Stepping out in faith...

I have been asked this week to step out of my comfort zone and do two things involving the church that I am so excited to do, and also worried that I will not live up to their, or my expectations.  I found this passage in a beautiful devotional book that I am reading called Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young.  This is the reading for today, October 10th.  I needed to hear this.  Maybe you do too....

"Trust me enough to let things happen without striving to predict or control them.  Relax, and refresh yourself in the Light of My everlasting Love.  My Love-Light never dims, yet you are often unaware of My radiant Presence.  When you project yourself into the future, rehearsing what you will do or say, you are seeking to be self-sufficient: to be adequate without My help.  This is a subtle sin-  so common that it usually slips by unnoticed.

The alternative is to live fully in the present depending on Me each moment.  Rather than fearing your inadequacy, rejoice in My abundant supply.  Train your mind to seek My help continually, even when you feel competent to handle something by yourself.  Don't divide your life into things you can do by yourself and things that require My help.  Instead, learn to rely on Me in every situation.  This discipline will enable you to enjoy life more and to face each day confidently."

Step confidently through your door by Faith....

Super Cute Book Pumpkin

I just found this on Pinterest.  Which, by the way, I still need someone to explain to me!  But I LOVE THIS PUMPKIN!!! 

Go visit Creations by Kara for the full tutorial.



Happy Crafting!!

I've got frog on the menu!!!

SO thank you to my dear friend and neighbor, Kate, for lending me the next book on my list to read!  I am planning for it to be life changing!!!  (no pressure...)  I am a chronic procrastinator  and I am hoping that this book will help me solve all my issues by helping me organize and prioritize my to do list.

Eat That Frog

Here is a great link to watch a little movie that describes the book better that I can (since I haven't yet read it!

What does your to do list look like?? 

 I have an app on my phone for my to do list.  It is called Do it Tomorrow.  Did I mention I have procrastination issues?  Since I know I won't get it done today it automatically carries it over for me to tomorrow, and the next day, etc......

For the non-techie solution, I found this super cute list on etsy. 


 

So, what does your to do list look like??  Anyone hungry for frog??? 

Water for Elephants Pink Elephant Cocktail

Water for Elephants Pink Elephant Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 part white cranberry juice
• 1 part berry vodka
• 1/2 part raspberry liqueur (recommended: Chambord)
• 1/2 part Limoncello

Directions

To a shaker full of ice, add all ingredients. Shake well and pour into chilled martini glasses.

Toast with your girlfriends to a fabulous book!!!!  Enjoy!!!

Thoughtful Thursdays.....

"Don't make assumptions.  Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want.  Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama.  With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life."

-  Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements

A Discovery of Halloween...

I think October may be my favorite month of the year!  I love the cool weather, crunchy leaves, college football, school activities, the colors, and Halloween!

3 generations of our family witches a few years ago!

 Our neighborhood seriously knows how to do Halloween too!  I am amazed each year at how many people have giant spiders crawling up the sides of their houses and skeletons clawing their way out of the ground!  Eeeeks!  And yes, so fun!!!  Trick or treating is the wildest night with a million kids walking around and many parents dressed up.  It's not that uncommon to go to a house where the homeowner offers my kids candy and me a drink! Not hard to see why I love this month! 

I also just finished reading A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness which is a good read to put you in the mood for October.  Then main character is a witch who has tried to deny her powers and ancestry and live as a human.  She is a scholar who spends her days in Oxford at the Bodlein library until she stirs up trouble by summoning an ancient alchemical text that apparently holds the secrets of all the otherwordly creatures living amongst us-  witches, vampires, and daemons (oh my!)  She of course falls in love with a 1500 year old vampire, which is forbidden and so the trouble ensues.  I guess I enjoyed this book, as I invested almost 600 pages, but I did not love it.  It is a great premise, in my opinion, but way too long and slow.  But I do like the atmosphere!  It takes place often in a dusty old library, then an ancient castle in France, and finally a bewitched house in New York.  She is there for Halloween when all the neighborhood kids come to trick or treat and she dresses in her witchy best and she and her vampire boyfriend enjoy freaking out the neighborhood kids! 

