Weekend Project {Spruce Up a Frame}

A lovely little weekend project idea from Heart Handmade UK... Well... Perhaps better suited to a weekend once we are settled in the new house... This weekend we will spend packing... Less than a month left until the big moving day... Eek!

Our Easter Weekend...

We had a wonderful Easter weekend... Early Saturday morning, we had our first annual Easter Egg Hunt... The girls were so thrilled... Bren walked around the house saying "This is so much fun!" and Leah really got the hang of it... It was perfect... And later that day, we got another taste of spring and enjoyed a few hours playing outside... It was wonderful!

Honeymoon...

This commercial makes me happy... Enjoy!

It Gets Better with Age...

I've been thinking a lot about growing old... Last week, I read and then re-read this story of the passing of Alli Roger's grandfather... I couldn't get this line out of my mind: "my grandmother put her hand on his face and we witnessed 61 years of marriage.... coming to an end." It's sad, but wonderful... What a blessing... 61 years... And to still be in love... While I was pondering that, I came across this lovely 55th wedding anniversary shoot on 'Style Me Pretty'... The photographs (which took my breath away) were taken by Jesse Holland Photography... What an inspiration... It gets better with age!

What a Week...

It's 10:49 pm... And the fact that I didn't post today just occured to me... I'm normally so on top of these things... It was a lovely day, spent with my dearest friend and our four busy kids... But that's not why I forgot... Let me share with you all a few of the things that have been going on that seem to have hijacked my mind:

#1. I'm pregnant... Again... Happily with baby #3, due in early November... It's been a long two months since finding out the happy (overwhelming) news... I've been feeling as horrible as I've ever felt... And taking care of two busy little girls has really kept me on my toes... I am so thankful for a loving and helpful husband who has happily put up with my lack of cooking and folded many loads of laundry for me... That's the biggest news...

#2. Last weekend I was featured on Heartsy... The deal was a great success but left me reeling with nearly 80 orders... Each of those orders had between 2-4 pieces... Roughly speaking, in the last week, I have made, packaged and shipped nearly 200 pieces of jewelry... I've never even come close to accomplishing such a huge jewelry task... And I'm worn right out...

#3. We're still preparing to move... A few weekends ago we bought a new fridge, washer, dryer (yeah steam dryer!) and mattress as well as a new bed for our room and a kitchen table (which we've never had... Looking forward to an eat-in kitchen)... We've been packing and packing and packing and our house now looks like some sort of warehouse... And this past weekend, we packed up the girls and trekked out to buy our hardwood floors, which we accomplished and then proceeded to bring the 21 boxes of flooring home, filling up our dining room! We have one month left until moving day!

This all sounds like I'm complaining... I'm sorry if it came across that way... I am so thankful to be pregnant again... After nearly three years of 'trying' to get pregnant, we were blessed with our lovely Brennah and then a bit of a surprise with Leah and now another little surprise! And of course, I'll be even more thankful when I start feeling a bit better... Lord willing, that will be very soon... I'm thankful to be busy with work... As tiring as it can be at times... I'm constantly amazed at how the Lord has provided, for nearly three years, a somewhat steady income from my basement... It's been pretty amazing to watch it all play out... And am I ever thankful to be moving... I'd love to blink and be settled, but I've enjoyed ever bit of the planning out our new home! It's all really very exciting...

All this to say that life right now is very full... But very wonderful!

'Always be True' by Skippy Designs

It's a Very Good Friday...

As a child, I always wondered why this day is called 'Good' Friday... How could the day that we remembered the death of Jesus ever be called 'Good'... It seemed so awful to me... As I've grown, and grown in Grace, it's made more and more sense... It is a 'Good' Friday... It's Good because Jesus accomplished it all when He suffered and died on that cross... He lived a perfect life... And then He took all the sin of all humanity, before the cross and after, upon Himself... He paid it all... And that is very Good... And of course, three days later, God gave His seal of approval that Christ's sacrifice was indeed Good when He raised His Son from the grave... This is 'Good' Friday and this is Easter... And this is why I am so thankful to love and serve a Lord that paid it all...

