a little somethin, somethin

A Little Somethin, Somethin

She will be for sale on etsy with a few other of her friends. 

this doll gives me an itch

This doll gives me the itch to go to the beach. She has that sun tan glow. She looks like she has been reading a book under an umbrella on the beach, eating sweet treats in the afternoon and enjoying the sun go down over the Gulf. And she picked up a new little skirt at a darling boutique down the way.

bottom and sides of the doll

And here is another gal. She is a little sassy. Actually, she reminds me of the sister in Notting Hill. You see it. She was quirky. I can't remember her name but she walked in on Julia Roberts in the loo. Awkward.

Here is to a day dream about the beach!

my life is like a staple gun

I am into my staple gun. It's a little dangerous, a little edgy but it sticks to the point and gets it done unless you buy too long of staples and it can get complicated. Maybe this is a metaphor for something else? Not quite making the connection....

Aha!

I am a sleep deprived Mama and while I desire to stick to the point and get it done, that is not true of my character even when I am sleeping well. If you know me, you get this. And it seems to be worse because of lack of sleep. Like hello! There is a picture of a chair up there and I have written over a half dozen sentences not on the topic at all. 

my chair with my patio art and a mini artists' work

Sometimes, I am using staples that are too long for a job that requires less. But that is kind of the point sometimes. In the journey of stapling this new, fresh fabric on worn out chairs with a bit of patina, I learned something. I feel like the worn out chairs with a bit of patina. With the staple gun, I learned to staple here and not there and to hold the staple gun tighter in my grip. I am learning to edit and in doing so, I am really learning more about myself and becoming more of who He called me to be. And I am left with something even more beautiful than before but still being true to myself. 

The process and the product are just as important and equally beautiful. 

a welcomed gift

Geez. Incredible. I was in the middle of running around my house getting supper ready, feeding a baby and picking up toys when I glanced out the window and saw this. What a nice respite! I find that the frenziest, busiest part of my day is supper time. So to be able to stop and enjoy the beautiful sunset was such a welcomed gift.

note to self: read this on hard days or an ode to Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. Not the hot and heavy kind of Valentine's Day but the kind where you sprinkle your life with bits of red and pink (2 of my favorite color combos), sweet people and pretty doo dads. You let your close peeps know you love them and you went out of your way to do something nice for them even if it took 2 minutes. 

I know my husband will be sweating it. 

Although, he is a great gift giver. I confess. Even before we dated, he would give me very thoughtful and "me" kind of presents for birthdays and Christmas, and certainly after we were married. A tea pot, a tea box, Waterford goblets, turquoise earrings, a TV for my bedroom:), an LLC for The Governor's Daughter when I first started out, beads, a Starbucks gift card, paper to make lists, a trip to Watercolor...Ok, at some point, this list was really for me, not for y'all but y'all seem nice...you can read and enjoy:) I need to go back and read this post on days when I am annoyed. 

I digressed from my original purpose of this post. I have very fond memories of Valentine's Day. I remember my aunt picking me up from school and then taking her car to get her car worked on. We then sat outside the mechanics in the grass looking at all of my Valentine's. Was this a dream? Either way, it was a sweet dream.

My dad used to bring my sister and I roses. And I remember him bringing us roses while wearing sweet little knit outfits my mom had sewn for my sister and I. Gosh, I am my mothers daughter.

And who could forget the year my mom had a Valentine's party for me? Through tears one day after school, she discovered I was struggling with girl friendships. Funny how that doesn't stay in elementary school. We as women are so complex. Its exhausting. I am including myself here. Back to my mom, she had a party for me. I wore a striped dress. We made sentences out of candy hearts. It is a dear memory. 

So, as I am making my Valentine's plans, I am reminiscing about happy memories from the past. To see more Valentine's Day ideas, go see my board all about it here. 

i am rich

I am rich. yes, thats right. I am rich with daughters, a husband, a sister who is also my sister-in-law ( let that soak in- my sister and i married brothers), parents, family, friendships, and on and on the list goes. 

And I am rich because of this painting. Isn't it sweet and kind and all things good about being a Mama to a daughter?

Bed Heads by Suzanne Conner
http://fireflyevenings.com/

It was gifted to me by the sweet artist. Ahh. Talk about being overwhelmed in a good way ( go here to see that story.) I am so thankful and blessed by her friendship, and the Lord sending this painting my way.
To see more of Suzanne's works and writings, check out her website fireflyevenings.com.

overwhelmed by life, color and blessings

By definition, overwhelm means this:

a : to cover over completely : submerge

b : to overcome by superior force or numbers

c : to overpower in thought or feeling

I find this interesting. Parts of my life have been overwhelming me lately. I feel submerged.

