M is for...MONDAY....MANTELS.....and a MIX of blue and whites....

It is Monday. The first Monday in June of 2012. Summer is coming. My first in Cedar Rapids. I have played with the Living Room mantel and given it some more shades of blues...my favorite...no secrets about that here in Blogland. Just doing a photo record of it for my "some-day archives" of this nest. And as always...for the record - all of the additions are thrift finds from Goodwill or Salvation Army... Two lonely Fiesta Ware cup and saucers in lovely shades of blues. a pair of vintage white Carnival Glass sweet swans. An oh-so-pretty old aqua pitcher. And another Angel to add to my mix...a favorite. Her wingspan is over 18 inches! And so the mantel has had a makeover - just slightly...but that is the running tale of the making of a NEST...twigs moved from room to room and fluffing with feathers . It is a journey. Some pieces are pulled and removed as others are found and woven in... Hugs and a wonderful Merry Monday to any visitors dropping by as you make a run through Blogland today. Smiling at you from my little corner here in Iowa... Keep that smile going. It's your natural God-given and most beautiful makeup any day. We LOVE you Justin....God BLESS you in mighty ways as you continue your deployment with the MEU... and...as you can see...I have NO idea after trying many different methods to space text and photos in this new way of posting....I can either let it drive me crazy or let it go...and since I am only doing this for an archive...I am LETTING IT GO! :-) okay, I feel better...Have a GREAT day...!

Til Death Do Us Part....

I, Julie, take thee, Kurt, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish forever, according to God's Holy Ordinance, and thereto I give thee my pledge.

"On this special day, I am reminded of the verse James l:17 which says, "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." With a gift such as you, I know that many new responsibilities face me. In I Corinthians, it explains "It is required of a steward to be found trustworthy." I cannot do this on my own strength, but by God's grace and power working within me I desire to be trustworthy as your wife by following your leading submissively, even as unto Christ, loving and serving you in all circumstances as long as He give me life on this earth." *{this was a variation on non-traditional wedding vows that I came across, and liked)

(beautiful image by Kimberly McCole - sharing from her imagery blog) Did you ever hear that Swans mate for life? That is so marvelous to me. These beautiful birds are absolutely my FAVORITE water fowl. Not only are they gorgeous, but they are so graceful and as the photos captured by Kim reveal, they are very intimate in their togetherness. It is very moving to watch these feathered lovelies... The fact that they stay together until death parts the pair is a wonderful picture. Kurt and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary this May. "Til Death Do We Part" is a serious statement and vow to take on. Two people coming together with different backgrounds, different family upbringings, different personalities, different genders, different likes....what a challenge. And yet, I confess here, that it is NOT by my abilities, or my super sweet nature, or my easy to get along with style that made this marriage work...for I am no super woman who excels in any of the above...It is simply put, God working on me and through me, that made me able to become the kind of wife I am supposed to be...and a very patient husband waiting in the wings.. :-) And of course - vice versa. And so when I came across (GW) this needlepoint picture on the beautiful blue waters background, I KNEW exactly where it would go. It was THE piece I had been waiting to pop up in my trial and error search (or wait) for my master bedroom.

In the move to Cedar Rapids, I found that the only way our King-size bed would fit well in the lay-out of the Master room was to be up against the double windows of the back wall. I have never had the bed situated against windows before in 30 years...so it was a challenge to me to deal with NOT having a blank canvas wall to hang art on...I had tried a cherub planter, a toile print, a mirror and a tole cone with ivy, between the two windows...None of them were clicking. Until NOW. My mama used to say I was hard to shop for, because I didn't always really know what I wanted, I just knew when I did see "IT"...that it would pop out and hit me and I would know. I remember on just one occasion I was looking for Sunday shoes, and just couldn't find any that I liked. When mom and dad asked me what they looked like, I replied I wasn't sure, but I would know them when I saw them. About 5 or 6 shoe stores later, I'm sure....I saw them and said THAT'S THEM! *(God was merciful and they had my size) :-p

Such was the discovery of this sweet framed needlepoint work of these beautiful swans. And so the "Window Headboard" wall is complete. ahhhhh.. Love it.

