oats, Decor and So Much More with Special Guest: Kelly Lawrence | Quiet Company for Restful Moments

In this gently meandering episode of The Insomnia Project, Marco welcomes special guest Kelly Lawrence from Norwell for a calm and companionable conversation about home, water, and the small details that make life feel warm.
They begin by exploring Kelly’s approach to home decor — from creating inviting spaces to confidently incorporating bold statement pieces like her giant wooden giraffe. The conversation drifts to wall hangings, including a whale displayed above her fireplace, and the quiet nautical charm common in many Massachusetts homes. From leather couches to the comfort of multiple fireplaces, the discussion lingers on textures, ambiance, and what makes a house feel like a haven.
Naturally, the topic flows toward Kelly’s love of boating near Scituate, where river meets ocean at “the spit.” She shares the simple joy of being on the water, along with reflections on good stories, beloved dogs, and resilience in the face of adversity.
As always, this calming podcast unfolds at an unhurried pace, offering relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. Let the gentle talk of boats, decor, and cozy corners carry you peacefully toward rest.

​Boats, Decor and so much more with special guest_ Kelly Lawrence

(Original airdate: Nov 30, 2023) 

 Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep. And if it doesn't and it just relaxes you or, uh, you just follow along, that's Perfectly fine, too. I'm, um, your host, Marco Timpano. Thank you for joining us. I have the distinct pleasure of having, for the first time on our podcast, my cousin from Massachusetts, Kelly Lawrence. Welcome to the Insomnia Project.

Kelly Lawrence:  Hi, Marco. Thanks for having me.

Marco:   We're here in your beautiful home in Norwell, Massachusetts, on beautiful, comfortable leather chairs. So you might hear the squeak leather in the background, um, as well as, uh, you know, the sounds of outside. But, uh, I'm happy to be here in Massachusetts because we often talk about Massachusetts on the podcast because your cousin Amanda, of course, grew up in this general area where we are right now.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes, she sure did.

Marco:   And we're fortunate because we're gonna have you on our holiday episodes, which are coming up, listeners. So we're going to have new holiday episodes, and you'll hear Kelly talk about her beautiful, uh, I won't even say her home and decorations, but let's just give a preview of that, because I want to talk about your non holiday decorations and how beautiful your home is decorated.

Kelly Lawrence:  Thank you.

Marco:   In particular, with what you have on your walls. Okay, so tell me, how did you approach decorating your home?

Kelly Lawrence:  I think that everything that I do, I have a very eclectic style, and I think that that shows. Um, but I think the number one thing of importance to me is warmth. So I always want to relay a feeling of warmth and, you know, love. I mean, not to sound too cliche, but I want people to come here and feel comfortable being here, um, and visit and want to come back like you and Amanda.

Marco:   Oh, my goodness.

Kelly Lawrence:  Um, and so I really want to want people to feel relaxed and comfortable here. So that's the main thought process I think of when I am decorating the home. Um, I also, really, in that vein, love things that have meaning.

Marco:   Okay?

Kelly Lawrence:  So it's very rare that I will do something. And granted, I like something that looks nice. This wicker basket looks nice. These lamps look nice. But oftentimes I will choose things that have meaning to keep in my home. For example, um, well, in here, we, um, have a bar area, um, which Dave and I, we laugh about this because we saw this bar at home, uh, goods, and we said we have to have it. And we were just about to return it because we couldn't. It was much bigger than we thought, and we put it in this random place, and we thought this is the place for it. But on that bar, if you notice, there's a very tall wooden giraffe. And that giraffe is from Jamaica. My friend Lauren got married There back in March. March 1st of 2020. And um, they have a lot of wooden sculptures in Jamaica. And Dave and I saw this giraffe and we had to have it. In fact, somebody tried to purchase it off my husband at the airport and he would not, he had to hold it because it wouldn't fit in luggage. We thought the neck would break. So he carried that on the airplane and sat with that big giraffe on top of him.

Marco:   I love that. I love that story. What about wall hangings? Because I need to ask you about one wall hanging in particular. But first I want to get your opinion because you've got your walls so beautifully decorated.

Kelly Lawrence:  Mhm.

Marco:   In every room. Like I see that painting right behind you.

Kelly Lawrence:  Sure.

