A little link love, and a promise to myself

I decorated a lot this Christmas with peppermint candies- whole apothecary jars of them. When the time comes to “undecorate”, I’ve found a great little project. I tried one out tonight and it really is as easy as it sounds on this tutorial.

Not usually a map fan, but this map is just so delightful!!

Spoiler Alert: My next wedding shower? This is the gift!

I’ve just discovered Sammy and I adore his perspective on NYC.

So, I’m thinking seriously about the fresh start of a new year. This is a great tool to use for an annual assessment.

I’ve promised myself that I will return to more regular postings on this blog. Welcome to a new year!

Wednesday Link Love

Well, I can’t actually read a word on this site, but I can get a pretty good idea and if you click on Overnacten, you will find some swell accommodations. I have a soft spot for caravan’s, so that’s what really captured my heart but look at all of them!

Love this “smarter” advice…..

Uh, yeah. Three of my favorite things? Bring it!

Oh, this is so very pretty! I have a few of those patterns in pillow cases. I’m gradually building my stash of vintage pillow cases. They are so soft and wonderful!

Amy’s room is so sweet! Such a fun idea she has about a fairy room!

And now, by popular demand, the Cavalcade of Bad Nativities….

I have a love of Morse code. Makes me think of my father. Love these bracelets!

A Tender Word

He who kindled
The fire of the sun
He who draws out the tender leaves
From the dark twigs of winter
He who has whittled
A cabin for the snail
Has also carved our names
In the palm of his hand
And he became a child
The better to be near us

An excerpt from Anne Porter's poem, Here on Earth.
For the full text, see:
http://maggidawn.com/advent-poems-2/

It seems that several of my dearest friends are walking around wounded and sad right now- all amazing women, all soldiering on, all stunned and aching and staggering. Their loads are so large and of such a nature that friends are at a loss to know just what to do, but a word of beauty and tenderness is always always always welcome.

Second Sunday of Advent

Hope
It hovers in dark corners
before the lights are turned on,
it shakes sleep from its eyes
and drops from mushroom gills,
it explodes in the starry heads
of dandelions turned sages,
it sticks to the wings of green angels
that sail from the tops of maples.
It sprouts in each occluded eye
of the many-eyed potato,
it lives in each earthworm segment
surviving cruelty,
it is the motion that runs the tail of a dog,
it is the mouth that inflates the lungs
of the child that has just been born.

It is the singular gift
we cannot destroy in ourselves,
the argument that refutes death,
the genius that invents the future,
all we know of God.
It is the serum which makes us swear
not to betray one another;
it is in this poem, trying to speak.
~ Lisel Mueller ~

Wednesday Link Love!

Could anything be cuter than this? Well, yes, this!

I love this story about something pink from NieNie, and I love love love this pink bicycle she introduced me to. I mean, what could you NOT haul in a bike like that?!

Loving this, and wondering where you could get those loops!

Wishing the graffiti artists in my neighborhood would try a new medium. Like this, for instance…

Loving these! Wonder if I would have the patience to make some…

I’ve spent hours thinking of what I would love to do with my kitchen. Seriously loving what Saucy did with hers, especially that wonderful sink!

I so love this, truly love it. How happy it looks!

I love a good household tip, especially with someone as cute as Ken.

Welcoming Advent

One of the things we are doing this year is making a big Advent calendar as a visual. Each of us were invited to decorate a box to indicate what we want to fill our hearts with this Advent.

Iona Community: Cloth for the Cradle

When the world was dark
and the city was quiet,
you came.
You crept in beside us.
And no one knew.
Only the few who dared to believe
that God might do something different.
Will you do the same this Christmas, Lord?
Will you come into the darkness of tonight's world;
not the friendly darkness
as when sleep rescues us from tiredness,
but the fearful darkness,in which people have stopped believing
that war will end
or that food will come
or that a government will change
or that the Church cares?
Will you come into that darkness
and do something different
to save your people from death and despair?
Will you come into the quietness of this town,
not the friendly quietness
as when lovers hold hands,
but the fearful silence when the phone has not rung
the letter has not come,
the friendly voice no longer speaks,
the doctor's face says it all?
Will you come into that darkness,
and do something different,
not to distract, but to embrace your people?
And will you come into the dark corners
and the quiet places of our lives?
We ask this not because we are guilt-ridden
or want to be,
but because the fullness our lives long for
depends upon us being as open and vulnerable to you
as you were to us,when you came,
wearing no more than diapers,
and trusting human hands
to hold their maker.
Will you come into our lives,
if we open them to you
and do something different?
When the world was dark
and the city was quiet
you came.
You crept in beside us.
Do the same this Christmas, Lord.
Do the same this Christmas.
Amen.

