I love the new Dove commercial, and find myself smiling every time it comes on TV (and humming along). Yes society I have flaws and thank you Dove for reminding me that they are beautiful. It makes me so sad when people make fun of other for their imperfections. Let's all learn to rejoice in the things that make us unique, and love the way God made us.
Two thumbs up and a huge step in the right direction!!!
I know that the use of words and pictures together are very powerful tools in communication. But there are no words, no words for how lovely our trip was to South Carolina. So I am only going to tell you the story from my cameras point of view. Enjoy!!!
I am guessing this will be our last official vacation of the 2009 year, so we are going out with a bang. Britt and I are headed to the island of Hilton Head, South Carolina..... and you are correct if you guessed this little getaway revolved around golf. My man loves his golf, and I love to travel so when the two collide it makes for a great week!!
I always like to be prepared for the future so I did a little research on this new adventure. This will be my first time to South Carolina and it has been on my list of places to visit for a long time. The island is very unique, it's the largest barrier island on the East Coast and 20 miles away from Georgia, it has 300 tennis courts, 23 golf courses, 8 marinas, stunning views (yes I am bring the camera), beaches, boutiques, fine dining, and some awesome southern culture!! So, I bid a brief farewell to you my fellow bloggers - have a great week!!
Lighthouse overlooking the 18th green of Harbortown golf course
We are taking it outside today. Here in South Louisiana we are still experiencing summer like weather with the temperature at 77 degrees, but we are expecting a bit of a cool front this weekend. Once all the rain has passed I am looking forward to playing outside. I have been anxiously waiting for my camellias to bloom and all the ideas and possibilities of what could become of the garden is exciting. Here is some inspiration, I just wish that I had these beautiful courtyards to play in this weekend.
Courtyard of Ty Larkins attorney here in Baton Rouge
I am slightly devastated today. I just about spent several hours of my life franticly searching for this amazing fabric that I posted about here. I had to have it, I had finally found the perfect curtain for Britt's bathroom makeover. Mission almost accomplished. I put my detective hat on, visited my favorite local fabric stores, and after coming home with nothing more than a sample of something that kinda resembled what I was searching for I decided to hit the internet. Hours later I stumble upon Schumacher Fabric and bam, jackpot, rejoice - I found the beautiful Gordian Weave in Ebony and Greige:
Insert problem here (brace yourself) one yard cost $272, yes only 36 inches. I would need about 3 yards, so this amazing curtain that my little heart was set on would end up costing over $800. Not gonna happen people, hence my slight devastation today. The fabric must be weaved in gold or something, on my modest budget I could never image why 36 inches for fabric could possible cost that much. Of course I am not a professional designer, nor heir to any riches, just a simple business woman by day with a passion for beautiful things. I guess I will stop my complaining and start looking for an alternative for the fabric. They have some beautiful fabric out there. So, all my amazing blogshere buddies: suggestions are needed!!!
A few choices from Kravet & Duralee averaging around $60 per yard
I miss my mother, I miss you so much that it hurts to breath sometimes. I know you worried a lot about Pam and I when you were sick, but we both have wonderful lives and God has not given us the short end of the stick. I long to see the look on your face and the tear of joy in your eye when you experience first hand what beautiful ladies your little girls have grown up to be. Pam's kids would melt your heart, and I know their lives would be so much richer with Grandma Judy to love them. You were such a terrific mom, and I am truly honored to be called your daughter. I pray that you are proud of me and the choices I have made in my life thus far. I so wanted more time, but for reason unknown to me that was not meant to be. I questioned God's love and was angry with Him for a while and I know that's some really shaky ground to be on, but your death had left me scarred. I know that it is certain that people you love will die, but no one could ever be ready for that.
I struggle to remember what it felt like to hug you or even touch your hand. But losing you has taught me to love big while I still can, cherish the moments of complete wonderfulness, and try to rejoice in the struggles and trials of life. Don't think for one moment I take for granted the years I was fortunate enough to share this life with you, each memory is so precious. Above all, I know without a doubt death never breaks the bonds between people, or the chains that connect our hearts. I read this quote on the internet, its says so eloquently what my heart feels but what I could not formulate into words.
"A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence…in your breath, your nurturing, your thought. You will hear her wisdom escaping your mouth. Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of soap in your freshly cleaned laundry; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home; and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on Earth can separate you. Not time, not space …not even death!"
Today, on your birthday, I am rejoicing because I have hope for the future, a hope beyond death, and faith in God's plan. It makes my heart happy to know that you are Home surrounded by a peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray that one day I will see your beautiful face again, and until that day comes, I know you and Dad will continue praying for me everyday. Pray that I can have the courage to take the road less traveled and live a life worthy to one day see God in all His glory.
Happy birthday Mommy, I love you.
Your little Ann Marie
P.S. I recently found this video of you and I singing together (well its really you singing and me looking cute). Did you feed me night and day? My cheeks are so fat. I cherish this video because before this I could not remember the sound of your voice.
