my new granny white

if anyone remembers when i said goodbye to granny white, you'll remember it was a somewhat bitter-sweet day. i loved that drive to and from work. it was peaceful. serene. when i think of that drive i think worship and prayer. driving through a forest (quite literally...forest hills) with one quaint little gas station called Granny White Market.

Ok, wow. I miss Nashville.

Anyway, I think I found my new Granny White. It's called Riverside Drive. Google has no sort of cool picture, and it's definitely not equivalent to good 'ole GW, but it'll do. There are trees lining the street, but they're definitely not covering the road; it's two lanes, but definitely busier; and there are lots of beautiful homes, most definitely like granny's. *grin* I guess the one difference is this. It's called Riverside because there's a river running by it's side! haha. Imagine that.

bottom line. i love driving too and from work. really, too and from anywhere. but my car when i'm in it alone is my safe place. where i can have good quiet time to think, pray, and just be still.

today i'm dreaming about making this. : D

what a glorious night...

coffee. crocheting. light housework. and snuggling with my puppy. 

oh, and wondering how i can refashion my favorite black cardigan that got shrunk in the wash. oops. guess i should have watched chris put all of the clothes into the dryer. 

lesson learned.

it's called refashioning...

and you could say i'm unofficially trying this challenge. so cool, right? saves money and the environment. awesome. so here's my latest...

thrifted sweater from my mom's brother's wife's mother *grin* i took it to use the cute rhinestone buttons, but then realized i needed a black sweater to winterize this dress for a wedding next month. 

so i grabbed this glittery fabric my mom bought for my wedding, and ended up with this! 

and second...sorry i forgot to take the before shot before i started cutting. hahaha...

green sweater from a long time ago that hasn't gotten much wear.

new vest with ruffles! yeah!

ps- sweater is hard to sew. don't look close at the seams *grin*

and that's it for now. now back to trying my hand at crocheting a mitten. yes, i'll admit. eric, i want to impress you. hopefully they'll turn out halfway decent. 

enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

meet my best friend...

Seam Ripper. At least for this project anyway. So good to me, he's worthy of a picture *grin*

i bought this dress at the thrift store a while back.  a little big, i know (pardon the bird's nest hair and spacey look...). I planned on making something else out of this wonderful linen fabric, but then had some inspiration...

and here's what came of it :) many, many, many seams were ripped out, as I totally freestyled this, but i'm pretty happy with the way it came out! it's actually not totally complete, the sweater i'm wearing is to hide the zipper in the back, which came out 3 times. yep. and it still looks like poo. mom...i need you here to show me :(  but overall...i'm happy. brand new dress for a couple bucks :) more to come. i have many more ideas :)

Word of the day: gentleness.

Earlier this morning I had the word gentleness impressed upon on my heart. It’s like I was doing my work and then I just saw/heard the word; maybe The Word?

Anyway, I guess I’m struggling with this because I see two different scenarios, if you will. God has created each one of us with our own, individual personalities, which are wonderful and allow the world to go ‘round.  However, we are also commanded to live by the Spirit, and live out His fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Wow, what a high calling. I have to take a deep breath after I read those and literally think of what those mean lived out.

So here’s where I struggle. My natural, God-given personality is basically the opposite of at least half of those fruits. 

So here God has given me this personality, but He’s also given me a calling/command, which I know I cannot ignore simply because of my ‘personality.’ Well, Our God is not a God of confusion, but of order and peace. So that leaves me with this: my faults and shortcomings that cause me to displays attitudes and actions that are not of the Spirit are because the nature of the race of man is sinful. Now granted, certain aspects of my personality don’t really help my sinful nature, but then again certain aspects of my personality allow me to display some of the fruits with perhaps a little more ease than others. That’s where it’s different for everyone.  

But I still hold strong to the belief that no matter what our personalities, and regardless of our sinful nature, we still have the high command and calling from God to lead a Spirit-filled life. And that means displaying the fruit for all to see.

So back to my word. Gentleness. For some reason, I’ve been thinking today that (for me personally), if I can strive (slash pray of course) for gentleness, than the other fruit that I lack will fall into place. When I think of the word gentle, my heart slows to a different pace, which allows me to think more clearly, thus allowing me to have more self-control, to think before I speak, which affects my abilities to love, have peace, and display kindness. It also helps me breathe a little deeper when my patience is wearing thin. (those of you who know me know that that happens rather quickly) J

So I want to ponder more on this word, gentleness. I want to pray that the Holy Spirit might change me to become more like my Jesus. Anyone with me?

 

christmas in nine days.

WOW! Can't believe it. Also can't believe that I haven't blogged in so long.  b u t....I've not had much internet time, and most of my days have been spent watching kiddies and making presents. Here's a few of our Christmas goodies around the house...

yes, our puppy has cone on her head. she ripped the staples out of her belly, went for a visit to the doggie ER, and had to wear this lovely plastic cone for 11 days.

.pretty ornaments.

made from a chipotle bag an sticks on the ground. (inspiration for 'joy' from starbucks 2009 christmas cups. i also made 'peace' and 'hope'.)

well, that's all for now. hopefully more stable internet access in the near future, which hopefully means more posting.  enjoy the last nine days of christmas! remember the reason for the season.

lately...

Cranberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. Mmmmm. Delicious! I even improved a glaze to go overtop.


Here'a a sneak peek at some Christmas presents in the making. I love Christmas!

Sorry this isn't a real in-depth posting. Life's been crazy-busy. Chris and I are both still job searching, but God is still proving his faithfullness in so many ways.

.baby crying. gotta go.

Happy 22 to my friend Mara!