Some Scripture on Children

1. "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." -Psalm 127: 3-5

2. "And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also." -Genesis 38: 8-10

3. "Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel." -Psalm 128

4. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." -Genesis 1:28

5. "But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck." -Luke 23: 28-29

6. "Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth." -Malachi 2: 14-15

7. "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven." -Matthew 18: 10

8. "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." -1 Timothy 5: 14

9. "Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety." -1 Timothy 2: 15

10. "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." -Genesis 9:1, and again 9:7

11. "And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them." -Genesis 24: 60

12. "Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished." -Jeremiah 29: 6

Some Christmas Crochet

I made this hat for Colin's mom- in white, with the yarn I used from last year to make her a scarf for the woven in border. All done and mailed off today!!

Here I am modeling it... since it looks quite funny when you just set it down for a picture.

This is the pattern I used- and I HIGHLY recommend it! I just loved crochet-ing it up.

Filled to the BRIM with girlish glee...

Yes, I am. A time of day when I'm normally the happiest (when sweet hubby comes home from work) was made doubly exciting today. I received my order from the Ribbon Jar. I think their website is just lovely, and the ribbons came packaged up so cutely. With wonderful names like Heliotrope and Mermaid, I should have known they'd be beautiful... the colors are just shimmery and wonderful. I know- you're thinking to yourself right now- who gets this excited about ribbons? Well, I do. I've been wearing them in my hair since... I had hair. And double sided satin has become extremely hard to come by. When I saw the Ribbon Jar website, I knew I must order some. 1 yard of each of 15 mm ribbon is a perfect length for bows and headbands. I got every color. If my hair could smile... I'm pretty sure it'd be grinning from ear to ear right now.

An All Picture Post

This is what I can only describe as a truly ridiculous caramel apple from the Riverwalk. Yum.


Me and my sweet friend Rita on the Riverwalk.

Hiking last Saturday on Enchanted Rock... if you can't tell, there were hurricane force winds on top of the mountain! That bandanna was originally holding my hair in place, until poor hubby's ears got too cold... and we got creative.

A sweet Christmas craft from Rita!

What I've been up to lately...

And today I was blessed to have the sweet Lavin girls over for lunch. Here is our best work with the camera timer!

The Nutcracker

My momma and I enjoyed a very fun "girls night out" where we went to dinner on the Riverwalk- yum! And then headed over to the Nutcracker. Definitely a night that my daddy and my husband didn't mind missing out on. The Riverwalk is SO beautiful this time of year- so many lights! If you are ever in San Antonio for Christmas, it's a must see. The Nutcracker was truly enjoyable. We even happened to run into some sweet friends there- an unexpected blessing!
Here is a shot of the Riverwalk as the sun was going down and the lights were coming on!

Happy 6 Months!

This may seem like a small occasion to most. But to a girl who looks forward to even the tiniest holidays (read: Happy 1 week anniversary! Happy 1 month anniversary!) this seems like a real accomplishment. I thought I'd do a little post on my top ten things about being married. Tee hee.

1. Being woken up by a person every morning, not an alarm clock. This is fantastic for me, but not always that great for sweet hubby, who learned quickly that I'm just not a morning person. In fact... I'm not really a person at all until I have a warm cup of coffee in my hand.
2. Brushing my teeth with someone. As you can tell... its the little things. And we have two sinks. Neat.
3. Laughing with my hubby. He's just so funny.
4. Being able to gaze into his beautiful blue eyes. Ah, so charming he is.
5. Reading the Bible together at night before we go to bed. It's my favorite part of the day.
6. The fact that he puts up with my more than slightly 'granola' and crafty self. I try not to go too crazy with that stuff... but well, you know.
7. Really getting to know him. You really just can't truly know a person until you live with them. No matter how much you talk on the phone before!
8. Realizing what an amazing man he is. Strong, courageous, forgiving, protective, smart, and so good at loving his very imperfect wife.
9. Watching him grow spiritually.
10. Knowing that you married a man that someday, Lord willing, will be an wonderful father. They just don't make men like my hubby anymore :)

Because it was just too funny not to post.

Oh Christmas Tree....

"the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
on them a light has dawned."
Matthew 4:16

Colin's grandparents VERY kindly gave us their Christmas tree!! It has lit up (tee hee) our apartment with Christmas cheer.


We couldn't hang our stockings on a fireplace... so I painted one :) They hang on the wall next to the tree!

And of course... the snowman forest. I was thinking of putting a feather boa around the bottom to be "snow", but I think that might be too tempting for a certain furry friend of mine.

