pattern as well as the purple-grey shades that remind me of what you get with blotting paper and fountain pens…
Because the dearly beloved gathered around me don’t usually get it, they will only perceive my over-excitement for a tiny bit too long. Their blank expressions usually prevent me from oohing and aahing too much. But I will continue to glow inside from the beauty of whatever it was that captured my imagination, and every time I remember what I loved about that thing, it will flood me with intense happiness and give me that elusive warm and fuzzy feeling.
In my mind, are countless memories of beautiful things I have seen, touched, tasted, heard and internalised. The unspeakable grandeur of a Norwegian fjord, the crisp pure air on a Swiss mountain, the enchantment of walking up a Roman fort in heavy snowfall, the expansive calm of the Lake District in temperate spring, the moodiness of the heather-cushioned Yorkshire Moors underfoot. The feel of the wood on a gently crafted chair, the intense flavour of a ripe avocado and the different shades of its buttery green flesh, the sound of birds singing after rainfall, the magic of a double rainbow…a bright ray of sunshine in a land that is prone to cloudy skies…
Many moons later, I will have forgotten the exact detail of the beautiful silk dress I handled or the simple form of a piece of porcelain that caught my eye, but I will remember the feeling that I wanted to hold on to for a little bit longer. I may even have whipped out my camera at that brief moment in time in an attempt to encapsulate the senses that came to life as I took in the hue, texture and weight of the object before me. In vain. Dissatisfied, I probably deleted the crisp digital image and walked away with just a slight skip in my step and an arguably disproportionate sense of euphoria. I very rarely buy things I love. Sometimes they are simply not for sale (like the breathtaking views from the Minack Theatre in Cornwall) but mostly, I just don’t have enough room in my life for that much stuff!
Minack Theatre panorama
Click on the image to view the panorama file
I love thoughtful design because it connects you to the creative process someone else went through; those moments of inspiration enjoyed by another human being. There are eureka moments but, largely speaking, truly beautiful objects are the product of someone else’s hours of labour, frustration, experiences and collated ideas of what is beautiful to them.
So I propose to dedicate Thursdays to compiling a treasure trove of beautiful things, places and experiences. Things that I have loved in the past, things that I am still discovering, things that I would love to share with you.
I don’t know if, like me, you also find that things of a particular kind of beauty give you a certain added buoyancy on those dark heavy days. Perhaps there are things of significance to you that no one else quite understands. I’d love to hear from you below. Hopefully you will share gems that I’ll not be able to resist adding to my own treasure trove. Happy rummaging!
this is lemonade 
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7 May 2012 at 01:37
*high
*princi
sorry for the typos! i guess i was too excited! 😀
7 May 2012 at 01:36
thank you for stopping by my blog and blessing me with such nice words.
i just woke up from a random nap after church and happened to read this post and it made my heart warm and fuzzy. life is so wonderful and beautiful yet most of us sit here and complain about the petty things.
i studied abroad in London during my studies as a university student. i love everything about the city. my journey there ended four years ago, but my heart still skips a beat every time i reminiscence of my time there.
the way the winter chill caresses my warm cheeks.
the flakiness of the egg custard tarts.
the warmth of a jacket potato piled hight with cheese.
the gorgeous pastries at prinici bakery.
the grumpiness of some londoners.
the amazingness of harrods.
the excitement of sitting on the top of the double decker bus.
the overwhelming awe-strucken silence when looking at the parliament from across the river.
the simplicity of the London Bridge. so simple that i kept forgetting i was on it.
the ‘mind the gap’ phrase.
the musty smell of the shops in the Camden Stables.
you live in a gorgeous city and i am sure your heart is beautiful as well. ❤
PS. this is random, but while there, we studied the film, This is England. Well, I guess I loved the city so much because I wrote This is London about ten times in my term paper! I was thinking England in my head, but wrote London! It was so embarrassing !
7 May 2012 at 12:58
Yes I am very fortunate to live in London precisely because people like you travel through or stop for a while to add that something special that makes the city.
Really, London is such a mix of cultures and ideas, there are pockets of amazing change going on all the time. It’s so inspiring just to be able to get on public transport any day and hear other languages apart from English…or English spoken in many different accents, be they from different parts if the world or simply from other parts of the UK!
Thanks for sharing your personal collection of treasured memories and spreading the warm and fuzzy feeling 🙂