Oh! What Treasures I Did Find!

Its been a rainy couple weeks here in the Carolina's with a splattering of beautiful fresh autumn days in between. And, although many would disagree,I have to confess I haven't minded the rain one single bit. There is something very cosy and fally about snuggling in on a cool, dark, rainy day in my snug small apartment looking at magazines, reading Emma, and watching old movies (Of course with a cup of hot tea and my candles lit, of course!). This morning, although not raining, but recovering from another down-pour from yesterday is still very cool, damp and cloudy, still perfect to snuggle in! So after waking, eating my egg and goat cheese sandwich (my new fav invention), I eagerly settled myself on my couch and into my new Pottery Barn mag and ohhh, what treasures I did find!!

I'm constantly on the lookout for items that I can bring to my fiance's house after we wed in April b/c, although his small starter house has a certain charm to it currently, it definitely has the bachelor pad aroma as well and I am determined to smother that out and make it into our home after I move in.

So while flipping threw PB I fell head over heels for this Ashby Sleigh Bed, handcrafted using planks of spruce, durable wood, beautiful knots and in this golden color! Yes, I'm in love!

I also love, love, love this whole Benwritght Collection! Look at that sturdy table. It looks very hardy and big enough to feed a hungry crew...And while these items are too big really to fit into our small starter house it makes me dream about the day when we build our own home out in the country!! Oh, how fun is it to dream!

Autumn Leaves

(i love my home in the fall)

How silently they tumble down

And come to rest upon the ground

To lay a carpet, rich and rare,

Beneath the trees without a care,

Content to sleep, their work well done,

Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times,they wildly fly

Until they nearly reach the sky.

Twisting, turning through the air

Till all the trees stand stark and bare.

Exhausted, drop to earth below

To wait, like children, for the snow.

~Elsie Brady

The Newlywed and the Nutcase

I messed up. I made my sister cry and I don't know why. Well, I do know why... because I am a cold cow... I am a selfish, mean, cold cow. My little sister who I never see anymore, who is probably the most loving and refreshingly kind person ever, came for a visit and I really let her have it. Yes, I was cold.

A little over 4 months ago, the first of my siblings "bit the dust" so to speak and tied the knot. Someone had to be the first to go, and we were thrilled and so excited she'd found a fabulous someone! Who doesn't love a wedding!! She was the most beautiful, radiant bride in the history off all brides to walk down the isle. I may be a little bias, but I know that statement to be true. I was there; I saw her glow. Yes, she was the bride of my dreams.



However, it has been an interesting few months since that glorious day. Her marriage has changed the whole dynamics of my close nit family, more than even I had bargained for. That husband of hers has taken her away from me! AWAY FROM ME! I mean, packed up, moved to another state, locked her away, and thrown away they key. Ok, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic (a little too much Jane lately?). But apparently, I'm having a hard time handling it... I've missed her.


I miss her. When she is home she changes the whole atmosphere of the house. She has this love of life and this laugh! Well, its very fascinating to see up close. So, when she came home this past weekend for our older sister's birthday I really gave it to her. I told her exactly how I felt about the whole situation, that she had best better put forth more effort to come home more often and that she was basically on the brink of being cast out forever if she didn't change her ways! And when she started to cry I didn't even blink.

It wasn't my best moments... and I wasn't sorry for about an 3.2 minutes...

And then I was... And one phone call later all was forgiven.

But it made me think. Marriage really does change things. Your family who has been number one in your life for forever is no longer the number one. Your new family is number one. That's the way of life. That's what God intended. And its so perfect and so right. It made me realize how maybe I too need to make my future number one, my own number one.

Then God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him,

The Lord God said," It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make a helper suitable for him."

Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of man,

and he brought her to the man. The man said,

"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man."

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother

and be united to his wife and they will become on flesh.

~Genesis 1-2~

Autumn's Beginning

WINTER IS AN ETCHING,

SPRING A WATERCOLOR, SUMMER AN OIL PAINTING,

AND AUTUMN A MOSAIC OF THEM ALL

~Stanley Horowitz

Yesterday was the first day of fall and today my sister's birthday. I always associate the two together. She actually was born on the first day of fall back in 1980 and came close to being named Autumn which I always found kind of fascinating, knowing a name you were once almost called the rest of your life.

We have always been close. Always. She is the kind of person that when I am with her, I feel more confident in myself just by her presence. She is my person. My best friend. My phone call after work to vent after a hard day, my fashionista guide through the styles of life, my spiritual role model, and the most beautiful person inside and out that I will ever know. She is the oldest of 5 siblings and a leader in every capacity. And although I have 3 sisters, she is my only big sis, for I fall in place right next to her and have stayed close by ever since.

I see her at least one or twice a week and last week on this particular visit to her home in Spartanburg we were both in crabby moods, kinda fussing at each other and short with each other after the long work day. We decided to play this game to get us in better moods and went back and forth saying reasons we love the other person. We have never done that and it was an interesting insight into how she sees me and vice versa. Here is only a couple I came up with:

• I love how driven and goal oriented she is. She is an English high school teacher and while she's been teaching shes gotten one masters and is working on her second one currently. She then is getting her doctorate which is her educational goal. She also has a list of life goals she keeps on her refrigerator door.


