Let me tell you friends…I was seriously LOVING the cool weather we had in the South this weekend.  Oh my words. L.O.V.E!  Bring it on fall…I look forward to you all year long!

Jane

I finished painting Jane over the weekend.  I’ll give you a more thorough look later, but just trust me…she is GORJ!  (That’s “gorgeous” for those of you who weren’t tracking.)  And, she’s for sale… along with Tilly at Jennie Leigh Design in Greenville.  So if you’re local, you really must go see them in person…and see Jennie’s store.  If you’re not local, then it seems to me that you may have a roadtrip in your near future!

I think I mentioned that I started leading a book/Bible study a couple of weeks ago.  The book we’re reading is called 31 Days to Clean:Have a Martha Home the Mary Way.  We’ve met twice thus far, and it’s been going really well.  It’s a really neat group of ladies, and last week I think nearly everyone teared up at least once.  Not about cleaning (although there are times that I want to cry when I think about cleaning,) but because we talked about how our homes reflect so much of our hearts.

One of our tasks for this past week was to create a mission statement for the “Why” behind keeping a tidy home. (This class has both practical living tasks as well as heart-focused ones.)  After we came up with the mission statement, we had to make it look pretty and put it somewhere in our home where we’d see it and be reminded of it.  Here’s mine.  It’s on the front of my fridge.

And all this mission statement making and talk last week really hit me hard.  What I think everyone signed up for in this class…to learn how to clean their homes….it’s happening for sure, but it has been met by some much deeper stuff that is honestly just so much more beautiful than any shining countertops.  Women are finding purpose in maintaining a home…not cleaning one, but creating one.  Establishing a place of joy and rest and family.  A place that reflects who they are and who they want to become…and that is so beautiful that I have been really overwhelmed by it all.

One of the ladies in the class sent out an email with the following quote from a really excellent book called “1000 Gifts” by Ann Voskamp (who I’ll actually have the chance to meet at the end of this month at a conference I’m attending!)

When the laundry is for the dozen arms of children or the dozen legs, it’s true,

I think I’m due some appreciation.

So comes the storm of trouble and lightening strikes joy.

But when Christ is center, when dishes, laundry, work, is my song of thanks to him, joy rains.”

I love that.  And I’m not trying to over-spiritualize housework either here, but as a friend of mine said to me recently when I was debating buying my awesome boots…”laundry is a Sisyphean task.”  And so is most housework.  It’s never-ending, always piling up, and there’s always something more with it that I could be doing.  So, if I can’t get a handle on my heart behind it all, then that Sisyphean rock will not be something that I’m pushing up a hill, but rather it’ll be the thing that can crush my spirit….a heavy boulder that instead of being moved forward, rolls backwards over me…leaving me flat as a pathetic pancake on its way back to ground zero.

But here’s the thing too.  I don’t want to be so overly concerned with some Sisyphean task either that I lose sight of all the beauty of life around me.  Because in my opinion, that’s still allowing that rock to become my focus and it can just as easily dominate all of my attention if I let it.  Check this out.  It’s a beautiful quote that another friend in the class found and sent to me.

It’s a hard balance to strike for sure.  There’s absolutely no doubt about it.  But I have to tell you, there was something really awesome about standing still to think about all the reasons behind so many of the movements that I make each day.  About what I want my home to be…and to reflect.  About how I want people to feel when they come into my home….the place where we live life, and do life, and share life with one another.  And while I definitely want to make sure that I get things done around here….I sure don’t want to miss out on “treasuring all of the doing” that happens at the same time.

How about you?  If you had to make a mission statement about keeping your home and what you want from it….what would it say?

PS. For those of you who are interested in the Yesterville photo session with my talented photographer-friend, Kim Deloach, stay tuned…I’m going to tell you more about that tomorrow!

Sorry I didn’t write yesterday.  I was leading a Bible study in the morning which was amazing and then I had a decorating consultation right after lunch…then my mom came, and I was busting my tail to get a couple of pieces of furniture finished.

Did I tell you I’m going to start selling my furniture in a super fun new store? Jennie from Jennie Leigh Design, who did the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Giveaway here has opened a store and I’m so excited about it! That is if I can stop selling my creations out of my garage on accident before I even have a chance to take them to the store…or to take proper photographs of them.

