Thank Someone Special: Lou Ruvo Brain Institute in Las Vegas

The Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health opened in 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry. In addition to being a place helping people fight neurocognitive disorders (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and more) and being a remarkable architectural structure (do take a look at the facility photos!), the center's building was also found to be a thankful place - the wall was spotted and photographed by Flickr user pony.rojo.

P.S. Isn't this a great new addition to the not so serious Thankful Person’s Guide to Places to Eat, Shop & Play? All thankful places featured here on TTYP are filed under the special tag.

Gratitude: the Interior Post

How about decorating your place with a little bit of gratitude? Love these thankful interior ideas! Which one is your favorite?

Via houzz.com

 Via beckyhiggins.com 

  Via urbangrace.com

The Kindness School: "Everyone Smiles in the Same Language"

Check out the amazing Puget Sound Community School run by an education extraordinaire Andy Smallman and located in Seattle, USA. Not only is the school based on kindness, they also start and end each day with gratitude!

Merci, Paris

Remember my write up on the Merci store in Paris a while back? Merci is nominated for Superstore 2012 in Farfetch's Search for the World's Best New Boutique so they shot this video introducing the store. More reasons to love it:

Housed in an old factory building nestled among the Café culture of Le Marais in central Paris, Merci is a destination store, with its off-the-high-street location and unassuming used books and coffee shop façade - yet this young retailer still manages to see over 500,000 visitors per year. The store mixes together exclusive, and often bespoke designer fashion products with casual items, and vintage furniture with new generation interior designers - "luxury is not a matter of price or brand, but of attitude", explains Managing Director, Jean Luc Colonna. The Merci concept store also has several restaurants, along with a homewear floor, a perfume laboratory and an ever-changing visual landscape. All profits also go towards helping underprivileged children in Madagascar.

Merci Sign at Hotel Thoumieux

Such a beautiful 'merci' sign at Hôtel Thoumieux in Paris (via Garance Dore's blog), don't you think?

Thanks-Giving Square

Just found out there's such a thing as a Thanksgiving Square in the US! The following info is from its Wikipedia page:

Thanks-Giving Square is a public-private complex in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas, consisting of three components: a landscaped park, a major section of the underground pedestrian network and the Bullington Truck Terminal. Thanks-Giving Square generally refers to the visible park, which is operated by the non-profit Thanksgiving Foundation. The park, designed by architect Philip Johnson, was dedicated in 1976 to promote the concept of giving thanks as a universal human value. The complex also features the Wall of Praise, Ring of Thanks, Circle of Giving, Chapel of Thanksgiving, Hall of Thanksgiving and Exhibit Area.

The space is quite beautiful so I suggest you take a look at more photos of it on Flickr.

Image via

Merci: a Thankful Concept Store in Paris

Merci is a concept store on 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais in Paris and is home to a whole lot of lovely things, judging by the photo report on Morning by Foley - exactly the kind of space I can see myself wandering through for a long time, especially if I'm with a friend who's just as into the idea! Mercis (French 'thank yous') can be found everywhere throughout the store, and as you can imagine this fact cannot not to delight me. The place is now on my must visit list for the next time I am in Paris!

Photos courtesy of Morning by Foley

Cafe Gratitude

Did you know there was a "collection" of restaurants called Cafe Gratitude located in the San Francisco Bay Area in the sunny state of California, USA? I seem to be finding so many cool gratitude related things lately!

"Café Gratitude is our expression of a world of plenty. Our food and people are a celebration of our aliveness. We select the finest organic ingredients to honor the earth and ourselves, as we are one and the same. We support local farmers, sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly products. Our food is prepared with love. We invite you to step inside and enjoy being someone that chooses: loving your life, adoring yourself, accepting the world, being generous and grateful every day, and experiencing being provided for. Have fun and enjoy being nourished."

Image courtesy of cafegratitude.com