When strawberry season comes I cannot get enough strawberries. We eat strawberry shortcake for at least one meal a day during that short time. I know. Do you know anyone who could possibly eat so much shortcake and keep loving it? So when I was presented with strawberries for the Ultimate Recipe Challenge, hosted by my blogging friend Kim, I knew I had to create a recipe that was different... I'm sorry dear sweet strawberry shortcake! AND... all sweetness aside... it needed to be a savory dish. Have you ever roasted fruit? The roasting process intensifies the flavor … [Read more...]
Hello, friends! Thanks for coming by! I have a long history of pulling out the sewing machine each summer. It seems there's always something I want to whip up. It started when I was learning to sew and continued on through my college years when I was always sewing up a new simple summer dress, skirt, or shorts for a date. I never made anything complicated. There wasn't time. Between work and the beach... a few hours was all I had. If you only have a few hours... you too can have fun creating with fabric this summer. You don't need to get out the sewing machine for every project. Why not make a … [Read more...]
A few days ago, my little neighbor, who is nine, asked me if I knew how to make a cooty catcher. Except... she didn't say cooty catcher... she held up her hands and moved her fingers and asked me, "Do you know how to make one of these?" I confess... at first I wasn't sure what she wanted... And then I guessed, "Cooty catcher?" I told her I did. Though really I couldn't quite remember... it has been a FEW years since I made one. I knew I could do a quick Google search and my memory would be restored. Next thing you know... I got out a piece of paper and whipped one up to … [Read more...]
Hello, friends! Thanks for coming by! A belated Happy Canada Day to my friends north of the border and Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans! We took a little vacation at the end of the week to host some friends to our beautiful sunny shores. It was an amazing and very busy time. There isn't much better than spending time with people you love who live so far away. Are you hosting family or friends this holiday? I love it when friends put in a request for one of their favorite foods. It's so fun to cook for people who want to enjoy my cooking. Today's features include 12 delicious recipes … [Read more...]
When things go wrong, what do you do? More times than I can count, I'll talk to someone close to me. I'm not suggesting that there is anything wrong with that.... except that GOD should be our FIRST go-to person/place. You see... we need others... even more... we NEED God. When things go wrong... we need a safe place. There's only ONE safe place we can count on. God. He must be our safe place. What a stack of blessing you have piled up for those who worship you, Ready and waiting for all who run to you to escape an unkind world. You hide them safely … [Read more...]
Hello, friends! Thanks for coming by! Are you enjoying your summer? We've been really busy the last several weeks, but this weekend we decided that we need to be more intentional about going down to the lake for walks and sunsets. It's funny how "life" gets in the way, yet when we lived elsewhere, it was what we missed the most. These warm days will be quickly fading, so we need to make the most of our beautiful summer weather. What kinds of things are you doing to make your summer special? One thing that's fun to do in the summer is cookout! I just know you'll want to whip up these fabulous … [Read more...]
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, Psalm 23:6a Have you ever thought about God, in His goodness and love, pursuing you... every day?! Maybe you learned the 23rd Psalm... even memorized it as... Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. That's the way I memorized it as a small child. And then I read that the literal meaning of that verse is not, follow... but pursue. When I think of pursuing something or someone I think of a cop car, bar strobe flashing, flying down the road at a high speed... … [Read more...]
Raise your hand if you like quick, easy, and inexpensive party ideas. Me too! That's why I just had to share with you this super simple and inexpensive... yet extraordinary 4th of July dessert idea. Plus a few extra tips to make your Fourth spectacular! Whether you just entertain a few friends or the whole neighborhood... you are going to LOVE this! Here's how it all came down. I just made a quick trip into Walmart to pick up glitter, jars, and Mod Podge for this amazing 4th of July mason jar post I am cooking up for the blog. As I was running from one end of the store to the … [Read more...]
Hello, friends! Thanks for coming by! Happy First Day of Summer!! I love that it's the longest day of the year! Yay for sunshine and staying up late and doing all things summery. On the other hand... tomorrow begins our descent into darkness. I'm sorry for being so dismal... but the ride up to summer is slow and wonderful and the ride down is too much like being on the highest ever rollercoaster plummeting to fall. I just want to savor this time... forever... and the strawberries, too. Because yes, strawberry shortcake is my favorite food and there's nothing better than local berries. Yum! Now … [Read more...]
