This will brighten up your Friday even more!

Part 1



Part 2

Spare Room Update

Just to warn you, this is going to be a long one!  You may wonder what all of this has to do with the spare room, but bear with me.  I've recently been praying about using my home more as a ministry.  I love having people for dinner, but wanted to use it even more.

I also needed to get a bed for my spare room but couldn't figure out what I wanted to do.  It's a small room and would have liked to have put in a queen bed for couples visiting, but it just wouldn't have fit. I thought about a day bed or futon as well.  On Saturday of last week, I went to furniture store and ordered a full size bed for the room.  It was time.

On Sunday, Susan Walker talked to me about the possibility of hosting a medical student that was going to do a two-week rotation in Creston.  How cool is that!!!  I had just prayed that God would give me more opportunities and I had ordered a bed the day before!  I love it when God does stuff like this.  She will be coming Aug. 29 and wanted to get the room all ready for her arrival.

The bed was delivered on Tuesday.  Here it is!

I know...ugly mattress, huh?  The mattress is also a bit firm, so I bought a topper for it.

Now when you come to visit me you can sleep comfortably. Ahhh.

I found the bedding at Wal-Mart and just loved how it looked with the gray walls.  I knew the decorations I wanted to put up would also work well.  For those that have visited my apartment at camp, these were my bathroom decorations.

Now, to put it all together, I needed some assistance.  So I called my friend, Susan Walker.  She's an artist and would have a good eye.

We started trying different variations and came up with what I think looks amazing!  The pictures are of vintages dresses, gloves, shoes and bags just in case you can't tell.

Side note...I love putting vintage/antique things with contemporary.  If you've ever been in my home, you'll see that is a theme throughout.

Back to the room now....

Here's what we decided on for the larger wall to the side of the bed.

This is to the left of the bed. In case you can't tell what the black thing is, it's a hat that I bought at an antique store many years ago.

Full view to the left of the bed.  I love the hat boxes stacked on the floor.

This picture turned out a bit dark, but gives you a fuller view.

Now, for the best part....Seriously, you are going to want to hire us to decorate your house.  Are you ready for this?  Drum roll, please!

Yep, we put an old suitcase on the wall and that is my grandpa's old hat beside it.  When we were deciding what to do, I told Susan I had a old suitcase that might work in here.  We were originally thinking of just putting it somewhere like the hat boxes. Then I said why don't we try putting it on the wall!  Oh, man.  We had so much fun!!!  I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  I want to get a couple neck ties to put over the back of the chair as well.  I think I may want to have my spare room as my room now. If it were bigger, I'd really be tempted.

When I asked Susan to come help me, I also asked her to stay for lunch and invited Cheryl to join us.  Cheryl  is my neighbor, goes to my church, we walk together three mornings a week and I was the maid of honor in her son/daughter-in-law's wedding.  (Whew....that was a lot to get out.)

Anyway, here they are.  Cheryl is on the left and Susan is on the right.  Thanks, ladies!!!  So glad God brought you along as friends.

Yep, I sent them home some yummies.  We had Spicy Garlic Chicken Pizza. Always a favorite of mine.  You can get the recipe here.

My Least Favorite Past Time that I Loved

What?  You may think that didn't make any sense and well, maybe it didn't.  But it does to me.  If you know me very well, you will know that I'm not a very big shopper.  I don't have the patience for it.  I think it's a huge waste of time and money.  I'm a get in, get it, and get out kind of shopper.

But I was given a very daunting task.  Bekah needed some things and assigned me as her personal shopper.  She gave me a list and sent me a check.  I have to say, I absolutely loved it!  She needed some clothes and let me loose, which shows she is very trusting.  I may have gone a bit overboard.  The package weighed over 16 pounds. Do you know how much it costs to send a package that big to Japan?  Let's just say, next time I'm not going to go so overboard.

I found some great bargains, which is why I may have gotten a bit too much.  Take a look at Bekah's package.

The outfit on the right (above) is her Birthday present.

I really wanted to keep the skirt on the right, but I'm a very selfless friend. :)

She's gonna look good!

The package also included some hairspray she wanted as well as make-up.  Bekah also knits and crochets, so I included some yarn that a friend had given me.

She already got the package and I'm really glad that she liked the clothes I sent.  Sometimes we have different tastes, but I think she liked it all.

So there you have it.  I really did love the past-time that I usually detest.

A Little Humor for the Day

It's A Winner!

I just want to start off this post by letting you know this is a recipe from my friend, Judy. Here's an important piece of advice.  Any time I give you a Judy recipe you HAVE to make it. If you don't, you'll regret denying your taste buds. Just saying. She really is the best baker I know. She's the bookkeepr at the camp and I miss getting all her yummy treats on a weekly basis.  My waist is probably a little better off though.

 Here's a picture of her too! I'm sure she'll be really happy that I put this on the internet.

And it's her Birthday this week!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY FRIEND!!!!

So anyway...without further adieu, here it is. One of my favorites from Judy.

Vanilla Chip Maple Cookies

1 c. shortening
3 c. flour
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
 2 t. baking soda
2 c. packed brown sugar
 2 c. vanilla or white chips
2 eggs
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 t. vanilla
1 t. maple flavoring

Cream shortening, butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and maple flavoring. Combine the flour and baking soda. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in vanilla chips and pecans. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing.

Frosting:
1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
3 c. powdered sugar
1 t. maple flavoring
4-6 T. milk
1 1/2 c. pecan halves

Cream butter and powdered sugar. Beat in maple flavoring and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cooled cookies. Top each with a pecan half.

Your Grace Still Amazes Me

I was listening to Pandora at work today and this song came on. It's one of my favorites.  The message is so powerful.  Hope you enjoy it.

Suggestions....PLEASE!

So I've very bad at blogging lately.  I just can't seem to think of anything to write about.  So I decided to open it up to you. Leave some suggestions in the comments and maybe it will get my writing juices flowing.

Seriously, I need your help.  Or I may just have to shut it down.  Okay, maybe that last statement was a bit drastic.