living room.

Anxiety over the large size of my new tv, coupled with never-ending dissatisfaction with the status quo of my house, led to not one, but two, re-arrangements of the living room last week (plus three trips to IKEA). All the furniture moving reminded me of how I would often rearrange my bedroom furniture when I was young. It's always nice to have something feel new! Anyway, just wanted to share:

save the magazines!

Yesterday my friend broke some bad news to me: One of my favorite magazines, Domino, was closing its doors and halting production, following suit after other shelter magazines, House & Garden, Blueprint, Home Companion and Cottage Living.

Design bloggers and home décor fanatics alike are mourning this most recent media loss. At this rate, pretty soon, the only home magazine that young, modern, stylish females will have to kick up their heels with is Better Homes & Gardens (ugh). But that’s doesn’t seem to be the most depressing part. As we see lifestyle magazines, particularly newer, trendier ones, fail left and right (due to falling ad sales), it feels like the inevitable end of an era. It seems like printed magazines will cease to exist as anything more than an archaic form of media. Afterall, the internet is popular, accessible, free, and environmentally friendly. But the thing is, it’s just not as relaxing and fun to curl up on the sofa with a glass of wine and the humming laptop as it is to do it with beautiful, glossy images sliding through your fingertips.

(I should note that all this is particularly disconcerting considering I work for a publishing company. But I digress, really. This topic is distressing to me a consumer of a medium very much in trouble.)

To play my part in fighting the demise of the magazine industry, today I bought two magazine subscriptions and plan to purchase additional publications on the newsstand. And I urge you to do the same. Save the magazines!

I’m holding out hope that Country Living, House Beautiful, Living and even the redundant Real Simple will outlast the crashing economy. Because once those fall by the wayside, the shelter magazine industry is DOA.

yet more snow day photos.

If this is your first visit today, you might want to read the post below first.

After Paul arrived home early from work, we headed outside to dig out the car and the driveway. It took me a little while to warm up (no pun intended) to the ice-cold hard labor, but it turned out to be a fun afternoon.








{anything to get the satellite back!}

more snow day photos.

I couldn't resist braving the cold to take more snow day photos:


{front yard and snow-covered path up to our porch}
\
{this one is for Courtney}


{our side yard leading to the backyard}




{sideyard. and also the satellite dish. now I know why we don't have a signal...}


{front porch}

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snow exciting.

Today marks my first ever official snow day. Sure, in the three winters that I've been in Cincinnati I've had snow afternoons, work days at home, and plenty of snow-filled hours happily spent inside (plus that one power outage day), but never an actual "snow day"--like the kind that schools always get.

For those of you in California who don't get to experience snow days (and I would happily swap an 85 degree January for an unexpected, guilt-free, cozy and lazy day off work), let me describe how it goes.

You wake up at 6:15 am as you do every morning, hoping the overnight ice storm wasn't as bad as predicted, because your boss is back in town and you can't get away with working at home again today. When your fears of having to drive on super slick highways are nearly realized, you try and decide how your day will unfold--take a sick day? Go to work really late? Hope your boss won't notice you're working at home instead of at your desk? You go to the computer with high hopes of an email announcing the day off even though the event is unlikely. But the email server at work is down. So you take a shower and get dressed in anticipation (and dread) of having to eventually go to work--and spend 30 minutes digging your car out from four inches of snow under one inch of ice. You kill more time drinking coffee and checking facebook. Then, when 7am rolls around you decide to scroll through the closings list, just in case, even though you know the company would never be listed. You take your time scrolling, checking out the snow emergency level (still only level 1...darn), the library closing, colleges and schools closed, and when you glide past the Fs and hit the Gs you stop. What a minute ... You scroll back up to the Fs ... and there it is ... the company is listed "Closed Wednesday." You thrust both fists in the air and cry out a hearty "whoo hoo!!!!" You put on sweats and then don a winter coat to snap some snow day photos:




{our poor little dogwood...
it's usually standing straight up}


{ice covered branches}


{beautiful early morning light on the snow}

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decisions, decisions.