Here’s one I sold the other day.  I named her Emiline.  Seriously I had her sitting in the garage finished and a friend came by to borrow some camping equipment from the Hubs and his wife fell in love with Emiline.  I don’t blame her.  I was in love too, but I don’t have enough room in my house for all of my love affairs, so Emiline was never meant to stay.  And now, Emiline lives with Christi.  I named her Emiline because I think that’s a pretty name…and this girl has a body…heavy on the top and skinny pretty legs.  I probably should have named her Jessica Rabbit. (You’ll have to excuse the awful garage photos…I told you, I sold her before I had time to take proper pictures.)

SO then I had another piece that I just finished yesterday.  I posted a picture of the playful and bright Tilly last night on my facebook and have already had serious inquiries.  I’m going to have to keep these gals all secrets until I can get them to Jennie’s or else I’m never going to get anything over there!  Tilly is FAB-u-lous!  Seriously…i was just lamenting that I can’t keep her too.  But alas…not to be friends, not to be.  Get a load of this broad!

I’ve got one more that I’m hoping to get churned out today.  She’s named Jane because even though this isn’t the kind of desk that I think Jane Austen would have written at, it’s pretty and I am obsessed with Jane Austen.  She’s going to be gray with cream on the inside.  Oh lands….I really wish I could keep this one too.  She’s a super curvy gal who carries her weight all over….love that…I know how you feel Jane!  So stay tuned…Jane will be showing off her new bodywork soon enough!

Have a great day friends!

(And yes, I know…my garage is a disaster!)

I thought since I’ve been working my fingers to the bone, I’d show these gals off a few places, so I’m linking up at Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday party, The Shabby Nest Friday linky party, and Remodelaholic too…because for once I actually have something done in time for it!

I have something exciting to share with you all…and it’s not just a great idea or a tip or a recipe either.  It’s something super awesome exciting that I’ve worked up with a friend to offer you guys… and well, you can thank me later for it.

My friend Kim Deloach, who I’ve talked about no shortage of times on here, is a phenomenal photographer.  I mean…PHENOMENAL!  She has an eye for detail that is astounding, a patience with cranky and seemingly un-photographable kids that lets you know she’s been there before, and somehow she still manages to snap such gorgeous photographs that you’d honestly never even know your kids were cranky in the first place.  (Of course I’m not saying that from experience because my children always behave perfectly…all the time…I’ve just heard that about her from a little birdie you know.)

You'd never know Tid Bit was acting up the WHOLE TIME we took these!

She has been capturing moments with my family for the last 3 years, and I’ve got to be honest and say that I have never loved chronicling our lives so much as I love doing it with her.  I absolutely cherish the ways that she pauses my children in time with her photography and that even on pause, her photographs exude the fullness of our lives and personalities.  That’s the mark of greatness my friends…but Kim is much too modest to give herself the amount of kudos that I give to her….even though she deserves it.  I guess she doesn’t really have to toot her own horn though…her work does that for her.

Fun day at the Lemonade Stand!

Remember the Rustic Chic Wedding that I arranged the flowers for and styled this summer?  Well, Kim took those wedding pictures out at a friend of mine’s farmhouse.  Their land includes completely refurbished and stocked buildings from towns in the olden days that they’ve put together to create what they like to call Yesterville.  It’s an amazing location, period…and as Kim and her second-shooter said “it’s really a photographer’s dream.”  The whole place feels just like the pictures from my friends’ wedding…as if time has stopped and everything is pure and simple again.

And here’s the part that gets exciting!  Kim and I are teaming up to offer a Life for Dessert special photo session at Yesterville (near Greenville, SC) on November 19th.  It’ll be a day full of photography sessions and you’ll have an opportunity to pause your family in time in a place that screams good times, simple pleasures, and family fun.  Kim will be putting together several different packages to choose from so that you can get as much or a little as you want.  You don’t have to get married again to have killer photographs, and in my opinion, preserving your family just as it is right now is something you’ll never regret doing.  If you’re interested you’ll book through me.  So put on your calendars Nov the 19th and start making plans now for what will surely be the best Christmas card picture you’ve ever taken!  I’ll have more details this coming month and some teaser pictures that we’ll be taking with my own family out on the farm!  If you’re from out-of-town, trust me…the drive is worth it…both the location and the photographer are not to be missed!

