DaytimeTV

Tags

clothing, Conversation, DaytimeTV, Dreams, Home, Homeowner, Housewarming, interview

When the executive producer of Daytime TV at NBC affiliate WFLA-TV in Tampa invited me to do a segment on my book, I jumped at the chance.

The syndicated show airs in 140 markets and I thought my gift book, “Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof,” might benefit from the exposure.

Like any good reporter, though, I needed more information. I emailed inquiries about my hair and makeup (“Do your own and come camera-ready”) and my wardrobe (“Slacks are fine, since we don’t know which set we’ll be using: stools or upholstered chairs” ) and finally, my interview questions (“Oh, you know – stuff like why did you write a book about beams?”)

Uh-oh…

It was clear the producer hadn’t read it and my anxiety level started to rise. Had I been asked such a question on air, I would’ve blurted out, “Why, it’s not about beams at all.”

A very bad start to a televised interview, indeed.

The morning that I arrived at the studios, I still was anxious. I interview people for a living, which makes it extremely difficult for me to sit in a chair, ANSWERING questions instead of ASKING them (particularly when I had no idea what might be asked.)

I prefer to go to interviews PREPARED – no matter which side of the notebook I’m sitting on.

A security guard walked me to the “Green Room” where a bowl of snacks, a coffee pot and water cooler waited. But my stomach churned like a Maytag washer , so I skipped the food and settled on a couch. By the time I walked onto the set, my hands were visibly shaking . (I‘m fairly certain that if the doctor filming the segment before me had taken my blood pressure, an ambulance would’ve been called.)

I clenched a copy of the book in my lap like a security blanket and figured, if the questions were horribly bad, I could simply read an excerpt from it to fill air time.

Yet, when hosts Cyndi Edwards and Jerry Penacoli sat in the upholstered chairs next to mine, they quoted me…my words.

“You actually read it?” I asked, incredulously.

I was delighted.

Questions were asked and I answered them – though I have no memory of what I said. The beauty of WRITING a sentence is the ability to rewrite it, to polish the thought , until it sounds exactly the way you want it to. Unrehearsed speech is very, very different and utterly terrifying – kind of like being shot out of a cannon and waiting to land in a safety net.

Miraculously, the four-minute segment ended and I hoped the microphone attached to my sweater hadn’t picked up the pounding in my chest. Cyndi gave me a hug and Jerry asked me to autograph his copy of my book. By the time I reached the parking lot, my breathing had returned to normal.

I’m looking forward to watching the interview when it airs…alone. I hope viewers enjoy it. ( I hope I do, too!)

“Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!” is available on amazon.com

The Sunshine Award

Tags

Architecture, Awards, clothing, Conversation, Dreams, dress code, environment, Family, fashion, Humor, Memories, mood, Writer

I want to thank the wildly creative Kate at MasonBentleyStyle for nominating me for this lovely award. The international fashion press will soon be writing about her vintage-inspired designs!

My 10 questions from Kate:
1. Who is your style icon?The elegant, glamorous and ageless Carolina Herrera, who was elected to the Best Dressed Hall of Fame in 1980 and remains there to this day. Her signature crisp, white shirt – with cuffs turned back and collar turned up – is impeccable. (Hell, I’ve watched the woman chew gum elegantly!)

2. What are you wearing right now?
A “Simply Vera” Vera Wang dress for Kohl’s. Ever since Target Corp. successfully broke the mold and asked Isaac Mizrahi to design a capsule collection for their stores (a one-time product partnership between a high-end designer and a retail chain,) others have followed: Who could imagine Versace for H&M or Georgina Chapman of Marchesa designing prom gowns for JC Penney? It’s a treat for those of us who can’t afford couture.

3. Where was your best holiday?We spent 10 lovely days in Villefranche sur Mer while our son attended the University of Monaco. The lavender and rosemary-scented air was so fragrant…I’ve never been able to replicate it at home. Life moves at a more leisurely pace there (which gave me more time to enjoy the delicious café crème!)

4. And your worst?
We were staying on Useppa Island, off the west coast of Florida and my husband had to return to Tampa for business meetings. He left by boat and literally abandoned me with our 5-year-old daughter and infant son on an island without electrical power or generators. I was sitting in the dark (actually candlelight) when my sweet friend called and asked, “Renee, have you ever seen “The Shining?”

5. Did you learn much at school?
Certainly the basic tenets of journalism, but I also learned success is not something you HAVE. Success is something you DO. It’s something you experience when you wake up and act accordingly.

6. Could you predict your life?
Heavens, no, but I suppose that’s a blessing. I graduated from college with a journalism degree and established a career as a writer – that prediction came true. I supposed I intended to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, but if I’d pursued that I might not have had time or energy to raise my amazing son and daughter. What is that saying…”Life is what happens while you’re making other plans?”

