this precious life.

Abortion is something that has more than touched my heart since I was quite young. {Some may say that my passion sprang from my parents beliefs or from growing up in a large family but that's not how it is. You can be around truth your whole life and never take it for truth. You can even participate in things and never actually believe it for yourself.} Even just in my life time, the daily and yearly rates of abortions have soared. Just this week, Abort73 came out with a new video opening our eyes once again to the latest statistics. Do we care? If we think we do, do we care enough to do something about it? Though the issue of pro-abortion is mainly about saving young babies lives, it's also about saving our population which is slowly killing itself. I will freely admit that in the last several months, as I've gotten caught up in the business of life, I've grown apathetic in what I could do to help end abortion. So if you feel the same way, you're not alone. ...

I am extremely blessed to have many creative and inspiring friends { I kinda use those words a bunch don't I? I need to take a jump over to thesaurus.com and find some new ones;) } One such friend can be found here and she's just a lovely kindred spirit. {We're even in the works of learning Italian together (which we've both wanted to do for years) and maybe.just maybe. we'll travel to Italy someday} Her passion for her Savior spills over with love for everyone she meets and her servants heart is such an example. For over two years I have prayed, asking God to send someone like her my way *who lived close by* and he couldn't have answered my prayers in a better way! She is such a blessing! Anyway!! I digress! This sweet girl has begun designing jewelry and I think YOU should give it a look! Her pieces have an indie style like Ruche carries but are uniquely handmade. Songbird See more on her blog !   

Today I commence the reading of Moby Dick which is 726 pages of old english and whaling. Oh and lots of detail. If there's one thing I've learned from American Lit, it's that classic authors adored writing about detail and using several different ways to describe one thing. On one hand, it's sometimes lovely to have various things so described and played out before you. On the other hand, when a book is so full of detail on every blessed subject it covers, well...it might just get tedious. {It does makes it easier for a book to turn movie though}.  I have four weeks to read Moby Dick... but I think I shall find it more interesting than The House of Seven Gables {by Nathaniel Hawthorne} which I just finished. Oh and if you see me in the next four weeks, chances are, you might just see me with my nose stuck in the midst of Moby Dick's pages. And what a book to carry around! I suppose there had to be a big book written about a big whale {however fictitious}. A smal...

Ellyn and I had two quick photoshoots with one another on a snowy January day.      {Go here to see the rest!}

Today held one of those marvelous mornings that just make you want to shout and sing "Oh Happiness" by the David Crowder Band. Kicked off by an intense but great early morning workout at the GP and quiet time with my Jesus. ("...I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord... Philippians 3:8a)  Then some gorgeous sunshine on the way home ("Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say Rejoice!" Phil. 4:4)  And finally dancing to Owl City with the chillens over breakfast before jumping in a hot shower. I am blessed beyond measure!!  I hope your morning was just as s'wonderful:) "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string."                     ~Anne ...

Pretty certain these are the most amazing thing I've seen all year* {and I can say that cause we're only 13 days into this year;)}. But seriously. Way to bring back the vintage right in step with modern technology. Kudos to USBTypewriter .  Just hook me up with an iPad first!! In case you were wondering, I originally discovered these on Fossil's blog . {*okay so maybe not quite. the tea wallet I received as a belated -belated are better anyway- Christmas gift is a close second}

This was a really fun (albeit slightly tricky) project that I did for my Daddy's Christmas gift. You'll definitely want a sewing machine...it makes the stiff stitching so much easier!  I'll go ahead and copy the how-to from ReadyMade where I originally found it rather than writing up another tutorial. Have fun! Materials 1 necktie 1 slide buckle Thread 2×4-inch clear vinyl rectangle Tools Ruler or tape measure Scissors Needle or sewing machine   Lay tie flat. Starting at the narrow end, measure 16 inches down the length of the tie and cut with scissors. The wide end will be the body of the luggage tag, and the narrow end of the tie will serve as the luggage attachment. Pass the cut end of the narrow tie piece through the slide buckle. Make a 2-inch loop, and stitch the loop securely. On the wide tie piece, measure 8 inches from the tip and cut the end off with scissors. Discard non-pointed end. Center a vinyl rectangle right side up...

