I know firsthand how a house can swoop in and rescue someone.  Mine sort of rescued me from some harsh life circumstances and that’s exactly why I’m so giddy over and proud of it to this day.  Stories about homes and how they have enveloped a home owner are stories that I love to read.
The Bee Cottage Story and How I Made a Muddle of Things and Decorated My Way Back to Happiness is certainly a title that I could have penned myself.
Journalist, author, and TV personality Frances Shultz is a Southern girl (from North Carolina) like I am and this book is inspired by her popular House Beautiful magazine series on the makeover of her house, The Bee Cottage. Â In fact, I did a Feature Friday on Bee Cottage back in 2011 and thought it was such a fun transformation of a cottage in East Hampton.
I have just started reading the book and can’t wait to get into it further. Â I absolutely love the way that Frances decorated this house, so feminine and classic at the same time. Â I know this book will just dive in deeper than the magazine series did and I can’t wait to read it all.
Of course, with my love of green, this picture just takes my breath away.
After a broken engagement, cancer, and a series of devastating losses left her struggling, Frances started to rebuild her life in this cozy cottage called Bee Cottage and really got to know herself. The renovation of Bee Cottage became a metaphor and a means of healing and personal discovery for Frances and she unravels the question of how a mature, intelligent, successful woman could have made such a mess of her personal life.
Oh, how I can relate to that! Â And I totally can see how a house can come along and capture a heart and change a life.
From the book: Â Part memoir, part home decorating guide, The Bee Cottage Story has 125 beautiful full-color photos to illustrate Schultz’s journey and to inspire readers traipsing through their own “Great Muddle” to examine and discover their own “truth” in decorating — and life. Â
Here’s the fun news! Â The editor of The Bee Cottage Story sent me a copy for myself and they are giving away a copy to ONE of my readers. Â
Be sure to click the Rafflecopter widget and sign up with your email.  Then all you have to do is leave a comment telling me if you’ve ever made a great muddle in life and started over?  I think most of us can relate to that in some way and lived to tell about it.  Starting over can sometimes be the best thing that ever happened to us! Â
Just sign in on the Rafflecopter widget and leave a comment here on the blog! Â Here’s to decorating our way back to a beautiful life!
Oh yes Ma’am…. I made a mess out of my life many years ago. I so wish I could have a do-over. There would be so many things I would change if I could go back to many years ago…..I would love to win the book and visit with someone who has walked in my shoes.
I agree……decorating helps immensely working through the times in our lives when we are “not in control”. It helps to focus on a different outlook, a freshening of spirit and mind. I love the pictures of the book and would love to have a copy. I love green too! Thanks for the opportunity!! Blessings, Linda
Thank you for this post. I can’t wait to read the book. My husband of 40 years passed away two years ago. His passing left me unfocused and distraught. I am a professional woman, and I thought my work would help me move on, but that hasn’t proven to be so. This summer I purchased a 1950’s bungalow in another state that will serve as a getaway home for now and, eventually, my retirement home. As I have begun decorating and planning for remodeling, I am finding new hope for the future. I feel inspired and my creativity is blooming.
Loved your explanation of the book. Home is a sanctuary and my goal has been to create an atmosphere of respite and healing for people who need to get away for awhile as they deal with the challenges of life. This summer, I hosted my nephew’s family. His wife has stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and had a mastectomy at University of Michigan breast center. They live in the upper peninsula of Michigan and she left the breast center with drains that could not be removed for 10 days. Traveling all the way north to the upper peninsula was too far to go right after surgery so I invited them to stay here. As she recovered at our home, I cared for the family. They have four children ages 3 to 13 and her husband (my nephew) came down with shingles right after her surgery. (The doctors attributed that to the stress in their lives.) It was a blessing to share my home and garden (where the kids loved catching frogs from the pond) with them. I had fun taking the kids on daily outings to parks, pools, children’s museums and the nature center as their parents rested. Homes are meant to be used as havens.
I’ve actually made several muddles and started over several times. But like the energizer bunny, I keep on going. And decorating has always been there for me, healing and helping. Thank you for this awesome giveaway!
I feel like I make a muddle of it daily. My house is what soothes me, puttering about making it tidy calms me. Would love to read this book. I too remember several features on it.
I absolutely have made a muddel of things in my life! But praise be to God that I have been able to overcome difficult circumstances. I would love an opportunity to read and share this book!
What an enchanting cottage! Thank you for the opportunity. Fingers crossed.
I am currently in a new place, both in location and life. I don’t know that I have made a muddle out of my life, but I am certainly feeling the pain of change and relocation. I look forward to putting my energy into taking a dreary home and turning it into a place of beauty.
Every day God’s mercies are new and thankful for His grace! The Bee Cottage Story book looks wonderful and would love to read it 🙂
Rhoda, I can certainly relate to making a mess out of my life and finding healing through making my house a home. My home is my safe sancturary and my garden is my prozac lol! I would love to win a copy of this book. Creativley ddecorating our homes is such a healing and inspiring thing to do. It’s so important that we surround ourselves with things that heal, awaken and inspire! Our homes should be our sanctuaries.
I believe any woman who has gone through a divorce or crossroads in her life has reflected back
on how she could start over. I have been there as well. It is so very self fulfilling to know you can get through terrible times in your life if you just believe you can do it!!
Of course I’ve made a muddle! Truly, who hasn’t? I am a middle aged woman recreating her life after divorce. By the GRACE of God, I’m really happy in who He has remade me. Would love to read this book!
I got divorced, and part of my recovery was redecorating and reclaiming my space and making a home for my (then) young sons that was open, relaxing and comfortable for them. It was very therapeutic. At one point, I was hesitating over a new duvet cover, for my bed. I said to a friend, “I’m just worried it is too girly.” My friend looked and me and shouted, “You ARE a girl!” And she was right, it was ok to have a girly bedroom in my own house as a single woman and I bought the duvet cover, lol.
I remember your posting years back on this delightful cottage. Decorating is another way of homekeeping which in turn; kind of is like keeping care of yourself. Home is a magical place to be, to think about and always to plan a new little twist (or big) of added comfort. What a wonderful read I am sure this book is. Thank you for letting us know about it. Hugs !
You learn from everything around you and grow and move forward.
Who hasn’t??!! I think, that all of us at one time or another has had to restart our lives. Due to family situations, illness, problems, the list goes on and on. It can be a huge change, a small change, a couple of changes, etc. Women above all adapt, rebound, and continue to shape their lives accordingly. Love your blog and would love to read this book. Thanks for all you do. Sally
Love this little cottage! The book would be great!!!
I love her decorating. What a charming cottage.
Always muddling through life and working on fresh starts. Love this cottage, as I have one too. Low ceilings. always wishing for taller ones. This cottage illustrates what a cottage really is. Cozy! Luv!