Marco:   And the colors of it, uh, like it just, it just works in that room. It just looks fantastic. But I noticed that everywhere, like you've got this. I love, um, these types of mirrors that have like a sun design.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah. So pretty.

Marco:   And this looks like an antique.

Kelly Lawrence:  Well, it's so funny because seen this mirror one other time in my life and my sister in law has this mirror and neither of us knew that we had the mirror. And I was like, wait a second, I have that mirror too. And it's the only time I've ever seen it elsewhere.

Marco:   It's a gorgeous mirror.

Kelly Lawrence:  Thank you.

Marco:   But how do you approach wall hangings?

Kelly Lawrence:  Um, I'm a big photo person. I really like to post photos. My husband will tell you I have way too many wedding photos on the walls. But it's a very happy time. Um, it involves my friends and my family, so to, you know, have those. Um, I also have pictures going up my staircase. Growing up, I never had a staircase that had wall hangings. Matter of fact, I tell my mother this all the time that she needs photos going up her staircase. And um, I always wanted that I'd see it in movies and so I did it. I have, uh, frames, uh, all different sizes, um, of pictures of me and my husband and our dog. So um, that's kind of the thought process there. And they're all different. It's us at Patriots games. It's us dressed up for New Year's Eve because we do these giant themed parties on New Year's.

Marco:   I love it.

Kelly Lawrence:  Um, and one from Halloween, one when we were in Palm Springs. So there's a lot.

Marco:   So lovely memories that you have. Celebrating memories too.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah, exactly.

Marco:   Um, you have above one of the mantles of your fireplaces a whale.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes.

Marco:   I'm really into nautical things.

Kelly Lawrence:  Okay.

Marco:   So whales for me like really, like these are the things that really stand out for me. I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was a kid. Yeah. So I love that kind of stuff. But I noticed here in New England, whales appear in a lot of people's homes.

Kelly Lawrence:  Mhm.

Marco:   So I'm curious about the whale that you have, which I already took a picture of because I love it so much above your fireplace.

Kelly Lawrence:  Sure. Um, so ironically, I ordered it for this fireplace. So the fireplace that has, uh, lots of brick around it.

Marco:   We have three fireplaces in this home, just so you're aware, folks.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes. And currently it's over the big fireplace. Um, and I really. My husband moved it there by accident. I think it was after last Christmas, and put it in the wrong spot. Um, and there used to be a ship there, but the ship had broken. Um, and so he put it there and I was like, oh, I kind of like it, um, in this fireplace. But really I just always wanted a whale. And so I purchased one, um, from a local company. I think they're based in Cohasset, Massachusetts. And, um, it's just a whale. And it has kind of like white paint, but not solid. It looks kind of rustic. And, um, it was funny. My friend Melissa came over and she saw the whale and she said, I love that whale. And so for Christmas I bought her a whale.

Marco:   Oh my gosh, that's amazing. That's amazing. And I noticed that, you know, there are a lot of nautical things in homes here in Massachusetts, whether they be ships, whales. You also have a wall that has like these beautiful fish kind of like.

Kelly Lawrence:  Oh, yes.

Marco:   Yeah. Love that.

Kelly Lawrence:  I love nautical.

Marco:   Why is that? Why do you think it's such a, uh, so present in so many homes here in Massachusetts?

Kelly Lawrence:  I think a lot of it has to do with the presence of being so close to the ocean. Right. Um, and so, you know, Norwell does not have, uh, an ocean, although we have the north river and I live very close to it.

Marco:   It's gorgeous, by the way.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes. That's so pretty. Um, but if you ever were to go to Scituate, um, which is a beach, um, town, it's on the ocean,

Marco:   which was formerly a fishing town.

Kelly Lawrence:  It was a fishing town. Yes.

Marco:   It could have even been a whaling town back in the day.

Kelly Lawrence:  Oh, I'm sure.

Marco:   Okay.

Kelly Lawrence:  And lots of lobstering goes on there. And so, um, people in those houses tend to have a ton of nautical stuff. Like, you'll notice the door knockers. You here you might have a pineapple or a regular door knocker. And you get to situate. And they're almost all starfish.

Marco:   Oh, really? Okay. Or like a whale's tail.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes, exactly.

Marco:   Or like a mermaid.

Kelly Lawrence:  Exactly.

Marco:   Okay, cool. That's awesome.

