Thank you Stefan for the copy of your trends report!
Lesley's Life
Western MA Valentine History
I saw a tweet today from Terran Birrell today who was expressing pride in his girlfriend’s contribution to a display of vintage valentines at Mount Holyoke and was sharing a link to a Republican story about the display. His girlfriend, Lori, also has a post on the subject.
Upon reading the Republican’s story I discovered that valentines in America hit their heyday in the late 1800’s when a woman named Esther Howland received an English valentine that was very elaborate with lace and ribbon trimmings. Esther, a native of Worcester and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, then decided to embark upon making her own elaborate valentine cards. This turned into a full scale operation with reported income in the $75,000 to $100,000 mark, which for that time was quite a lot of money!
I hadn’t realized that Western Massachusetts had such a place in the history of the Valentine greeting. My research brought me to remembering back to the mid 1990’s when my grandmother passed away. I took responsibility for cleaning out her room and in doing so, discovered a large box containing decades worth of fancy and expensive valentine cards.
My grandfather was very much the romantic and this box contained beautiful symbols of his romantic love for my grandmother dating back to the 1920’s.
I don’t know where those valentines are now, I imagine my mom must have them in storage somewhere, but they were definitely the type that Esther Howland would have been proud of.
Happy Valentine’s Day Western Massachusetts, I hope you have a fabulous day and that you too receive a romantic and elaborate valentine greeting from someone that loves you!
Let me introduce….ME!
Hi there! I am Lesley Lambert. REALTOR with Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA.
My blog is here to help home buyers and sellers in Western Massachusetts get the information and education they need to make smart real estate decisions. I try to share myself, the best of Western MA as well as real estate news and advice through my posts.
I hope that when you read my posts you will get a better sense of the services I provide to my customers and clients. Read it and leave me some comments to let me know what you think!
Review of the book “Surviving Your Serengeti”
I was privileged to have been sent an advanced copy of the new business book “Surviving Your Serengeti” by Stefan Swanepoel.
I really enjoyed his unique approach to teaching his business concepts. The blend of fictionalized parable and business analogies worked extremely well for me. You can pre-order your copy of the book now.
In the meantime, why not go find out what kind of animal you are?
Here is my review:
An amazing Tweetup getaway at the Beachmere Inn
I love Western Massachusetts, but I also love getting away and traveling sometimes.
This weekend Morriss and I took advantage of a destination tweetup at the Beachmere Inn in Ogunquit, Maine. After an enjoyable three hour drive we arrived at this lovely inn on the ocean. I have never been to the shore in the winter and was unsure how enjoyable the beach in winter could be. I was so pleasantly surprised to see that the snow made lovely shadows and contrasts along the shore providing a new view, a uniquely lovely vista.
More enjoyable than the views was the sight of some wonderful twitter friends that I don’t get to see often enough. It was wonderful to be able to hug and chat and visit with Dana Moos, Ann Cummings, Jim Lee, Monika and Jay McGillicuddy, Christine Pilch and her boyfriend, Tony.
It was a great pleasure to meet the innkeeper, Sarah, and hear the story of how she is the fifth generation of innkeepers and the third generation running the Beachmere Inn. As part of her tweetup incentives she offered discounted room rates on rooms with amazing views, discounted spa services, entertainment and special meals. They have an adorable pub with attentive bar tenders and a Kindle lending program, too.
Morriss and I missed the Friday night dinner that sounded wonderful, but enjoyed a great meal with 13 other tweetup guests at a local restaurant, Bintliff’s. While on the way out some #twitterqueens friends, Ann and Monika and I got a great picture in a throne! 
After a great meal, great conversations and a wonderful night’s rest, Morriss and I awoke to a stunningly beautiful, sunny morning. We enjoyed breakfast with our friends and then took Sarah up on her offer to allow us to use the inn’s snowshoes to take a walk along the Marginal Way. It was breathtaking and refreshing and Morriss and I both enjoyed our first snowshoe experience immensely. Morriss liked it so much that he blazed a heart into the field in the courtyard of the inn, or maybe the heart was for me.
I hope we can return to the Beachmere Inn another time. Many thanks to Sarah at the Beachmere Inn for organizing such a wonderful event!
