little boy wall art

I have been meaning to do this for a very long time. Thank you to an artistic and musical acquaintance at church whose word art and writing have been so inspirational! This woman does some amazing chalkboard art, not to mention crafting some incredibly moving and transparent blog posts. Her book is going to be a must-read. My attempt at word art is far from as polished and professional as hers, but, alas, here it is.

When Joshua was born, I wanted to be sure that I chose some meaningful scriptures for him to internalize as he grew. Some that stood out were Joshua 1:9 and Hebrews 13:5-6. I have been repeating parts of the Hebrews verse to him each night as I put him down to sleep; it seems soothing to him to hear again and again that God is always with him, that we can trust Him, that we don't need to be afraid.

Ever since I knew I was pregnant with Joshua, I had been praying that my baby might be a leader, a difference-maker in this world, someone who would bring glory to God and do it with humility. The name "Joshua" is perfect for my little guy - someone that God will certainly use to lead others. And boy, is that leadership potential apparent in toddlerhood. AmIright, parents? I have a little Director on my hands who is learning and being disciplined each day to become a self-sufficient, example-setting, people-loving leader. This is a messy process, friends.

His room is loosely decorated in a nautical theme, with a pretty Monet poster, navy grommet top curtains, a vintage U. S. navy towel in light blue and white, a blue and silver banner that I made, and some Nautica kids bedding - all with white walls and a wood floor - so that I can change his room theme easily, later.  This word art completes the theme, I think, adding just the right amount of red. Someday soon, I hope to make him an oversized letter "J" pillow to toss on his soon-to-be-a-toddler-bed.

Without further ado:

crafted Christmas

Being a grad student means I have a lot less time to do crafts. I miss that!

However, holidays require decorating. They just do. So I bow to the pressure (read: neglect the vacuuming and dishes) and create. Cards, garland, card hanging garland, table decorations, more cards, decorating cookies, knitting, making other things. Here are some of the projects that have consumed my spare moments.

I am particularly proud of these two cards! I made a bunch more, but I love how these turned out.

Two of my favorite cards

This one I am very proud of - I drew and cut out those letters and shapes!

This evergreen swag was made by my mom and left "blank" for me to personalize with ribbon. etc. I'm not there yet, but I have some ideas!

I made my card-hanging garland this year out of three strands of cotton crochet string. I "chained" it as long as I wanted, using my fingers instead of a crochet hook to get that loose, open look. The cards are just taped onto the string. I hung the garland with tiny picture nails so that it could support all the cards!

This is my sparkly pine cone centerpiece, which currently has a lovely life on my breakfast bar.
Never mind all the flash reflections in the ornaments!

This garland is made of felt circles (ridiculously hard to cut, by the way) and red cotton string. I like how light and airy it looks! The kitties are pretty sure it's a fabulous toy made especially for them. Frustrated about that. This, by the way, is the same reason we don't have the tree up this year.

I made bird seed ornaments, following this tutorial. These are for my father-in-law, gifted with an Audubon Society bird identification book! I hope he'll love them.

Anyway...soon, there will be Christmas cut-out cookies (as requested by my husband), and present wrapping, and more knitting and...

...this girl must first finish her final exams.

more cupcakes!!

I love cupcakes (even without icing). And summer (even with the air conditioning off). Because this means I have time to make cupcakes and spend time decorating them and eating them and working out to get rid of the excess calories and cleaning up and eating more cupcakes and working out to get rid of calories. You see my dilemma.

Alas, I had a great time. Here are the tasty little devil's food cake cupcakes that will be gone within the week:

I enjoyed using my star tip for the little flower-like dots, and I used a thin writing tip for the rest.



I tried some vine and flower patterns for the first time...

...and got a little carried away with the love bird theme.

But they're so cute!

I love the Tiffany blue color against the dark chocolate background. Mmmmmm.

Now, about that exercise regimen... tomorrow calls for Pilates and running! Indoors, of course.

found.