My mind has been feeling pretty heavy these days; Paul and I are beginning to weigh several rather important decisions. And I loathe making decisions. Any kind of decisions. In fact, I spent 45 minutes at Home Goods the other day trying to decide which spa-like bathroom accessories to get, only to leave the store with one tiny bottle of lotion that cost $1.99. Decision-making is paralyzing to me; I'm so afraid of making the wrong choice, and because I tend to weigh each and every single consequence of each and every choice, every choice always seems to be the wrong one. I certainly can't buy anything without a return policy.

In this wake of decision-making anxiety, I've been pondering a lot the will of God. I feel pretty sure that God is telling me, "Just wait. Be patient. Trust." So I am working and praying toward that end. But it's hard to live in the moment! Especially for a goal-oriented person like myself.

My friend Katie recently sent me an essay about the will of God. I have yet to really read it (sorry, Katie!) but I was reminded of a quote I read years ago by Mother Theresa:

Kavanaugh, who wanted to know how best to spend the rest of his life, expressed his deepest desire. "Pray that I have clarity." Mother Theresa responded firmly. No, I will not do that." Kavanaugh was taken aback. She continued, "Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go." When Kavanaugh commented that she seemed to have the clarity he longed for, she laughed and said, "I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you will trust God."

I find it so encouraging because I never feel certain about anything, and I'm reminded that I don't need to be certain, all I have to do is trust in the Lord, which for me is much easier than trusting in myself and my own ability to choose the right thing.

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resolutions.

I must admit that I am resolution kind of girl. I'm introspective and goal-oriented by nature, so with the start of a new year--and another birthday around the corner, too--I can't help but resolve to try something new, change some behavior, or get a new perspective, as long as I'm letting the Lord in on the act of changing. Through the wondering eyes of my early-twenties self, I made lots of lists of resolutions. I never once accomplished everything on a list, but I never felt like a failure and I never regretted attempting to try. But I liked the chance to try and the possibility of it all. And I have pages of journals reminding me who I used to be and how far I've come.

These days, I forgo the massive lists in favor of mottoes for the next 365 days. Last year, in an effort to live life as it happens, embrace the unexpected, and live in the moment, I chose "life is a journey" as my words to live by. I'm far from a changed woman, but I appreciate the new way of thinking about living.

This year, I am resolving to be more of a glass-half-full kind of person. I want to see the silver lining. I want to look up. I want to see the light at the end of the tunnel, His light, and find joy in the everyday. Here's to 2009, and another chance to live.

What are your resolutions for 2009?

Happy New Year to you all!
xxx

merry christmas.

Wishing you a wonderful day with family and friends and good food, celebrating the miracle and grace of our Savior's birth.

"And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 1And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

Merry Christmas!


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i even used the kitchenaid mixer.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am not a baker. My idea of baking from scratch is breaking out the canola oil and box of Betty Crocker brownie mix. My Kitchenaid mixer was inherited from my sister, and its permanent home is on the top shelf of our cupboard, the only access a step stool. I bake from actual scratch about once a year when I make pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving.

I spent the day playing stay-at-home wife, a welcome novelty to the drone of going into the office every day. My masquerade as a domestic goddess concluded with a batch of homemade-from-scratch muffins. I'm not sure what possessed me. It must have been the holidays.

In our short three years together, Paul and I have developed a tradition of doing our Christmas together at night, a few days before Christmas. We don cozy pajamas, open gifts, and eat breakfast for dinner. This year, in the wake of missing out on a Christmas in California, I decided to carry on some of my mom's famous Christmas breakfast traditions, the most important of which are her baked eggs. I saw a recipe for donut muffins last month and have been craving them ever since. Because the blogger who introduced me to the most precious-sounding baked good ever wouldn't be in my kitchen, my only option was to bake the muffins myself. So I did, hopefully starting a new breakfast tradition for my own family.





Click here for the donut muffin recipe.

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advent tradition.

As we did in 2007, this season we are following a homemade advent calendar as it gives us activities to do each day. One of the best activities was our trip to the conservatory, a glass house dedicated to tropical plants and seasonal flora, sitting amongst the hills and overlooks of one of Cincinnati's biggest parks.



In the spring, the conservatory houses a gorgeous display of tulips, daffodils, and other spring delights. In the winter, of course, it shows off a massive display of poinsettias.