With Thanks

It’s 4:45 a.m.  The house is sweetly silent, and the turkey is happily cooking, all slathered in butter and spice.  Of course, I am most mindful of what is right at hand- three healthy, happy, fun kids returned from school and all under roof.  I’m so grateful for them that it makes me weepy- for their health and safety for another year, for the mostly wise choices they are making as they grow, for the opportunities that lie ahead of them.  DH is snoring and our littlest dog has taken on the challenge of outdoing him, and in this rare moment even that is cause for thanksgiving.  For my mother, my sister and her family, for my church and my friends, for meaningful work and great folks to do it with, I am filled with thanks. 

Today we will gather with our friends and our families and will with delight renew time honored traditions.  We’ll eat well and laugh a lot, but at the end of the day it will be these early morning minutes that framed this day of great thankfulness.

Prayers for a friend I’ve never met

It’s a funny world, this whole internet social scene.  In this world, I have many friends who I have never met, will likely never meet in person.  But I know the daily comings and goings of some of my blogging “friends” better than some of my day to day real life friends.  And the whole blogging community clusters and hovers over folks who are going through a difficult time or a joyous time.

I’ve been reading Alicia’s blog for years.  It was one of the first I ever kept up with regularly.  (It’s the third on my list of favorite places……out of hundreds and hundreds of others!)  We have all been waiting with great joy for word from Alicia who had gone to Chicago to be present for the birth of their baby girl.  We’ve all grown impatient and left hundreds of comments as we waited to hear all of the details. I don’t even want to say how many times I have checked in to see if there had been any news.

And today there was news.  And while I have always thought highly of Alicia, who has been through some very very big struggles in her adult life, I have never respected her more than I do after reading this post.

I can’t stop thinking of all of the people who get pregnant easily and take that for granted, or of all of the children who languish without love, and of all of the people I love right now in my own world who are longing for a child.   Praying tonight that big empty arms and little hungry hearts could find their way to each other, and soon.

Underneath the Same Big Sky

Tonight my heart is filled with love and admiration for two dear friends who stepped in to parent a newborn baby who needed lots of love and tender care.  From the neonatal ICU to his own bed in their home, they have spoken love and hope over him, have insulated him from things he wasn’t ready to bear, have given him the safe place he needed to grow confidence and strong legs and big dimpled smiles.  Today by court decision, they have placed him back into the arms of his birth mother.  The nine months of care that have undoubtedly changed the course of his life have also changed the course of theirs.    Somewhere, under the same big clear night sky, another mother is trying to get to know her son, and I sincerely hope she can be the mother he needs.  I hope that she will tell him in years to come that when she couldn’t give him what he needed that two amazing generous moms stepped in and gave him what he needed and more even at the cost of the heartbreak of saying good-bye.      Here’s to foster parents everywhere who don’t hold back, who give their hearts anyway. 

Wednesday Link Love, at last!

As pretty as the aerial view of this cake is, it’s even more beautiful when it’s cut!

And it would be perfect to wash it down with a glass of this! I’m told that the ice cubes are made with jello and then sprite is poured over them. Drink it before it turns brown!

It’s about time to gather these supplies to start the holiday season off with a great smelling home!

Dear little Mabel- I wish you would come live with me. And bring the “It’s Okay” banner from your shop with you!

Oh my. My kids never had the rug, but I wonder if I couldn’t find one at the thrift store? These are so pretty and would be nice and cushy comfortable to stand on while doing chores.

Why do I love these? Well, for starters, they delight me!

Daniel is lucky to have such a crafty mom! From the looks of it, he could be a great fabric designer!

Wednesday Link Love

I love this brooch….but when I looked at it in scale with the woman who is “wearing” it, it appears to be huge. I love it a lot, but smaller!