I'll try to have the tutorial up in a few days for the skirt!

Jersey Skirt

I had a recent hankering for a soft, knit skirt. One that was stretchy, comfy... that you could throw on around the house for lounging, but still be unashamed to answer the door in- should someone come to visit :)

I was terrified to sew with a new fabric (I always am) so I set out to find one in a store. The most decent, modest, non clingy one I could find was 88$. Lets just say that *inspired* me to try my hand at making one :)

Here is my attempt. I do like it alot- but its a bit big. So then I put an old Jersey skirt, one that is much too small to be decent anymore, underneath it... as a petticoat, if you will. That solved the clingy problem, and the too big problem--- although I think I will wear a long shirt underneath in case it creeps down. Well this is a terrible self portrait, but you get the idea!



I couldn't find a pattern for one I liked- so I just winged it! It has a foldover waistband, and I think would be just perfect for maternity. If anyone desires it, I'll put up a more comprehensive tutorial!


And now just for fun... look what I picked up at the store!



She crawled into the bag while I was unpacking groceries. Only she didn't seem to like it when I picked the bag up. Tee hee.

Doug Phillips and Vision Forum are sponsoring a giveaway at inashoe.com to help get word out about the FREE SHIPPING Vision Forum is offering until Midnight tonight

Help spread the word on your website or blog then leave a comment at Life in a Shoe by 8pm today to enter!

Sewing Projects!

I've been working hard on cutting out new projects- I can't wait to share what I've done so far! :) After almost a whole day of snipping away... I look forward to start sewing... maybe tomorrow...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

From our home to yours.

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.
To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

"Old Fashioned" Cleaning

Since we are having visitors tonight (Yay!) I spent the afternoon doing some good old fashioned scrubbing. I spilled milk last night all over the floor, and learned yet again, never ever swiffer something sticky. It only spreads it out...
Unhappy with walking around barefoot in a kitchen that felt like double stick tape, and yet not owning a good old mop, I decided to clean like Cinderella does. I got a kitchen towel sopping wet, and scrubbed the floor. I dried it with another towel, and repeated. I got a sparkly clean floor- with really not too much elbow grease at all.
Inspired by this, I took to the carpet with baking soda... and the same towel, rinsed out of course :) I got out some old spots, and some newer spots too! I then swept the bathroom instead of vacumming, and well, it was a great workout- and gave me a real sense of accomplishment, and was chemical free. It was all strangely fun... :-D

Ah, 24...

What a great birthday! I had so much fun... from my sweet hubby making me breakfast in the morning to eating dinner on the riverwalk with my parents- turning 24 was great! :) Colin even put a pink bow on the kitty... Tee hee. Wish I had a picture of that.


Here we are on a bridge over the river- a wonderful friend made me the skirt I'm wearing as a gift. And... I am now the proud owner of Pride and Prejudice. Yay!!
I felt so loved by family and friends- the Lord has blessed us very much.

Kindness

First of all, I can't tell you how much everyone's kind words have encouraged me. You have all blessed me so much. My spirit has truly been lifted. Words cannot express.

Here are a few pictures to make up for my blogging break...

She loves her "kitty condo" my grandparents gave us!


Crochet is fun for kitties, too. Here you can see my wrap in the works is also useful as a pillow :)


And finally, what fun I had at Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's today!


Christmas projects, here I come!

I apologize for the lack of posts this week- I had a bit of an emotional rollercoaster of a week. We thought I was pregnant- and then it turned out not to be. As such, I was definitely not in the mood for any crafting, or posting really. I was quite sad, but the Lord is faithful, and I take comfort in His Word and promises.
I was very happy to help hold a new baby after church today, and honestly that is the best "balm for the soul" in the world to me.
On a happier note- I think I'll be starting on.... *drum roll* Christmas projects! Needless to say, tomorrow will involve a visit to Hobby Lobby :)

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalm 30:5b

Mmmmm... lime pie!

Tonight I made us a special treat..... Lime pie. Mmmm, this is certainly a favorite of mine and my husband. The recipe is very simple, and if you had an electric juicer, would take you no time at all. For those of us without though... a spoon works just fine! And there is something to be said for doing things the old fashioned way. I had a lovely time squeezing my limes with my baby kitty curled up at my feet, purring away.

Crust:
1 1/4 cups crushed graham cracker (or buy the crumbs)
1/3 cup butter
3 hearty tablespoons sugar

Melt the butter, mix, and line your pie pan. Cook at 350 for 8 minutes.

