Of Poets and Painters...{and seers and saints}

There are pictures and there are paintings, and then there is that ineffable thing that we human beings call "inspiration".

The First Garden Post of 2015 {...and I'm already wearing sandals...}

I'll be planting some lettuce and radishes this weekend...

I'm Shooting My House This Week {...don't worry...it's with a camera...}

So tentatively, our home is going to be featured on a major design blog.  I will share which blog after I shoot my house, send the file via Dropbox, complete the interview process, and have a firm date.

In the meantime, I am actually doing much less styling of our home than I thought I would.

Just three bouquets of fresh flowers - which I would have purchased anyway.  Some fresh fruit - which I would have purchased anyway.  I did paint one side table and one tiny nightstand.

Otherwise, I have staved off the temptation to repaint our entire (huge) master bedroom, and refinish all the wood floors.  (Just kidding.  I love my worn out oak floors!)  My style is, overall, very much an "unstyled lifestyle".  Therefore it is only fitting that I stay true to that.  Authentically that.

Dude.  It's my brand.

Analog "Pinning" in a Digital World {...a bit about my soon-to-be-launched free online mini-class...}

I have (literally) three journal pages, single-spaced and  filled with ideas for my very first (of my very own) online class.

Product Design Love {The Lettermate}

Everyone knows that the hand-written card is making a huge comeback.  (Check out this video clip and article in USA Today.)

In a world where automation is the rule - no longer the exception - we all crave "the human touch".

One area where the human touch has really never gone out of style is the area of personal correspondence.  I'm not talking business correspondence, or mass mail outs - those have their place, to be sure.  I am talking about the sentiment we want to communicate to that one friend (or two), or the shower invitation that goes out to a baker's dozen girlfriends, or even the wedding invitation.

Hand written is the new couture - it just looks so personalized, and it so speaks of great taste.

I have found a product I love so much, I have to share it with you.  It's called the "Lettermate".

First and foremost, how can you not swoon when your order arrives like this:

Where Does YOUR Internet Take You? {...it's time to limit the number of "teachers" we have...}

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions..." (II Tim. 4:3)

It isn't "the" internet, anymore.  It is your internet.  Your internet is what you create it to be.  Your internet takes you where you want to go.  Your internet is a direct reflection of your passions, your anxieties, your goals, your worship.

Cooking for Two - Another Delicious Recipe {...from the cookbook "One Pan, Two Plates"...}

The Preacher and I are happy empty nesters.  However, I do confess that going from cooking (pretty much) every night for anywhere between 6 and 12 people, to cooking for only TWO people...

...well let's just say there were lots of leftovers.  For a long time.

Then, I mastered the art of cooking for two.  I don't cook every night, like I used to when the kids were all living at home, but when I do cook - I often use the cookbook One Pan, Two Plates.