A Beautiful Mess Happy Handmade Home I could not wait to get my hands on this book. I'd seen it circulating in the blogworld, and though I'd never heard of A Beautiful Mess's blog (I know, where have I been? Still mourning the loss of Young House Love, I suppose), I was curious to see what it was all about. Upon delivery, this...

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Brave. Its a word I've heard over and over this year. My fancy friends- the ones who seem to have time to put their thoughts on paper in eloquent ways I only wish for; the ones who assign each new year a word or theme- many have chose "brave" to be their word of 2014. That's what attracted me to Annie Downs's book,...

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I'm not usually one to get hyped up about the latest trends, but one trend I am loving right now is the Chalkboard lettering trend! You see it everywhere- on walls, art prints, even fabric! The artistry and skill of some of these chalk calligraphers is amazing. I've tried my own hand at some lettering techniques, and while they came out ok, it...

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We headed out to our favorite orchard, where we've gone every year since we've lived here. Its such a tradition we couldn't pass it up this year. Plus, Anderson's Orchard has the best prices around. Seriously, 1/2 a peck costs $6-- regardless of the type of apple. At Beasley's Orchard (the other popular one in the area), prices go up to $12!!  Craziness....

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I tend to be a documenter. I was the girl in high school who was taking pictures at the football games on Friday night- and not just because I was the yearbook editor. I genuinely love to take pictures of life. College was another great time for taking pictures, what with new friendships forming and an endless supply of time on our hands....

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At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, can I be honest with you for a few minutes? Ebola freaks me out. Even when the disease was seemingly eradicated, it would cross my mind from time to time. Maybe its because I was too young when I saw "Outbreak" and the images of those bright yellow biohazard suits burned an image into my...

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Gia is doing so great with her hearing aid. The only problem is that when she really gets jumping around (like every other 3 year old on the planet often does) the aid comes off from behind her ear. We're trying to teach her to put it back over her ear, but she doesn't quite have the hang of it yet. Other than...

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Its been a busy week for our brave 3 year-old! She started two new classes this week (BSF and Pre-School) AND she just got her very first hearing aid today! She is very excited about it and we are doing our best to help her see it as a positive thing. So far, she's doing great. We've known since she was born that...

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Its been a busy summer. Lots of trips out of town for Sean, fun & free summer activites for the kids, our 10th wedding anniversary, a wonderful impromptu visit from my mom, and moving across town. All of that was a wonderful way to pass the summer months, but along the way it led to a lot of poor eating habits. Mainly, fast...

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I was almost giddy when I opened up my package from Tyndale and found the beautiful book inside, My Princesses Learn To Be Brave. The latest in a new line of stories that combines Biblical stories with applicable truths, this book instantly captured the attention of my princess-loving three year old daughter. In fact, before I even showed her the book, she saw...

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Vegan Ice Cream by Jeff Rogers is one of the best books I've seen on non-dairy frozen treats. And believe me, I've looked at a lot of such books. I love all things ice cream. I've hardly met a flavor I didn't like. Rocky road, moose tracks, chocolate chip, vanilla, strawberry, pumpkin... I could go on and on. For years, ice cream was an...

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This is my first time reviewing a cookbook, and I am so excited! My husband and I love watching the Food Network show, "Chopped." The basic gist of it is a trio of talented chefs are presented with a "mystery basket" of ingredients. From the onset, they seem like a horrible hodge-podge of clashing flavors and the chefs are tasked with the challenge...

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The NIV Essentials Study Bible is a giant conglomeration of some of the best study Bible tools that Zondervan has offered. I'm one who likes to dig deep into individual scriptures, as well as look at the meaning and context of entire books. Reading the historical backgrounds and getting extra tidbits of archaeological information helps bring the inspired Word to life. Though the...

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If we know each other in real life, or if you've read my blog for very long, you may know that I'm a little bit obsessed with this whole concept of "home." There is something so spiritual and sacred about creating a place of rest for my loved ones that has whispers of Greater Things to come. The Nesting Place, Written by long-time...

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We had a bunch of friends over for the Fourth of July. It was such a great time. Our house is really close to the high school in town, and they always do a big fireworks display. We can see the whole show directly from our driveway. As you can see from all the cars in the pictures below, other people in town...

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Our garden has really exploded with green as of late! The first goody we got to harvest was some sugar snap peas. They've kept coming and they are so delicious. I blanched and froze a lot of them this week so that we will have them for stir-frys and pasta dishes this winter. Gia is a great helper at the garden (most of...

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