My parents' home was built a very long time ago by my great grandfather, who was known in the area for his construction work. All that said, the rambling, added-onto-over-the-years house has some beautiful big rooms and tall windows, lots of crown molding with handmade dental trim, exterior stone walls and hand-hewn shingles, and all sorts of treasures from days gone by. There's an installed intercom system that looks like it's from the 50's. Charred (but still strong) ceiling beams. Perfectly light blue walls. Built in furniture and fireplaces. One-of-a-kind, irreplaceable light fixtures. In the basement, there's a room that has remained unfinished for years, and it's where we store a whole bunch of stuff that never gets used. It's where I found those blue mason jars, and this:

it's a Canada Dry soda-pop bottle crate! it's made of wood, with metal flashing at the side seams. The paint is perfectly faded, and I love it. The antique enthusiasts might yell at me, but I sanded it and added a couple of coats of shellac to it. It makes a very cute magazine holder!

antiques & bargains

Hard to put it any other way: I love antiques. They're better made, better materials, prettier workmanship, durable, functional, smart, eco-friendly.

I get rather excited about it, too. As if the above didn't tip you off!

My friend, Jami, told me last week about a shop in a cute nearby town that has a lot of Pyrex, as well as other antiques and giftables. We made a plan to go together, and yesterday was the day!

The Pyrex room was overwhelmingly stuffed with dishes of every color imaginable - great pinks, blues, lime green, florals, snowflakes; covered, divided, blue glass pie plates; we spent so long in there! I found a small blue mixing bowl and a covered pink refrigerator dish. (You'll see my big yellow mixing bowl in the background.) I'm beginning to replace my plastic storage containers with the refrigerator dishes, and the mixing bowls are irresistible. There was a whole set of pink ones (marked $55!! crazy) that I had to pass up... this time.The prices were a little higher than I wanted to pay, but I considered this part of my birthday gift from my grandfather. Yay for birthday cash!

We wandered through the rest of the store, too. I picked up a set of four vintage juice glasses. These are called "swanky swigs" and were made between the 1920's and 1940's. The floral design that I have is worn, and may have originally had green leaves along the bottom of each cup. Each floral design is slightly different, but uses the same chrysanthemum-style flower. So cute! I love them. The set was on sale for $3. Eee! Update: here, finally, are pictures.


The upstairs of the store was hot and stuffy and moth ball scented, but we held out for treasures! We came upon a small room stuffed with linens - and all of them 50% off! Hooray!! Both of us got pretty attached to some delicately embroidered pillowcases, but I resisted. Instead, I got this gorgeous hand-embroidered eyelet tablecloth! Love it...and love that it was $5.Here it is in action already:


And then I spotted these pretty "napkins" (I think they're handkerchiefs...), and had to have them! The light blue on white is so "me." They have a new life dressing up the curtains in the master bedroom and under my love bird. The set of four was only $3. For delicate hand-embroidery and lace, that's okay with me! Someone put a lot of love into these for me.

This little one is slightly out of character for me, but I fell in love:

Cheerio! Isn't that the cutest cocktail napkin? I love the scalloped edges and cute little cherry in the glass. It came in a set of two - for fifty cents!!

Sigh. I love treasure hunting!

no bake fail.

Here I was, just thinking that I had nothing very interesting to blog about... and then, poof! I had a baking adventure.

Well, it might be better called a "no bake" adventure.

Things started off well, with two pretty rhubarb pies, made from freshly picked rhubarb from our backyard. Then I thought I might make some no-bake cookies for the hubby to enjoy while I'm teaching again this week.

I pulled out my trusty recipe from Sarah, who shared this with me on a day that I was rather in need of chocolate. Here's her recipe:

1 and 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
4 T. cocoa (unsweetened)
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. quick oats
1 t. vanilla

And here's the way you're supposed to combine the ingredients:
1. sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa go in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. boil 1-2 minutes
3. remove from heat and add vanilla
4. whisk in peanut butter
5. stir in oats
6. drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or foil. eat all of them. share with a friend. absolutely delicious cookies.

Being the avid recipe reader that I am, I did this instead:
1. dump all ingredients except oats and vanilla into the saucepan, using shortening instead of butter and crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth.
2. realize that you aren't supposed to boil peanut butter, and that you've created a burning cauldron of black lava.
3. add vanilla anyway, and watch it cause a big boiling, splashing mess.
4. dump in the oats, because you don't care anymore
5. drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or foil. taste.