Kelly Lawrence:  So, um, yes, but we love nautical things and I just love the ocean. I'm a lover of all things ocean. So I just like to have a touch of the ocean in my home.

Marco:   I love it. Speaking of the ocean, speaking of you being a lover of the ocean, you're also captain of a boat.

Kelly Lawrence:  Uh, to clarify, I am not the captain. I am the rider.

Marco:   You are the first me.

Kelly Lawrence:  I'm the first me. I like that. Um, my husband is the captain. I don't really think he likes to be the captain, but he is the captain.

Marco:   Okay, so tell me about your boat and what you love about, uh, being on the water. And if people are looking to purchase a boat, what are some things you would recommend?

Kelly Lawrence:  Okay. So I have always wanted a boat and begged Dave, let's get a boat. Let's get a boat. And we kind of were looking and we test drove one boat. Was not. The engines weren't good on it. Ah, down the cape. And we just kind of fell upon this boat in the middle of the summer was, ah, it two summers ago, I believe. And um, it's just a little fishing, uh, boat. It's a proline center console. It's 24ft.

Marco:   Um, what makes it a fishing boat versus, um, like a, I don't know, like a tour boat or like a fun boat or like a.

Kelly Lawrence:  So in a, in a fishing boat. So a center console, um, the captain will drive boat from the middle. But there's a lot of area if you're fishing that you can fish off of. You can store the fish. They have fish wells on the boat. Um, and do you fish?

Marco:   Is that why you bought it?

Kelly Lawrence:  I do not. My husband does. Okay.

Marco:   Oh, I didn't know that.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes. And I always really liked that type of boat because sometimes the other boats are. They're a little bit too much. And this was our first boat purchase. So we were like, you know, let's keep it simple. And so this is a simpler style of boat.

Marco:   Okay, so when purchasing a boat, what are some tips you would give our listeners?

Kelly Lawrence:  Well, that's a hard one because I pretty much had no idea what I was doing and, um, trusted my husband and his friend who was a former, um, boat mechanic, to, uh, engines. Boat engine mechanic. And um, so they looked at the engine and it looked good. I would say this. Everything is negotiable. Okay, so you should never just see the sticker price and say I'm paying. That I would give an offer. And that's what I did. And I said to my husband, I bet you they meet us halfway. And that's exactly what they did.

Marco:   Oh, fantastic. Fantastic. Yeah. Be wise because a boat is not an inexpensive purchase. Right. Because you have to maintain the boat and it's on the water and it faces a lot of challenges. Right.

Kelly Lawrence:  And it's expensive to maintain and you

Marco:   have to love being on the water.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes.

Marco:   In order to have a boat, I would say.

Kelly Lawrence:  And I love being on the water. So we, we do love it. It has cost a lot of money to maintain. As a matter of fact, we're talking about maybe remoting it which is. It actually costs more than the boat costs to remoter.

Marco:   So just know that listeners, if you're gonna get a boat.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes.

Marco:   You gotta love it.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes.

Marco:   Um, let me ask you this. Where's your favorite boat route to take?

Kelly Lawrence:  So I really like. We put the boat in, uh, at the Scituate town ramp where we're trail. Want to get a slip?

Marco:   I love Scituate.

Kelly Lawrence:  I have to say.

Marco:   You took me to such a. It's so gorgeous.

Kelly Lawrence:  It's gorgeous. And um, we tend to go. Well my husband, he likes to go to Plymouth. He's from Plymouth.

Marco:   Plymouth is wild.

Kelly Lawrence:  So he immediately wants to go to Plymouth. And it's a nice ride down to Plymouth. You pass the cliffs in Scituate and

Marco:   you're like Right downtown Plymouth when you, when you are at the water. Right.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes you are. And so that's very nice. I have gone down there with him a few times to do some fishing. Um, by the way, I haven't done the fishing but I've sat there and watched him and his friends fish.

Marco:   What do they catch?

Kelly Lawrence:  Oh gosh. Striper.

Marco:   I don't know if you know this about me. Before I wanted to be a marine biologist. When I was a really young kid, I wanted to be a fisherman.

Kelly Lawrence:  Really? Yeah. That's too funny. Yeah.

Marco:   So I need to talk to Dave about fish. I can't believe we're leaving in like you know, an hour and I've only got like 45 minutes to talk fish with. With Dave.

