after the big betrayal that broke my heart, i swore i would never again love work people. my plan was complete professionalism, whatever that is. and then these two came along... you know i believe "we get what we give" but sometimes, you guys... sometimes we give and we give and we give... and all we get is hurt. some have written to me over the years and told me so. i'm so sorry. i didn't know. have you heard that grandmotherly wisdom about heartache being like hot water? and people are like carrots, eggs, or coffee. when hot water happens to a carrot, it gets weak and soft. when hot water happens to an egg, it gets hard and rigid. when hot water happens to coffee, it changes the water. i am an egg. heartache made me lose faith in humanity. i thought that refusing to love my work people was an act of self-preservation. but it made me a person that i do not want to be. i want to be coffee. coffee changes the water into something wonderful. if we are coffee, when things are at their worst, we get better. we change the situation around us for the better. but it's easy to say "i want to be coffee" it's tricky to actually become the person we want to be. the first step is simply this... decide to become the person you want to be. we can't change other people. we can only change ourselves. after that... look for the helpers. you will always find people who are helping. - mr. roger's mom kelly and angela are helpers and healers. everything i gave away did not come back to me in the way that i hoped. everything i gave away came back to me so much bigger and better than i ever dared to dream, thanks to angela and kelly and other helpers and healers in my life. surround yourself with the ones who see beauty and speak truth. seth godin says that the best small businesses are... a team of equals: this is an organization staffed with people who have particular skills, skills that you don't have. this is the Beatles. or a three-person design firm in which each person is more skilled than the others in a specialty. he refers to such teams as a cooperative of artisans. i say we are a connection of status quo antagonists. same thing. angela and kelly have mad skills that i don't have. we are a team of equals. and i am finished fighting it, i want to become the person i want to be... of all these friends and lovers, there is noone compares with you. and these memories lose their meaning when i think of love as something new. though i know i'll never lose affection for people and things that went before and i know i'll often stop and think about them... in my life, i love you more. xo... christina for all by christina britt lewis design by kelly lies photography by angela statzer only afters of this redesign but you are cool with that, right? this was a fun one. 'specially if you love horses. you gotta listen to this while you scroll... live like somebody left the gate open.
xo... christina for all before... we are saving the world from custom window treatments, one home at a time. when you invest a ton in something, it can be hard to let it go. but the window treatments, rug and paint color were just feeling sad and dated. this family is fun and happy and full of life. so using the comfy sofa and chairs they already have, we made their home feel fresh, updated, happy and full of life... just like them. before... after... we gathered and grouped all of the crisp, clean, white accessories they already have, and added some new pieces for the kitchen shelves to create a collection. lighter and brighter is better. we are big believers that books belong on bookshelves. and while it totally makes uncle bill roll his eyes... we think the texture of the pages is every bit as beautiful as the bindings. to each his or her own. hehe... a big basket is a beautiful solution to the pile of shoes at the door problem... you guys, did you notice kelly lies photographed this redesign? angela had a day off so kelly snapped a few shots. (we MISSED you, angela!) when i saw the photos i was blown away. aren't they fabulous? kelly is a design star, she runs our company, AND apparently is a killer photographer. we are so grateful for her...i have to tell you the whole story... i did not want to hire kelly. we were recovering from the biggest betrayal of our lives when she came along. our hearts, broken. our investment, gone. our intellectual property, stolen. our names, slandered. our faith in humanity, lost. tim hired kelly, not me. that man dreams my dreams for me and now my dreams are real. he is a wise and good man and he recognizes wisdom and goodness in others. he totally saw that big betrayal coming, but... when you invest a ton in something, it can be hard to let it go. kelly chooses to do the right thing not because she fears hell or hopes for heaven, she simply chooses to make the world a more beautiful place. kelly is goodness personified. it's been a long time since my heart broke. i have relived that betrayal in dreams for years. but the other night, for the first time ever, i had the most wonderful dream that i was flying. kelly has flying dreams too. when i told her, she googled the meaning... dreams of flying may represent high hopes; feeling that nothing can hold you down or keep you from reaching your goals; and could indicate that you are feeling in control of your life and your emotions. usually a sense of euphoria or freedom is felt when flying in dreams, perhaps signifying you have freed yourself of a sticky situation... you guys, i am finally free. after years, i can finally see that big betrayal is the best thing that ever happened to us. it got us here. and here is the most beautiful place i have ever seen. kelly helped me see the beauty in my brokenness. so if your heart is broken, dear ones. stay under the covers and cry for as long as you need to. life is so hard. when you are ready, come out from under the covers. you are not alone. we are all broken. surround yourself with the ones who see the beauty in the brokenness. life is so beautiful. all together now... xo... christina by christina britt lewis photography by angela statzer gosh, we love using what you already have to make your house the home you hope for. can't even count how many times i've talked people out of buying new stuff. i usually say something like... let me show you how good we can make your old stuff look. if you love it as much as i think you will... take that moolah you were saving for a sofa and go on an adventure with the ones you love! 'cause... the thing is... you can have both... you can have a beautiful home and a fun life. when we started over and lived on very little for a very long time we learned... a beautiful life is yours for the making. learn to see the beauty in what you already have...
so no more stressing and obsessing about your home. put down the catalogs. go have some fun with the ones you love! still learning... christina for all oh and... when you REALLY need a new sofa 'cause the new puppy destroyed yours or whatever, go see my friends at the cococo and tell them we sent you. great quality at a great price. |