A 24/7 reminder that I Love this man I have committed my life to...and so it shall be....til death do us part...God's Grace is sufficient. amen.

Hugs to all my bloggy sisters and visitors today. Have a beautiful day. God bless you.

We LOVE you Justin. God Bless you and give you strength to face whatever comes before you each day on this MEU and do it with all your might.

For the Journal - The Back Hallway - and a Great Find

Today's entry is to record my back hallway in this 60's Rambler. When Kurt first found this house, the listing had a "Mudroom" included in the description... Well, the mudroom is actually just an entryway that is about 7 x 8. It enters from the garage, and has a door to the stairs leading down to our basement and a coat closet. From that Entry, there is a long hallway that leads past our family room which is a step down, and ends in the kitchen. There is an door opening to the Dining Room (it has a Pocket Door) to close it off from the kitchen. This is just a post for my photo journal of "The Nest" here in Cedar Rapids. :-)   **I also am recording a super thrifting find that made me smile.

View from the Breakfast "nook",this is the hallway. To the left is the doorway to the Dining Room and then the step-down opening to the family room. It is a little bit different in that the left walls are covered in the Kitchen wallpaper, and the right side is the paneling that is also in the family room.

the papered left side.

The paneled right side, with just a small section of wall right beside the kitchen pantry that is papered as you enter the kitchen. That doorway is a stairway that goes up to the attic, and we store our bottled drinks on the landing.

the stretch of paneling between the stair closet and back entry. This back hall gets a lot of traffic. The garage entry is basically our "non-front door" way to come inside. The back entry comes in through the double glass doors on our screened porch.

This photo is just sharing my 'Great Find'. This is actually a Pottery Barn Kids magazine rack. It sells for $124.00 online. (yes..I looked it up!) I was so tickled to find it thrifting!! It is in like new condition and I basically repurposed it into a plate rack/magazine holder. I have been looking for one of these (thrifting) for a number of years. I never cease to be amazed what people turn in to the Thrift Stores. I am grateful!!

Bloggy Sisters are special! For any popping in this week, I hope you have a wonderful ending of May and are looking forward to the Summer days approaching. I am happy that Kam is done with school for this year. The yard continues to bloom and the mini pink roses are popping right now.

We LOVE you Justin. God BLESS you as you are deployed!! Stay Strong 24th MEU...Ooo-Rah.

Memorial Day is for.......Remembering!

LOVE YOU Justin! God BLESS and KEEP you.... Thankful today to all who have ever served, fought, and those who gave it all for my Freedoms ....

Friday FAVORITES and a Winner...

Another Friday has arrived and it is basically the first unofficial weekend of summer for many as Memorial Day Monday is coming up. Pools will be open, grills will be smokin', Celebrations will be going on with fireworks, and Families will be getting together. A great time to remember all of those who have served and are serving to allow us to keep enjoying the free and wonderful life we have here in America.

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 For Friday Favorites, I am posting one of my favorite finds this Spring from a local Good Will Store. It is something we needed and I wasn't really on the hunt for one, but knew at some point, I would purchase a different one. It's a MAIL BOX!

The one we were using looked like a mailbox for the porch (wall-mounted) but was really a paper box. (GAZETTE) was stamped across the front of it. But it is what was here when we arrived, and we just hadn't changed it yet. I couldn't have found one that I like more if I had TRIED! It has birds on it which just fits in to my love for a home being "A NEST"! :-) **on the back it has the name of a shop in Charleston, SC! :-)

Now just to get that siding painted and some new windows! Rah... Hopefully the house will look as fresh as a daisy by Fall.

Well, as I said Tuesday, I am celebrating my hitting 500 posts with a giveaway of this precious print.

I wrote out the 6 commenter's names from the post and then shook them up REAL good, and reached in and pulled out the Georgia Peach girl's name ...Theresa from "They Call Me Ganky". So I hope she will have a special place to hang it. Hugs to her and all of my bloggy sisters who pop in here and visit with me in the E-world. Love you all for your friendship and encouragement.

Have a wonderful Friday and weekend!