When I think of 'Good' Friday, this song, "Praise the Lamb" by the lovely Alli Rogers comes to mind... I hope you'll listen and enjoy!

Praise the Lamb by Alli Rogers

 'Sunshine Acacia Tree' by Sixth & Main

That One Day in Spring...

According to my calculations, we've had one nice spring day thus far... We took full advantage of it... The girls ran around the backyard while I tried to snap some shots... It's always a tricky business, getting them to pose for the camera... Sometimes it requires a bit of bribery!

Your Love is Better Than Life...

via 'tank and tink'

Paris

Two years ago today, Jay and I were in romantic, wonderful, perfect: Paris, France... Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Monday Design Inspiration: Laundry Room

I don't know if this will ever happen... But I often dream of a beautiful laundry room... I feel like I spend so much time in the laundry room... Aren't these laundry rooms so lovely? Inspiring?

1. via 'My Home Ideas'

2. via 'The Nocturnal Nest'

3. via 'Apartment Therapy'

4. via 'The Old White Cottage'

5. via 'Pearl Street Interiors'

Weekend Project {The Doll Suitcase}

Congratulations to Amber, the winner of Day Five of the Fantastic Week of Spring Giveaways with comment #181! Amber will get an apron from Meagan of 'Trendy Meg', The "Light as a Feather" Print from Shelley of 'Lovely Sweet William' and a Set of Japanese Masking Tape Stickers from Maylee of 'Sugar B Supplies! Well done Amber! Thanks to all who participated and especially to Meagan, Shelley and Maylee for providing the prizes!

I could never hope to do this... But I love this Doll Suitcase from 'Hart + Sew'... Isn't it something?

My Loves...

Congratulations to Nicola, the winner of Day Four of the Fantastic Week of Spring Giveaways with comment #35! Nicola will get a Set of Four 5x5 Photographs from Alice of 'Alice W Photography' and a Custom Monogrammed Tea Towel from Kimberly of 'Chez Sucre Chez'! Well done Nicola! Thanks to all who participated and especially to Alice and Kimberly for providing the prizes!

It's been a while since I've posted any pictures... And to be honest, the end of winter always = a bit of a dry spell when it comes to taking photos... As the weather has finally warmed up a bit, I've been feeling the urge to photograph returning... I can't wait to finally get outside... That's when the real fun begins!

"You Will Find Me"

Congratulations to Kaytee, the winner of Day Three of the Fantastic Week of Spring Giveaways with comment #104! Kaytee will get an 8oz bottle of lotion (winner's choice) from Valerie of 'Piper Tate' and $15 in store credit from Soury of 'Kawaii Goodies'! Well done Kaytee! Thanks to all who participated and especially to Valerie and Soury for providing the prizes! And please, head down the page to enter the two giveaways that are still open... A lovely giveaway closes tomorrow morning!

The other night, amidst an evening of anxiety and turmoil, I had my iTunes on shuffle... And at just the right time, this song came on... "When your soul's weary, when you find doubt, when you can't hear, lay your troubles down... In your dark moments, when your heart's weak, bring yourself low, you will find me"... It was such a perfect reminder... My Lord is faithful... He is true... HE wrote the rain, HE wrote the sun in...

"You Will Find Me"

Andrew Ripp

A Dose of Adorable...

Congratulations to Erin, the winner of Day Two of the Fantastic Week of Spring Giveaways with comment #76! Erin will get a lovely a Sunglass Case in Brilliant Lace on Pink from Aiko of 'The Zakka' and a Set of 10 Merci Cards from Darci of 'Spilling Beans'! Well done Erin! Thanks to all who participated and especially to Aiko and Darci for providing the prizes! And please, head down the page to enter the giveaways that are still open!

