Must Have Hydrangeas Always

Surely there will be hydrangeas in Heaven? If I had to live with only one flower for the rest of my life, it would most certainly be a hydrangea. Preferably an entire bed of them. I recently spotted some that were in no man's land and stopped to pick them. Actually, I made my friend Kara pull the car over and make sure no one was looking while I picked them. They are making me so happy every time I see them.

I also wanted to share part of this simple prayer from one of our favorite Puritan prayer books, The Valley of Vision.   I'm being reminded again that our time with the Patriots is in the Lord's hands and not our own. I have every confidence that Thomas can make the team, but the fact of the matter is the NFL is a game of numbers. If they need a player at another position, we could easily be packing our bags again. This prayer reminded me that a quiet spirit is all that I'm called to have. It is appropriately entitled "Resting in God."

O God most high, most glorious, 

The thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, 

For I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, 

But Thou art forever at perfect peace. 

Thy designs cause Thee no fear or care of unfulfillment, 

They stand fast as the eternal hills. 

Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. 

Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories:

The Lord omnipotent reigneth.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; 

unbelief mars my confidence, 

sin makes me forget Thee. 

Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; 

Grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, 

that all else is trifling. 

Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. 

Abide in me, gracious God. 

Glory, Hallelujah

Brimfield Antique Market was epic. The people-watching was phenomenal, the furniture was every bit what I'd hoped for, and there were plenty of other oddities thrown into the mix as well. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Thomas begged me to buy this cheetah to put over our bed. Kidding. We'd have major nightmares. 

This reminded me of the leg lamp from A Christmas Story. Hideous+awesome. 

I wanted to bring home half of what I saw, but have learned that less is more. I'm embracing it and learning to just appreciate pieces that I love. 

There were lots of Barbie Dolls and postcards being sold. Collectors items? Hmmm. Bedbugs? Definitely. 

These were...interesting?

The flea market went on and on and on and on down a stretch of road. Truly epic. A few times I almost started hyperventilating because there was no way we'd ever see everything there was to see. 

Side story: Thomas spotted BT's Smokehouse on the way to the market. Our conversation went a little like this:

T: Look! It says "southern style BBQ." We're stopping on the way back. 

M: I don't think BBQ that is sold next to a convenience store will be any good. That's gross and I don't want any. I want real BBQ. 

T: (rolling window down) do you SMELL THAT? That is real. Look at those smokers. I don't care if it is sold next to a convenience store. I know real BBQ when I see it. 

M: fine, but prepare yourself to be disappointed. 

Well, there are a few times when I can admit when I'm wrong, and today will be marked on the calendar. I was horribly, miserably, terribly wrong. BT's Southern Style BBQ was some of the best BBQ we have EVER  had. I might be wrong sometimes, but I cannot tell a lie. The meat simply fell off of the bone and and the sides were to die for. The homemade macaroni and cheese (made with orecchiette pasta!), potato salad and slaw were all gourmet versions and put Southerners to shame. We left incredibly pleased, and so full we've skipped supper altogether. 

And I cannot forsake my one purchase from the flea market. I am smitten with our new table! Thomas haggled with the seller and we ended up walking away with this beauty for a mere $165. I know it is an awesome deal because I've been stalking old tables on craigslist for months now. It is made out of an old door and it really is all I wanted! Now, we just need to find sturdy chairs to go with it......

Weekend Tasks

1. To make these frames look as good on our wall as these frames from Young House Love. 

2. To find a kitchen table that looks like the one these folks made at the Brimfield Antique Market. It was rated by Apartment Therapy as one of the top ten flea markets IN.THE.COUNTRY. I made Thomas look at the picture and memorize what the table looks like so we can be more effective at the flea market. Let the party begin. 