1 cup lime juice (Don't buy the already juiced kind. Trust me, its no where near as good)
This usually takes approximately from 8 to 13 limes, depending on how juicy they are. I pound mine a bit and roll them first to make them easier to squeeze.
2 cans sweetened condensed milk

Let the crust cool, and pour in the very well mixed filling. Chill for at least 5 to 6 hours in the fridge (or if your in a hurry- a bit of time in the freezer speeds things up)

I usually dye mine green... That's what my momma always did :)
In my period of teenage rebellion (haw haw) I dyed mine pink and blue for a while. For some reason though, its very odd eating blue lime pie... :)

why we WON'T be seeing the Golden Compass

Some friends from church sent out a link to this site.

One of my favorite songs!

And it isn't just because I'm a June Bride :) Well... that may be part of it.

Our new baby!

Our sweet new baby is currently purring up a storm and trying to pounce on the computer while I type! My (early) birthday present is this loving baby kitty :) Though my birthday isn't for two weeks, my grandfather found this little one all cold and wet in a bush while he was walking his doggy. He knew my hubby was going to give me a cat for my birthday, and he said he thought God had brought this one for me! She came home withe me today, and we are already enjoying some wonderful cuddle time. Her name is Ari, which is a Hebrew name meaning Lion. Now thats alot of name to live up to, right? :)

Shamelessly entering a contest!

Life in a shoe is hosting a $250 dollar giveaway of Vision Forum items! You're supposed to make a "wish list" of all the VF items you would win. Here's mine!

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God
Be Fruitful and Multiply
Raising Maidens of Virtue
Homemaking
Family Man, Family Leader
The Elsie Book Collection

Needless to say, if by Grace I win this... I'll be reading until my eyes fall out :)

A neat cleaning link

the "elements" of cleaning!

"But remember, my young female friends, and the lesson cannot be too deeply impressed upon your mind, that the seeds of a woman's lifelong excellences must be sewn in the springtime of existence. The flowers of womanly excellence, which you would wish to grow in your future character, must be previously and carefully selected, and be contemplated, anticipated, in all their full blown beauty and their richest fragrance, even while you are yet in youth."

John Angell James, "Female Piety" 1853

(image courtesy of AllPosters)

On "girls gone mild"

I've only read about 30 pages, so far. But I had to stop and I say I'm not sure if I'll continue or not. The book has been filled with disturbing stories, and definitely I would NEVER recommend it to anyone who wasn't married. This is because I don't think there is any reason to be so disturbed by tales of wicked people and woe unless you plan on reading it for the defense of say, homeschooling your own daughters, or something along those lines. So that's my mini-review of Girls Gone Mild. It uses those stories to get across a point, understandably, but it is by no means or measure rated any less than R.

New book!

I've just picked up Wendy Shalit's new-ish book from the library. I'm really excited about reading it, since her first book (A Return to Modesty) made such an impact on me. I'll let you know how it goes!
Has anyone else read it or her first book?

Over the weekend we went to see some of our family in Abilene, Texas. It was so much fun! On my aunt and uncle's farm they have about 25 guinea fowl, which are the loudest birds in the whole world I think. My Aunt Mici asked me to try and "herd" them into their pen for the night... and this is a video of this city girl trying to move guineas by feeding them millet.
(My momma is narrating)


Allright, I've finally got the hang of it! :)


And now they are safe and sound in their cage!

My favorite Tea Cup

Some lovely ladies (here's one... and another) were sharing their favorites, so I thought I'd put mine up.



I think I'll go make myself a cup of peppermint tea!

projects, projects

I spent last night hard at work... crafting :)

More headbands to go with two winter skirts I made! I hand stitched the black and white one, because I had *just* cleaned up our breakfast room, and really didn't want to haul out the sewing machine again. Let me just say, nothing will make you appreciate your sewing machine quite like hand sewing!

And look what's getting bigger....

Stark Raving Mad.

Thats how Lady Why described it, and that's exactly what I think. I was so shocked and saddened by this story. Those are 11 year old girls. They are babies. Trying to prevent having babies. And now they don't even need Mommy and Daddy's permission. There are so many horrible things going on in this fallen world, but this one really stuck with me today. I won't even get into the fact that those girls shouldn't even be *thinking* about boys at all yet. But the potential ramifications from the pill are endless. No one seems to be concerned with the idea of hormonally manipulating CHILDREN. Does anyone out there seriously not believe that hormonal manipulation has no long term side effects? The links to breast cancer, the risk for strokes from DVTs, the abortifacient nature of the pill... I could go on and on. But someone already has... it's on the package. Read the insert. It's in there.

