A Little Reformation Day Reading

As soon as Little Man goes down for another nap, I'm looking forward to curling up with a cup of Stash organic chai and Through Luther to Liberty: A Story of the Reformation Period by W. Schmidt and L.H. Schuh. It's a lovely little book from 1915 that's had me intrigued since I found it at a library book sale a few years ago. Now to see if it's as good on the inside as it is on the outside...

Happy Reformation Day!

Testament

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament sheweth his handiwork."
~ Psalm 19:1a ~

Here's What You Get

In case you were wondering, this is what you get when you combine a much-loved baby, a camera-crazy mama, and an adorable bunting made by a very talented auntie.

Bridal Celebrations

A dear friend from church is getting married in a few short days, and the ladies in our church went all-out to prepare a beautiful bridal shower for her.



My friend Sarah made these little flags for the gourmet cheeses (I told you they went all-out!), which I just love:



I found this tutorial for paper flowers -- I actually didn't realize there were written instructions at the bottom of the tutorial, and figured it out entirely from the pictures! To me that indicates that the pictorial instructions were quite good!



I'm totally addicted to these now, and can see myself making many more of them! The origami folds are quite soothing for some reason, and after a few petals you don't even have to think about what your fingers are doing. They look great "blooming" on dried twigs and displayed in a recycled jar or bottle. The bride actually liked these so much that she plans to use these instead of the paper flowers she had purchased.



A lady in our church makes the most amazing cupcakes. Want proof? Here you go:

{They taste even better than they look!}

I brought Yvonne along for the occasion, draped in ribbon and antique lace and belted with a burlap-and-silk bloom.



The wedding will have a natural/metallic theme, so Yvonne also sported a little "Welcome" tag and a copper key.



Three of the paper flower "vases" were World Market natural soda bottles (I knew I saved those for a reason!), banded with ribbon and vintage 30's buckles.



I'm so thrilled for my sweet friend -- she is such a gracious and radiant bride-to-be, and I know she will be a godly and loving wife!

A Spot for Jots

We've been sorely in need of a place to jot down notes, tasks, and other helpful reminders. Meanwhile, a chalkboard that I bought ages ago (has it been ten years already?) has been languishing in our garage, totally unsuited to the style of our house. As charming as it was, we just don't have a single "beachy" room -- and this particular chalkboard was decidedly beachy.

I didn't want to get rid of such a useful (and needed) item, so I finally decided to re-style it into something more suitable with a photograph and some scrapbook paper:

Here's the before -- sweet, but not right for us:

It's currently embellished with one of my favorite reminders; though deserving nothing through my fallen nature, God has richly blessed me with everything I need for life and godliness -- everything and more!