You can make magnets out of just about anything of course, but I specifically chose scrabble tiles for this project. {which I found on Etsy) There's not much instruction needed though. Just estimate how much magnet strip you'll need (according to how many magnets you're making) & then cut into smaller pieces to fit on the back of each tile. Use either super glue or hot glue (**even if the magnet strip comes with adhesive**) to attach magnet piece to tile back. Press firmly together & then {preferably}lay something heavy on the tiles overnight to help a strong glue bond form. The last step: Personalize a small box or tin (in any way you wish) to hold the magnets. ( tip: If painting a tin, use wrought iron spray paint.) Happy Creating!

I want to introduce y'all to the blog of an uber-creative southern Mama { who is also the big sis of one of my kindred spirits;) }   If you're a Mum, Dad, grandparent, big sis like me or someone who works with chillens a lot, you will *love* Hannah's blog Overflowing Raine . It's full of fun ideas {set around themes such as snow days and wreaths } that are simple but lots of fun to do with sweet little ones.  So head over and give her blog some lovin' :)

This is an entry of words. Out of the ordinary but rather marvelous words. Like shenanigans , twaddle & highfalutin . They make my vocabulary happy:) Haberdashery: a men's shop or the goods kept there Munchkin: a small person; an undersized person or a child Swanky: elegant; stylish; chic Highfalutin: pompous; haughty Shenanigans: mischief; prankishness Balderdash: senseless and illogical talk Tomfoolery: foolish or silly behavior; horseplay Swell: first rate; fine Marvelous: to cause wonder; admiration Twaddle: feeble, silly or tedious talk or writing Bombastic: high-sounding, inflated, pretentious  Blustery: stormy; windy Cantankerous: pugnacious; belligerent   Did you know that pulchritudinous means beautiful? I'd never even heard of the word until I stumbled upon it... much less ever imagine what it means! {Origin: 1910-15, Americanism; } {Definitions pulled from the dictionary }

I've already previously blogged about the basics of decoupage here but I wanted to add a few more ideas that I tried out this last Christmas. {I've found that Acrylic spray (sometimes called PolyAcrylic) is incredibly handy as a top coat over decoupage for protection against wear & tear} more notebooks {my favorites yet!} covered in: newspaper and owl wrapping paper Inspiration board {I made this for a friend who designs clothes. It's a place to keep all the inspirations clippings/fabric swatches/sketches together}. I decoupaged with simple magazine clippings and then sprayed with Acrylic spray to protect the surface. This was done on a whim;) But its simply music printed scrapbook paper torn and layered with a top coat of Acrylic spray.   This coaster idea is from Wedding Window and incredibly inexpensive but very fun and personal! Follow her how-to here a quirky little box covered in owls cut from wrapping paper I got in Maine:)

I used fabric scraps we already had. For years we've just thrown rice into an old, unmatched sock, tied the end and used that as a heat pack, but I thought that my brother {who works in construction all day} would appreciate one he could call his own. Although I came up with my own pattern for the heat pack I made, {one of my worst faults: not liking to follow project directions} it would be too complicated to write a tutorial out so I'll just share the excellent tutorial from Sew,Mama,Sew! {I got the idea from her in the first place.} Note: I used fresh lavender mixed with rice and it works just as well as essential oil.         Also, Mama mentioned that it'd be better to go with white rice because brown is more likely to smell rancid over time. Rice Heat Therapy Bag Tutorial Rice Heat Therapy Bag with Washable Cover Materials you will need: fabric scraps 1/4 yard linen or other fabric (I used this linen blend .) 1/4 yard musli...