Hmmm. Despite all the errors, they still taste...not terrible. Well, if you like toasted marshmallow taste. With chocolate. And peanut chunks. And blackened saucepot.

I shall now re-name the recipe that I have (inadvertently) created:

Blackened S'more Cookies!

I washed the pot, but it's a lost cause. It (along with the "cookies") has found a new home in the garbage can. *tears.

There are no pictures of this escapade.

However, I did take pictures of the rhubarb pie and of the centerpiece I put together for last night's movie with friends.


The centerpiece is made of little flowers from my yard and the side of the road (also known as weeds), and of two lilac-scented candles. The china plate belonged to my great-grandma, Alice. Pretty.

early spring, please?

'twas the week before Valentines'
and all through the apartment,
Linnea was cleaning -it's her job department.
The cobwebs which hung on the ceiling with(out) care
Were all brushed away - not a speck, none left there.

The Christmas decorations were all put away,
Even the pinecones that glittered so gay.
And all the red candles, each ornament bright,
Had been tucked away for next Advent's sight.

When all of a sudden, there rose such a clatter -
What had Norah done? What was the matter?
To the china cabinet I ran so very fast
And saw the door open... naughty little cat!

The sun on the opened cabinet beamed
Revealing pink things that shimmered and gleamed
Light floral candles, ribbons and white
Small candy hearts - green and purple, and tealights!

The newly cleaned house just begged to be given
A new color scheme and an abundance of ribbon.
So out with the red, the green, and the gold
In two short months, that scene has grown old.

In with pastels! With pinks! With blues!
In with the Valentine's candy hearts too.
In with the florals, the romance, the birds,
The cards, the chocolate, the cheesy sweet words.

I'll invite all my friends, at least just the girls;
We'll make V-day cards and wear pink and our pearls.
With a flourish of pens and paper and glue,
We'll wish a quite happy Valentine's Day to you.

Valentine's day

I found this idea in a Good Housekeeping Magazine, and I couldn't resist. Here's my take on it:

sweet talking. :o)

not there yet

My husband and I enjoy watching "House Hunters" and DIY home shows on Hulu. We love to talk about the features we like, the colors, furniture, design flaws and successes, and to plan our future together. We even search sometimes for "dream" houses in cities we might move to. We talk about kinds of couches, styles of lamps, and wall colors. We imagine buying a reliable, newer car and settling into our very own place with pretty new appliances, remodeled bathroom and kitchen, and beautiful bedrooms. We imagine lots of light, open spaces, well-maintained landscaping, traditional touches, and updated flair. We imagine not having to live with old faux wood paneling and worn out carpet, outdated appliances, leaky windows, and wobbly outlets.

But we're not there yet. We live in the world where buying apples AND grapes is a treat, where we pay a lot of money to live in a (hardly updated, but) nice place (with plenty of space and a garage - thankfully), and where it's a big deal if we go out on a date once a month. We live in a time where we don't have enough curtains for the windows, we can't pay to slipcover the couch, and we have to try to get the stains out of the carpet, because it's staying. We have mismatched and stand-in furniture, though most of the pieces belong to us. We have a piano, but it's old and broken, and we can't pay to have it tuned right now.

Dreaming can be so bittersweet! My friend, Kristen O., wrote a beautiful post about this very sentiment. In every event, whether it's happy, sad, frustrating, or exhilarating, there's a twinge of sorrow with the joy (or vice versa).

We're happy together, and we have so many blessings! We're blessed with each other. We have one car that works, electricity that has been paid for, running water, internet, enough food, and phones. We have electronics, books, a laundry facility, and a warm, comfortable bed. We have nice furniture, beautiful dishes, and pretty decorations. We have good friends, loyal family, and neighbors. We have AAA to rescue us when we get stuck in our own driveway (this morning's excitement). We have a God who heals, rescues, and restores our lives, and who will not forget His promises. Complete the work you've started, Lord! Make us what you want us to be, and may we be ever grateful and peaceful in your arms. The joy You give is our strength, and we trust in You.

first graduate final exam week

Lots of contradictions in that title, eh?