Kelly Lawrence:  So that is a subject he would love to talk about. I didn't know that. Yes. Okay. He loves, um. I think he catches some mackerel. Uh, he catches a striper.

Marco:   Ah.

Kelly Lawrence:  Um. So yeah, he really enjoys that. And then there was another fish he caught this year. He got one of them. But I Forget what it was.

Marco:   Okay, fair enough.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah, um, and so that's good. Um, but I really like to go. So there's this area called the Spit and it is where the ocean opens up from two rivers and, or rather two rivers open up into the ocean. And um, it's the north river, which is part of Norwell, the town I live in, I live very close to that river. And then there's the south river which comes out of Marshfield. And the two of those rivers meet and combine and then go out into the ocean. Okay.

Marco:   Um, so fresh water into salt water too.

Kelly Lawrence:  Correct. And they have a giant sandbar. And in the summertime I like to take the boat down to the sandbar called the Spit. And you can sit out there, you can grill, you can hang out with your friends. Um, and we just, we sit on the beach, but it's like a special beach, you know, there's no rocks, it's very clean. So I like to go there. M. And I like to be out on the boat and sometimes we just go for drives on the boat and I like that too.

Marco:   Oh, that's nice. Where's the furthest you've gone with your boat?

Kelly Lawrence:  Um, I think Quincy.

Marco:   Okay.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes. And the reason that's the furthest, you would think? Well, Plymouth is probably equidistant, um, in length, but there's this area, uh, this town called Hull that kind of sticks out into the middle of the ocean. And so you have to go around Hull to get to Quincy. So it took longer than like going to Plymouth. Plymouth we can get to in a half an hour or so. But uh, going to Quincy was a lot longer. We wanted to go to Boston, but it just was already so long having to go around Hull.

Marco:   I see, so Boston is far from the water.

Kelly Lawrence:  It is, yes.

Marco:   Because it's only a 45 minute drive if there's no traffic.

Kelly Lawrence:  Right, right.

Marco:   But it's never a 45 minute drive.

Kelly Lawrence:  No. And actually I could get to Boston easily in a half an hour. It's only 23 miles. Okay. But there's always traffic. So I work downtown and a lot of times it's an hour and a half to two hours one way. So I love it. Yes.

Marco:   I mean, I don't love that you're in traffic.

Kelly Lawrence:  No, me neither.

Marco:   I love how close you are to Boston.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah, no, it's great.

Marco:   So on a Sunday, let's say.

Kelly Lawrence:  Mhm.

Marco:   You could get there relatively quick or no.

Kelly Lawrence:  Oh, I could get there relatively quick. Yeah.

Marco:   But nobody works on a Sunday so it doesn't really matter.

Kelly Lawrence:  No, exactly.

Marco:   That's why you can get there relatively quick. Wow. All right, so we talked about your home. We talked about your, uh, boat. I'd love to know about what brings you joy, because like I said before, you're the type of person, when you're around Kelly, you just have a good time, and you don't even have to be doing anything, you know, anything in particular. But I just love hearing stories that you have to tell and stuff. And you just bring so much joy to a room.

Kelly Lawrence:  Um, well, I think you hit the nail on the head. I love a good story, uh, and I have a lot of good stories. Um, and at least that's what my friends tell me. Um, but I'm that person that the crazy stuff always happens to, so I tend to have good stories. Um, but I really like to be with my friends and family, but particularly my girlfriends. I really just enjoy their company and, you know, sharing stories and finding out what's going on in their lives. And so, um, you will frequently find us here, whether it's just one girlfriend or two, um, sitting in front of a fireplace, having some wine. That's probably my favorite thing to do. Um, but I also like other things. Like, I love animals. I love dogs. I love dogs. I would be that lady that had a thousand dogs. And so I like that. Um, and then things like, I was at this wedding last night, and it was really cute. Um, the bride, Allie, put this little, like, blurb together, um, of you know who. Where you were sitting to thank you. And ours started off with fashion icon and world renowned plumber, because my husband's a plumber. And I thought that was really funny, and I said, I'm a fashion icon. Thank you.

Marco:   And you look spectacular yesterday.

Kelly Lawrence:  Thank you.