We went to the mountains this weekend with some friends of ours.  It was a blast.  I’ll tell you more about that later, but I have to share with you something that I’ve been drooling over for a really long time now first.

Restoration Hardware Reproduction Drafting Table

Pretty gorgeous huh?  It’s normally almost $1000 though which is NOT in my budget for an item like that…even though it’s awesome.  And I have to be honest too…while I LOVE this reproduction, there’s something pretty sweet about owning a for real old one of these.  They tend to be pretty pricey a lot of the time too…which leaves my dreams of a drafting table pretty much parked in dreamland.

On the way home from my family’s mountain cabin there are a bunch of antique places that have always peaked my interest.  We never stop on the way to the cabin because we’re always ready to just get there.  And on the way home, my kids are usually so worn out from all the fun of the great outdoors that they’re asleep by the time we get to the section of our trip that has all of the antique stores.  But today, I was determined to stop…so we kept our kids awake with loud bluegrass music, chicken nuggets, and lollipops…and it was worth it!  Look what I found!

It’s not as big as the one from Restoration Hardware, and for now I’m going to use it as an end table, but I LOVE it!  It has the original sticker on it and from what I can tell and have been told, I think it’s from the 1800’s.  It’s in pretty good shape too, as it still tilts and raises and lowers well.  And it wasn’t anywhere even close to the price of the one I’ve been drooling over either!  SCORE!

I just had to share.  And yes, I know this didn’t help me get closer to my laundry room re-do, but a girl has to know when she finds a killer deal on a super awesome piece and take advantage of it!

I’m not sure where its permanent home will be in my home, but for now I love that it’s visible from the entry way of my house and I see it every time I head upstairs too!  So permanent place or not…for now it’s definitely in a happy spot…MY HOUSE!

Image from Sawdust City

Unless of course you’ve been ignoring something for so long, you find that when you clean your almost 2 year old’s closet and drawers…there is still a large amount of space being taken up by 0-6 month size clothing…in the drawers…and on the hangers.  Ridiculous.

Over the last two days I finally stopped ignoring both of my children’s closets and completely cleaned, organized, and put away too-small stuff….probably a good thing.  But do you know how much time this buys me to entirely ignore it again?!  Bound to be at least another 18 months…right?!

What is your favorite thing to ignore?!

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be leading a Bible/book study by a fellow blogger named Sarah Mae, called 31 Days to Clean: Have a Martha Home the Mary Way.  I’m excited to do this book in a group study setting for the accountability that I’m going to need to get my house in order in 31 days, for the camaraderie that will come from being in a group of other people who desire more for their homes than what is obviously the current functionality now, and also just because I have a heart for seeing a house becoming a home.

I’m not a majorly clean person.  I generally have issues with clutter…stemming from most likely having too much stuff.  I went to town on Tid Bit’s room day before yesterday and it’s leaps and bounds better, but there are several other rooms in this house that need the same treatment.  They’re about to get it.

As I’ve begun reading this book and studying throughout the Bible, I keep feeling led to passages on hospitality and the acts of being hospitable, and I’ve been really surprised at what I keep finding.  I believe part of keeping our homes is making them available for use to serve others, and so it’s been neat to see how these things all tie together.  I’ve always been taught and led to believe that hospitality is a gift, but as I’ve been reading and researching, I’ve realized that hospitality is actually a Biblical expectation of followers of Christ.  In fact, in Biblical times, hospitality was a way of living…it was something you showed even to your enemies.  At the very LEAST, you were expected to offer food and water to someone in need of it.  In Psalm 23 verse 5 it says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”  In ancient near Eastern culture, a host was expected to provide protection of their guests…and still provide hospitality to their enemies.  WOW!  That is SO interesting to me.  So counter-culture to the way we live today.

1 Peter 4:9 says, “Be hospitable to one another without complaint,” and I believe that’s a statement that carries a different kind of weight that just being kind to others.

Romans 12:13 talks about “practicing hospitality” and outlines how it is a way to show brotherly love to others.  I love that the word “practicing” is used with “hospitality” here….indicating that the act is something that is both necessary to do over and over and to make habitual, but also that it is something that will always be in a state of improving to gain proficiency.  No matter how hospitable we may be, there are likely always ways we can be more hospitable.  To me…the idea of practicing something that I’ve always thought to be a gift, makes it much more tangible and within reach to those who don’t actually posess the initial gift.

