March 2012
soaking it in
It’s been a crazy month, both as a blogger and from a life-in-general point of view. I’ve SO appreciated all your support and encouragement as I shared my depression story. Your emails and comments have been amazing and I am still getting through them all. Suffice to say, you guys are awesome and I have been deeply touched by the things you’ve shared with me. But I gotta be honest, writing it took a lot out of me. It was far more emotionally draining than I anticipated when I started. As I explained at the beginning, I felt that God had been pressing on me to write it for a ... read more
mom’s night out {paint your own pottery}
Sometimes your just gotta get out for a couple hours, ya know? The other night 2 of my girlfriends and I snuck away to the local paint-your-own pottery place, The Creative Circle, a “date” we had sadly been trying to make for almost 3 months. Since when did life get that crazy? It was so relaxing to just sit there and paint! And so nice to spend some quiet time with my friends. I discovered this fact years ago, but there is something totally recharging about getting a Mom’s Night Out every once in a while. No kids, no husband, just a few friends, lots of chatting and lots of ... read more
Amazing Grace: My Story {Part 4}
{Read Part 1: Falling} {Read Part 2: Clouds Lifting} {Read Part 3: Changing Paths} * * * Part 4: But For Grace In the fall of 2009, just a few months after Trouble was born, we made the decision to move back to Florida. It had become clear that my 85-year-old mother-in-law, Marie, was no longer able to live on her own, so we made plans to pick her up in Chicago and bring her to Florida to live with us. I wasn’t eager to leave our nice little life in Seattle and the transition back to Punta Gorda was more than a little painful. The combination of ... read more
The Spring Cleaning Challenge: Conquering the Kids’ Room
Happy First Day of Spring–it’s time to start our Spring Cleaning Challenge! I don’t know about y’all but if it weren’t for my darling children, my house would be clean all the time. Okay, maybe not all the time, but almost all of the time. How can two such seemingly sweet and innocent girls be SUCH incredible mess makers? And my girls are prissy, play-dolls-and-kitchen-and-dress-up–but-can’t-stand-to-get-their-hands-dirty-girly-girl kinda girls. I can only imagine what kind of messes boys must make! In any case, when I started to think about Spring Cleaning, the first place I wanted to start is at the source of 90% of our messes: the kids’ room. My plan ... read more
strawberry basil sangria
Mmmmmm….Sangria. Doesn’t that picture just make you want to take the rest of the day off? We are still enjoying our little Staycation this week, so instead of a boring food recipe, I thought today I’d share our Official Cocktail of Staycation 2012. I love making Sangria for parties but usually use citrus fruits–oranges, lemons, & limes. However, this week we got both strawberries AND basil in our Worden Farm box, so I thought I would try something new. I gotta say, it is pretty fabulous! Strawberry Basil Sangria 8 strawberries, quartered 6 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade slices 3 tablespoons sugar 1/4 cup lemonade (orange juice would work ... read more
Amazing Grace: My Story {Part 3}
{Read Part 1: Falling} {Read Part 2: Clouds Lifting} * * * Part 3: Changing Paths Three days after Hurricane Charley we boarded up our mangled house and drove to St. Louis so I could begin law school. After a year-and-a-half of single-mindedly focusing on getting myself there, I was so excited to start I could hardly stand it. So I was stunned to realize, just a few months into it, that I hated law school. With a passion. I despised everything about it: the intensity, the subject matter, the cut-throatedness of the people around me, the fact that every book cost $150, the Socratic method of teaching….all ... read more
The Spring Cleaning Challenge {#SpringCleaning12}
Are you ready for spring? I am so excited to announce today that I am joining forces with 10 other bloggers to bring you this super fun Spring Cleaning Challenge. Our goal is to motivate and encourage you all to jump into spring with a clean and organized home. And what better motivation than public accountability and some AMAZING prizes? Beginning Tuesday, March 20th (1 week from today) through April 5th, we are asking those of you with blogs to post about your own Spring Cleaning efforts, then come link up here. If you don’t have a blog, you can post pictures of your cleaning efforts on an online album ... read more
staycation {spring break 2012}
We are halfway through Princess’ two-week spring break, and so far we’ve been having a blast. The girls are at such a fun age! Last week we did lots of coloring and fuse beads, had a friend come play for a day, made a teepee town in the front yard, got ice cream and cupcakes, swam in the pool for the first time this year, and even took a spur-of-the-moment day trip to Busch Gardens. Husband was unexpectedly able to take some time off this coming week, so we decided to take advantage of it and have a little last minute stay-at home vacation–a Staycation. We are excited! Have you ... read more
Simple Vegetable Frittata {Recipe}
I’ve been slightly obsessed with frittatas lately, one of my favorite budget meals. Have you ever made one? They are the perfect last-minute-oh-crap-it-is-5:30-and-I-have-no-idea-what-to-make-for-dinner meal. As long as you’ve got eggs, cheese, and a little milk or cream (or even evaporated milk in a pinch) you can whip one together and throw in whatever items happen to be taking up space in your fridge. With all those Worden Farm veggies we’ve been getting lately, our fridge is always full of a random assortment and this is my absolute favorite way to use them up. Here is what you need: 1 small head broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces 1 small zucchini, cut ... read more
Amazing Grace: My Story {Part 2}
{Read Part 1: Falling} * * * Part 2: Clouds Lifting The thing about hitting rock bottom is that you don’t actually know you are there until things finally start to get better. At the time, it was a very scary place to be. After spending two years living under the dark cloud of depression all my hope was gone. I knew nothing except sadness and misery and I felt so utterly alone. Most of my friends, even those who were supportive at first, had given up on me. Those who hadn’t given up simply didn’t know how to help, so they just let me be. People can ... read more
how to fill that wall {gallery wall inspiration}
There is a wall in my house that is haunting me. It is a big, giant wall, 16 feet high by 12 feet wide and I honestly have no idea how to fill it. It is the main focal point of our entire house and it just stands there, blank, mocking me every single day. I am overwhelmed by that wall. Do you have any spaces in your house like that? Last October, when my mother-in-law died, we inherited a few pieces from her house, including a retro bar from the 1950′s and 2 gorgeous mid-century modern solid-wood hand carved Swedish chairs. Our house is not even remotely retro ... read more
Creamy Dill Vegetable Soup {Recipe}
There is something about soup that is just good for the soul. I made this soup last week Sunday after a very rough mommy day. I don’t even remember now what I was all atwitter about, but I was stressed and crabby, with too much to do and not enough time to get it done, and in-general, not very fun to be around. Husband spent the day playing with the girls and I did my own thing, finally realizing that I had been a jerk. This soup, and a nice family dinner to go with it, was my peace offering. Luckily for me my family is very forgiving. But the ... read more