Since it wasn't too cold out, after a trip through the gardens, Paul and decided to walk around the park. (One of my very favorite things about Cincinnati are all the gorgeous--and free!--parks.)







We ended the afternoon with a look out over the river to Kentucky, one of my favorite views in the city.



What are your traditions for the advent season?

first snow fall.

Saturday, Cincinnati saw its first real snowfall. I awoke to a cozy view, the street bathed in the quiet of the snowfall. After I enjoyed my morning cup of French Roast and the falling snowflakes settled down, I invited Paul on a backyard snow adventure to snap photos of the winter wonderland.

requisite happy thanksgiving post.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with family and friends, warmth and love, and thanks to God.


(click photo to enlarge recipe)
xxxxx

roy joseph.

I was searching the WNKU web site looking for the name of a guy I heard on the radio the other day. I found Jay Nash and looked up some songs on itunes, deciding that he's wasn't as great as I initially thought. And then the name Roy Joseph popped into my head, a name from months--enough to be several years--ago, lingering in the backlog of my memories.

I can't remember the exact details of how Roy Joseph came into my life, but it went something like this: It was 2004. My friend Erica had stumbled upon this guy's demo CD. She gave me a copy. I proceeded to replay the CD over, and over, and over again. My heart longed to listen to the CD. This guy, Roy Joseph, had a lilting voice and songs that comforted me, gave me a spring in my step, caused my eyes to tear up, made me want to be different, just depending on what the song was playing. I loved this CD like no other. It was casual and sweet. It was lighthearted and deep. And I despised the fact that there were only 8 tracks to play.

Fast forward to tonight. By now, I had completely forgotten about Roy Joseph. But then hearing John Nash's voice brought Roy's back to mind and all the memories of listening to that 8-track CD came flooding back. I looked up Roy on itunes and it turns out he has an album--a real one, with 14 tracks. I smiled ear to ear and proceeded to listen to every song (as much of them the itunes gods will allow) and I cried. The nostaliga was just too much to bear, I guess.

But anyway, now that I know that Roy Joseph has a real CD (released last September, for the record) I had to share about it, along with some lyrics (which really aren't done justice without the music, so click here to listen to the song):

straight road bends

The weather comes quick, the sun don’t shine
As darkness falls inside my mind
So I reach out for balance against this spin
As the bitter taste of reality sets in
And if it all works together for good somehow
Well it doesn’t seem to comfort me right now

But when I’m looking straight ahead and the straight road bends
And the earth gives way and the walls cave in
Looking for a place to hide from the fears within
When the claims I’ve made I can’t defend
When conviction runs deep and belief wears thin
Looking for a place to start but I’ve reached my end
I’ll know it’s all right, I’m gonna hold tight
That’s where the faith begins...

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the order of toastiness.

I sometimes daydream of living in California. But then I am pulled back to the reality that is Ohio, remembering not bitter wind or groaning cold, but things like the order of toastiness that I would never get to experience living in perpetual summer.

the order of toastiness.
this involves:
steaming mugs of tea or coffee,
cinnamon toast,
layers of cotton and wool,
soft lighting by candle or bulb,
giant pots of rosemary used as houseplants,
perpetual soup on the stovetop,
rising with the sun.

Here's to scarves and woolen coats, to tweed slacks and warm red wine, to snuggling and vanilla candles, to down comforters and the quiet fall of snow. Here's to the coming of winter.

small town.

Last weekend, my friend Katie spent the day with me enjoying one of the quintessential little towns that pepper the midwest.

Here's a visual journal that highlights our day of walking brick-lined streets, warming cheeks in trinket-filled shops, delighting in vintage made new, and squeezing out the last bits of fall.













(this one is Katie's)

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new favorite blog.

A couple weeks ago my brother-in-law introduced to my new favorite blog, Stuff Christians Like. If you share my sense of humor, then you'll love spending hours reading through all the previous posts. To whet your appetite, here are excerpts from a few of my favorite posts:

The "pray if you feel led" prayer. You might think the prayer "Closer" is the one with all the power, but don't be misled, the Opener is in control. In addition to often choosing the Closer, they set the tone for the entire prayer circle.... More than that, they don't need to worry about the Closer or fear someone cutting them off. They can pray and then relax. Their job is over and done in a matter of seconds.