So this is one of my new Halloween decorations this year, that just so happened to cost me $0 since I used all materials I already had! But even if you have to buy supplies, you are under a few dollars!  I used some old fake flowers from back when I liked to use fake flowers!  But I removed all the flower petals, leaving just the berries.  Then I cut a great piece of scrapbook paper into leaf shapes and just hot glued them on... Ta Da!!!!  Took just a few minutes and I think it looks great! I also have found this super fun eyelash and popcorn yarn to drape here and there.  It looks so spiderwebby, but without being too literal.  I am not a big fan of the white, cottonball, stringy stuff... you know what I'm talking about. 

  What does your house look like this October??  What is your inspiration??

New (old) books...

So lately we have been talking about the book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  One very memorable quote early in the book is when Dawsey and Juliet are corresponding for the first time and he has asked her about a book that he now owns that once was owned by Juliet.  She responds...

"I wonder how the book got to Guernsey?  Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true."


How delightful indeed.  What a great line and a great concept .  I hope this is true.  One of my favorite places to be is Barnes and Noble.  I admit it.  I can wander and totally lose myself there for hours!  (and have on too many occasions!)  But I must be frank, and honest to B and N... I almost never buy anything!  I sit for hours in the cafe and read their magazines and pull dozens of books from the shelf to peruse, and I always have a note pad to jot down ideas... but alas, I do not buy.  Whew.... it feels good to get that out there. 

But I DO buy books... lots of books...  I'm a bit of a bookaholic!  I actually read my sister-in-law's copy of Guernsey and returned it and then bought it... twice!  If I see a great book I just have to buy it!  Either to live on my bookshelf, or even better, to pass along to a friend! 

So, where do I shop???  My favorite book stores are Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity and Salvation Army!  Books are never more that $1!!  I also love garage sales!  Of course, the library is invaluable!  And finally, I borrow plenty of books from friends.  What a great thing to have in common and to share?

Our local Goodwill...

And here we are back to this idea about a book finding it's perfect reader.  Doesn't this work better if it is a used book?  How lovely if a book can touch and inspire me, and then can move on to reach someone else.  It still has work to do! 

So, this week I encourage you to talk books with your friends.  Go to your library.  And browse the local thrift shops.  Buy a book or three for yourself.  Buy one for a friend.  Share the delight!

The Guernsey Mailbox

One of my favorite book is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  Have you read it?  Did you love it??  It is a book composed solely of letters, written between old and new friends just after WWII.  I never knew that the Germans occupied the Channel Islands.  I LOVE a book that entertains me and teaches me something new.  I highly recommend it-  it is beautifully written, funny, and sometimes sad, and rich with amazing characters.   It makes me want to write letters again.  Email and facebook are not the same, are they?

I was also inspired to create what I'll call The Guernsey Mailbox. 

I did not build this, but found an ugly old magazine rack to repurpose.  I painted, distressed, added a great vintage looking glass knob and then decoupaged some vintage looking stamps and a postcard on the shelf.  What do you think? 

I sold it already to a new friend, but look forward to what will inspire me next?

 

Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Recipe (with a warning :)

Since we can't talk about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with out talking about the famous pie, I thought I would search for a few recipes.  Here is one for the authentic pie back from the days of rationing...

Potato Peel Pie Recipe

Here’s a recipe for a potato peel pie, but I warn you, it tastes like paste. The more authentic it is, the nastier. These ingredients will make a very small pie (expand at will):


1 potato
1 beet
1 Tablespoon milk


Peel the potato and put the peelings in a pie pan. Don’t cook the peels, because you’re in the middle of an Occupation and you don’t have any fuel. Boil the potato and the beet together in salty water, but not for very long, due to the fuel problem. Just until you can stick a fork in the potato. Take them out and mash them up with the milk. Pour the glop in the pie pan. Bake at 375 for as short a time as is consonant with digestion (fuel again), say, fifteen minutes.
The finished product will look quite attractive and pink. If you squint, you can almost imagine raspberries. Don’t be fooled. It looks a lot better than it is. However, if you forgot that you were in the middle of WWII and added a bunch of butter and milk and salt, it could be quite tasty.



