One of my favorite spots in my home is the long collage wall in the living room. It’s a collection, curated by me, over lots of years.
When it started, I was a young wife and new mom. And I was buzzy about decorating our little family's home.
I painted every single wall a different color, and some walls several colors until I landed on one I loved.
I felt sure about most adornments, but I hesitated on the long wall, because I didn't have the funds to frame things professionally, as I thought they should be done.
So, instead of hanging anything at all, I kept the long wall empty, and a stack of photos and homemade art to be framed down the road.

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Around the same time, I met Elizabeth at our kids' school. It was an after-hours informational meeting for a volunteer project.
We were sitting beside one another at those cafeteria tables that fold up and wheel out so that the lunchroom can become the gym.
After about an hour of note-taking and pleasantries, the meeting wrapped.
I stayed close to Elizabeth so I could tell her how much I loved her handwriting. I had never seen G's like hers.

Instantly, we were friends.
And we spent the next hour talking about letters and words and paper and pens and the way it sounds when you write with a pencil.
Giddy and hysterical, as anyone might be when she's made a new friend.
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The first time we visited Elizabeth's home, I spotted the coolest gallery I had ever seen.
On the risers of their steps, all the way up the staircase,
Elizabeth had tacked her family's original art,
with nothing but tape and pushpins.
Handwritten words and finger paintings and preschool patchworks from the top to the bottom.
Not a darn thing had been framed professionally, and it was perfect to me.

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In that moment I knew for sure that there was no need to wait for a bigger budget or a fancy frame or or or...
That night I went home and pinned to our long wall every piece of art I had been saving. End to end, beautifully and imperfectly.
Giddy and hysterical, as anyone might be when she's imbued with a new idea.

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Recently, about 15 years into our friendship, Elizabeth revealed to me that she wants to wear bolder earrings.
And here am I, with shelves and shelves of danglies and chandelier earrings,
giddy and hysterical, as anyone might be when she's got the opportunity to decorate the earlobes of she who inspired her to collage her wall.

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People are THE BEST.
LoveLoveLove,

**Did you see that we have our own social-media homes now?
IG: @letmetellyouthisgoodnews​
FB: Let Me Tell You THIS​
Follow along and invite your people; this kind of connection is the highest use of technology.