January 26, 2012

while driving home last night, i had the radio tuned to 89.9.  "dance me until the end of love," played on the radio, soft and sweet.  my heart stopped.  i had never heard it before.  actually, listening to the song... i believe i stopped breathing for a minute.  i grabbed an ink pen, waited for the song to end and scribbled the song title and cheeky duo, THE CIVIL WARS onto the palm of my hand.
when i came home... i didn't walk, i ran to my laptop and googled THIS.  clearly, it is one of the most beautiful love songs i have ever heard in my life.  please take a minute an listen.  google the lyrics, if you need to.  read them.  they are indeed, profound.  I believe it was Leonard Cohen, who originally sang this gem and who deserves a huge hat tip, as well.  Listen and watch this beauty, HERE.

January 24, 2012

just popping in tonight, to share with you.. my latest little project. last week, i was invited (feeling privileged, actually) to set up shop in the corner of a historic little village due west of us.  it's the cutest little shabby chic store!  it specializes in vintage blue jeans, upcycled vintage jewelry and vintage clothing.  if you're on facebook...... you can find the store and it's daily posts at:  the b. hive.

smile, wink, nod!

January 19, 2012


baby, it's cold out side.....
and snowy. 
 and, very pretty!
a perfect, blustery day to plug in the old crock pot and try a new recipe, before heading out to run errands.
and so.... i made, "winter squash and white bean soup."
'twas indeed, delish.  with rave reviews from the mister.
the magical ingredients?  cumin and cinnamon.
click here for the recipe.
i adjusted the recipe for us, by adding white beans and minced garlic. 

smile, wink, nod.



January 13, 2012


with christmas money received, i invested in another one-year subscription to netflix.  i think i'm probably the very last one in the united states, to have seen the movie, "water for elephants."  so, i ordered it.   'twas  delivered to my door, yesterday.  oh, happy was i, when we flopped on the couch, our bellies full from crock-pot beef stew, and settled in to watching it!
we're captivated.
'bout time they make good movies, said the mister.
and then.... it happened.
a quarter of the way through.... the dvd stopped.
just stopped.  after carefully inspecting it.  the mister, realized the dvd was slathered with scratches.

don't ya just hate that?
smile, wink, nod.

January 11, 2012


i splurged. 
and, happy i did. 
normally i hate buying sheets and towels.  no really, i really hate it. i hate buying curtain's too.  and, don't even try to talk about drapes with me... i'm liable to bang my head on the nearest wall.
so with that said, my blogger friend, i confess with a sigh and a roll of my eyes,  the mister and i were long, long, long overdue for a new set of queens. 
army green egyptian cotton sheets.
 that is what i purchased.
i'm not sure of the thread count. 
but, they were inexpensive.  i washed them, tumbled them dry with an outdoor fresh fabric softener and........ they came out of the dryer with barely a wrinkle. 
they are delightful, indeed.


smile, wink, nod.

January 09, 2012

TAKE A MINUTE AND READ THIS!


After reading it, You will never look at a deck of cards in the same way again
It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't been heard.
The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week.
As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk.
Just then an army sergeant came in and said, 'Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?'
The soldier replied, 'I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord.
The sergeant said, 'Looks to me like you're going to play cards.'
The soldier said, 'No, sir. You see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country.
I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards.
The sergeant asked in disbelief, 'How will you do that?'

'You see the Ace, Sergeant? It reminds me that there is only one God.

The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments

The Three represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.

The Four stands for the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ...


The Five is for the five virgins there were ten but only five of them were glorified.

The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and Earth.

The Seven is for the day God rested after making His Creation.

The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives -- the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the Earth....

The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him.

The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.

The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell.

The Queen stands for Mary.

The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.

When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year.

There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week - 52 weeks in a year.

The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

Each suit has thirteen cards -- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.

So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for.'
The sergeant just stood there. After a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, 'Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?'



Please let this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of our soldiers who are being sent away, putting their lives on the line fighting



Prayer for the Military.



Please keep the wheel rolling. It will only take a few seconds of your time, but it'll be worth it to read on...



Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.



Protect them.



Bless them and their families.
I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Amen
When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our servicemen and women all around the world.

Of all the gifts you could give a Soldier, prayer is the very best one.
IN GOD I TRUST

January 06, 2012


when i see dreamy cottages like this... i can't help imagining what the lady of the house is doing inside?
is she snuggled up with a good book?
baking molassas cookies?
bubble bathing in lavender soap?
or
knitting by the fireplace?

how about you? 
what do you think the lady of the house is doing?

smile, wink, nod.

January 05, 2012


last night, i planted myself on the living room floor, laptop on a make-shift desk a.k.a. an upside down laundry basket and listed a handful of vintage pieces on ebay. 
fingers crossed... they'll sell and be on their way to some spunky vintage collector.
although i admit... if the coat doesn't sell... it's my baby!  my sweet, sweet baby!
i bet your dying to know, what's up for bid?
yeah, i thought so.
click here and take a little peek!
smile, wink, nod!

January 04, 2012

just because the christmas decor is packed away for another year... doesn't mean that a girl can't have fun spicing up her deck in january.  and so i did.

i made homemade ice candles.  yes i did.
i just used a couple of rubbermaid plastic food storage containers, filled with water, tinged the water with pink food coloring and stuck a candle in the center... and froze them.
then, of course the best part,  once it was dark outside and the ice containers were frozen... i popped them loose and lit them up! 

sure did make the evening cozy!
smile, wink, nod.

January 03, 2012

want
to
giggle?
click here
and
 you'll
 be
on
your
way
 to
 my
 homemade
youtube
video.

January 02, 2012


pinch me.  tell me i'm not dreaming. 
okay so it's true, i found this small greenhouse, made from distressed metal and glass at the salvation army.
are you sitting down?
because, i paid $6.99 for it.
it just needs cleaned up a little and then i'll plant different lettuces and basil inside.  i am thrilled to be gardening in the wintertime.  outside of growing windowsill sprouts, i'm limited to what grows fresh around here.  this should satisfy my green thumb...


one of my favorite vintage gifts i received for christmas... was this wild-looking vase.  i'm picturing lilacs and bleeding hearts cascading out of it.  or white-wild roses with sprigs of rosemary befriending each other. 
for now however, i'm just enjoying moving it from room to room and seeing where it looks the best.
truth is, it looks good everywhere.

smile, wink, nod.









January 01, 2012


january first and look what my man dug up.
that's right... half a bushel basket of sweetish-luscious, sunny carrots from our garden!  and wait... there's more.  lot's more.  in fact, there's another half bushel basket ready to be plucked up and processed.  seriously friends... this is a major-big-deal.  january in michigan provides very, very little fresh anything. nor cheerful colors of any kind.  wink.
tomorrow, will find me befriending my food processor and stashing bags of carrots in the freezer.

i'm thinking this is a really good sign, that 2012 is going to serve us well.

smile, wink, nod!
p.s.  happy new year jamie!  i appreciate your faithfulness!