Well, I have to admit that we did NOT make this for our book club!  Nor would we!  I think we would need TOO much wine to wash it down!  Our book club host for that month is from England and made lots of British yummies for us to try that I will add later! 



For now, I will also pass along a recipe that sounds MUCH better to me!  This at least has the words "potato pie" in it, so that's close enough, right?  I think your guests (and their taste buds) will appreciate it !! 


Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients

• 1 (1 pound) sweet potato
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

1. Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.
2. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Happy Reading and Baking!!!

See you tomorrow!

31 days of Creative Living by the Book

When does time seem to fly for you?  When are your at your happiest, most authentic self? 

To be frank, I suffered from post partum depression after my son was born, and what I remember most vividly about that season was how aware I was of the time.  I honestly felt like I could count each second s.l.o.w.l.y. ticking by on each long, long day.

So now as I think of when I am most happy and content , I think of when the time just FLIES!  For me, it is when I am deeply immersed in a great book, when I am alone and journaling my thoughts, or when I am knee deep in fabric, beads, and mod podge, etc trying a new craft or jewelry project!

So, as inspired by The Nester and Emily, I am combining all three of my time-flying faves for each day of the month of October to bring you 31 days of Creative Living by the Book! 

We'll talk about great books, book inspired crafts, jewelry and accessories, book club ideas, and book inspired food and cocktails.

Please join me in the conversation and follow along on this bookish blogging journey and see if the month flies by!!!

Venti Soy Chai Latte with a shot of Droid...

This week I am going through a personal crisis.  I dropped my smart phone in my cup of hot chai tea.  Really.  Don't ask me to explain how it happened-  the cause, whatever it is, is foolishness and doesn't save my phone :(  It is dead (sniff, sniff)  I am in mourning.  Oh, how I loved that phone.

But I haven't even had it that long!  How did we get by without them before?  I still had my paper planner just a year ago, my address book a year before that.  Oh, and a home phone.  Nope, no more.  I love the modern convenience of my phone!  I have all my contacts, my calendar, my to-do list, my running program, etc on my phone!!  Yikes!!!  Not to mention that it is my home phone as well, so I am always accessible- unless of course the phone is swimming in chai. 

But I must admit, that the quiet is not so bad.  That I can sit quietly, alone with my thoughts and my journal, and not be interrupted by every beep of my phone.  Maybe I should learn from this....  unplug...  let it go...

Have you found a quiet peaceful moment today?  Either planned or unplanned??

(And, seriously, do you know where I can get a good deal on a new droid????   Quiet, shmiet...)

Sending along a Mantis moment...

One day last week I was on my way to Walmart (rush, rush, rush) on a busy errand day, when I stopped to get gas (stress, gas is so expensive!  how far should I drive to save a few pennies?)  Then I saw her- a big, beautiful praying mantis sitting on top of my gas pump looking at me.  It was a small and amazing little moment that I am glad I was present enough to see.  I love praying mantises?  Praying manti? I truly think they are elegant, majestic, thoughtful, (and I have to admit, a little cool that she eats her man when his job is done)

I would love to show you the picture I took with my smart phone camera, but alas I cannot.  See my next post for that story!!!  :(

So, I decided that maybe she was an omen, sent to pass along a message to me.  I looked up the symbolism of a praying mantis online and love what I found....


"The mantis comes to us when we need peace, quiet, and calm in our lives.  Usually the mantis makes an appearance when we've flooded our lives with so much business, activity, or chaos that we can no longer hear the still small voice within us because of the external din we've created."  She symbolizes stillness, awareness, creativity, patience, mindfulness, calm, balance, and intuition.