Marco:   I feel like you can wear things that other people can't. You know how you see supermodels and sometimes you're like, oh, nobody would ever wear that. And then you see it on them and you're like, oh, it's so gorgeous. I feel like you're the type of person who can wear stuff and really make it a fashion statement where on other people would be like, you can't wear that.

Kelly Lawrence:  I really put a lot of thought into what I wear, and, um, I've always really liked things that are unique but not overly unique. Like, I don't want to be wearing something that looks like a trash bag. I want it to always look classy. Um, but I like bright colors, so a lot of times I'll pair them together. But It. I don't like bright colors that don't match. So everything's got to kind of coordinate good together. Um, I like sparkly things. So I have, I have the world's largest jewelry collection. Not, not real, not like super nice, but costume jewelry that you have ever seen in your life.

Marco:   Really?

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah. I have more earrings. All my friends, they have weddings to go to. Anything. Kelly, can I borrow your earrings?

Marco:   Wow.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes.

Marco:   You need to talk to your cousin because she's got the same thing. Really ask her to show you just the jewels that she's traveled with today. Like, she has her own little.

Kelly Lawrence:  I noticed her necklaces and I was like, wow, that's a lot of necklaces to travel with.

Marco:   Right. You need to see like it's a thing. And it'll always be like, which. And it always comes to me, which necklace, which necklace? And I'm like, whatever necklace you want. And then sure enough, I'm like, not that one. And she's like, I asked you.

Kelly Lawrence:  Right.

Marco:   Um, along along with being a person who brings a lot of joy into the room.

Kelly Lawrence:  Sure.

Marco:   And brings joy, you're also a very resilient person.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah.

Marco:   You've. You face challenges and you're resilient about it. So if we have listeners right now who might be facing challenges, what would be some of the advice or some of your go to's that might help them?

Kelly Lawrence:  Sure. Um, I'm a very positive person. I really hate negativity. Sure. Um, and so I always try to find the silver lining in things. I mean, I will find the most ridiculous silver lining in something. And I've had people, doctors say to me, I wish everyone was like you. That's insane that that's what. How you're thinking of it, but it's what I have to do to get me through. Right. Um, and I think that, you know, you have to remember that there's always people that are worse off than you. So even though I might be facing tough challenges, I have to remember that I'm very blessed with a wonderful husband, that I have a beautiful home, I have a wonderful career. Um, I have a great family. You know, not everybody is blessed with those things.

Marco:   Sure.

Kelly Lawrence:  And so in the grand scheme of things, I'm actually very fortunate. Um, and so I think if you maintain that thought process and stay positive about things, it's a lot easier to just go through life and feel. You have to know that everything's gonna be okay. It's a feeling. And you have to convince yourself, I'm going through this, but this Too shall pass. And I'm gonna be okay. I'm gonna make it out of this. You can't get caught up in that, you know, negative energy.

Marco:   Right, right. So when you steer away from that and focus on what's good and what can be good, and you have a confidence too, and you lean in joy, those three things together make you such, I think, make you such a resilient person that I look up to. So you mentioned your work. Mhm. And I just want to mention, because our listeners will be like, oh, what work do you do? Are you able to tell us a little bit of kind of what you do and.

Kelly Lawrence:  Sure. Um, so I can't go into really great detail about it, um, because I work in a pretty litigious field.

Marco:   Oh, I see.

Kelly Lawrence:  Okay. Ah. And I also, I have to make sure that everything is, uh, okay before I say anything.

Marco:   Of course.

Kelly Lawrence:  But I can tell you I work in finance, so that might explain why I can't say a lot.

Marco:   Fair enough. Fair enough. I always try to, like, when people mention something on the podcast, I try to uncover it because our listeners might be like, I wanted to know that. I wanted to know that. So thank you for sharing that. All right, well, Kelly, before we go, I just want to thank you for being such a great guest. Thank you, uh, for welcoming me into this beautiful home of yours with three fireplaces. And I should mention, it's not. My listeners will think, oh, three fireplaces. It's a humongous home. It's a beautiful home. It's a size. You're certainly not lacking in space. Uh, but it's just so fascinating. You have three beautiful fireplaces, each one very distinct. Which is your favorite?

Kelly Lawrence:  Um, I would say the one in the room we're sitting in right now is my favorite because it's the one we use the most. Um, and just the whole vibe of this room with the leather chairs with the studs, and I have like a, um, bear or, excuse me, a cowhide. It's fake, don't worry. Um, as my, uh, rug. Uh, and it just has this really warm, rustic feeling to it. And so I really enjoy having fires in here.

