SPARKING JOY IS THE ULTIMATE LIFE HACK

Rest In Peace Barefoot Sammy. You will always be looking down on us.

Living with joy is the ultimate life hack. I have not posted in a couple of weeks because I have been grieving the loss of my sons’ special friend and putting pretty pictures of fun projects felt frivolous.   Grief for many seems to have a ripple effect where you revisit other losses, rewind and replay so many moments and have mental conversations about all the things left unsaid.  While I am no expert on this topic, I am simply sharing what I think is worth sharing. 

Navigating the loss of someone so young and helping my son through his grief has been incredibly hard.  Death is part of the life circle and it can be life affirming for those left behind.  But when we lose someone with such a BRIGHT light, it really rocks us at our core.  To help my son move through his grief, I asked him to write his friend a letter or make a list of all the things that he learned about life from him.  The letter served as a powerful reminder that we should not leave words left unsaid.  More importantly, the letter sparked a conversation with myself because his words so eloquently captured different times and spaces that it made me feel that his friend will always be with him…. and I believe he will.  

Lately, I read so much about all the “things” we are eliminating because they don’t spark joy.  My conversation has taken a new turn as I am looking at all the people in my life that spark joy with the intention of writing them a letter, just like the one my son wrote, letting them know what they bring into my life which gives me grace.   The best part of this process is that I hold space for that person while thinking about all the things I want to write to them which is like sending a prayer of gratitude into the universe.  This is only my second week of sending the lists, but I plan to make this part of my weekly ritual.  

The reality is that while I spend my days creating beautiful backdrops for people, it is the hope for laughter and smiles and content in a safe space that bring me so much joy in my endeavors.  I hope today you’ll write just one letter or make a list of the people in your own life which bring you joy.   Don’t forget to hit send.  You never know how one kind word could change their day, week, year or life.  Life is short, be kind, and hack away at creating a bright spot in somebody’s life today and every day.   

---

About

Contact

---

INSTAGRAM FEED

When your seamstress texts you that today’s install is in their top 5 you naturally love the day even more. I can’t think of any combination I love more than the corals, blues and greens. Never miss an opportunity to line your drapes with something exceptional. #scwinteriors #lifeofshaz #delightinginthedetails #drapery #dressingwindows #draperydesign #customdrapery #coral #silk

Illuminating how travel impacts the creative process. If you’ve ever wondered what designers “see” when they are exploring the world this might sum it up. A camera full of delighting in the details. And while this is probably boring to many it provides me with mountains of things to consider. Patterns, ratios, color play, profiles, symmetry, undulation, hinges, and so much more. When my daughter asks me “mom, what are you thinking about?” The answer is simple. I am thinking about math and execution and materials and the discipline, time and patience required to bring these details into existence. I am also thinking how grateful I am to the people who for centuries had the brilliance to share these gifts. C’est la vie: this is life… #scwinteriors #traveldiaries #delightinginthedetails #frenchtravel #interiorinspo #interiordesign

Loving something so deeply apparently makes us hostage to fortune. The great impediment to other pursuits. Joan Didion describes having children as being terrifying and says if you’ve ever been fearful of losing a dog you’re pre disposed to this terror as a parent. 🙋‍♀️Loving my little Lulu was a gift. She was my shadow and constant companion so when she was not in the room I knew something was amiss. What an incredible gamble it is to love. We subconsciously know that there will be a window in which we will be separated and yet we roll the dice and double down to love harder thinking it is stronger than fate and we can somehow will the other to stay forever. …. Alas, we are here with one gaping, soul crushing crater of memories…. wishing we could hold, kiss and smell her just one more time. Eternity is promised and I intend to collect. Until then I’ll be whispering your name on the breeze my forever little Lulu.

It took some convincing but we finally have a love match. A few years of joking about the models drawn for scale in our drawings and wha-lah. We finally have an equitable situation. Notice how nice his calves look with those heels 🤣🤣🤣. I love nothing more than laughing and I hope this makes you laugh too. #scwinteriors #lifeofshaz #scwinteriordesign #letsallwearheels #livingtolaugh

I remember the first time I read “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” I had more questions about his spiritual after life than I did about the meaning of his time on earth. Shocking. The book is about an ordinary seagull who is not interested in the mundane rituals of the other seagulls but of a bird who pushes against the flock by pursuing his passion for extraordinary flight. The book is part divinity and mostly a spiritual search to find meaning and ultimately acceptance as an outlier. This week 30 years ago I graduated from college. And this week my daughter graduates from the same college, in the same city, in the same week. If I am honest, this has been an unanticipated time of introspection. The beauty of getting older is being able to see clearly how your life has unfolded and the realization that there was a master plan that you never could have dreamed up in your wildest imagination. To all the graduates out there…be an outlier. Don’t be afraid that not joining the flock will be lonely, because some days it will. The purest joy I can conceive is knowing that following your passion might make you the leader of the pack but more importantly it will make you the leader of YOUR life. Tomorrow at this table I will raise a glass to all the graduates with a prayer that their wing span will know no limits. #collegegrad #hookem #celebration #jonathanlivingstonseagull #scwinteriors #lifeofshaz

It’s a dry lay Friday in honor of all the mom’s who lay their hearts on the line for their children everyday. Shoutout to the moms who have moved to different cities to make covid or the commute easier. To the stepmom who spent painstaking hours redoing two rooms for her new step children and then bought a new home to create bigger spaces for them to roam. To the mother in law who wants to redo her son’s room to make her daughter in law feel like it is hers too. To the moms who request special linings for their light sensitive kids. To the mom who brought her adult daughter to preview the selections for a room in her mom’s new home and pulled her in by the waist to give her a reassuring hug. To the mom who turned 80 this year and let us roll through her house like thunder readying for her impromptu party. To the mom who nursed her daughter back to health surrounded by new bed linens and squishy pillows. To all the moms. I see you. I feel you. I hear you. There is no love as great as the love of a mom. Wishing you all the most special weekend celebrating our best role in life. #scwinteriors#lifeofshaz #momsrock #momlife #celebratemom #deligthinginthedetails