So today I pass along this message of the mantis to you.  Slow down, be quiet, and honor the still small voice within.  She deserves it. 

The Beauty of Women...

I had the pleasure of attending a local church's women's event this week and it was breathtaking!  I have been to events like this before, but I am always taken aback and so completely moved by the amazing beauty of women.

The event included worship with singing, a gifted speaker, and prayer.  All were truly lovely and I love to see how God has gifted so many people in such different ways and how seamlessly it all comes together to pull off a night like this.  Singers, truly blessed with the most amazing talent and glad to lift up their voices in praise.  Speakers, with their courage and gift of sharing their stories and being truly honest and open with the hope of helping someone who needs it.  Hostesses, with the gift of hospitality and service who arrive early and stay late to set up and take down beautiful decorations, candles, and yummy food. 

I don't get teary as often as I used to.  I am not easily prone to crying these days, but this night I was moved to tears.  Not by the music, or the heartbreaking and triumphant story told by our gifted speaker.  But by the beauty of ordinary women surrounding eachother- friends and strangers alike-  to lift up the hurt with open arms, encouraging words, and loving prayer.  How beautiful!  What an awe-inspiring moment as I looked around and saw God's love pass from woman to woman in that room.

 "Walking with a friend in the dark is better that walking alone in the light" Hellen Keller


I think we should all strive to carry a little of that spirit around in our hearts and on our sleeves everyday and with every woman we encounter.  Let us look at eachother as sisters, imperfect every one, but not as rivals, or competitors.  But simply as sisters, all trying to do our best, with our own individual struggles and gifts, each unique and imperfectly beautiful.  Let us reach out our arms and offer encouragement and raise one another up and see where we might go...

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them"  Mother Teresa

Read me Wreath

I love to try and create something new!  Honestly, for me, trying a new craft is about the best thing!  Once I make something once, I am not that good at making it again.  Did I also mention that I love to read?  Reading and crafting.....  fall in love and get married and make this baby!

It is a wreath made entirely of book pages.  I know, it really is awful to destroy any book.  Have you read The Book Thief?  Amazing story about Nazi Germany and a girl who is so desperate to read and with such limited access she has to steal books, one from a book burning pile!  But I digress.....  this was a paperback that I owned.  I wanted to use a book that I had read and loved, but didn't need on my shelf ready to loan to a friend.  So I chose one of my Harry Potter books.  I think it might be the Half-Blood Prince.  No matter, I can still enjoy it this way!

I absolutely take no credit for this idea...I found a tutorial online and used materials I had already.

See, the remote as one of the more important supplies.  This was a lot of pages!!!  And it gave me a great chance to catch up on Project Runway!!!

Honestly, it was super easy to do and didn't take that long, and certainly didn't cost much money! 



 

Does anyone but me have a love/hate relationship with their glue gun?  Yeesh...

Oh well... totally worth it!!!

The Maize is Amazing!!!

How fun does wandering through a giant maze of corn sound???  OK, thankfully I have never seen Children of the Corn, or I could never have made it through this!

The Amazing Maize Maze is a Huntersville tradition.  This was our first visit, and definitely not our last!  It is on 7 acres with over 2 miles of pathways through a giant maze!  That's a lotta corn.  The goal is to try and collect pieces for your map from 12 different mailboxes hidden throughout the maze, and then of course, find your way out!  I am proud to say that we did it in 1 hour and 34 mins.  (That is probably a terrible time, but whatever!  We made it out alive!!!!  :)

The kids LOVED it, although not as much as the dads, I think!  It was really a great family outing and I totally recommend it!  The guys are already talking about going back and trying to run the whole maze (really?)  and also want to try one of the flashlight night mazes... uh.... nope... 

We had our own "corny" zombies during the day!!!