By definition hospitality is “the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers; kindness in welcoming guests or strangers.  Hospitality has more to do with the relationship between guest and host than it does the entertainment or amusement of a guest.  And because of that emphasis on relationship, it played a role in the honor-oriented  culture of the Bible.

And I’ve been thinking about these things, and I thought I’d throw it out there to ask you all.  What in your mind makes someone seem “hospitable” to you?  What do you admire about that person’s hospitality?  And here’s the biggie….what’s keeping you from doing the same?

I like to think that I’m spontaneous.  That I’m full of adventure…open to new ideas…inviting of change.  But sometimes things happen that make me realize, I might not be as up for change as I like to think that I am.

My bank is changing….and I think it’s affecting my perspective more than it probably should.

Wachovia (my beloved and trusted bank since college) has merged with Wells Fargo….and now it’s all about to all be called Wells Fargo.  And here I am… left feeling displeased and even uncomfortable about this change.  Yes, a lot of things will be the same…and probably were it not for all the glaring signs and paperwork that I keep getting reminding me of this change, I’d hardly notice the switch.  But there has been a lot of paperwork….and heaven knows I see a lot of signs around indicating the change…and honestly it’s just not sitting well with me.

My sister and I had a long conversation about the changes today and explored some of the many reasons that I may be finding myself feeling unsettled.  She agreed that she’d feel out of sorts faced with the same change as well.  She lives in NY though and this is not an issue for her.  Lucky dog!

Take for example just the logos….

Look at that lovely Wachovia logo.  It’s blue and green…colors inspiring peace and calm.  I did some research and found that the color blue is the overwhelming “favorite color.” Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed. The color of sky and the ocean, blue is perceived as a constant in our lives.  The font in this logo is clean and tidy and I have no idea what those swooshy lines are, but they make me feel somehow secure.  This is how I want to feel about the place I put my money.

The Wells Fargo logo on the other hand stresses me out.  The colors are the same as those of McDonalds…which makes me think of mayhem (probably because of my experiences every time we go there with my kids)…but that’s just not the feeling you want to have with your bank.  Recognized as a stimulant, the color red is inherently exciting…what on earth does that have to do with banking?!  The excitement I find in banking is seeing money go in, but that happens far less often than I experience it going out!

And don’t even get me started on the stagecoach.  I get the whole “We’ve been around since the days of stagecoaches” thing…but seriously…did John Wayne not make a name for himself staring in movies where at least one stagecoach saw a robbery each time?!  Stagecoaches equal easy targets…robber friendly modes of transportation…and in the days of armored vehicles safely carrying my money, I’m just not feeling the whole stagecoach thing.  Maybe they’re banking on the McDonald’s colors inspiring feelings of efficiency and fast service, but even if they were…by the time they printed a stagecoach on the sign, they robbed themselves of that inference of efficiency and replaced it with the speed of a 4 horse-power vehicle.  Wow…not fast…not efficient…not modern.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love the wild west.  Sometimes I think I might have liked being a homesteader…baking bread and having lots of land….living the life of Laura Ingles Wilder.  But then my sense gets the best of me and I’m certain that I’d have most assuredly died had I lived back then.  I’d have never survived that asthma attack at Carowinds Amusement Park when I was 12 because back in the olden days they wouldn’t have had a fast acting albuterol inhaler to save my life.  Nevermind that they wouldn’t have had Carowinds either…the point is that I’d have died back then.  So see…when I think about it…the olden days of stagecoaches really make me realize I wouldn’t have made it long.  So now I’m supposed to put my money in a place that touts stagecoaches as their logo?!  This is not looking good Wells Fargo…not good at all!

Maybe it’s just me…and my sister.  Maybe we’re the weird ones.  I mean, I’m willing to admit that is a possibility…but I’m banking a little more heavily on the possibility that I’m probably not the only one who is just a little freaked out sometimes when the winds of change start blowing!

PS.  Yes I am aware that Wells Fargo, a financially sound and well run institution, did come in and save the day for a floundering Wachovia.  But still….those playland colors are going to take some getting used to!