Just for fun, I’d like to let my daughters chalk my hair over Christmas break. One of my girls is sporting some purple hair that is woven in that I have a love/hate relationship with. (Her hair, not her!) I’d like to give it a temporary try!

I’ve been watching my thrift store for paint by numbers, but they are popular enough now that I am just not finding them. But this is a possibility!

Patience is at it again!

This is one of those times I wish I knew how to thread my sewing machine and sew! I would make a sun dress for sure!

I’m a sucker for index cards, so of course this sounds fun to me!

I’m not so into coffee, but I do love mandalas. This one is very cool.

I LOVE this idea!!!

TNT Tuesday

Kinda starting to find myself a bit again, and working my way back to the blog a bit more. 

We’ve been enjoying the last of our summer bounty.  Last night we had this great Southwestern Stuffed Spaghetti Squash.  When DH says in mid-meal, “Be sure to make this again.”, it’s a keeper.

Several years ago after eating ajvar at a local Bosnian restaurant, I fell in love.  If  you love red pepper like I love red pepper, and if garlic and eggplant and olive oil are okay by you too, then I think you would love it.  I am known for the kooky things I like for breakfast, and ajvar mixed with cottage cheese became my standard breakfast for literally over a  year!   I kind of wore myself out on it and hadn’t had it for a while.  But, I had some eggplant I needed to use, and an abundance of roasted red peppers.  Made some, and my love affair has begun again.  It’s good on the falafel crackers I got this week, or any cracker (or on cottage cheese), bread, you name it.

     NPR did a nice little piece on it- check it out. They call it Serbian Salsa!

 

 

 

 

Then there would be the 7-Up Biscuits.  Which are just way too easy and way too good, and so very perfect with the sweet potato butter I bought this week. 

And if the 7-Up biscuits are not unhealthy enough, let me send you over the edge……I give you the Chocolate Chip Oreo Brownie…..

I like to think I made the Chocolate Chip Oreo Brownie Lite……I did omit the ice cream AND the hot fudge sauce. 

Late Link Love

I spy a toilet back there behind the curtain.  Maybe I could re-think camping…..Aren’t these beautiful?!

Time for a little Cake Wreck love.  It’s been a while.

I think I have found a reason to use this template every day since I found it last week!

I think I am going to just have to try a batch of this for research purposes.

Need a friend?  One that will go everywhere with you?

I cannot stop looking at this.  I want it.  Bad.  Been checking craigslist about every 15 minutes for two matching dressers like this!

We have this at the work cafeteria and it is so so good.  Good enough that they have it most every day.  Now I can try to make my own.

Wednesday Link Love

This is only one of many wonderful ideas from this great site!

Ever since seeing these, I’ve been watching Craigslist and have seen several great pieces you could score for not so many $$$ to make one of these, if you have a special child in your life.

A couple of fun ideas/ways to capture your kids as they grow can be found here and here. 

Now, I’m a sucker for a cozy place to nap…..but I’m just not sure about these.   I’m afraid I would get all settled into the nest and then would just have to laugh out loud…And for a minute I thought this looked divine, but then I thought a little more about it…

Orange is kind of growing on me, and this room is so happy and wonderful I can hardly stand it!

Wednesday Link Love

Loving these free printables!

I don’t really have any reason to have fabric scraps, but I like this wall grouping enough to acquire some!

I think you can put me down for Party A.  Love those balloons!  All 500 of them!

OH, this rug!!!

The perfect marriage in a mug!

We have now reached the time of the year when I start scoping out planners and trying to find the one that will change my life.  This year, in keeping with my word of the year (smaller) I chose a small one and it has been fine but not great.  But adequate for sure.  But I believe this one is the one I truly want, and I want it bad.  It’s larger, but not so much larger if I get the spiral bound version.

I don’t really want to take up any space when I die, but if I did, I’d want it to look like this!

I’m a sucker for a recipe that has a story around it, or a story with a recipe woven into it.  This one was lovely!

Remember this post?  Well, look at this!!!  My amazing friend Dan did this for me!

Wednesday Link Love

I know a new aunt who needs one of these for her sweet sweet baby nephew.

And I know two sweet baby boys who would make perfect little chickies for Halloween! Or maybe they should do THIS!

Assuming that there are chilly days ahead in our future, I want to hang on to this idea!