Letting go... Starting kindergarten

My baby was born almost 6 years ago when I was 30 1/2 weeks pregnant.  He was ready, I was not.  He is the strongest, bravest, most amazing soul I have ever known.  Many preemies suffer from chronic illnesses, or seem fragile somehow.  "Fragile"  is never a word that could be used to describe my E.  Breakable, apparently, but not fragile.

He has been a source of amazing joy and frankly, daily terror, ever since.  He has what our OT calls sensory processing disorder.  His affected sense is movement and touch and he SEEKS it!  He was a climber before he could walk, he rode his bike without training wheels when he was 4 and tried to jump a ramp the same day!  I don't think he has ever set foot on our bottom stair, he usually jumps from the 4th step to the bottom. 

At the ripe old age of 5 1/2, he has broken both arms, had two accident related surgeries, had stitches three additional times, impacted his front teeth and fractured his jaw, suffered temporary nerve damage in his hand and is constantly covered in bruises and scrapes.  He has no pause button.  Once the plan is in his mind, it is in motion.  And, oh, the plans he has....

So this little hurricane started kindergarten last week.  I have been worried about this day for years, holding on tight, making myself sick.  And do you know what?  He is doing amazing!!!  He is spreading those bruised and battered wings and is soaring!!!  I could not be more proud!!  I know there will be stumbles (literally and figuratively) but today I choose to let go and watch him fly!!!

Letting go...

Oh, how I resist those words.  I am not good at letting go-  I hold on, hold on for dear life!  But is that the best way to live my dear life?

I love roller coasters.  (Well, frankly, I did when I was younger and they didn't make me so dizzy that I felt sick!  Ah, the joys of aging....)  But I did love the thrill of the ride, but I could never let go.  Not once.  I had a death grip on that bar so tight that my hands ached.  What would that ride have felt like if I had relaxed that grip?  Even more exhilarating?  Freeing?  And I still (presumably) would have ended up in the same place at the end of that ride, right?

Dueling Dragons Coaster, my favorite!!!

I hold on to a lot.  I am a sentimental soul (ie, hoarder), a protective and loving parent (ie, helicopter mom), guarder of memories (ie, still not fully over the hearbreak of junior high). 

So my goal as I enter this new chapter of my life is to let go, loosen the grip, keep my eyes open, and enjoy the ride!

The fruits of my spirit?

So one of my favorite bible verses is Galatians 5:22-23:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control"

What a beautiful picture-  and frankly, the only way I have patience and gentleness on most of my days as a stay at home mom is with the help of the Holy Spirit!

But it gets me thinking... what would be the fruits of my spirit?  That is what I am on a journey to discover and produce.  I am a home body, and I love to live in a warm and beautiful space.  I am in love with my husband and my children and I love our little life here in NC.  I love to read, and I feel most clear of thought when I am writing with a good pen or pencil in a pretty journal.  The older I get, the more I appreciate the inherent beauty of nature, and people, and silence.  (I have always considered myself an extrovert, and I still love being among a fun group, but these days I crave solitude.) I love to exercise my creativity by designing and creating something new.  I enjoy making jewelry, sewing, and all forms of crafting. I love family, and I am proud of my Okie and Texas small town roots.  I love learning something new and I love the feeling I get when I try something new.

So what does that fruit look like???

The journey continues.....

 

Procrastination vs. Perfection?

A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault.  ~John Henry Newman

So, did you know that a common reason people procrastinate is that they are actually perfectionists?  (And I thought I was just lazy!)  I have always been a ridiculous procrastinator...  I realized recently that this is truly a symptom of my own perfectionism and fear.  Fear that I won't do it well, fear that I can't get it all done, fear that I'll fail, or worse... fear that I'll succeed... eeks, then what?


Sometimes... when you hold out for everything, you walk away with nothing.  ~From the television show Ally McBeal


I have been thinking of starting a blog for too long now and setting up an etsy shop for my handmade things.  What am I waiting for?  I refuse to be limited only by fear- so I choose courage!  Let's be frank...

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.  ~Henry van Dyke