Camp Sew

Today, I confessed to Thomas something about my past. In the 6th grade, I attended a 4-H camp called "Camp Sew" with my cousin Elizabeth. It was a day camp featuring....sewing. At the time, I had miserably bushy blonde hair parted down the middle and spent a week creating a horrible red, white and blue vest with sequins on it. There is a picture somewhere to prove it, but thankfully I live 800 miles away from it and it cannot be featured here on the blog.

At any rate, Camp Sew+my Granny stirred up a love of sewing in my heart, so my parents bought me a sewing machine and off I went on my merry sewing way. I've never created anything too spectacular, although in high school I did make my Junior Marshall dress in Home Ec (aka my amazing teacher did most of the work). My sewing machine has been in storage for a few years now, but I decided to bring it back with me in order to create some sort of curtains for our unfortunate windows:

We live on the third floor of our building, so our vaulted ceilings make for windows that are close to the ground and abnormally sized. I've tried many combinations of curtains, blinds etc but nothing fits quite right. Add to the fact that I'm incredibly picky and cheap, and I haven't been satisfied with anything. So I took matters into my own hands and decided to have a CAMP SEW moment!

I bought tablecloths at Christmas Tree Shops for $3.99 (for those of you who haven't gotten to experience the wondrous joy that is Christmas Tree Shops--I feel sorry for you). 

I wiped the dust off of the old sewing machine and simply hemmed the top of the table cloth wide enough for a tension rod to slip through (I got the tension rod from Lowes for $2). 

I chopped off the remaining fabric--please note the kitchen scissors. I probably used them to cut herbs yesterday. Perfectionist? I think not. 

And I now have fabulous white curtains I approve of that fit perfectly into our strange windows! AND they only cost $6/window. Thanks Camp Sew!

Spring makes my heart go pitter patter

"When Aslan Bears his teeth winter meets its death. When he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." 

—C.S. Lewis

Spring DOES exist here in Massachusetts! I am so thrilled to have flowers in every nook and cranny of our apartment. If you know me, you know that when I am driving around town I am constantly on the search for flowers in "no man's land" aka not in someone's yard. I made Thomas slam on the brakes the other day in order to pick daffodils that were growing on the side of the road. When we were married in college, we lived near hundreds of hydrangea bushes in the botanical garden. I would walk over under the cover of darkness and cut hydrangeas. Don't judge me. The tendencies live on and I must have flowers and I won't pay for them at the grocery store. Mama, if you're reading this, don't be ashamed of me. Be proud that I am attempting to carry on your green thumb! 

Also note that we have our old trunk/coffee table back and all of our kitchen items! We brought back a huge load of things after spring break and I'm thrilled. We got rid of everything else that we owned, besides a couple of boxes in my brother's attic. I've learned that you don't "need" much stuff in order to live comfortably, and simplicity is ALWAYS best. 

Gift Wrapping Ideas

This may be a little late for some of you, but if you're like me, you haven't even begun to think about wrapping gifts. One of my bible study leaders happens to be one of the craftiest, cutest people around, and she wrapped each of our gifts differently so we could get gift ideas last week!

That is Betsy in the photo. How cute is she?! This gift is birthday themed, but you could easily do this with Christmas candies. She just glued the candies to the paper and got pixie stix and stuck them into the top! Kids will love this. Thomas probably would too.

Here are the rest of the gifts. I'll highlight my favorites: the orange bag 3rd from left is just a colored lunch bag, holes punched in the top, ribbon wound through, and fake berries stuck into the ribbon! The black and white checkered one in the middle is.....drum roll please......a hand towel! You could also just use a large cloth dinner napkin, place the gift in the middle and tie a pretty bow around the top. And then my personal favorite is the one on the far right that says "coal." I can't remember where Betsy got the baggie but I think she said Michael's or Party City. Also on that far right end is an adorable Chinese box, which you can buy in bulk somewhere like Michael's. 

And speaking of bible study, I am sad our wives study has wrapped up because of the Christmas season and football season nearly being over. I have been deeply grateful for how they brought me up into their group so quickly and love me well! Look how sweet they all are:

At our last study, we baked Almond Puff Pastries. Stacia and I were wowing everyone with our incredible Almond Puff Pastry skills. Here we are with our other bible study leader, Virginia, who has amazing baking abilities. I am so thankful for this group of women! 

