Archive for March, 2011
Bloggers Day of Silence
I’m participating. Are you?
This Friday your Reader will be less crowded and your inbox a little empty. The blogosphere is going silent in rememberance and observance of the recent devastation in Japan. Join me and other bloggers this Friday by lifting up prayers and offering support to Japan.
To donate and get involved visit For Japan With Love! For more details check out Ever-Ours or Utterly Engaged.
The guidelines are simple…
- This coming Friday, March 18th, no posts at all on your blog.
- Please post a blog post about what you will be doing this Friday whenever possible in hopes to spread the word and whoever else would like to join in.
- Tweet and Re-Tweet the link to http://www.forjapanwithlove.com/.
- Encourage your readers to contribute and donate shelter to Japan.
Every little bit helps.
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Everything has a story
There are some days I am quite thankful I’m not a millionare. I like the thrill of a good deal. I like plundering antique stores and flea markets. If I were a millionaire, I’m sure I would just hire some hot shot designer to furnish my house and probably wouldn’t be that involved other than scribbling out a check as I spun out of the driveway in my Maserati on my way to my overpriced therapist. If I were a millionaire, I wouldn’t have or appreciate the lovely stories behind many of the pieces in my home.
It’s the stories and the memories that make what might seem like junk, pure gold. For instance, take this lovely turquoise cabinet…
I found this little beauty while junkin’ with my bestie, Shea. It was sitting in the corner of the shop, covered in beautiful milk glass vases. The sweet shop owner moved all of that glassware so I could get a better look. The back is made of a tin roof off an old chicken coop. It was the first colored piece of furniture in my home. It was my first step in making my house “mine.” That day I stopped being consumed with what future buyers would think of my house and started making it what I wanted it to be. (My house is not even for sale! Why would I try to plan that far ahead?)
Everytime I pass by it I think of Shea and the fun we had that day. I can still remember how excited she was about the piece.
Then there are the books…
You know I love books like a fat kid loves cake. I found these books that same day. These were some of the first vintage books I ever purchased. I fell in love with their colorful spines and interesting titles. I have used them as photo props countless times. I also scored these adorable bottles that day…
I guess it’s safe to say that day was filled with lots of fun finds. These bottles are super sweet, but the numbers are what sold me. I use these for all kinds of random things around the house: vases, vintage tree topper holders, and photo props. Each and every time I use them I think of Shea’s sweet little girl, Jae. Jae tagged along with us that day and was the best behaved little thing, a real trooper. When she is older I hope she still tags along on our junkin’ trips. (Although I am sure she will reach that “I’m too cool for that” phase eventually.)
Then I have a little section with my Reader’s Digest starter collection…
You see, my grandmother has tons, and I mean tons, of these books she has collected over the years. They look so beautiful displayed on bookcases; looking at their vibrantly colored spines always makes me happy.
Of course, you can’t admire my turquoise shelf and all of its lovelies without noticing the wall of photos…
These frames used to hold black and white family photos from my parents all the way back to my great-great-great grandparents. When we had our Atlanta wedding reception, I used a lot of the frames to display photos from our actual wedding. After ther reception I put the frames back on the wall, but never changed out the photos. So if you are ever at my house, you’ll notice what we jokingly call “the wedding wall”. It might appear that we are a little obsessed with ourselves, it’s just that we enjoy looking at the pictures and if we tuck them in an album we are sure to not look at them very often. So I’ll enjoy my “wedding wall” for just a little while longer.
And who can resist billy buttons? I fell in love with these flowers when planning my wedding. I used them in my bouquet as well Mr. Blue Eyed Yonder’s handmade boutonniere. Everytime I see them I think of our wedding and the bright burst of sunshine they brought to our special day.
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| Photos by {Blue Eyed Yonder} |
So, as you can see, everything has a story. It’s little stories like these that make a house a home.
What’s your story? Do you have something special in your home that evokes a warm, fuzzy memory each time you pass by it?
He Brings Me Flowers
When a gal gets flowers there’s usually the oohs and ahhs, the I love you honeys, and the oh you didn’t have to phrases, but when I got this vase of tulips all I wanted to do was throw myself in the floor and kick around a bit.
Confused? Rightly so, let me explain…
I ran out Saturday to do some errands and when I got home I saw Mr. Blue Eyed Yonder working in the yard. He was cutting back the lirope (monkey grass). You see, Mr. Blue Eyed Yonder is as meticulous as they come, and this may sound like a good thing (and most of the time it is), but it usually means it takes him much longer to complete simple tasks. For example, he would much rather sweep our entire driveway with a broom. Sweeping back and forth in neat little rows until he has reached the end.
So when I saw him trimming the monkey grass with hand shears and raking the remnants into little piles, I hit the roof. I jumped out of the car and immediately demanded to know why he wasn’t using the weed wacker.
“Why do we even have a weed wacker if you won’t use it? Don’t you think there are other things we need to be doing besides raking little squirrel piles all around the driveway? Why do we have to drag out the simplest of projects and take away from the bigger things we’re trying to accomplish?”
…”the primer bulb is broken.”
“What?”
…”the primer bulb. I have to get a replacement.”
“Oh.”
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| Photos by {Blue Eyed Yonder} |
That’s when I walked inside and saw the most beautiful and delicate bouquet of tulips. I get choked up even thinking about it. Talk about double dose of humble pie! I felt so small. What a complete and total jerk I had been. Jumping out of the car on my high horse, fussing about a darn weed wacker of all things! How could I ever show my face again? Isn’t there a hole under the house where I could at least hide for, I don’t know, 10 or 12 years?
I just stood there and thought, what on earth did I ever do to deserve him? I was so completely embarrassed by the way I had acted. Then it occurred to me… why did a vase of flowers make me feel embarrassed? I should feel embarrassed regardless of flowers. You see, God works in mysterious ways, and today, he worked through a vase of flowers: bulbs harvested for a lesson of the heart.
So I have a new rule:
Remember to treat your husband with love and delicacy, as if there were always a vase of flowers waiting for you.
Promise of Spring
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~ Charles Dickens
As I watch everything starting to bloom, I have had my eye on my lovely swamp jessamine vine. Each year it grows fuller and brighter. There are hundreds of tiny buds, just waiting to burst with the happiness of Spring. I watch it each day, as I leave home in the morning, and when I return home in the evening. Which bud will pop open first? It’s almost like a race, each bud vying for the chance to be first to catch the sun’s light.
Mr. Blue Eyed Yonder watches them too. Each day he will say, “I think we are gonna have a winner by tomorrow.” We both have our eye on the contenders, but I am pretty sure this one is gonna win the race…
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| Photos by {Blue Eyed Yonder} |
I hear this weekend is going to be beautiful. Make sure to spend some time outdoors: enjoy the flowers, have a picnic, stare at the clouds.