• She loves her students. She goes to most of her student's sporting events after school and was even the stat keeper of the basketball team for a couple years. She currently is in charge of the teachers' "Stan Fan Club" where they cheer on their students. She takes her kids to Europe in the summer to show them in person what they've been studying all year. She always is one of the first teachers to get to school in the morning because she is the best. She wants to be the best. And its because she really loves her students and wants them to succeed.


• She is very wise, she is able to read a person and analyse their personality. She gets that from my dad.


• She has great hair! She can wear it curly or straight and can have many blond highlights or wear it severely dark and it always looks great.


• She likes to be the center ofattention. But not in an annoying way. It comes naturally that she usually is the center and she can handle it. People are drawn to her because she is a natural leader and communicator. I get nervous when I have to be the center and its easy for me not be when she is there.

Becoming Jane

Two enthusiastic members of the Jane Austen book club met together last week ready to dive head first into the head of the wonderful and talented Miss Jane Austen. For inspiration and to get things rolling: one of my favorite movies, The Jane Austen Book Club! I first saw this movie last year and fell completely in love!

My sister, the schoolteacher, and I have always been HUGE fans of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Were first introduced at a very small age to the 1940's classic version staring Greer Garson as Miss Elizabeth Bennet and I must confess our love affair with the tale never ended. From the 1995 adaptation to the newest release with Keira Knightley, my sisters and I are still enthralled with the love story between Elizabeth and Darcy. What is it about the story that makes me read the book and watch the movies over and over again? Even my fav Kathleen Kelley in You've Got Mail is hooked!

While Pride and Prejudice has stayed near and dear to my heart I am ashamed to say that I'm not as familiar with Jane's other classic novels. And so, the Jane Austin book club has commenced. Emma is first on our list and I better get reading. So let me light a candle, fix a pot of hot tea and snuggle in for the first four chapters.

The Taste of Fall

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, its official. Summer is now over and fall is here! How do I know, you ask? How does someone know the exact moment summer officially ends and the fall season has arrived? Well, I have checked off all the items on my mental checklist that insures that fall has arrived. This list doesn't have to arrive in any particular order, but all must be checked before I can make such a bold statement.

No. 1: A scattering of brown leaves on the ground

A few weeks ago I went home for a little visit. I drove down the long gravel road, turned into the driveway and saw dead, brown leaves scattered over the green front lawn in front of my house. The home I grew up in sits on the edge between woods and a field. Directly behind the house there are woods, and in front strictly green grass , a fence, then open fields. At the end of summer there is enough breeze to carry a few dead leaves from the woods to the front yard. When this happens I know fall is on its way.

No. 2: A fresh crispness to the air in the morning

After hitting the snooze button at 0530 on my alarm clock this past Thursday morning I received a phone call directly after from my hospital telling me if I wished I could be down staffed and not come into work that morning. This rarely happens and I always jump at the opportunity to snuggle down into covers and fall back into slumber. Well this particular morning sleep evaded and so I put on my tenni's, stepped outside and went for a morning stroll around the track. And what a morning... BEAUTIFUL! The perfect fall morning: cool, crisp, breezy and refreshing. As I soaked in the morning air I knew fall was on its way.

No. 3: Football season has arrived

I have grown up watching my brother play football. He has played the game practically his whole life. He has given me a great appreciation for the game and I love football season!! I love everything the football season brings: tailgating, cheering for the team, cool, crisp nights in the stand. This past Saturday was my brothers first game of the season. And, although it was steamy on this particular day I knew fall is on its way.

No. 4: Labor day cookout at my parent's home

Every Labor day my parents have a cookout at the house. It all started because my brother's birthday landed on the holiday and so every year there is a cookout/birthday gathering of the family and close friends. Sometimes the event is held down at the pond with fishing and a bonfire, sometimes it is held in the front yard beside the big red barn. The evenings are perfect for the gathering because there is always a hint of coolness in the air. It kicks off the official fall cookout season and I love it!

Begin Again, Its a Brand New Day

I LOVE my ME (Mary Engelbreit) daily calendar. I love it! I love waking in the morning, heading still half asleep to my small apartment kitchen and seeing my ME calendar on the counter. I feel an underlining of great satisfaction in seeing that I've made it to another day, to see that yesterday is gone, its time to tear away the old and look forward to the new.

I love to see the creative artwork or read the short clever quote that will grace my kitchen counter for the day. Although each day is unique and some days are more exciting than others, mostly the yesterdays get thrown in the trash and I move on to the today and life goes on... BUT, there are a lucky few days that are super special and instead of those days disappearing forever into the trashcan they go to a place of honor on my refrigerator door.

There are 4 days currently cluttered among my special magnets, family pics and my grocery list. My favorite, and the day that has lasted the longest comes from May 11th. It shows a young girl looking down into a small hand mirror with the quote:

There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness

~Marguerite Gardiner Blessington

From May 26th it says:

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with what happens to you.

~ Anonymous

August 3rd:

Begin Again, Its a brand new day

And yesterday, September 2nd:

Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is.

Mark Twain