Christmas Gifts

Ok, Christmas is just around the corner. I can admit that, but PEOPLE, doesn't anyone follow the "wait until the day after Thanksgiving to listen to Christmas music and refrain from decorating everything absurdly soon after Halloween" rule anymore?

I, for one, hope to strictly adhere to that rule for the rest of my life. I do not like Thanksgiving to get overlooked. I is the day we are to be thankful for crying out loud, not the day to already obsess over what "stuff" we should give and get over the next month.

Enough about that. I do want to share a few favorite things that I think you should buy for Christmas that will help others at the same time. Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

First of all, please consider supporting our friends Shane and Kristin in their ministry to kids in East St. Louis.  In fact, if you plan on giving us a gift, just tell us that you gave money to Shane and Kristin and we will be tickled pink! You can give them the following amounts of money that go towards really cool gifts for the kids:

-$5: Buys one book for a child 
-$25: Pays for a meal hosted at the Fast's house for local kids
-$35: Buys a coat for one child
-$50: Covers the cost of food for one of their bible studies. {I especially appreciate this one because they feed guys physically first, then feed them spiritually}


You can find out how to give on their website. 

Another cool gift {for the ladies} are these amazing cosmetic bags made by my sweet friend over at We Three Pilgrims.  I have this one and absolutely love it. It holds all of my make up, plus travel shampoo, conditioner, face wash etc.

We also must admit that we like Toms shoes. I cannot believe that I am actually typing that. And by "we" I mean Thomas talked me into liking them. Can you believe that? I used to give my friend Katie quite a hard time for wearing them. I called them all sorts of ugly names. Alas, I was young and ignorant, and have now seen the light. For every pair of shoes you buy, they give a pair to a shoe-less child in another country. You can watch the video here.  I especially like the boots, but haven't bought them yet, so I can't tell you how they fit:

 I also must admit that Tiger Plums Etsy shop makes me want to buy a million things and give them to all of my nieces and nephews! Alas, I would be in debit if I bought all 10 of them something cute from this site. One of the player's wives here introduced me to this site and her baby was wearing the Gobble Gobble Turkey Day is Here onesie. And it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen! I know it may be a little late to buy Thanksgiving Themed onesies, but I am obsessed with this one:



If you liked the book stamp that had Thomas' name on it in my previous post, you can browse them here. They are kinda pricey but you'd think Thomas got a million dollars when my sister gave him his stamp. He even stamped his legs one time in a fit of sheer boredom. He forgot that he'd stamped himself and guys in the locker room were making fun of him later. So don't stamp your leg.

 You can also get one with your address on it! I am wanting one really badly but getting anything printed with my address on it would be foolish. And basically like throwing $45 in the trash. And I don't wanna do that.

In light of these suggestions, please enjoy Thanksgiving FIRST, then crank up the Christmas tunes and tree lights.

Why the thrift store is my friend

In the same way that Ikea is my friend. And HomeGoods. And yard sales too. For the basic reason that I never want my house to look like this:

Stuffy, if you ask me. And way too expensive. And it kind of looks like a hotel lobby. I've had so much fun buying inexpensive things for our little apartment. Seeing as we have no idea when we might be moving next, and I left most of our belongings in Clemson, we needed a few simple things to make it feel like home around here. 

These mugs made by Sundance were $1 each at the local thrift store. 

That cute lamp was $3. And that cute French pillow on the couch was inexpensive too, which my sister found in HomeGoods. I refuse to buy upholstered items from the thrift store, because I am terrified of bed bugs. Oh and the side table was from the thrift store too! Because it isn't upholstered.....

These glass bowls were $1. For FOUR bowls! The fourth isn't in the photo because it was dirty. And since we don't have a dishwasher, I only do dishes once a day. Sorry, Mr. Fourth Bowl who didn't make the photo. Maybe next time. 