This is the end of my first semester as a graduate student, and I finished my last exam. Whew! It has been a whirlwind - 3 papers, 3 presentations, 2 juries to accompany, 0 juries for me to sing(!), and 1 exam. I have actually had time to clean my house and make cookies. Crazy. I have also had friends over three times this week!

In the middle of all of this, I have been struggling with depression. It's a side effect of the medicine I'm taking, and it's exacerbated near the end of the regimen. I've felt intensely lonely, cried over stupid things, and done ridiculous things to keep myself busy (read: shoveling my whole driveway, thus giving me a large blister on my hand).

It's also the time where I become intensely maternal - even though I know that a baby right now would be a bad idea. It's difficult for me to see friends having their first and even second child right now. There have been two births in the past week! My best friend's daughter is almost 6 months old...it's hard for me to stay motivated to finish school, when I know that my heart longs to be a mommy so much more than to be just a music teacher.

But I will finish. I will earn this degree, because this is likely my only opportunity to study, at least, for a very long time. And it's a great privilege, I do have some talent, and I'm learning a lot of things that would have been difficult to learn on my own time. It has been an adjustment, but I'm doing alright.

And in better news, I just found out that I made an A and an A- on my last two papers of the semester! The first of those two papers was a rather practical assignment, which required me to design a choral conducting recital program, research it in depth, gathering a long list of sources, and then to present my findings in a paper. I decided to focus on settings of the Latin Mass, and especially on the Agnus Dei movement. I chose masses of composers from the 16th-20th centuries, including Lassus, Hassler, Charpentier, Mozart, and Stravinsky. The Stravinsky setting is quite unique - it calls for a double wind quintet for the accompaniment, and the entire Mass takes only 17 minutes to perform.

The second paper was a research project on BWV 147 "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben", a sacred cantata by J. S. Bach. I had chosen this piece for a few reasons, but primarily because I could use my research in a couple of my other classes and thereby save myself some time. I ended up loving the piece, but getting very tired of research! It's definitely not my cup of tea to pull a stack of books off the shelf and to dig through them for the words of other people. Once the paper writing actually began, things came together rather quickly. I enjoy writing - it's the research I don't care for!

Both of these papers were for my Research and Bibliography class, a course that's required of all entering graduate students. I'm pretty sure this is a similar case at most graduate schools. It was a grueling class, though I'm thankful for the information I now have at my fingertips. I was truly expecting to only get a B or a B- on my research, so these grades were a welcome surprise!

I had planned to have tea today with one of my good friends at school after I finished my exam today. Sadly, I realized that I had overbooked myself, and that if I went to tea, I would miss out on precious hours with my husband before he left town for the afternoon to visit my brother. I was disappointed to cancel with my friend, but glad to be able to snuggle with my hubby in daylight hours! This lovely friend also mentioned that she has a gift for me - what a nice surprise! This did leave me in a conundrum, though - I had to find a gift to give her! Why didn't I think of this before? Am I such a bad friend?

So I knit a snug mug sleeve! It's made of sport-weight acrylic yarn and a wooden button.

The idea of making a button tab was a new development for me. I've made these before, but I had always just squeezed the button in the middle and let the fabric squish under the handle. I think this is a better solution, but it still needs a bit of work. Maybe a loop instead?

Other lovely projects this week included putting some snowy glitter on pinecones and making glittery star ornaments for part of my mom's Christmas gift. (shhh!)


These ornaments are awaiting gold thread to hang them from...hoping to get to a craft store this weekend!

I also had time to make Ginger Cookies - this recipe came from my great grandmother, Isabel's mother...my Great Great Grandmother. My family is Swedish, and these are a traditional favorite for us. My dad requests these every year, and my father-in-law has begun to request them as well! It's a very stiff dough, made with molasses and ginger and other delicious spices. First, you roll the dough into little balls and coat them with sugar. (Favorite part!)