We LOVE you Justin... God BLESS you. *missing you!*

This and That Tuesday.... *500 *...and a Giveaway

Good Tuesday Morning! This is a Smorgasboard post filled with this and that. First of all, The Cedar Valley Huskies played their last Soccer game for this season yesterday evening. They lost to a team in Kalona, Iowa and finished their season with a great record. Already looking forward to next year. Kurt took the day off and we traveled south to the play-off game. It was a beautiful day and little road-trip.

There's my tall Soccer guy #17 just this side of the referee... They played a strong game.

No rest for the weary...it didn't help the team any that all of the Senior players were away on their end of year Senior Trip!! But they put up a GOOD fight to the end. Proud of them! RAH! I have been continuing to clean, glean, sort, consign, and putter in the house getting it "settled"...A place for everything and Everything in it's place ...It's getting there. I did a switcheroo between two rooms. The "heritage photo table" got transferred to the mantel in the family room...and the pieces on the mantel came in to the small table in the Dining Room. The pictures were so crowded together that I couldn't really display them well, where they could all be visible from a distance.

Here is the switch in the Dining Room.

Now....I am going to post ANOTHER photo of the same setting and you will see something DIFFERENT! Take note of a change....

Do you see it? yes...the framed artwork. There is something else to record here in this post today...It is my 500th post and boy's howdy did it take a LONG time for me to reach it or WHAT??? I knew a while back it was coming, but had no idea it would be so long in coming...so to celebrate this little milestone in the bloggy world, I wanted to have a Give-Away.

This is a print I have had for quite a while. But was able to find a much larger size and don't need the smaller one. It is one of my FAVORITES!! It is titled "The First Kiss" by William Adolphe Bouguereau. I want to give it to one of my bloggy sisters...so if you are interested in it, please let me know in your comments and I will throw your name in the hat and draw this Friday for a winner.

I wanted to include the above photo in the post because of something very interesting about this print that is not seen in the smaller version. The little angel on the right...do you see her wing? It is a butterfly wing!! I never knew that until I saw the bigger copy. It intrigues me and is another reason why I love this piece. (FYI - the small version is approximately 14.5 x 14.5 in size) Hugs to all my sweetest of sweet bloggy sisters and thank you all who stop by here and continue to lift prayers for our military heroes out there, and for my Marine, Justin as he is deployed. Have yourselves a fantastic Tuesday, and Keep on giving away those smiles... **I want to thank Tete again for sharing her "button" below. I love it.

We LOVE you Justin...God BLESS you!!! Stay Strong! Almost 2 months down...Ooo-Rah.

Of Vintage Treasures....and Test Products

On a thrifting afternoon...I saw a vintage cake-carrier. In that brief moment between spying it and getting to it, something happened. Memories flooded my mind. My grandmother's frozen coconut cake, made especially for church "on-the-grounds" picnics and dinners. When we saw that silver carrier, it meant that we were going to have an opportunity to eat her famous cake...with ice cream layered in it, and fresh strawberries frozen right along on top. I could see it...and almost taste it...the coldness of it hurting my teeth (just a little) I picked that carrier up and set it in my cart. I felt a little piece of my grandmother inside of me. And truly all of us are made up of little pieces of our ancestry. Lives woven together over the decades and generations. It's a beautiful thing. And so, I give you a picture of my treasure.

As you can see, it was in a very "well-used" condition. I wanted to clean it up but not take away that vintage character. This purchase gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a product I had just heard about. Bar Keepers Friend

Every day, I get an email from Mary Hunt's "Everyday Cheapskate" telling of tips and information and products that can help out with living frugally and staying on a budget. This was one of her latest endorsements. *(found it at Wal-Mart) After applying to all of the pieces of the cake carrier, this was the finished product....still full of character but much cleaner and shinier...sans the rust spots.

Enjoying the feelings of connection with a past generation and the love, warm fuzzies and memories of precious moments that rise up. This find will NOT be stored away. It will be on display...24/7 for the smile it gives...

This post is a "test" run of returning to Blogger with all of the new format and trying to figure out the new ways... Still confused about a number of things. I just need to take an afternoon to sit down and go through the tutorial changes...another to-do on the list... Hugs to all my bloggy sisters dropping by...

We LOVE you Justin! God BLESS you!!!