The eggplant couch and lamp and curtains are from Ikea. The green pillows are from HomeGoods. The side table is from a yard sale. 

I got this cool painting at a yard sale for $5. The sister kind of ridiculed it, but I hung it anyway and LOVE it.  But not as much as I love her, even when she hates on my painting. 

I refuse to buy a dresser since we have 3 in storage. So I finally hung this mirror and shelf so that I can do my makeup while standing rather than crouched on the floor, looking into a mirror that is leaning against the wall. Which is what I've been doing for 3 weeks and Thomas laughs at me down there. The only problem with this shelf is that our walls are pretty terrible. There is something behind them that prohibits proper hanging techniques. So the shelf isn't very sturdy. In fact, my sweet husband who I love so much was leaning his petite frame upon the shelf the other night and it crashed to the floor. And a few items broke. And the people living below us probably thought an earthquake was occurring. 

If your house looks like this, and you wish it didn't.....

call me and I'll be glad to help you out. I don't have anything else to do!

Under $10

I have a few more favorite things to share...and of course they fall under the category of {cheap} too! 

A friend of mine uses these flour sack towels in place of paper towels as a way to "go green." I grew up in a house where my father used an insane amount of paper towels for EVERYTHING. Maybe I will give him some of these as a stocking stuffer this year! I love having them on hand and just throw them in the washing machine every now and then. And they are only $5 for 5 at your local Wal-Mart! They also look nice on the kitchen counter in a basket or just stacked by themselves. 

My sister-in-law Elizabeth introduced me to this amazing hummus.  I'm sure many of you have tried this brand, but it was new to me and much better/smoother than any other kind I've had. I used to make my own hummus but couldn't pack my food processor, so this kind is a great alternative. The best part is, Costco sells a HUGE bowl of it for only $6!

And my favorite thing that is under $10 is Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliott. It is one of the most encouraging books I've ever read. Elisabeth Elliott is a STRONG woman and a great writer. She really preaches the Gospel throughout this book, and it is such an easy read. It is a compilation of her newsletters in the form of a book, so each chapter is about 2 pages.

 I've been reading a chapter each day, most days for over a year now, and I've never read one I didn't like. I've read plenty that convicted me and instructed me and encouraged me, but none of them are anything but Truth. I'm going to include a portion that really encouraged me the other day:

 The original sin, pride, is behind my "poor self-image," for I felt that I deserved better than I got, which is exactly what Eve felt! So it was pride, not poor self-image, that had to go. If I'm so beautiful and lovable, what was Jesus doing up there, nailed to the cross and crowned with thorns? Why all that hideous suffering for the pure Son of God? Here's why: There was no other way to deliver us from the hell of our own proud self-loving selves, no other way out of the bondage of self-pity and self-congratulation. How shall we take our stand beneath the cross of Jesus and continue to love the selves that put Him there? How can we survey the wondrous cross and at the same time feed our pride? No. It won't work. Jesus put it simply: If you want to be My disciple, you must leave self behind, take up the cross, and follow Me.

George MacDonald writes, "Right gladly would He free them from their misery, but He knows only one way: He will teach them to be like Himself, meek and lowly, bearing with gladness the yoke of His Father's will. This is the one, the only right, the only possible way of freeing them from their sin, the cause of their unrest."

Home sweet {small} home!

After vacuuming up about a gallon of cat hair (the previous resident apparently had a kitty), mopping the floors, nooks and crannies with Pine-Sol, and buying real curtains for the first time in my life, I took some photos of our little abode. We love it! Thomas' allergies are especially loving it now that I got rid of as much cat hair as possible.

Dining room in the entryway. I know it is sparse, but I had to leave 95% of our belongings in South Carolina, including things to hang on the wall. 

Tiny kitchen. Emphasis on tiny. If you ever came to our duplex in Clemson and saw how small that kitchen was...this one is smaller. But I still love it!

