Friday, March 30, 2018

Simple Weekend Beauty


Pull out your camera and take a picture of something beautiful!

Thursday, March 29, 2018

A Most Noble Heir: Review and Giveaway



Today I'm back with another book review and giveaway for you! This is one of the new releases from Bethany House Publishers.

A Most Noble Heir by Susan Anne Mason is the book I received this month. The book is about stable hand, Nolan Price, who learns on his mothers' death bed that his father is a man of nobility and the very man that Nolan works for. This sets a turn of events in motion to establish Nolan as a man of nobility and title. But, what about the life he has already planned for himself and the woman he hopes to marry?

Overall, I liked the story - the characters were clear and storyline was easy to follow. I found it somewhat awkward to have only a male character on the cover. And, while I do like a predictable romance, the romantic descriptions were a little too descriptive for my taste - mostly because Emily frequently likes to pick up books I'm reading and I asked her not to read this one because of this.

The main characters sought God and I liked how their faith was interwoven and included throughout their trials and joys. There are lessons to be learned from the journeys each of them are on and I always enjoy that part of a story.

I do enjoy stories that include the "upstairs/downstairs" life! If you would like an opportunity to win my copy of the book - please leave a comment on this post by tomorrow evening and I will announce a winner over the weekend.

* This book was provided free of charge in exchange for a post sharing my opinion. I was not compensated in any other way. Amazon affiliate link provided above. 

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Slow Day: the half-day version












Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Miscy

My mom, sister and I have been known to use this word with each other when we have random little things to discuss: miscy!

So here is a list of random things:


After making some beautiful bread - I'm afraid I've killed my starter. It looks and smells weird. It isn't rising - one morning I got up to peek at my dough and instead of filling the container {as usual} it was flat and tiny. Sad! I may be able to revive it - this is what I'm researching now.

This right here is why I cannot give any bread advice! I'm terrible with plants/gardening because they require constant upkeep and maintenance and sourdough is similar - I want to take good care of it and thought I was - so I'm a bit perplexed.

I like things that are very black and white and sourdough is very gray - it is always changing, there are many variables. So when I look for a straightforward "do this" answer - I find multiple such answers and then have to wade through them which I find tiring.

Update: since writing this, I tried to revive my starter and I think it has worked! Yay!


Every Spring, I can't believe how busy I feel - February was slow and lovely and March is leaving me feel like I've been run over! It feels like our calendar has exploded with all that is going on. This pace continues to not work well for me - I get done what must be done, but I feel sluggish and tense which makes it hard to maintain a joyful heart!



Shutterfly freebies: technically not 100% free because shipping is calculated on the order - but wow, they offer so many freebies! I only take advantage of a small fraction of them - some favorites are address labels, notecards and 2x2 inch magnets which make lovely gifts. If you are on their email list, they send out freebies all.the.time.



Some friends of ours are raising money for adoption and God gave me the idea to do a meal fundraiser. My kids have been helping me with this and I have been so encouraged at how they have jumped in to serve! We have offered this to families in our homeschool community to order dinner each week to be delivered the following week.

There is something very inspiring and motivating about seeing nine double-batches of chili assembled in an hour or fourteen breakfast casseroles in only about 20 minutes!

This week we're doing chicken spaghetti!

Have anything miscy to share?!

Monday, March 26, 2018

First Day of Spring


We had fun celebrating the first day of spring in our traditional way by having fun food, an egg hunt, baskets of goodies and egg decorating!





It was a fun idea to try and watercolor the eggs - but #humidityproblems. It did not go well! We could not get the eggs to stay dry enough to paint them!









If you don't have time to make a spring-y dessert, take brownies or whatever you already have and poke a peep into it with a toothpick - voila!
















Happy Spring!

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Easter Open Tabs

To inspire our Easter gatherings and celebrations:

Make Beeswax candles inspired by an article in the most recent Magnolia magazine.

Colorful kids Easter table {candy free} - my favorite thing is the felt balls! What a fun idea to have these on the table and string garlands for a take-home treat!

Doily garland and circle Happy Easter sign!

DIY He Has Risen banner.

Succulents in jelly jars - so cute!

Beautiful spring-y printable with a meaningful Easter reminder.

Cactus Easter egg decor idea - cute!

Watercolor floral eggs and a second watercolor idea.

My Redeemer Lives free printable.

What are your Easter ideas/plans?

Amazon affiliate links used in this post!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Slow Day