It's a Wine Night

So I was browsing through my Etsy favorites, and it struck me that several (ok, a lot!) of the items were related to my love of wine. Wine racks, pretty glasses and tumblers, and bottle stoppers were a plenty my friends! So I decided I need to share my favorites!

Cheers!

The Original Wine Rack

Custom Wine Labels

Silver Druzy Wine Stopper

Handpainted Wine Glass

Office Crush

No, not that kind of office crush. More like inspiring space crush. Just browsing all the beautiful interiors on Pinterest fills me with envy. Right now I still don't have enough space to really create a space like this for myself, so basically my projects take over my bedroom. It's all good though, it gives me incentive to keep working on my crafts so I can keep the place vaguely organized.

Check out these beauties though!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A girl can dream right?

Here's my wish list for the day that my own creative space becomes a reality.

• Large table in middle to space out ideas, quilt patterns, and scatter crafty nonsense everywhere.
• Bulletin board large enough to pin notes
• Pretty details in the decorating
• Color scheme thats calming and not too overwhelming
• Storage containers. You can never have enough!!!
• Comfortable and stylish chair

What would you include in your dream space?

Why Sleep When You Can be Reading?

Who doesn't love rainy mornings? I feel like they give me an extra excuse to be lazy and bum around all morning. I love drinking coffee and snuggling in with a good book or some blogs and get my day off to a lovely start.

This morning I finished The Supreme Macaroni Company: A Novel by Adriana Trigiani

Valentine Roncalli is now engaged to the love of her life, Gianluca. But how will they make a marriage work between the distant shores of New York and Italy, her responsibilities as a shoe designer, his tanning business, and the input of Valentine's very large and very demanding Italian family?

I have read other novels by Adriana Trigiani and I have enjoyed every one. I love how the dialogue between the characters flow and Trigiani definitely is full of wit and charm. This is definitely a beach read, since it is an easy read to put down and pick up when you have time. Also, the descriptions of Italy make me crave a vacation to the Mediterranean. Who's with me??

This book is part of a trilogy so if you want to start at the beginning of the story about Valentine and her designer shoe business I would recommend starting with Very Valentine.


Last week I couldn't put down A Life in Men by Gina Frangello

This is the story of Mary who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in her late teens and now feels that she should live each day as if she were to die suddenly. She is also grieving from the unexpected loss of her best friend Nix. Mary's choices in life don't always make her feel as though she has much to offer the world, but the relationships she forms with the men in her life will make her look at her life in a different frame.

This is a complex look at how our relationships and the paths we choose in our lives can affect us exponentially. I was amazed at how Frangello was able to bring each character to life and develop the story even though it jumped through different times in Mary's life. It left me with the question of: who would you love in this world in you knew your days were numbered?

Have you read either of these books? What did you think? Why stories have caught your attention recently?

Acceptable Offerings

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you're having a swell day with family and friends. Hopefully some great barbecue food is happening as well. Please remember to take a second out of your day to thank a service man or woman for all that they have sacrificed.

Source (text added by me)

The basis for the sermon this past Sunday was based on the story of Cain and Abel. Both Cain and Abel had brought to God their offerings. Abel brought fat portions from his firstborn sheep, since he was a shepherd and Cain brought fruits that he had raised as a farmer. So everything is fine and dandy, right? Both brought what they could. 

But Cain’s heart wasn’t in the offering, it was just an act.  God appreciated Abel’s offering more, it was more sincere, it was being given from the heart. (Genesis 4:1-16)

Usually when this story is preached on the main focus is on giving your most important valuables to God, whether it’s time or money. But today it was different. Of course God wants your offerings and wants you to give them willingly.

But what he wants most of all is our hearts. He wants us to desire a relationship with him. He wants us to pursue him, and he, in turn, to pursue us. 

So how do with give God our hearts? 

This is something I plan on reflecting on and praying about this week. Hopefully you can do the same and share whatever insights God has given you. 

Exploring the Domes

Yesterday my mom and grandma came to visit me and explore a bit of Milwaukee. My mom has been talking about seeing the Mitchell Park Conservatory (The Domes) in Milwaukee for forever. So I thought it was about time that we took the plunge and saw what they were all about.



Source

Basically they are three separate conservatories that guests can walk through and explore what kinds of plants thrive in different climates. First we explored the "Show" dome, which is actually local Wisconsin plants and switches themes throughout the year. Next, we wandered through the "Arid" dome, which contained more cacti than I thought existed. It was quite crazy. Finally, we went through the "Tropical" dome. I was in heaven, it was absolutely beautiful. I tried to pretend that I had escaped to a tropical island for a bit, it was that marvelous. Needless to say I snagged a few pictures of flowers I thought were extraordinary.

I hope you enjoy! And if you ever get the opportunity to visit Milwaukee, make sure you check out The Domes!

(Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this post, I am just delighted to share a bit of loveliness you can find in Milwaukee :)

Learning Curve

Holy learning curve. 

Do you ever feel like you bit off more than you can chew? That you’re slightly drowning in your own goals and inspirations that you don’t even know where to start? That you know there’s something fabulous you can accomplish if you just begin?

And then I couldn’t even figure out how to open my damn computer at first. I mean, seriously? I’ve been a Windows girl all my life (aka college career that included many a anatomy paper and lots of Facebook browsing) but never have I made the jump into Macintosh land. I’ve thought about it, but I couldn’t justify the purchase. I mean, I never thought I’d be the kind of person who would consider putting myself out there on the internet via a blog and see what happens. And in order to do that, I would need a functioning computer, not the dinosaur that is currently hiding under my bed…

I finally said screw it and bought a new Mac last week. Now I cry inwardly every time I see my credit card bill. Looks like I’m just not going to look at it for the next month or so until that bill magically disappears (I wish). Anyway, there’s no going back. Here I am world, about to make my mark. The proper tools was the only thing to holding me back.

So, back to the mark I am going to make. What inspires me? What makes me so glad I’m alive that I want to share it with the world? What makes me tick? All great questions that I’m going to pursue and answer on my new space on the internet. Pretty exciting stuff. My blog will include a mishmash of nonsense that makes me happy. Crafts, books, inspiration, my faith, and ramblings about day to day life.

What made me decide to take this unexpected leap? Well, I love my job, I really really do. But there really isn’t a whole lot of creativeness going on there. It’s very regimented and procedure orientated. I need a bit more of spunk in my life. Something that keeps me going, my blood pumping, and makes my little heart go “Yes!” and that, my friends, is great writing, new ideas, crafts, and overconsumption of wine. That is why I’m doing this. I need a creative outlet.

So hopefully I didn’t bore you to tears. Only tears of joy allowed here folks. I know you’ve been waiting for this: Let me introduce you to “This Lovely Jaunt.” Now, it looks a little rough, please bear with me as I make my appropriate tweaks and make it look as I dreamed. 

This is just the beginning. There’s a lot more fun to be had. Who doesn’t love a learning curve?