Ashley Petrone - Designed to Last: Our Journey of Building an Intentional Home, Growing in Faith, and Finding Joy in the In-Between

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Designed to Last: Our Journey of Building an Intentional Home, Growing in Faith, and Finding Joy in the In-Between

Copyright 2022 by Ashley Petrone and Dino Petrone. All rights reserved.

Cover and author photographs of Ashley & Dino Petrone copyright 2021 by Jillian Goulding Photography. All rights reserved.

Interior illustrations of geometric patterns copyright Ezhevika/Shutterstock. All rights reserved.

All other interior photographs are from the personal collection of the authors and are used with permission.

Designed by Julie Chen

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-4964-5512-3

Build: 2022-03-10 14:52:31 EPUB 3.0

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To my Instagram community,

the kindest, wisest, most talented home-design fanatics I know.

Ashley

And to Gabe, Gavin, Quinn, and Foxi:

Its an honor to be your parents. We love you so much.

Ashley and Dino (Mom and Dad)

About five years ago, I had an idea. I pulled Dino aside, looked him in the eye, and said, Babe, maybe we should write a book.

Dino stared at me in surprise. Huh? Um, yeah, babe, lets get on that, he said, laughing.

But he saw the earnest look on my face. He knew the joy I got from sharing ideas and inspiration through my blog and Instagram accounts, @arrowsandbow. They provided an artistic outlet for me, a self-employed mom of three little ones. It gave me so much joy to read comments from people who said something Id posted had empowered them to create a beautiful, welcoming space in their own home. I just love home design, not just because its creative and fun, but because it brings my people closer. I thought of all the life lessons it had taught me over the past ten years that Id been married to the man standing before me.

Okay, lets hear it, he said. And in pure Dino fashion, he dove into the conversation I clearly wanted to have.

Its like this: I know we dont know everything about life or marriage or whatever. Dino laughed again. But I keep thinking about my younger self at eighteen or nineteen years old, not married but wanting to be; dating but unhappy; trying to figure out Gods place in my life. Then married at twenty after a whirlwind romance and engagement. I wish Id had someone to shed a little insight into married life, family, and faithhow to build our most important relationships so they endure for the long haul. Someone a few years ahead of me, someone I could relate to.

Would have helped us both to have that, Dino said.

We still have so much to learn, I continued, but were a few years ahead of some people, and I feel like maybe we have some helpful stuff to share.

Yeah, maybe, he said. After a brief pause, he nodded. I think youre right.

Neither of us thought about the book idea again until a year or so ago, when a publisher who followed me on Instagram approached us.

Long story short, we wrote a book.

Although weve only been married for fifteen years, weve crammed some crazy experiences into those yearsand plenty of mistakes, too. Man, have we learned a lot! Im not quite the same stubborn woman who once lived day to day for the next new, shiny thing, hoping it would bring me fulfillment. Slowly, slowly, Im becoming a more confident, content woman. Dino, too, has matured through these experiences, and weve grown together as a couple.

This book is part memoir, part DIY-design bookan odd combination, I know. The thing is, design is woven into my story so closely that I cant separate the two. I cant fully tell one part of our story without the other.

The first part of each chapter is pure memoir; then youll find an At Home with Ashley section packed with some of my favorite DIY tips and tricks. Theyre mostly related to home design, butfull confessionI sneaked some relational tips in there too! Youve been warned.

I used to think my love for home design was a curse because it so often led to discontentment with what I hador didnt have. Today I can see how God used my passion for design to enable me not only to improve the homes weve lived in, but also to experience the relationship between intentional design and intentional living. Good design mirrors good living. Read on and see if you agree.

As I mentioned, home design gave me more than just a better-looking house; it introduced me to my incredible community of Instagram friends. If this includes you, thank you! Youve watched my design skills grow, given me great ideas, prayed for me, and encouraged my personal growth along the way. Im forever grateful. Youre my favorites! And if you havent yet checked out our online community at @arrowsandbow, join us! Youll be welcomed aboard wholeheartedly.

This book is our story. Dino and I dont know everything. We fail and make mistakes and are far from perfect, as youre about to find out. But we hope that by being open about our lives, sharing the vulnerable parts (gulp!), and simply telling our adventures, you might discover similarities between our journey and yours.

We have a lot in common, you and I. Whether youre married or single, a parent or not, a Christian or an atheist, youre a human like me. Youre someone trying to figure out life, make your world better, and become a better person. Thats my journey too. Heres what has worked for Dino and me. I hope you find our story helpful as you live out your own.

Ash and I wrote this book together, which is how we do lifeas true partners. While the two of us hold many of the same values, our perspectives are almost always different (ahemopposite!). So rather than trying to write as one voice, we each wrote our own sections in each chapter, with Ash telling the main story and DIY-design stuff while I provide parts of my own story and add some color commentary. Youll notice the Dino text has a different font and style (like what youre seeing right now) to make the transitions between our segments clear. (The other clue would be the letter D that begins each of my parts.)

The writing process turned out to be a smooth, awesome ride, and we hope you enjoy the read.