things inspiring me (head, ears, heart, stomach)

So this book makes my heart beat fast and makes me smile. Quirky & fun. I stumbled on this book using up a Lemuria gift card that I gave my dad, which he in turn gave back to me a few months later (forgetting I was the one who gave it to him). I could write a book about this dude-seriously. He is very normal and odd. Sidetracked-anyway, this author (Beci Orpin) is australian and illustration style is fabuloso. She has a blog.

 
So in a different way, this book has gotten my head & heart in a tizzy. It cuts through the junk, gets to the meat of our walk with God. You can be going through the motions of the Christian walk, but if you aren't having those convos with God getting to the heart of it-the motions are just that, motions. He makes the point that we are called human beings, not human doings. Got want us to "just be" with Him. I put such value on what I can "get done" in a day, what I produce-it is hard to understand this, that God is so okay with just us being in His presence and ignoring that to-do list for a bit. Being more of a Mary than a Martha. Will I be learning/relearning this my whole life? And in the same thread, here is Matt Maher's-I Need You. There are days when I call on Him each hour-I'm thankful I can whisper HIs name & He is there.

So you've probably heard of Noonday by now. Beautiful items & a beautiful company. I avoid home shows like the plague, but I did go to this one. I loved hearing about the women who made this jewelry, purses, etc. And I was going crazy over all of the jewelry-great prices too. This company inspires me, maybe not to sell the jewelry myself, but I will buy it from YOU.

Holy cow, these are good. If you need a splurge-I love these things. I like them better than the regular oreos. I think I'm going to get one right now.

 

This is a Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) turkey meatloaf recipe. Yum. I love meatloaf. Am I weird? I did add some brown sugar to the ketchup sauce, just how my mom did it growing up. And I substituted somewhat vital items (onion flakes instead of actual onion) and it still came out yummy. Above is not my pic, I can't get it together to take pics of what I cook. How am I supposed to know it is good until it turns out, then it is too late for the pictures. Anyway. I did the meatloaf, mashed potatoes & fried okra (the frozen, pre-breaded kind from WM). I felt like a proper wife that night. I typically don't cook like this. Kinda misleading for me to post about cooking stuff, but doing it anyway. Don't put me in some type of blogger's misrepresentin' jail.

Again, at the risk of pretending I know something I really don't...make-up (which gets applied in the car, at RED lights)...very excited about now getting my "i need to feel pretty" fix at Wal-Mark for under $5 with the e.l.f. line they are now carrying there! Above are some best-sellers. Woop-woop. I have no business going into Sephora and spending $20 on lipstick, when I can get a perfectly fine tube at the walmark for $2. I'm not a professional model, I don't need the fancy stuff. I am not booked for a photoshoot today. Never been able to justify make-up money. I have other vices-this is not it. Please don't remind me of this post, if you catch me in Sephora buying $30 NARS blush. But maybe in a loving/kind way, you can say, crazy lady, put that blush down and get your booty back to wal-mark.

CLOSING REMARKS: PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!!! THE LAST 2 COMMENTS I GOT BEEN WEIRD SPAMMER COMMENTS & THEY CREEP ME OUT. I NEED SOME NORMAL REGULAR BLOG COMMENTS TO RID ME OF THE HEEBBIE JEEBBIES. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M TYPING THIS, BECAUSE I NEVER LEAVE COMMENTS ON OTHER PEOPLE'S BLOGS....

bright spots

So my walls aren't high enough to contain all the stuff I want to stick up there. Some happy walls in my house....

 This is a combo of Allison Muirhead photos & their handprints on wood. This spot makes me happy. Although I think I should squish them in closer together now that I'm seeing them here. Whatever, prob will stay as is.

 Love this simple cross stitch.

 The top angel came from a sweet friend of mine-Mandy & the bottom Mason jar is a wood print from my friend Nicole.

 My halloween stuff borders on tacky, but I don't care-the kids like it. I'm not showing you the whole porch. Truly I could not tell Henry no. He kept bringing me stuff from the Halloween bin to put up. He was so into it.

 A view in my little office area.

Another nook in the office.

 This collection of photos makes me smile & I stop alot to look at them. Especially when I'm having a crazy mama moment. Henry's little toes, our honeymoon, trip to Chicago with friends, Ruthie at her bday, Nantucket trip, my sis Polly, Henry's first football game, Tim kissing a snowman, etc. The good stuff.

 My blue wooden Christmas tree that became hijacked to be a jewelry tree.

 A wall in our living room.

 Another wall in living room. I need more wall space.

 And this ray of sunny sun! Ruthie girl finding the last of our zinnias and wanting to put them in vases. How do little girls just automatically want to do this stuff. Ruthie keeps it fun for me. (Henry keeps it sweet & Max keeps it loud).