I saw a cheesy movie recently but it had some really great ideas. Within the story, the wife had been trying to get pregnant for some time and it just didn't seem like it was going to happen. In the end, she got pregnant and she was sharing with her husband. He then spoke through tears and said, " I am overwhelmed." It gave me my first picture that overwhelmed can be a good thing. 

In my tinkering with the definition of the word overwhelm, I have found that it can be a blessing. This is a new color on my back door. Overwhelming! However, I am overwhelmed by shockingly good color. Golden Cricket by Behr, FYI. 

How about this song? You are overwhelming me. Ahh. The Lord is heaping His peace on us. 

I want to be overwhelmed by the goodness of God.

May the Lord bless you with feeling overwhelmed today by His goodness and peace.  

ahh, beauty

The camellias in my yard are blooming. I love this time of year for that reason. I had a great aunt who passed away this time last year and for the reception, we used the camellias. She loved camellias. They are sweet and southern and pretty and just good. The camellias are beautiful.

 I read something recently somewhere (what a memory) about the beauty of the Lord. We are inundated with His beauty everyday. I have a nephew that can find beauty anywhere. Look at this beautiful leaf growing by this smelly dumpster. And he is right! My nephews heart is able to see beauty in unexpected places. What a gift!

Back to my reading... The Beauty of the Lord is our strength. Just as the joy of the Lord is our strength         (Nehemiah 8:10), He gives us beauty which brings me joy. It brings me respite, refreshment, strength, encouragement and on and on the list goes. For me, beauty is admiring His camellias on the window sill, enjoying a before supper swing with my daughters, and rocking my baby girl to sleep. I am surrounded by His beauty day after day. I am quick to get caught up in the mundane and craziness of life and my flesh ( the towels smell like mildew!, how do i get her to sleep more at night?, and what color should my hair be now?)  I must stop and enjoy His Beauty. And what a beautiful day it has been here in our neighborhood. 

Color and Pattern: Pillows

I recently sewed this pillow for my sister. While I am not pleased with the way the seamstress attached the orange fabric ( ha! that seamstress is me), I really like the color and pattern combo. I had high hopes with the  orange, is it a flange?, but my new funky twist on this style I did for another set of pillows (click here), didn't pan out. That is ok- I can always redo! But back to the color and pattern...

Isn't it fun and unexpected? The polka dots remind me of coffee ( honestly, not a coffee drinker) but coupled with the textured paisley and pop of burnt orange really revs it up. I enjoyed that last sentence.  

Happy Wednesday! And hope you have fabulous leftovers or an easy supper to make- that would make for a Super Happy Wednesday!

11th Day of Christmas: my husband is buying a dryer

Here is our mantle for Christmas. I actually used decor from my daughter's 3rd rainbow birthday party and to see all of those festivities, click here. The nativity set was birthed out of the desire to use what I already had and I am so happy with the results. To see others, click here and here. Oh. And one more. Wowzers.

The little tree I dug up in my yard and used scraps of paper my daughter had painted on and turned them into little ornaments. Its so sweet and simple. And now looking at this picture and the mantle sitting in front of me, the mantle and the painting were both gifts from my husband, one a Christmas and one an anniversary. To give my husband more credit, he has spent numerous hours over the last few days trying to find me a new dryer because the other one broke. He sees me. He gets me. And he will have dry clothes too!

Jesus, the healing balm and the Holy Family

Holy Family- Mary, Joseph and Jesus

I had these out and about before December 25th. And I don't take my decor down until Epiphany, so these peeps are still on my mantle. I am a little sad to see them packed away until next year.

Holy Family

back and bottom of Mary

Jesus with some chapstick to give you an idea of the size. Jesus is the healing balm:)

And upon looking up the word balm, I discovered more to the meaning of balm. Balm means a soothing, fragrant oil. This then lead me to 2 Corinthians 2:15:
¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
Its neat to think of us being a fragrant offering, a reminder to others that we represent Christ and we bring an endearing smell.  I remember my mom talking about Tea Olives when I was little. Oh, what a sweet smell. We had one by our garage growing up and I have since planted several in my yard. She liked to think heaven smelled like tea olives. I like that thought and it connects my past with my future and keeps me grounded in my present.