Marco:   And I'm not a leather, Leather couch person. I find them uncomfortable for myself. And when I sat in your leather chair and I leaned back, I don't know if it's this pillow and how soft it is, and it just like my body was like, yes, you've found the chair that you've been looking for to sit. I haven't even been on your couch. Because I feel like, oh, you'd fall asleep if I lay there. I'll be out in an instant.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes.

Marco:   How did you select these? Because, like, it's pretty.

Kelly Lawrence:  So.

Marco:   Because you don't strike me as someone who's like, I want a leather couch. No, your other couches are very comfortable, too.

Kelly Lawrence:  But I would not have a leather couch except for that. It's what I know. So, growing up, my parents had this leather couch that was actually this exact same color leather.

Marco:   I never thought we'd talk about leather couches. I just need to say that I

Kelly Lawrence:  never thought we would either. And, um, so I really. It was so comfortable, and I loved it. And they gave it to me, uh, for my first apartment. And so I had it with me. I had it for many years. I mean, there were, like, holes in the thing. By the time I got older, I was in my early 20s.

Marco:   Duct tape the holes or something.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes. I mean, but it was so comfortable. My dog used to go. He could sit like a cat at the top in front of the window, and he loved it. So I guess I kind of bought these sofas for my dog. But when we moved here, I said that living room at my apartment in Quincy had, uh, that, uh. You know, I don't know what you'd call this color. It's a brown. A saddle. A saddle tan. But it's darker. Yeah, it's like a reddish brown. And I also had walls this exact color.

Marco:   Oh, you did?

Kelly Lawrence:  I had picked it out when I was in my 20s and Quincy and painted the walls this color. And I loved the color combination. To me, it was so warm and inviting. And so when we moved into this house, I immediately said, I'm painting that the same color.

Marco:   Right.

Kelly Lawrence:  And I want to get, uh, sofas that color. And I wanted these stud things. I just think it's very stately tickering

Marco:   or stitching or whatever you call it. Like, it's just. It's just beautiful.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah.

Marco:   Round. Um. I don't know what you'd call them.

Kelly Lawrence:  Studs.

Marco:   Studs. And they feel nice on the hand.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah, they do.

Marco:   Like, my mom had leather couches, and I never felt comfortable in them. And this just feels so.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah, it has, like, a regalness to it. Yeah, yeah.

Marco:   Um, but also a very, like, warm, kind of, like, comfy. Comfiness to it.

Kelly Lawrence:  Sure. Yeah.

Marco:   So, sorry, you were saying about the tickering.

Kelly Lawrence:  I think it's called tickering, but, yeah, no, I just. I. That's how the other sofa was. Although it looked different than this, but it had these Studs or tickering, as you said. So I had to have.

Marco:   My listeners are going to say it's not called tickering. Markle, what are you saying? Because I always say things like that. But anyways. Yeah, okay, so.

Kelly Lawrence:  So that's how I ended up. I found these sofas. It was the first furniture purchase I made when we bought this house. And my husband really wanted two sofas. So, um, the room is kind of long. Um, and so he wanted two sofas facing each other with a coffee table and the rug in the middle. And then there' the fireplace to the right and there's a TV to the left. And, um, I said, no, that's not going to look right. That's going to look too, um, you know, copycat. It's going to look too the same. I wouldn't like that. So I insisted that we buy these two chairs. And the only way I could get away with getting the two chairs is I was told that he was always allowed to sleep on the sofa. And the deal was, you can have the sofa. I will never ask you to be on the sofa. You can have it. You can lay down, take the whole sofa. Except that if I am ever pregnant, I get the sofa during my pregnancy. So that has been the running joke about the sofa.

Marco:   And I think that's a fair. I think that's a fair deal.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes, I thought it was. Um, and so these chairs generally I kind of put together. I put my feet up on the coffee, um, table. And then as you see that white yarn looking thing. That's a poof. That's a poof. And you can put my feet on there too, because I like to have my feet elevated.

Marco:   We have a poof almost exactly like that.

Kelly Lawrence:  Really?

Marco:   But rather than being cream color.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah.

Marco:   Ours is the color of your blue walls.

Kelly Lawrence:  Really?