The cookies are baked for about 18 minutes, and the come out with perfectly cracked tops and crusted with sugar:



I multi-tasked big time last night to keep myself busy. I made oven-barbecued chicken, corn muffins, and these cookies all at the same time. Here's a picture of the corn muffins (with raisins! delicious).



And this busy little bee also studied for an exam. I'm pretty sure I did well! The transcript will tell...


Just 9 days until Christmas! Hooray!

hello, December!

It's hard to believe that we're already halfway through December...my fancy music-themed advent calendar says so:
Whew.

Things were frustrating when we first got here, and my perception of the rest of my life was colored by that. I don't think I began to have a positive attitude about this semester until about halfway through October. Shameful - I wish I hadn't reacted like that. Do you ever wish you could go back and just change?

I have had a good semester, full of great opportunities that I might not have encountered. My husband did finally find a job, though it's 450 miles a week and really demanding hours. We do get to see each other on weekends. I've lost a lot of sleep - he's endured a lot of boredom. I feel like we've skipped over these past four months, like they didn't really happen.

But, oh, does the bank account say otherwise. We are barely hanging on, and I know that it's only God's provision that's allowing us to stay in the black. We have some huge bills looming over our heads, but we still can't pay them. The commute that my husband has is just eating through what he earns. It's so frustrating.

When we do get to see each other, we're both tired and stressed. He needs time to recharge all by himself, and I've been lonely for him all week. Does being a married adult have to look like this?

We did have a wonderful date night just last week. We pulled out some gift cards for the Cheesecake Factory - delicious. It was a brief escape for us, and that was amazing. We walked around the mall and held hands like we were dating. I loved that! We were both so happy and relaxed. I wish sometimes that life had fewer sad, frustrating valleys and more of those happy peaks. I love my husband so very much, and I wish I had more energy to give to him when he comes home so late at night.

Things have slowed down for me as the semester is coming to a close. I have only had to give a few presentations after handing in my papers, and I have one exam on Friday. Not bad! I didn't even have to sing a jury, for which I am so grateful.
I have had time to (gasp!) make cookies and decorate them...

...set up and decorate our tree,

...I've had friends over for dinner, I've finished knitting the Christmas gifts I hoped to make. My presents are wrapped, cookies are in the freezer (don't tell my hubby, or there won't be any left!), and I've actually vacuumed my house. There aren't any dishes in the sink (well, except for tonight's one small pot from dinner), I'm actually going to do a craft tonight, and I've sent Christmas cards. I even shoveled part of the driveway, spent time playing with my cats, and played piano for fun.

God is still good, even in the middle of our frustration. We're going to make it!

decorating is an art

today while i was out running, i found these bright orange berries on a bush that looked otherwise dead. they're probably poisonous, but my curiosity got the better of me, and so i plucked a stem and continued to run with them in hand. it looked rather funny, by the way! imagine this: i'm wearing a pair of gray Nike capris, running shoes, a bright neon yellow athletic shirt, and here are these orange berries on a stick bouncing around as i run. not only that, but my hair is disheveled because it's morning, and there's only so much i can do to make my ponytail look somewhat decent. at any rate, i arrived home and put them in some water in a spice jar, and they're now decorating my table.

after, of course, a brief photo shoot. :o) i was pleased to find that the orange of the berries is actually a little redder and brighter than the orange of my little pumpkin, and the dark stems in the glass make a nice contrast. i like how it's a bit Asian-inspired, with its sculptural, spare look. these would make great little favors for a fall wedding! wouldn't that be cool? or for a Thanksgiving dinner...

i really think that decorating is an art. it's sometimes hard to find the right color combinations, or the right size item - the best container, the most interesting cloth that won't detract from what's on it. and not only that, but to arrange the materials in an attractive way, so that nothing overpowers anything else except for good reason. i think i did a good job today.

on the orange theme, i reheated some amazing butternut squash soup for lunch. i need to try to make this - what i had came from a lovely company called V8. someday i'll package my food and sell it for a ridiculous price just because i added eight vegetables to a product that should only contain one. i had a coupon for this soup, by the way, that made it about 40% off the original price. hooray, bargains.