Church names that sounds like clothing stores. Imagine you're at work on Monday and someone says, "What'd you do this weekend?" You can reply "I hung out at Elevation." Your friend will then say, "Is that the new hip hop dance club? At which point you can then say, "No, it's a church" and then proceed to share the entire gospel with him. OK, maybe you shouldn't do that, but at the bare minimum, saying you went to "Elevation" is going to at least keep the conversation rolling where if you said, "I went to 'God is Awesome, Praise Sweet Baby Jesus Cathedral' over the weekend," your friend is going to throw an imaginary smoke bomb and climb out of a window.

Christianizing your Facebook profile, a how-to guide. Step 1: Your Name: Don't just use your name on your profile. ...Name your profile something like, "Forgiven1" or "WashedinBlood." Step 2: Status: Write something a little longer like, "Matt is stuck in the moment, the moment when my eyes will look up to the Son, the Son that's always been there for me, arms around my life, for now and evermore."Step 4: Quotes: If you don't have a quote from CS Lewis on your profile page, I'm not sure you're a Christian.

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sometimes, it's the little things.

I was looking at a recent Target receipt and this is what I saw:



Notice how all my items are categorized. This may not seem like anything to be giddy about, but if you're me then it is. You see, Paul and I are pretty vigalent about recording each and every purchase we make, not only to keep track of our spending as a whole, but also to keep track of our types of spending. So when I enter Target reciepts, which have loads of diffent types of purchases, I have to organize and decode all the items so I can enter them into the appropriate category. But now it appears Target is doing my job for me. Way to go, Target! Somtimes it's the little things that make me happy.

xxxx

happy election day.

It’s Election Day, so I can’t skip out on a voting-related post. Of course, I’d rather poke my eye out than discuss my political persuasion, so here's a little voting history from Yahoo:


Why do we vote on a Tuesday ... in November?

The short answer: We used to be a nation of farmers.

The long answer: Congress chose November because the harvest was over and the weather wouldn't be bad enough to prevent people from traveling.

As for Tuesday, people used to have to travel overnight to their polling location. (In 1845, horse was the preferred method of transport.) In an effort to avoid religious days of rest, Congress chose Tuesday, leaving Monday and Wednesday as travel days. Tuesday was voting (and horse-resting) day.

Be sure to get out and vote today! And after that, just sit back and know that God is in control.

xxxx

i love paris.

Made this for work recently. What a fabulous trip! Brings back great memories of a fun vacation and time in my life. Miss you, girls!

why i hate potlucks.

Nothing like the smell of ground beef to get your day going.

I'm spending part of the morning making crock pot tamale pie for a church potluck this afternoon. Fortunately, the extra hour has afforded me some time to cook. But you know what? I hate potlucks. In fact, I call them pot"bad"lucks. Not only do you have to get up early to make the meal for the potluck--a few extra hours early if you're involving a crock pot, and let's face it, what potluck dish doesn't involve a crock pot?--you have to figure out the logistics of carrying and reheating the dish at the potluck location.

Now, you might be thinking, "Just pick up some cookies or bring a bag of chips and dip." It's true: People who bring dessert to a potluck have it easy. They can bake ahead, sleep in, and forgot about any reheating logistical nightmares. I would gladly make some brownies from a box for a potluck. But, unfortunately, my husband has a penchant for volunteering to bring a main dish-- a habit that is a little annoying considering he's inevitably not the one to actually make the dish. Even if we did sign up for a side item, a bag of chips would be out of the question. It's one thing for a single guy to show up with something ending in "itoes," but married women are expected to cook. I'm pretty sure it's in the church bylaws. (Insert Kristin's mini-tirade on how married women are expected to make cooking their ministry.)

Rather than simply complaining, I might as well do something useful with my time here and share the recipe for tamale pie (which is really nothing like a tamale or a pie, but that's what it's called anyway).

Tamale Pie

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
1.5 cups milk
1 egg beaten
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 c. corn meal
1 packet chili seasoning (I'm hoping enchilada seasoning can make a good substitute)
1 can sliced black olives (optional if your husband hates olives)
shredded cheddar cheese

Mix everything in a crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours (I think I usually do close to 3.) Add a bunch of the cheddar cheese on top and let it melt before serving.

xxx