If you are the type to plan a trip based on visits to some common theme, search no more.  The American Pie tour!

Glow Sticks.  Again. I just can’t help it.

Definitely making one of these!

And for those who remember my friends Adam and Sophia from their proposal, here’s just a tiny idea of how sweet sweet sweet their wedding day was.

 

Wednesday Link Love

Gotta love Clara and her cool parents’ photo project!!

Love this vintage fabric idea (and the cool phone too!)

Better than the average tea cup light fixture. 

Fun Halloween eye chart art, and two color choices!

I’ve been thinking of this rug all week!!

Check out Style- it’s lovely!

Count on kindnessgirl to make a party happen in the midst of a difficult time!

Wednesday Link Love

The SWEETEST tutorials ever! The whole site is lovely!

Fun transfer idea here.

Now here is something I might possibly be able to do with a hula hoop!

Hard to say which of these I like the most- these true true words, this one is pretty true for me too!, and the first illustration here is pretty wonderful too.

What really won me over on this one is that stove!

If only this would catch on with the taggers that plague my neighborhood!

I. Love. These. Chickies…..

I love the blackboard idea!

I think these floor cushions are cool! Imagine them in vintage pillowcases!

So simple, so sweet!

TNT Tuesday

The best new recipe I tried this weekend was this crockpot Wendy’s chili knock-off.  Definitely will be made again and again.  ( I, of course, have to add spaghetti to mine!)

Next up would be this simple salmon recipe.  I have to say that when I was putting the cast iron skillet back into the oven, part of the handle didn’t go in deep enough and it’s just instinctive- I reached up and pushed it in.  For a second I was thinking, “I should not have done that.  But it’s not hur………YIKES!!!”    It hurt.  But years of working with lye to make soap taught me the value of pure lavender oil.  Didn’t even blister!

These were supposed to go to some college kids I know and love….but DH loves them too….

And then there were these……Yesterday it seemed like everything I touched flopped.  But there is so much potential here that I will try again.  I was just having an off day, but bakergirl would not lead us astray.

Wednesday Link Love

I love buttons, and I’m really loving these button monograms against white or against black  I just miss my button sourch, Behr Fabric.  They had walls of drawers of buttons.

I know some windows I would love to make paper curtains for. Aren’t they great?!

I think this may be my Labor Day picnic plan!

Looks like a great place to take a nap to me!  How about you?

A.Dorable!  I am such a sucker for blackboard paint!

If you have ever been a Story Corp listener, you probably knew Annie and Danny.  Such a sweet sweet love story. Made me think of my own parents.  Tissue alert!

 

TNT Tuesday

We had an international potluck at church on Sunday.  I fixed three of our old favorites.

Brown Butter Rice-  I use basmati rather than brown rice just because folks around my house like that better.  And the peas are not a deal breaker.  They mostly just make it prettier.

Chana Masala-  I used this recipe, but I made it in the crockpot.  Tastes good on brown butter rice!

KLUSKI I KAPUSTA- We like sour cream better than cottage cheese with this, but it’s great without either one!

 

Wednesday Link Love

The Commission Project- What a great idea.  I’ll let you guess what picture I would have done.  I wonder what it would be?  Something with my front door and my beloved Odie would be nice….What picture would you send?

I have somehow managed to reach adult life without ever having made a shrinky dink……but this makes me have a serious desire to give it a try!

Oh so sweet!  Now I want to read the book!

More glow in the dark ideas….this time with glow in the dark paint!

Some really fun ideas here (If you have access to pallets!)

Isn’t this a great idea?  (Especially if you are patient and know how to sew.)

Ohhhhh I so seriously want to get some of this!  I loved sun prints when I was a child and have remained fascinated, and this kicks it up a notch!

Now, see if this doesn’t make you smile!

TNT Tuesday

I got okra in my box last week, and am determined to use everything I get in my box each week so I set out to find a good okra recipe.  I found this one at Cooking Books, and it was a winner!  We were excited to see okra again this week.  I should try something new, but this was just so good…..(We didn’t use the lime wedges)

And no week is complete without something from Mommy’s Kitchen.  This cherry bread is a keeper for sure!  So pretty and delicious and looks like it took a lot more work than it did!

   This simple tomato pie is a summertime staple around here. 