Just between us... do you sometimes feel like God doesn't care? It's okay... you're not alone. We all feel like that sometimes. As I was preparing to write this post, I had a sense that you needed to be reminded just how much God cares for you. God. Our big God. The Creator of the universe. The One who had you in His mind's eye before you were even conceived. Yes... that amazing, powerful, just, strong, amazing, faithful, loving, and tender God... He loves you and cares for you intimately. And... Just in case you need further validation... here are some scripture verses … [Read more...]
Are you getting too serious with your home decor? That's an honest question. I know I'm guilty of being too serious... of working too hard at getting just the right furniture, window treatments, colors, style, texture, and art for our homes. It's pretty serious business just choosing the "right" paint color. Today I'm going to nudge you to put a bit of whimsy in your home and, at least for summer, have fun with your home decor. Since it's summer and we often dream of spending time at the lake or ocean... I'm going to show you how to add a whimsical coastal touch, and some fun … [Read more...]
Hello, friends! Thanks for coming by! Raise your hand if you play Pickleball. I had never heard of America's fastest growing sport until I moved back to Michigan. One of my dearest friends plays all the time, and this weekend she played in a tournament. I went and so enjoyed watching her do what she loves and doing well, too. For those of you who don't know what Pickleball is... I would describe it as a variation on tennis with a much smaller but similar looking court, it uses a racketball sized racket that is more like a ping pong paddle and the ball is a wiffleball and the matches are much … [Read more...]
Do you believe that God cares about the details you care about? Not long ago, my husband and I were having a conversation about my dream studio. The list included these must haves... nice sized windows and good natural light for photographing, high and low work surfaces and plenty of space for creating, a great view of either a lovely garden or tree tops. Fast forward a few weeks when we were in the midst of settling into an apartment... with just an inflatable bed and a card table and chairs... when I said to my husband, "You realize that our apartment windows provide us with a beautiful … [Read more...]
Hello, friends! Thanks for coming by! I know some of you are suffering from too much rain. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers. Here in the mitten state, even though it did rain over the weekend, we haven't had nearly enough liquid precipitation. Though I have to say, after a long gray winter the sunshine is so welcome. It's great for garage sailing... I scored a few treasures that should be making an appearance on the blog... and today I transformed the lampshade of one of those great finds. I was in need of a new iron and God provided... not any iron... but top of the line Rowenta and … [Read more...]
“Don’t you mind,” said Puddleglum. “There are no accidents. Our guide is Aslan.” --The Silver Chair I enjoy reading snippets of C.S. Lewis. So much so that I subscribe to a daily C.S. Lewis devotional. In actuality, these are not devotionals in the typical sense but are bite-sized excerpts of Lewis' writings from his many books. Don't tell anyone, but I haven't read the Chronicles of Narnia series. I haven't even seen the movies. However, one winter, my husband did read the first book to me as we sat by the fire in the evenings. That was pretty special. That's probably why … [Read more...]
Hello, friends! Thanks for coming by! Today was a picture-perfect Memorial Day. We went to the beach early, "fished" for driftwood that will hopefully turn up in some projects soon, walked the boardwalk, and even sat down on the benches for a bit to people, dog, and boat watch. We're looking forward to a lovely sunset over the lake tonight to cap off the holiday. I can't tell you how very blessed we are to live in such an incredibly beautiful area. I can't wait to hear how you spent this official first of the summer weekend. Summer is salad time and so many of you shared the most delicious looking … [Read more...]
Do you remember how God rescued the Israelites from the Egyptians by way of the Red Sea? You would think that the people would have worshiped God continuously and trusted Him with every single thing. Instead, they complained. A lot. They complained against God and said to Moses, “Did you bring us out of Egypt, just to let us die in the desert? There’s no water out here, and we can’t stand this awful food!” Numbers 21:5 As I read this, I thought, how could these people have been so ungrateful. Every day God provided them all they needed to eat for that day. He completely met … [Read more...]