I just painted Britt's master bathroom a wonderful color: Benjamin Moore's Rockport Gray. It is perfect and after months of contemplating the color choice I am so so happy with our decision. Now I am in the decorating phase of the makeover, and I always love to go shopping in the professional rooms to get my ideas. So I am bringing you on my shopping adventure today because I am kinda stuck on going with nickel faucets and knobs, or a mix of bronze and antique brass - HELP!!!!
I painted the vanity an expresso almost black color so I am going back and forth with the idea of the modern nickel accents with a huge black framed mirror like the picture below.
Valley Oak residents from Brown Design and Flipping Out
OR
Antique Brass knob and pull from Restoration Hardware
With that huge gold mirror above the fireplace
I already found the perfect faucet with the goose neck and cross handles, I got the nod from Britt that he likes it so ebay here I come. But bronze or nickel??
I am finding it nearly impossible to find a shower curtain that I like for the room but I fell in love with these curtains which would go perfect in the bathroom. Can you get out of that picture and into my bathroom makeover???
Renea Abbott powder room in Houston Texas
I have a huge crush on this "Vendome" wall scone from Bourgeois Boheme Antique Store in Los Angeles Calaforina. If only one day, but a girl can only dream.....
Finally as an added bonus I love me some Asian inspired seat/bench/chair in the bathroom. The same place Britt got his bed frame they had a cute little bench like this one. I think it's time for a road trip to Baton Rouge.
It's become sort of a tradition for Halloween that I make my Monsters and Mummy cupcakes, and my nephew is already asking about them. We only have a few weeks till the spooky night so I am getting my favorite ideas together, and of course I am sharing them with you.
Sorry about the picture quality of the cupcakes, its a bad picture taken last year on my iphone, this year I promise to take better pictures. For the Cookie Monsters I used decorating tip #133 - grass tip with blue icing and stuffed 1/2 of a mini chocolate chip cookie in his mouth. We made lots of mummies for Payton's classmates and I used different colors (yellow, blue, red) for the eyes. The blood shot eye cupcake was a hit, I used a gummy eye ball from a bag of candy and had some red gel icing that I used to make them look blood shot. Finally the buried alive cupcakes I used Oreo cookies and put them in the food processor to make the dirt. In my bag of gummy body parts they had feet and hands that I stuck in the "dirt" to make them look buried alive. Also in the dirt I used the Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies and put RIP on the top part and stuck it in the cupcake for a coffin. Tons of fun!!!!
And it would not be Halloween without something gross on the menu. A great finger food is a cracker with cream cheese (I like to mix dill with the cream cheese) with sliced smoked salmon on top, make the salmon look likea piece of flesh on the cracker. Or that classic seafood mold you can shape into looking like a brain - yummy. Make finger sandwiches but instead of cutting into bit size triangles use a Halloween cookie cutter to shape the sandwiches into ghosts, bats, etc. Or buy a plastic skull at the store (clean it) turn it upside down and fill it with homemade spaghetti, everyone will think their eating brains. While your out getting the plastic skull pick up a little corpse put it into a dish (shaped like a coffin) cover with blue corn tortilla chips and blood red salsa on the side. And you can not forget bar-b-que chicken wings, just call them bat wings - the power of suggestion. Ok I think that's enough of the spooky sick food ideas. I will leave you with my new favorite idea for an ice chest this season from Southern Living.
This recipe was adapted from Art Smith, personal chef to Oprah and owner of Table 52 in Chicago. Very easy to make and absolutely amazing little biscuits. I am not a huge fan of goat cheese so I have stayed clear of this recipe for way to long. I kept hearing how awesome they were so I had to give it a try. The restaurant serves them before your meal as a bread appetizer in a cast iron pan brought piping hot right to your table. I made them Saturday night and not one little muffin is left. The ingredients are cheap and easy so I think I will make another batch tonight. I am going to try and mix some cheddar cheese with the parmesan to give it a little added taste. Maybe we can just call them cheese drop biscuits!!!
Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits/Muffins
2 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoon cold butter, plus extra to greese pan
2 tablespoons (2 ounces) shredded goat cheese
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Here I used a muffin pan instead of a cast iron pot and placed it in the oven while it was heating up. The recipe will make about 12 muffins.
Mix flour and salt into a bowl, then cut the cold butter into tiny pieces and mix with flour and mix in the shredded goat cheese. Slowly pour in the milk and mayonnaise. Stir until the mix is moistened. Remove the hot pan from the oven and place a dab of butter into each muffin cup. When the butter has melted, put batter into each cup and fill half way with the batter. Brush the top of the biscuits with the melted butter.
Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Bake 5 more minutes until browned on the top and bottom.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise money for research into its cause, prevention and cure. I lost my Mom to Breast Cancer in 1987 she was 37. Today is a prime opportunity to remind everyone to save the ta-tas!!! Early detection can save lives so all you woman reading this - feel your boobies, or go show your ta-tas (to a doctor silly)!!!!