Tagged!

Sweet Heather tagged me in a fun little game:

''Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged.
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.''

Hmmm, I'm trying to think of seven random things.

1. I have a strawberry shaped birthmark on my tummy tum tum.
2. Pink is my ridiculously favorite top color of the world... and I once had a room painted entirely pink. With furniture I painted pink and yellow. Yep, it was a little over the top :)
3. If I could wear Regency dresses every day, I absolutely would.
4. I love babies. (Okay, thats not too original, but they absolutely light up my world when I get to swaddle and rock them)
5. Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday, with Christmas following closely at its heels.
6. I named our apartment Cherry Arbor. Tee hee. You see... I have this thing about naming houses.... I was inspired by Jane Austen. Cherry because I've decorated our kitchen and breakfast room that way, and Arbor because we live on the third floor, amongst quite a few trees!
7. I love Shakespeare's plays, and I'm pretty sure I have A Midsummer Night's Dream memorized from beginning to end! I have a huge old book with all of them together.

I tag (if you would like to play, of course) :

Rachel

Tilly

Sommer

Jenny

Serena

And anyone else who would like to play! This is just all my tired mind can come up with late at night! :)

Organized Drawer = Complete!

After much googling and reading of your helpful comments (Thanks ladies!), the drawer project is finished. I would post a "before" shot, but it would be terribly embarrassing. I ended up putting the headbands on another ribbon inside our second cabinet, and clothespinning them on! I'm very excited about this storage method...




And I made four different sized boxes out of scrapbook paper to keep my bobby pins and hair twisties organized! I very much recommend this tutorial.

A little note: Looking at that picture, it looks like I coat myself in makeup everyday. I really don't, I promise :) Most of that is quite old, and used only for very dressy occasions. I usually just wear eyeshadow, coverup, powder and mascara... when I do wear makeup.
And... I don't buy MAC makeup anymore because of their just plain awful messages that they send in advertising. But... I'm certainly not in the financial place to toss it all and start over.
Just to let you know :-D

*Happily reading on the couch*

SMACK!

Me: "Colin, what did you just kill?"

Colin: "A spider."

Me: "Oh no! A JUMPING SPIDER?!"

Colin: "Yep."

Me: "Noooooooooooo!"

Clippies and Headbands- "Works for Me Wednesday"

Confession: I am a closet disorganized person. My husband is very neat... so I try my absolute hardest to keep our apartment neat and clean. There are a few places that are completely mine, though... that no one ever sees.... like the drawers in my craft tower. And my makeup/ hair drawer. Those places are ridiculously messy. However, in trying to improve myself, I am going to TRY to organize those spaces. Hmph. I just don't know really HOW to.
For example, my "hair" drawer. Having the kind of crazy curly hair that I do, I have in my collection about one million barrettes and headband- type things. Not the hard plastic kind- I can't stand those. But fabric headbands (I've made a ton of these) and ribbons- the impossible to organize kind. I've tried putting them in a box. I've tried hanging them on tie hangers. Every time I either get annoyed and just throw them back in the drawer when I can't find one, or dump out the box in frustration.
I've also lost half my clippies.... either in clippie lala land, or in the car, or possibly in the vacuum. Here's my newest solution for the barrettes- clipping them on a ribbon like my momma used to do. But here's my "grown up" version- inside the cabinet! It 'works for me' (Tee hee)

I just used push pins and a ribbon I used to wear in my hair. Hopefully now I won't lose so many, and I'll actually remember which ones I have. And for you with the 20/20 vision, yes I do have a barrette with my name on it. And yes, I still wear it. And yes, I am about to turn 24. :)
So, my question is, and I am so hopeful that someone has an answer... is how do I organize the ribbons and fabric headbands in a way that will last more than one day? I so hope some creative gal out there has the answer.

For now, go check out the other neato "Works for Me" at Rocks in My Dryer.

More Fall!

A few more touches of fall for the apartment! I switched out the summer flowers for some fall flowers on the key rack.


Some leaves and pumpkins for the table. The picture in the corner is my grandmother and mother when she was a little one! What a treasured photo to have.


That is my scripture frame- I just switch it out for the seasons.

I hope you are having a blessed fall day! :)

Jumping Spiders

Recently, I've been noticing either two jumping spiders in our apartment... or one very busy, very mobile jumping spider. I was reluctant to kill him, because he seemed so happily innocent and small. Also... my great grandmother used to say a spider in the house was good luck (I definitely don't believe in luck... but I always remember her saying that) :)
So I decided I would google said spider, and find out if he posed any threat. Turns out jumping spiders don't bite people unless you corner them or handle them. I'm most certainly not planning on either. And, they eat way bigger bugs. I don't know about you- but I'd much rather have a itty bitty spider than... well, any other kind of bug, especially any bugs that fly. So for now, mr. spider and I will live in harmony. He'll take care of any bigger bugs, and I'll do my best to stay out of his way!

A very worthy read

This is a long article, but very worth your time in my opinion. I too have been utterly shocked by the toys of some 5 year olds these days. My husband and I yesterday took a walk down the toy aisle to try and find a board game. We were bombarded by images of dolls that I can't imagine a mother with sense even contemplating buying her daughter. Harsh, I know, but these dolls are TRULY shocking. They would make any decent grown woman blush.

finally, the 'duvet skirt'

I finally got a picture of the skirt! Silly but true story: I wanted desperately to wear it to church today, but I remembered too late that I hadn't finished sewing the elastic in the waist band together. I couldn't resist wearing it though... so I safety pinned it! No one was the wiser...

WIFD saturday

I decided to do a bit more of an "action shot" today! Here's me making some brownies. I'm wearing my stretchy LL Bean knit skirt. Its just about as comfortable as a skirt can get.



Don't worry, shortly after I post this, I'll start cleaning that messy kitchen! :)
Mmmm... I can already smell the brownies baking.

It may not feel like fall, but I'll wear my fall clothes

In my ever present need to make it feel like "fall" :) I wore my corduroy skirt today. I made this in the style of the Tznius wrap skirts- with lots of extra wrap to prevent wind issues. I've always liked their skirts, but ouch, they're so pricey. I bought this material on clearance 80% off last March or so. Yes, so I've wanted to wear this skirt since March. :)


And by popular demand, haw haw... here is the latest project. I pretty much always have some sort of knitting or crochet project in the works- its wonderful to have when you want to relax without feeling unproductive. This one's been slow going since I'm new at crochet. Its the "Very Easy Ripple Shawl". When I saw "very easy" in the title, I knew it was the one for me! I taught myself the double crochet from the lion brand website- its actually very helpful!


I realize now from looking at the picture on the site, the little holes aren't supposed to waffle back and forth like mine do. But... I don't know WHY mine waffle back and forth, so I can't really fix it, and well, hmph, I kinda like it. :)

WIFD thursday!

I didn't want to wait for hubby to come home from work for today's picture, so my picture was carefully taken with the self timer. :)

I'm working on the latest crochet project- I'll post about that later :) and I'm wearing a blue skirt I made a while back. Its so toasty here today, I can hardly believe its almost October! I've got to go check the forecast and hope for a cold front. It may just be me being silly, but honestly this September felt hotter than June! Lol.

No more delinquency!

Well, I missed out on day two and three of the week in feminine dress! My apologies :) The last two days have left me exhausted and worn out! But today was much more relaxed- a happy day to be sure. Here's me "gazing" out over our balcony...


Twisting up my hair like this is one of the simplest and best ways I have come up with to 'not have a ponytail or plain bun'.

The time has come again!

The sewing forum I'm a member of does a seasonal week in feminine dress about four times a year. Its a wonderful way to show how you can do anything dressed femininely and beautifully for the Lord! :) I'll be sharing throughout the week, and anyone else who wants to participate, let me know and I'll link you!

Here's some links if you'd like to learn more about it:

Ladies Against Feminism

My favorite, Mrs. Chancey's Week in Feminine Dress

Another favorite, The Poston Ladies

Trina and her sisters are participating, too!


Here's me today, after church. I'll try to get a more "full length shot" on the other days :)

Dress Redesign

As I was doing a little "fall cleaning" of the closet, I came upon a dress that no longer fits me. It was just so pretty though... I couldn't bear to throw it out. It was an empire waist dress with a lovely beaded band around the top. So today I tried my hand at a little "redesign on a dime" :)

First I tried it on, with the part that normally goes underneath the chest, around my waist- to see if it would even work. It did! I was thrilled.
Next, I opened up the darts in the lining of the dress with my seam ripper.



Then I cut off the top portion of the dress with my trusty pink scissors.



Next, I hand sewed with a whipstitch the upper part of the fabric onto the inside of the beaded band.
Ta Da! A new tea length skirt... I'm thinking perfect for my husband's office Christmas party.