I love that our apartment is on the top of the building and faces south. We get great light all day! You may notice there is no skirt on the bed. I can't bring myself to buy another one because I have one in storage that matches our bed spread perfectly. But alas, these are the small things I must give up. I know, I know, I have a really hard life, having to give up bed skirts and such.

And here is our happy living room! I love it with all of my heart. Even if it is just a couch, a table and a chair that is being used as a table. Again, great light in this room that makes it so bright and cheery.

And the most important room in the house {in Thomas' opinion} is the tiny bathroom. Emphasis on tiny here as well. VERY tiny.

Check out my sister's blog soon for my super duper easy pumpkin muffin recipe. My good friend Margaret Cranford introduced me to these last year and I've been waiting for fall {and a kitchen} to make them. Here is a photo to entice you:

Adorable blog

My sister-in-law Elizabeth took me to the Indie Craft Parade in Greenville last Saturday. It was like a dream world for me. Every booth was like walking around Etsy. It was pretty much too good to be true and I fell in love with Paige Maitland's handmade garments and bags. As I was thumbing through her clothes, I realized one of the patterns was familiar to me because it looked exactly like a set of sheets I slept on as a child at my grandmothers. I asked Paige if some of her things were made from old sheets and they are!

I nearly fainted for joy. I am obsessed with old, worn, soft sheets. I despise new sheets that are stiff and I have the best memories of certain sets of sheets from my grandmother's house. And to find that there are CLOTHES made out of these very same fabrics...glory be!

Sadly, most of her adult clothes had all been snatched up but I did buy a little cosmetic bag. She made the sweetest dresses for little girls. Her prices are extraordinarily reasonable. Check out her blog or her Etsy store and see for yourself how great she is!

A few of my favorite {cheap} things

I love clothes. I specifically love clothes that are affordable and can be bought with a $20 bill or less. I've been an avid reader of InStyle for many years {much to my mother's horror} but I love to use it to get ideas and then go buy the cheap version of what they suggest. I decided to dedicate a post to a few of the things I'm obsessed with lately, not only because they are trendy but because they are MAJORLY wallet friendly. And believe me, wallet friendly is important to us these days as we have no idea where/when our next paycheck will come.

 Don't judge me, but I own a pair of jeggings. I know you are probably judging me because I used to judge jegging-wearers too. But I realized that as long as they aren't worn in the wretched way they are worn on Clemson's campus {with Uggs or with a t-shirt that doesn't cover up the buttocks. Or worse: Uggs AND a buttocks-baring tee}they can really be cute. I have a great pair from Old Navy that I got on sale for $15. They aren't on sale right now but if you're patient and persistent, you too can enjoy the stretchy fabric but look like you're wearing skinny jeans. But please, only enjoy while wearing a shirt that touches mid-thigh or below.

My next favorite thing is this tee from Target. The Target across the street from our temporary home in Minnesota {aka hotel room} has them for $5 this week. I have one in grey and THREE in white. Yes, you read that right. Because you can wear this tee when you workout, when you sleep, when you cook, and you can easily dress it up. It is AMAZING. If you're like me and you regularly buy men's Hanes t-shirts, these are better. Softer. And stronger. They do run a little small though so I buy a size up from what I normally wear.

Just don't wear it with your jeggings.

Next on my list is the adorable jewelry from Forever21. I went recently with my sister and bought a great assorted charms necklace. I wear it almost every day. With my tee from Target.

And last on my favorites list is thanks to Mary Gene who posted some of her favorite sunscreens and face lotions a few months ago. It made me start looking for a good night cream and I started using this one from Oil of Olay. I found it for 50% off and it smells amazing and makes your skin feel so soft. And hopefully in 10 years I will see the results of the anti-wrinkle aspect.

Oh, and I can't forget my friend Kristin's earrings at Lydia Beaded designs. And she's having a sale right now too! Check her out.