1. via 'Bohemia'

2. via 'Free Pretty Things'

3. via 'Martha Stewart'

4. via 'Royal Mint'

5. via 'Hart + Sew'

Monday Design Inspiration: Dining Room Lighting

Congratulations to Kelly, the winner of Day One of the Fantastic Week of Spring Giveaways with comment #17! Kelly will get a lovely Custom Vintage Fabric Messenger Bag (made JUST for her) from Jane of the 'Little Tea Wagon' and a Message in a Bottle Kit from Margaret of 'Paper Pastries'! Well done Kelly! Thanks to all who participated and especially to Jane and Margaret for providing these perfect prizes! And please, head down the page to enter the giveaways that are still open!

Looking for some dining room lighting inspiration...

1. via 'Dustjacket Attic'

2. via 'Alkemie'

3. via 'Funky Junk'

4. via 'This is Glamorous'

5. via 'Archive Vintage Rentals'

6. via 'Dusty Lu'

7. via 'Veranda Interiors'

A Week of Spring Giveaways: Day Five

It's day final of the fantastic week of Spring Giveaways (sigh)! If you haven't had a chance yet, please check out this week's early posts to enter the other giveaways! Up for grabs today:

* An apron from Meagan of 'Trendy Meg' (Value: $30 + shipping)

* The "Light as a Feather" Print from Shelley of 'Lovely Sweet William' (Value: $20 + shipping)

* Set of Japanese Masking Tape Stickers from Maylee of 'Sugar B Supplies' (Value: $6 + shipping)

This giveaway runs until 8 am on Friday, April 15th! I will choose ONE winner next Friday using a random number generator! I will then contact the winner via email sometime on April 15th so don't forget to leave your email address so I can get in touch with you!

You can begin by visiting the 'Trendy Meg' and choosing your favourite item! Don't forget to come back here and comment with your email address! And be sure to check out Meg's BLOG!

Now head over to visit 'Lovely Sweet William' and choose your favourite item! Don't forget to come back here and comment with your email address!

Finally, pop in to visit 'Sugar B Supplies' and choose your favourite item! Don't forget to come back here and comment with your email address!

Have a wonderful weekend and best wishes to you all! And of course, the more the merrier so please help me spread the word!

A Week of Spring Giveaways: Day Four

It's day four of the fantastic week of Spring Giveaways! If you haven't had a chance yet, check out this week's early posts to enter the other giveaways! Up for grabs today:

* A Set of Four 5x5 Photographs from Alice of 'Alice W Photography' (Value: $25 + shipping)

* A Custom Monogrammed Tea Towel from Kimberly of 'Chez Sucre Chez' (Value: $18 + shipping)

This giveaway runs until 8 am on Thursday, April 14th! I will choose ONE winner next Thursday using a random number generator! I will then contact the winner via email sometime on April 14th so don't forget to leave your email address so I can get in touch with you!

You can begin by visiting the 'Alice W Photography' and choosing your favourite item! Don't forget to come back here and comment with your email address!

Now head over to visit 'Chez Sucre Chez' and choose your favourite item! Don't forget to come back here and comment with your email address!

Have a peaceful Thursday and best wishes to you all! And of course, the more the merrier so please help me spread the word and tune in tomorrow for another fantastic giveaway!

A Week of Spring Giveaways: Day Three

It's day three of the fantastic week of Spring Giveaways! If you haven't had a chance yet, check out this week's early posts to enter the other giveaways! Up for grabs today:

* An 8oz bottle of lotion (winner's choice) from Valerie of 'Piper Tate' (Value: $25 + shipping)

* $15 in store credit from Soury of 'Kawaii Goodies'

This giveaway runs until 8 am on Wednesday, April 13th! I will choose ONE winner next Wednesday using a random number generator! I will then contact the winner via email sometime on April 13th so don't forget to leave your email address so I can get in touch with you!

You can begin by visiting the 'Piper Tate' and choosing your favourite item! Don't forget to come back here and comment with your email address!

Now head over to visit 'Kawaii Goodies' and choose your favourite item! Don't forget to come back here and comment with your email address!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and best wishes to you all! And of course, the more the merrier so please help me spread the word and tune in tomorrow for another fantastic giveaway!