Giving Roses

Bushels of roses spill all over our studio garden this time of year.   We plunge them into vases, pass bouquets on to those stopping by to visit, and share them with just about everyone.

They just keep blooming.
Blooming, blooming, blooming...an endless tangle of flushed petals, drenched with the scent of heaven.









The more we give them away, the more they come.
We just can't out-give the roses.



It's as if the giving triggers an unseen force inside their tiny ruffled faces and they explode in pink profusion at the very site of the last cutting...the last giving place.

They seem to whisper one of our favorite quotes, by 
Saint Francis of Assisi, in every scattered petal...
"It is in giving that you receive."


The little roses know a hidden truth. 
Life is enriched, fulfilled, multiplied ... as we give.
Giving doesn't take away from us ... it releases us to be more than we could ever imagine.

Giving, real giving, scatters self-focus to the wind and showers the world around you with grace, beauty and the very fragrance of heaven.

Oh, you are so beautiful when you give.  

When you pour yourself out for others.  

When you live your life to be a blessing.

Inspired to embrace a life of giving more,

The Velvet Lime Girls

"Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” 

Luke 6:38 - The Message

Dragonfly Inn

  

It was the blue shells. 

The simple wooden bowl of blue shells, glistening in shades of sand-washed, sea-glass colors, that began to slowly pull me out to a sea of summer calm.  I had just stepped into the spa-like, never-never land, of the Dragonfly Inn, nestled in Corolla, North Carolina, and already, that deep soul-exhale one has when they’ve found a place to really relax, was beginning to softly ripple in.

Who would take the time to search for a thousand shells in shades of blue, to simply match the colors of ocean, sky and sand that grace this beachfront inn? Only two gentle souls, schooled in the fine art of hospitality, and gifted with an eye for design, luxury, and comfort ... the Dragonfly Inn innkeepers, Dan and Lori Evans. These two creatives have fashioned a sand-castle getaway on a secluded strip of beach in the very remote Outer Banks of North Carolina. 

Pause a moment and take a beach stroll with me, through photos, as I sift through memories of a recent stay here, with my husband, where we slumbered on silky bamboo sheets, counted stars on the edge of the ocean, awakened to gourmet breakfasts, and lived like pampered beach royals for 3 days.

Roses, roses, roses...everywhere! 

Greeting us upon our arrival, gracing our bedside and breakfast table, and filling the entire beachfront inn with floral notes mixed with salty air.

Sunlight dancing off sparkling details, draped on a hand-forged iron chandelier, and suspended above the expansive breakfast table. A tiny detail...just for delight.

Breakfast splendor every morning! 

Five shining orbs, instead of a single light fixture, illuminating a circular staircase, nestled in the center of the inn.

Colors of calm everywhere.

Beach views wrapping themselves around us everyday.

And a lovely wooden bowl filled with a thousand blue shells
that seem to whisper this old adage,
"Offer hospitality to one another."  1 Peter 4:9 

Finding bliss at the beach,

A Velvet Lime Girl

post scriptum

Pictured above is a casual gift of randomly collected beach glass given to us from Ellie, the innkeepers beautiful daughter. Hospitality just runs in this family and it's on full display in the next generation.

For those of you still planning a vacation, please visit the site of this recent inspiration that slipped into our studio today @
The Dragonfly Inn