In honor of pink for October here is one of my favorite little girl's rooms found in The Rug Company's catalog in pink of course:
My little blogspot seems to have unfolded into all the things happening in my life i.e. my passion for decorating, celebrating birthdays, cooking, my travels, or just life in general. I follow other blogs that seem to have the same passions that I share, and through them I have found my way to these amazing places Be Hands and Feet and The Journey. They are woman living in Uganda as missionaries and reading their story has stirred within me something that had become dormant. One thing that I hold very dear to my heart and don't seem to talk about is God. Between finishing school and the working world I did mission work, so reading their blog was like being back on the mission field. I felt their struggles because I to have held the hand of a dying child; I also felt their joys of knowing that you are serving a God that is always by your side and works miracles through you. Last night I was looking through some photos from my time in missions, and I started reflecting on life. I have forgotten so much of what I learned living that simple life, and I am stunned at how easy the world can lure us into running circles in this rat race. It's hard to keep "your heart set on things above," and sometimes I feel that it was easier being a Christian while serving the poor in foreign countries than serving Him here at home. But home is where God has me right now, so home is where I have to strive to be a good Christian.
When I finished college I knew in my heart that doing mission work was exactly where I needed to be and the doors began flying open. I was scared, but could not ignore the burning desire to just GO. I want to share with you a story of one of my mission trips to the beautiful island of St. Vincent. I hope to never forget these moments:
We went to St. Vincent to set up a mission base to send other missionaries within our company to serve there long term. We saw so much on our trip, and I knew on the first day that God needed us here. We spent a few days at an abandoned children's hospital and the kids there captured my heart. Aids and other diseases ran rapid on the island leaving many children without a family and no where to go. Walking through that hospital and visiting with the kids you could see how much they needed love. The medical help was important but they really just needed to be loved, to know that they were not alone in this big scary world. I poured out all I had, playing with them, rocking and kissing them to sleep, and just being present with them in that moment letting them know that they were important. The girls loved fixing my hair, and the little boys would climb all over me, and I laughed the whole time. Upon leaving one of the little girls through herself on the ground and said "mommy don't leave me." I was in shock, she called me mommy, and my heart hurt. I had only know these kids for a few days and the love we shared was so real, the love they needed was even more real. Jesus used me to show His children that He loved them, suffered with them, counted every hair on their heads, and wiped every tear they shed. Tears welled in my eyes as we drove off.... she called me mommy. God had brought us here for such an obvious reason and his plan was unfolding right before my eyes. I knew their was a good chance I would never see these children again but my heart still carries them all. "We may not be able to see God, but when we love one another, He lives in us and His love is made complete in us.... We love, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:12
I am happy to report that after our trip FMC set up a mission base in St. Vincent from 2002-2006, for four years missionaries served in that wonderful place, but the harvest is great and labors are few.
Last month I declared war on the weeds in the courtyard. I have spent hours pulling them all out just to see them rear their ugly heads a week later. It is fall in South Louisiana which finally gives us a break from the summer heat and slightly enjoyable evenings outside. So I wanted those weeds gone and it was roundup to the rescue. Yes, that was a month ago and three rounds of treatment later I think I have won the war, fingers crossed. This weekend I gave the patio furniture a fresh coat of paint, pulled the dead weeds out, picked up some fresh dirt, three beautiful shi-shi camellias, lavender, and here is the beginning of our patio makeover.
Before:
After:
Last night I had dreams of beautiful hydrangeas, vines, a large umbrella, cushioned seats, bar-b-que pit, stained concrete, water fountain, and all the shade loving plants that will soon live in my new favorite space.
Double the fun!! I heart spare bedrooms or kids rooms with twin beds. Today I am going to show them some love by sharing with you my favorites. Growing up my sister and I shared a room, being three years younger than her I loved it, and for the most part I think she hated having her baby sister always in her mix. We had a not so cool daybed, but seeing rooms with twin beds always reminds me of my childhood sharing a room with Pam. Have a great weekend!!!
The above room was a creation of Eddie Ross from Top Design.
I love love love this room, warm tan with robin's egg blue accents.
Great room for out of town guest!!
Image from Decor Pad: I like the polka dot accent wall,
and the rustic dresser separating the beds.
From Domino Magazine: I am obsessed with black and white striped rugs,
I have been eyeing one from Ikea but really have no place to put it.
I love this room because its fun and colorful but very elegant.
I will start by professing my love for ebay!!!....!!!!.....!! OK now that we got that out of the way let me introduce you to the last little piece of hardware that needed to find its way into Britt's bathroom remodel:
It's so cool, and after this lovely faucet finds its way through the mail and into our life we will have completed his downstairs half bath!!! Proof once again that you can find just about anything on ebay. Of course I got it for half the price they were asking in the retail stores, and that alone my dear friends makes me so happy!!!! You know I love before and after pictures but I completely forgot to take a before picture of this bathroom. But I know you guys have a little imagination so just picture white walls and an empty room with a roll of toilet paper and a trash can - not to hard to picture. So the juicy details: Behr "Earth Tone" for the wall color, World Market zen console table, Hobby Lobby for the old Paris hotel pictures (at 50% off), and good old Target for the mirror. The wall on the left is the entry to the laundry room and we installed new folding doors. So dear Mr. Price Pfister Ashfield #42-ypou faucet let me show you your new home:
