Dear Blog Friends,
I recently became a member of the Waterbrook/Multnomah Book Reviewing Team! I get to choose a new book from their list, they send it to me for free, I read it, post a review of it on my blog, and then get to keep the book! :) Win/win!
The first book that I am reviewing is a delightful Christmas tale called Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball by Donita K Paul. The cover of the book is magical and warm. It drew me in right from the start with its blues, whites, snow, and lights.
This is a tale of mysterious matchmaking booksellers who bring two lonely hearts together in time for Christmas. Mystery is a great adjective for the entire story. The real and possible is mixed with the magical and whimsical for a story that would make a great movie!
Cora Crowder is the only Christ follower in her disfunctional, extended family. She manages life on her own with the company of her kitty and a good job. Simon Derick is one of the managers in Cora's place of employment. He has a loving Christian family circle consisting of his mom, aunt, Downs-syndrom sister Sandy, and grandad. But he has no social life and fails miserably when it comes to initiating relationships with the opposite sex.
Cora and Simon meet unexpectedly at a quiet little bookstore down the street from their jobs. They have had little contact before even though they are employed at the same place. They both go home with their Christmas gift purchases from the bookstore and find that they have each received a free ticket to the Wizards Christmas Ball...an event of which few have heard. The Ball's website looks promising, however; the photos look inviting and intriguing.
And thus begins the adventure. Simon deems to take his sweet sister to the ball as a Christmas treat, but Cora becomes involved in a way that only whimsy and the Lord can ordain.
The story does involve the discussion of wizards; they are defined as being "old, wizened ones", not a part of any type of occult activity. As a believer that does not even like to be involved in Harry Potter type things, this was a stretch for me. However, there is only good involved in this story, and the wizard references are made with a twinkle in the eye, rather than as a reality.
This story is a mix of the mysterious and the possible, to create a truly fun, light, uplifting literary journey. On the serious side, disfunctional family relations are also addressed with Biblical solutions of how to handle them. I would recommend this to anyone with a love for Christian Christmas stories. In the meantime, I shall be on the lookout for the Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdad's Bookshop on the secretive Sage Street. :)
I have read in the past couple of years, about bloggers choosing a 'word' for the new year. I have chosen a verse for the new year in the past, but am intrigued with the idea of choosing a word for the year.
A word that I want to focus on. To live. To become. To make a part of my heart and mind.
As I contemplated this idea, I saw a word that seemed to immediately fit. It's a word that already expressed a little flicker of hope in my heart. And a word that I believe will be 'faith in action' for me.
My word for 2011 is.....Anticipation.
It fits a special prayer request that I have for 2011. It fits our lives right now as we are newly transplanted to southern Indiana and still have much to learn and many new friends to make. It fits my mood when I arise in the mornings...greeting a brand new day full of possibilities. I usually anticipate each new day with hopes and plans.
Anticipation also shows that I am living by faith that God is going to work out His plans for me and my loved ones in the coming year. His plans will not be thwarted. And they will be good.
I love fresh, new starts. Mornings. New months. New beginnings.
So I am looking forward to 2011 with A N T I C I P A T I O N. To see what the next chapters are in this story of our lives that God is writing.
What word might you choose for 2011?
Fall, fires in the fireplace, and Fridays put me in a crafting mood. Fall is definitely in the air here in southern Indiana! We enjoyed our 'first fire' of the season in the fireplace last night...so relaxing and cozy. And today is Friday! Here are a few things I've made this week.
Our little great niece, Ruby Jane, is turning one year old tomorrow! So I celebrated her little precious self by making the above Bear card for her. I used my new Cricut for the 4th time ever, and was delighted with how nice it was for quickly coming up with circles, stars, and ovals. I saw this Bear on BHG.com as a puppet...so I changed up the colors and style a bit to make it a birthday card for Ruby. Happy Birthday little girl!
Then last night as the fire was going, I had a terrible itch to stitch. Finally decided on this sweet little felt bookmark. It isn't perfectly proportioned or stitched as it was my experiment, but it was so much fun, simple, and relaxing to make.
It has a top (the flower) and a bottom (the leaves) in one of my favorite color combinations. I had a turquoise ribbon which worked too. I plan to make more of these and will purchase some grossgrain ribbon, alittle wider, to use for the next ones. This would be a simple gift to make and mail in a b-day card. I love flat little gifties that can be mailed in a card.
Did I put you in the mood to craft?! The internet is full of ideas you can copy, if so!
Enjoy this last weekend in October....wishing my 2nd favorite month wasn't nearly gone!
Simple Joys to You!
Recently I wanted to make a pillow to jazz up our peaceful, serene bed. The aqua coverlet and light paisley pillow shams are just what I wanted...a beach cottage feel. And the green pillow is a great accent color. But just a little zip of pattern/color was still needed in my opinion. So I bought this amazing paisley fabric with all three of the colors I wanted for just a few dollars. Yay!
I made a bolster pillow pretty easily, using a small plate as the template for the round ends, and then just sewing a rectangle of fabric to each of them, stuffing it, and whip stitching the opening closed. However, Little Paisley Pillow still needed some embellishments. Recently while wearing a favorite but older aqua knit shirt, I noticed it had a small hole in it. Bummer. But before putting it in the Goodwill pile, I realized it was the perfect color for embellishing this pillow! Ha!
I cut a strip from around the shirt, and it made a great 'band' around the pillow...off center made it more interesting. Then I took the aqua knit, a scrap of the paisley, and a scrap of another green (from my sewing bench project), and fashioned a fabric flower....gathered it in the middle a bit, and added a button. Two of those were the finishing touch. Loving the up-cycled embellishments and the splash of color on our bed!
With the remainder of the paisley fabric, I made a pillow cover for this little pillow that no longer matched our bedroom.
Two little circle-scraps-buttons-flowers for embellishment on it and....
Finis!! (My high school French still comes back to me now and then. Madame Steele would be pleased!)
Thank for sharing in my little project...hope you will think of some kind of up-cycling project you can do with a pretty but worn garment too!Enjoy!!
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Planning Girly parties is one of my very favorite things to do! So I am having a ball planning a Valentine Luncheon for a few friends this Monday. Today as I was considering what I would use for a tablescape for the luncheon, I remembered what I did to help me in planning the table decorations for our daughter's wedding 2.5 years ago....I set up a TV table with a tablecloth and just 'played' with ideas on it for several days.
I am also figuring out my menu. And since many of the items are things I've not made before, I decided to experiment tonight with the quiche recipe. I used fillo dough for the crust b/c it has soooo many fewer calories than pie crust. And my husband declared it equally tasty! I used this Paula Dean quiche recipe, substituting evaporated milk for the heavy cream and using alot less bacon. It. Was. Amazing!! And the presentation turned out cool too...very fluffy and alot of nice texture. But also reminded me of the Primitive Fruit Tarts I've made before...the fillo dough crust gives it that kind of rustic look. Husband went on and on about it. I love that man. :)
Last but not least, here is the Valentine I made our sweet son Jeffrey (age 21) and mailed to him today with a few treats. Who knew paint chips could be so crafty. I love these people who think these things up! It's not me! 
I'd love to show you more! But some of my ideas are in my daughter's Valentine Day gift, so I can't spill those beans yet. :) I have plans for party favors and fresh flowers! This dessert might be on the menu too. And some kind of delightful muffins. Maybe Pina Colada muffins? Oh, and chocolate dipped strawberries will def. be on the table. Can't wait!!
