Happy St. Patrick's Day

You guys, now I know I’m not Irish (shocking... did the name Hanin give me away?) but St. Patrick’s Day has special significance to me.

On March 17, 1999 (that was so strange to type a 1-9 instead of the usual 2-0, I’m old, I digress)… On this day 18 years ago, my family and I were granted political asylum and became refugees! This was an epic legal triumph for us as immigrants from Jordan and one that symbolized the beginning of a new self-definition.

I won’t get into the politics of the US immigration system, but on a humanistic level it was the beginning of my rebirth as an American. The process of becoming a full US Citizen took many more years, but was monumental when it finally happened. True, it’s only a piece of paper, but for those of us who live for so long without the validation of having a country to belong to, it’s an unsettling feeling of being lost, a wanderer, a type of homeless, and a bohemian (only not by choice).

When Beachy Bohēme was just an idea, Tracy and I both agreed that as part of our dream of creating happy spaces with our décor and design services, we would give back to organizations that align with our values. We know “home” is sacred, it provides a feeling of security (or at least it should) and we know that not everyone has a home. So we narrowed our focus down to 3 non-profit organizations whose own missions are to provide shelter to homeless people locally, nationally and internationally.

Today, I thought it was fitting to make our first donation to the American Refugee Committee (ARC) in honor of the day I found refuge in the US. This humanitarian aid organization works to help 2.5 million people each year take back control of their lives by providing health care, sanitation, shelter and legal services in DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Pakistan, Thailand, Myanmar, Somalia, Syria, and Jordan. On top of that, of its 2,000 employees, 95 percent are hired locally.

So in the sea of green beer and shot glasses that say “kiss me I’m Irish” you’ll see today, say cheers to how important it is to have a place to call home!  

Ok, now that I'm off my soapbox/high horse, and onto other unrelated green news... my office walls have finally been painted! It took a long time of obsessing over the perfect shade of green, but I finally chose to go with Green Smoke by Farrow and Ball, and I couldn't love it more if I tried! The texture of this paint is amazing, it's a matte finish but somehow reflects light amazingly so it doesn't feel too dark and it has a magic depth to it. 

(I'm trying not to reveal too much because I want to share the full office once it's completely ready... but here's a teaser) featuring our Allure Chair:

xoxo

Hanin (aka Neen)

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