7. What was the first album you bought?
Sooooo long ago, but I’m guessing it might be James Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James” or Carole King’s “Tapestry.”

8. Could you live in another country?
I’d move to the south of France or Tuscany in a heartbeat!

9. If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
I would be called “Spring” or “Summer.” I love the colors and growth associated with those two seasons. Every time I hear the Olympic swimmer Summer Sander’s name, I smile.

10. If you could have any person be your mentor, who would it be?
After her husband’s suicide, Katharine Graham led her family’s newspaper, The Washington Post, for two decades. She was unsure of herself but totally sure of her principles: The Pentagon Papers and Watergate are milestones in journalistic history. Kay Graham understood two rules of business: Surround yourself with talented people , then nourish them with responsibilities and gratitude. Her memoir, “Personal History,” won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.

And now, my 10 Questions:
1. What was the best advice you ever received?
2. What inspires you?
3. What is most important in life, to you?
4. Who is your style icon?
5. Can you describe your perfect day?
6. Where was your best holiday?
7. Have you ever had an Oprah Winfrey “Aha moment?”
8. Do you have any regrets?
9. Does religion/spirituality play a significant role in your life?
10. What would your epitaph be?

I’ve nominated these blogs for the Sunshine Award:
1. YumandYummer – You’ll love Kerry’s cooking and travel adventures!
2. Rose of Bohemia’s World – This Manhattanite is a fabulous tourguide of what to see and where to eat!
3. Digging Archaeology – Someday I’d love to assist on a dig with her!
4. Sadie and Dasie – A photography blog featuring two darling dogs.
5. Crooked Halo Catholic blogspot.com – Nanette muses about spiritual issues.

The Rules:
Include the award logo in a post on your blog.
Link to the person who nominated you.
Answer 10 questions about yourself.
Nominate 10 bloggers in the post and comment on their blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

Homes are like children

Tags

Community, Dreams, Family, Home

Homes are like giving birth to children, so common and yet so unique.

Our love and our dreams will determine the outcome of our children. The same factors will impact our home, as well.

Consider your home as a model for your children’s future home.  From generation to generation, we pass the richness  of living.

 How will your children live?  In what kind of home and community, what kind of world?

Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart by Renee Garrison and Tom Szumlic

A place of refuge

Tags

contentment, Dreams, Family, Home, Shelter, spirituality

  Home is where you must maintain your center, in the most important relationships with family. You don’t feel happiness based on how majestic something looks from the outside or how much it costs, but on how it touches us inside. Our dwellings shelter our dreams, while providing a place of refuge, a place of contentment.

  At the end of our worst days, we return home to a sense of wholeness and the people who can see through us when we don’t want to be transparent.

 Who you are at home is who you are. So remember, your biggest home improvement project always will be yourself.

“Inside the Gate” photograph by Jamieson Thomas.

Like a child

Tags

Build, child, Construction, Design, Dreams, Homes, Memories

Everything is a house to a child….a tree and the space under a table.

 When thinking about a house, see like a child.

 A little home for little people: The dining room table can be truly amazing. The flat plane of the tabletop becomes a roof, while the lacy cloth that hangs down on each side provides as much security as a brick wall.

• Children live with a sense of awe. They live with amazement, not judgement, and their possibilities are endless. Are you living in awe of your surroundings?

  Design and build as if you were passing your home down to your grandchildren.

 Before you begin designing your home, visit your childhood city or town and take pictures of the houses that inspired you. Return to the homes in your memories…

 

Excerpted from “Home: Celebrating the Spaces of Your Heart,” available soon at Apple’s iBookstore.

“Daniel’s Fort” photograph by Jamieson Thomas

The quirky ones

Tags

Architecture, Dreams, Homeowner, Homes, New Home

    The homes we all remember the most are the quirky ones.

 

    The backstairs that connected Mrs. Hinkle’s kitchen to her bedrooms were woefully narrow and steep. A single overhead bulb illuminated the twisting, dark blue treads. But the terror of climbing them inevitably disappeared when visitors reached an awkward landing. It was there that they first glimpsed sunshine streaming through the bullseye window at the top of the stairs.

  Certainly it would never qualify for the pages of any glossy architectural design magazine.  Perhaps this is why we remember the quirky homes: they have vitality and offer a richer, more stimulating experience. Odd proportions are much more intriguing than safe or expected combinations.

   We all have these eccentric spaces in our memories: The secret narrow hallway that connected two rooms through the back of closets, the doorway that went behind the stairs.

• The homes of our memories give form to the homes of our dreams.