Marco:   Yeah.

Kelly Lawrence:  Wow.

Marco:   It's so funny.

Kelly Lawrence:  Wow, that's too funny.

Marco:   Yeah, it's funny how. And that's your cousin, right?

Kelly Lawrence:  Right.

Marco:   How you guys have very similar, similar styles and tastes.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes, I'm going to say that. And I never met her, but I think we get it from our grandmother.

Marco:   Okay.

Kelly Lawrence:  So, um, I just think that all of that trickles down style, the jewelry, all that stuff. And I don't even know if she was a jewelry person, but I wouldn't be surprised to know that she was because she was. She.

Marco:   She worked in a jewelry store.

Kelly Lawrence:  She did, yeah.

Marco:   Uh, she worked in a jewelry store.

Kelly Lawrence:  Do you know that that was my dream, to work in a jewelry store? And I work in finance. I don't Know how that happened? Or a florist shop.

Marco:   Oh, I could see. I could see you in either.

Kelly Lawrence:  I really wanted to work there, but I just, I wanted to parade around in like, diamonds all day. I mean, I guess that's ridiculous, but I really love jewelry. But it's not just the way that jewelry looks and is beautiful. I like, like gemology. I really like the study of it. Oh my goodness. Marco, you could have a whole separate podcast episode of me talking about tanzanite.

Marco:   And we're going to do that the next time either you're in town or I'm in town. Because I don't know if you know this about us. First of all, we're at the end of our episode, but I need to ask you two questions before we go. But, uh, we talk a lot about stones and jewelry because Amanda loves stones and jewelry. Uh, you know, I love hearing about the properties of those jewels and what they bring to you or supposedly bring to you. I know for some people that might be a little bit. Woo woo.

Kelly Lawrence:  Yeah.

Marco:   But if you don't own citrine. We had a really great experience with citrine.

Kelly Lawrence:  Really? That's my birthstone.

Marco:   Is it really? Yes, of course it is. Right? It's November.

Kelly Lawrence:  November, yes.

Marco:   So I'll tell this story quickly. I don't know if I can, but I'll tell it quickly. So we were in one of those candle shop and, um, smudge places that, where you could get little, you know, things to smudge your home or like little crystal beads or whatever. One of those kind of places. Because Amanda needed a candle.

Kelly Lawrence:  Mhm.

Marco:   And so there was these candles for sale because we were. She was living in someone's home. When she was doing a show, she was billeting in a person's home and she's like, it's a. It's got an old kind of smell to it. So I want a candle so I can just freshen up the room. So I'm like, okay, let's look for candles. And there was these candles first that were on sale, and each one had some. Some stones in them.

Kelly Lawrence:  Mhm.

Marco:   And each candle represented something different. So one had pink quartz, and that was a candle you lit for love. Uh, one had an amethyst, and it was a candle that you lift for peace. Uh, and then there was the citrine candle.

Kelly Lawrence:  Mhm.

Marco:   And that's the one you lit for money. So she's like, let's get the citrine candle. So I said, sure. And at that point, I didn't really Know what citrine was? So she was in. It was in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I flew back home, and she hadn't lit the candle yet. And when I went home, I went to the mailbox, and there were three checks that we had been waiting for. And so I called Amanda. I'm like, amanda, did you happen to light that candle? She goes, I lit it, like, 10 minutes ago. How did you know? And I'm like, we just got three checks. And she's like, oh, my goodness.

Kelly Lawrence:  Right?

Marco:   So we were like, this is great. And then the next day, I got a really big, uh, gig. And I called her up. I'm like, you won't believe this. Did you light that candle? And she's like, I just lit the candle. And I was like, I just heard from my agent. I booked this gig. So she brought the candle home. And anytime we were like, you know, we need a little bit of, you know, money in our lives, we like this candle. And it always brought us good vibes. So that was our thing with. With, um, citrine. So I always tell people when they're like, you know, I m need. I need a little dip of money in my life. I say, wear citrine or find citrine because it was really cool for us. What's your favorite stone? And it doesn't have to be a, uh, you know, a diamond or ruby.

