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.)

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.

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.

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!

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!

With fall on the horizon…and even enough cool in the mornings that I have begun fantasizing about jackets and tall boots… I thought it might be a good time to share a couple of items I’ve recently seen that set my “style or vile” alert a-flashing.  I don’t claim to be a fashion expert by any stretch, but there are some things I just can’t get into no matter how much I try to convince myself.   Then there are a few things that I seriously dream about. Like the following…

<— I’m sorry….these remind me of another trend that I just couldn’t swallow earlier this year, but this seems to be the winter version.  And at $228 dollars, I really have to wonder how in the world these possibly compliment any outfit?!  Dear Anthropologie, I love you, but I hate these sock sandal boot things.

On the other hand though, when it comes to boots, there are a few that I’ve been drooling over for several years now.  I’ve yet to pony up the fat wad of cash it’s going to take to snag a pair, but it’s not for lack of swooning so much as for a lack of said cash.  Old Gringo makes the most beautiful boots…embroidery, huge amounts of detail, and they have that perfect amount of distressing so they look like you’ve worn them around a good bit.  Love that.

 

Seriously….drool.

 

One of these days ya’ll….one of these days!

 

 

 

 

I would so much rather be sitting down right now to write a post about my intended topic for today, but alas, I’ll be on my way to the pediatric dentist here in just a few to get my baby’s tooth checked out.  Poor little guy fell in the driveway and knocked 1/4 of his front tooth out.  It’s a crucial tooth…we’ll be getting that fixed.  Not gonna make him walk around with a messed up grill for the next 5 years.

I’ll write tomorrow what I’d intended for today.  You’ll have to wait until then!

On a lighter note, I was so sore today from the Intense Body class that I took at the gym yesterday.  I thought it’d do me some good to take a yoga class today since I always feel so good after a yoga class.  But today instead of just stretching out well, I provided the comic relief for everyone.  I literally tipped over sideways in a couple of poses today and fell down.  It got to the point where it was so ridiculous and everyone was laughing.  I guess I’d take tipping over to tooting in class any day though…I’ve been in plenty of yoga classes with that, and I never can get my composure back after someone provides an entire horn section to accompany the relaxing music the entire class long.  Anyhow…hopefully it will have helped and I won’t walk around tomorrow like I just rode a horse for 26 hours without a break.

Off to the dentist.  Wish me luck…a 19 month old in the dentist chair is bound to be an adventure if nothing else!

I’m totally behind the times. Like…completely out of it…seriously.  Almost as bad as my 84 year-old grandmother who when told in a computer class to move her mouse around on the screen, actually put the mouse on the monitor.  I’m almost that bad.  Well, maybe not that bad, but I think that I might actually be the last person on the planet to discover Pandora Radio.  In my defense though, I don’t sit behind a computer screen at a desk in a cubicle all day where I’m dying escape that 8 hours a day by listening to my favorite artists.  When I am looking at my computer screen, it’s usually at the kitchen counter amidst play-doh and preparing a meal, or during naptime where I’m doing good to grab an hour, or at bedtime while I’m half-watching an episode of Swamp People streamed over Netflix.

My husband is a tekkie.  He works in IT (that’s “information technology” in case you didn’t know…and in real layman’s terms, that’s “computer geek.”)  He knows all about anything technology and enjoys doing it all.  Which means for me that I’ve pretty much turned that part of my brain to auto-pilot.  I’m completely embarrassed to admit that I don’t even know how to put music on the new ipod nano that I got for my birthday.  Seriously…no. freaking. clue.

It’s almost a wonder that I can manage this blog.  And it’s gotten more tricky since I switched to wordpress too, but I’m learning, and I’m actually really having a good time learning more about some of the cool technology out there.  We don’t have cable or satellite TV anymore either.  Got rid of it back in January and have done netflix online and rented movies ever since.  It’s been great and saved us $80 a month.  My husband just got some new technology this weekend that lets us search on the TV just like it’s a giant computer.  I’m completely fascinated, but haven’t understood how to use it.  Don’t make fun of me…it’s not for lack of wanting to entirely either.  He loves it, so as the old stereotype goes…my man is the controller of the remote.  Which means, that unless I’m messing with it during the day (which I’m not,) then I don’t learn it.

Ok…I really am going somewhere with all of this.

Tonight I asked him to please let me “drive” the remote and learn how to “do” the TV with all the new internet features.  I specifically wanted to learn how to work Pandora because I’ve heard about it and I really like the “genius” mode that mixes similar music together on my ipod (the older ipod that I never learned how to put music on either, but like to listen to in the kitchen.)   He showed me how to find Pandora on the TV and set it up by picking an artist that I like and creating a station.  I picked Norah Jones.

Seriously…what’s not to love about Norah Jones?!  Anyone…Anyone….Bueller?!  Love me some Norah Jones.

So this thing gets going and plays a mix of John Mayer (a song I hadn’t heard before that I said to my husband sounded like “John Mayer meets Otis Redding” (who I also LOVE) and lo and behold, 4 songs later I’m “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” with Otis.  Then, some Clapton gets mixed in, and a song I could listen to 20 times over called “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson.  Now Michael Buble is crooning, and did you know that Carla Bruni sings?!(yeah…the one who married Nicolas Sarkozy…president of France.)  I re-discovered a song called “1234” by Feist that I’ve heard before and liked but had no clue who sang it or where I heard it.

No wonder it’s called Pandora…it’s a surprise every time you open it!  (But in a good way…I’m pretty sure the real story of Pandora, something yucky came out of the box.)  I’m so excited though!  Music that I love finding more new music that I’ll love.  Totally genius!  And now I’ve finally been brought into the 21st century with the rest of you!

Congratulations to me…and if you didn’t know about it either, or haven’t tried it….I introduce you to Pandora Radio my friends.  Might just be on my new list of favorite things!