Our story
A single rose, every time
Every guest who arrives here finds a single rose waiting. People ask about it often enough that we thought we'd explain.
We've known each other since elementary school, but we didn't start dating until our thirties.
When we first got together, she told me her favorite flower was the rose. So I started giving her one every Friday. She kept them on top of the kitchen cabinets, and over time the kitchen filled up with preserved roses.
She told me to stop spending money on them. I knew how much she loved them, so I kept going. Eventually I did stop, and I've regretted it ever since.
Now that we have the beach house, I want to keep the tradition going, and to pass on the joy she felt every time one of those roses arrived.
James
We wrote it down as a poem and had it lettered by hand. It hangs in the living room.
Each guest who enters through our door,
is greeted with a rose nothing more.
A simple gesture, yet so grand,
A symbol of love, they understand.
The hosts, they share a bond,
That started when they were very young.
She loved the rose he knew it true,
So every Friday, one rose would do.
She'd store it high, atop the shelves,
And with each petal, our love would delve.
She'd say to stop, it was too much,
But he knew better, with every touch.
Eventually, he stopped, and he regret,
That he ever let their tradition forget.
So, now they share it with each guest,
A simple rose, to be our best.
A token of love, they give to all,
To share the joy, both big and small.
For in this gesture, they hope you see,
The love that my spouse and I, we believe.
What our name means
ABH stands for Ace, Bean and Hope, the three babies we lost. Some people read it as A Beautiful Home, and we don't mind. But the name is how we remember them.
Our family has known a lot of love and a lot of loss. When we opened this house we wanted it to be a warm, comfortable place for other people, and we think of every guest we welcome as part of how we keep Ace, Bean and Hope with us. We try to fill the house with the kind of love they would have brought into our lives.
What it means for your stay
In practice, it means a rose will be waiting when you arrive. We explain it here because people ask where it came from, and because it's how we try to run the house. We'd rather get the small things right every time.
One more thing about this house: a short film was shot here. You can watch it and spot the porch and the bay.