Kelly Lawrence:  It's tanzanite. I love tanzanite. I actually did a report in college about Tanzania. I got an A, by the way, on it. Um, but it's something I'm very passionate about. In fact, I was on a cruise in April down, uh, in the Bahamas, and my husband and I, we came back to the room, and we were always on the go there. There was one night we came home early and put the TV on. It was the only time we put the TV on the room. And we were looking for something, and I don't know why. We must have been having a conversation. So we weren't paying attention to what was on the tv. And it was this woman trying to sell jewelry.

Marco:   Sure.

Kelly Lawrence:  And the jewel she was talking about was tanzanite. And she was showing some tanzanite. And my husband had no idea that I have this ridiculous knowledge about tanzanite.

Marco:   Right.

Kelly Lawrence:  So we're sitting there, and he says, I really like that stone. It's really pretty. You know, tanzanite. It's like a blue, purple. And, uh, he's. I really like that. And he said, well, let me tell you about it. And I started telling him, and I thought he was gonna. Thought he was gonna fall off the bed. He couldn't believe I had all this knowledge.

Marco:   I love it.

Kelly Lawrence:  And he said, I'm gonna buy you a tanzanite. He said, you just convinced me to get one. That is the most amazing story. And lo and behold, we went to the Grand Cayman the next day, and we were shopping around, and he bought me a tanzanite ring.

Marco:   Oh, that's such a lovely story. Yes, thank you for sharing that. Before we go, you mentioned you wanted to be a florist. This podcast is really big on flowers. What's your favorite flower?

Kelly Lawrence:  Oh, definitely a peony.

Marco:   Oh, peonies.

Kelly Lawrence:  I love peonies. I'll have a big, beautiful peony. I have lots of peonies in my yard. Um, every year I get a couple new ones, and none of them the same color. Well, no, that's not true. I have two yellow peony bushes. Yellow. Um, I have, ah, I had a coral one, and it died, unfortunately. And it's very hard to find the coral, so I want to have to find that. Um, I have, uh, Shirley Temple. Ah. Which is the white. I have Carl Rosenfeld, which is the dark. Dark purple.

Marco:   This is the name of the peonies.

Kelly Lawrence:  These are the name of the peonies. Um, I have all different. I have light pink, I have dark pink. I have fuchsia. Every color you can imagine. Bubblegum. Uh, pink. Um, and I just love them. Although the yellow peonies are really spectacular. Um, so they're my favorite. I also really love dahlias. Um, and I love anemones, the flower with the darker center. And I'm not keen on white flowers, although I do have a white peony bush. But I love color, so white would never be my favorite flower. And. But white anemones, and I think that's how you pronounce them. Are my favorite. Are, um, one of my favorite flowers. And what's ironic is, um, when I got married, my florist, who's a good friend of mine, Jane.

Marco:   Shout out to Jane.

Kelly Lawrence:  Shout out to Jane. She's the best florist ever. Um, and she put together. Ah, it was a long story, but I had to reschedule my wedding several times. And, uh, she said to me, okay, what do you want your bootcase to look like? And I said, jean, I don't have any energy, and she knows how specific I am about what flowers I want. And I said, I trust you. You do beautiful work. Just make it have a lot of color. And I thought after the fact, my wedding was in September, and I thought after the fact, shoot. I told her I didn't. I didn't tell her I didn't want any white flowers, uh, because I really didn't want any white flowers. And I said, well, I would have wanted white anemones, but they're out of season. We usually around here get them in, like, March or April. So I said, there's no way I'd have white enemies. And she opened the truck when she pulled into my driveway to show me what she had created for my bouquet, and lo and behold, the only white flower were white anemones. And she said it was a freak thing that at, uh, the flower, uh, wholesaling place that she goes to, they had a couple bunches of white anemones. And she said, I stopped because I know how much you love anemones, and I had to include them in your bouquet.

Marco:   Wow. Isn't that lovely?

Kelly Lawrence:  Yes. So she's great.

Marco:   Well, thank you for sharing that. The funny thing is, you don't know this, but. But I always say the peonies is the official flower of this podcast.

Kelly Lawrence:  Really?

Marco:   Because I love them, too.

Kelly Lawrence:  They're so much fun. That's why I'm on here.

Marco:   There you go. Well, listeners, thank you for, uh, staying with us as we tipped a little past 26 minutes today, but I think it was well worth it. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. Thank you, Kelly, for being on the show today.

Kelly Lawrence:  Thanks for having me.

Marco:   And for our listeners, I hope you were able to listen and sleep. Sam.