To begin with I never really understood Thanksgiving, a holiday with no gifts and that weird vegetable dish with marshmallow topping?….but after four of my five children were born in America and the years drifted on I began to pay more attention. And now I embrace the idea, a time when we can stop, just for a moment, and really be thankful.
Today I am feeling thankful for those five children and my incredibly long suffering other half, David, and I am turning cartwheels in excitement for all this year has brought, especially the extraordinary tribe of women who stand beside me in this business.
Hi India,
As fate would have it, this is rather an appropriate place to post this comment, as I wanted to thank you.
I woke up this morning feeling completely rubbish; aching all over, massive headache (not of the self-induced kind) and lethargic. Not sick, but not well. And most likely a physical response to the stresses of a demanding parenting week and some other “grown up” challenges.
My options to get through the day appeared to be reduced to : hide the massive To Do List, crawl back to bed or lay on couch watching mindless TV.
Then I remembered those helpful people at Amazon UK had slipped your new book Island Style into one of my recent deliveries of Christmas gifts.
I had been “saving” it for the right moment. And today was it. An intended quick flick became two hours (and two coffees).
Anyway, this literary engagement with you, has re-set me ! Aches gone, energy restored – my creative button alight again.
Like so many others, I am completely enamoured of your decorating style, India. As I am also a resident of a small tropical island (albeit a slightly busier one – Singapore) your book has given me some practical inspiration on using more tropical foliage in my decor and decorating my dinner tables.
But as a long term expat, I wanted to thank you for providing a masterclass in how to create a home with meaningful (and tasteful) reminders of your home country, the best elements of your adopted home and momentos of journeys. And how to make it into a fully functional backdrop for a big life. (Although I think your house is more than a backdrop – it is a character in your story)
Most of all, thank you for the honest and humorous way you share everything from parenting, to decorating, being a global resident and business. It is your warmth and energy that resonates most in the pictures of your home, your words and clearly (well in my case) has the power to “re-set” people.
Oh, and thanks for not marrying a Duke.
Jennifer.