This smoky chickpea dip (I think of it more as a spread) was sure to be a winner around here- garlic, chickpeas, and smoky paprika?!  Three of our favs.

The first time I cooked flat iron steak, I cooked it into shoe leather.   This time, I did it this way and it was so so so good!  I marinated it overnight in olive oil, Dale’s, and a little soy sauce.  It was really good!

Sleeping with the moon

A week ago today a crazy storm blew through town and in a matter of minutes had wiped out the power in a large portion of town.  I am not known to be very flexible when some of my comforts are taken away but in the 18 hours that our power was out, I managed to hold it together.  Many of my friends did not regain theirs until days later. I would not have been smiling.

What helped me a lot was that it was not hot out.  The streets (and sidewalks) were virtually empty, so it was quiet enough and cool enough to throw open the windows. Many of us still sat out on our porches until late, talking back and forth in the dark.  What really made it lovely was a huge bright full moon. 

In an urban neighborhood, there’s really not much true darkness or true quiet, but for one night our street was hushed with no air conditioners running, no stereos beating rhythms, no tv’s or radios playing at all.  All that quiet and that big full moon made the night almost magical.  As I was falling asleep, I remembered the picture (above) that I had seen once and I thought to myself that indeed I did feel like I was sleeping with the moon right beside me. 

I was sitting on my porch the next afternoon when the lights came back on- security alarms went off and a/c units ground into gear and life as usual came back.  I checked that night, and that big full moon was still there- but with lots of competition from all of the lights of the city.  I can’t say I was disappointed to get my power back - there was laundry to be done and email to check……..but I will long remember that bright moon on that quiet night.

Wednesday Link Love

Oh my! A tiny house WITH wall beds! I love it!

I wish I had read this years ago!!!

I love this house. Truly. But does everyone see the elephant in the room? I mean, let’s talk about the yellow pepper……

I am intrigued by these meals…..

I think one of these would be cool. Or five or six of them!

More fun with glow sticks!

OH what a great idea!!!

Yep, I miss making kids lunches. I always enjoyed making their lunches.

I see this project in my future.

My heart has been warmed as the food blogging community has come together to honor the wishes of one of their own. Lots and lots of peanut butter pies this weekend. Great video from two of the best. Be sure to read Jennifer’s blog post too.

Nice idea for an abandoned building!

TNT’s from the weekend

I don’t think I have ever had a bad recipe from Gina’s Skinnytaste.  This roasted corn, tomato, avocado salad was really really tasty!

Dutch Babies have always been a big staple around here with the kids, but youngest daughter declared this angel food french toast from Sprinkle Bakes to be just as good, and it’s a whole lot easier and quicker to make. 

DD had made a big pan of these Monster Cookie Bars on Saturday to take to the coffee house that night- and then the power went out (for 18 hours at our house, lots longer for others)  and we ended up with the whole pan of them to share with friends since the coffee house was closed.

Olive Salsa.  Oh. So. Good.  (If you like olives!)

Fried Egg and Zucchini.  Mine wasn’t  as pretty as this but boy was it good.  Just trying find some ways to switch it up with zucchini at this point of the summer.  Somewhere I had seen it but couldn’t find the original post.  So, I just  sautéed the zukes and some onion and garlic.  I did a whole skillet full, then made three little wells and cracked my egg into those.  The whites spread out into the zucchini and the yellow was perfectly over easy and both DH and DD said they hoped we got more zucchini this week!

Wednesday Link Love

While I am not sure if I could sleep there, and am positive I couldn’t use that bathtub, I do think taking a nap here at MaryJanes Farm looks divine!

I love swing/hanging beds and a great tutorial can be found here should you want to make your own. The thing is, I live on a busy urban street…….But if I lived at Fire Lake Camp, I’d be spending some serious time here!

I’m undecided about joining pinterest, but there sure are a zillion great things to look at!  Loved these ideas!

Love this!  It reminded me that my mother made my case for my first Barbie out of a little old red cardboard suitcase which she made perfect by adding a trip and Barbie spelled out in plaid rickrack.

This time of year I am instinctively drawn to lunch-packing goodies.  Isn’t this a fun idea?

I’ve been enjoying these two sites- They Draw and Travel and They Draw and Cook. I see that you can order prints!