Rare and Beautiful Treasures: February 2009

The Surpassing Greatness

This is the second Lenten season that I am making a sacrifice in my everyday life-the "giving up" that you commonly hear about this time of year. I wasn't raised in a church that participated in this tradition, it was something I came to on my own last year after some amount of prayer and reflection. I want to share that with you here in case you, like me one year ago, have not participated in Lent in this manner. I want to share how it can change your faith.

Last year, I was genuinely interested to see if I could give up something that would be really, incredibly difficult. Something that would leave an absence in my life that would hurt in a way that would bring me to my knees and bring me closer to God. I thought of what would be the most difficult thing to give up and it was obvious to me: sugar. Before you laugh, I have to admit I had a serious addiction to sweets and this was serious and difficult sacrifice for me. I love my dessert, I workout hard most days and enjoy dessert after dinner. I think most women can attest that comfort food, whatever it is for each person, can be a comfort, a joy, a partner in celebration. I wanted to ditch the crutch and find more of my comfort, joy, and partner in celebration in God my Father. Well, I did it, and it was hard, but it was SO worth it. The main thing I learned last year was the power of God in my life. Like many others, I had tried to ditch sugar from my life countless times in the past and had never succeeded.

I succeeded with God.

It was an amazing lesson. I wish I had sufficient words to explain how empowering that was for me. And I celebrated on Easter Sunday with the world's best cupcake.

I thought about giving up sugar again this year but also wanted to do something new, something that would reveal a new truth for me. After some thought I realized that the thing I have been loving the most lately-finding the most joy and comfort in: spending money.

On things like Starbucks, Amazon, Target, Pottery Barn, Dinners out, stuff for the house, magazines, etc., etc., etc. So this year, in commitment to God, I am giving up ALL SPENDING for Lent. Of course I will still spend money on groceries, gas, and utilities, but that is just about it. Nothing extra and nothing "fun." I think this is going to be really difficult. I hope so. I really hope that the sacrifice teaches me a new form of discipline. I'm ready for it. "But whatever was my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ."

If you are giving up something for Lent, I'd love to hear your story!!

But whatever was my profit I
now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
What is more, I consider everything
a loss compared to the surpassing
greatness of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord.
Philippians 3:7-8

And it was good.

We had a WONDERFUL time in Charleston! I had been to Charleston twice before, but never for more than an afternoon, and I've always wanted to explore the city. We took a taxi from the airport straight to our hotel in the historic district-"on the battery." No need to rent a car, we walked everywhere. Which was really handy considering we ate a LOT. :) We stayed at the Mills House Hotel-it was wonderful. Mints on your pillow, fluffy terry bath robes kind of wonderful.

It was also room service wonderful :) Tell me I'm not the only person who could make an entire vacation out of a great hotel room, pay per view movies, and room service.

Of course the BEST thing about Charleston is the unbelieavably beautiful architecture. The homes are just incredible!!!! Warning-picture overload ahead.

Don't you just love the real shutters?

Fantastic moldings; Old Glory :)

These balcony curtains were to die for

Aren't the transom windows surrounding this door amazing? And love the ivy too.

These hanging baskets were one of my favorite sites all weekend-it was so good to have a break from winter!!

These stars were very cool.

This transom! That wooden door! Those lanterns!!

. . .

My hubby is a an award winning genealogist. (Best looking genealogist under the age of 80; only genealogist under the age of 65). All jokes aside, he is very into his genealogy and VERY good at it-thanks to his research we were able to find the house that my 5th great grandfather built on the battery in 1850. This is the house-isn't it stunning? He also tracked down a journal by a member of the family who lived in this house during the civil war which included the writer's comments on watching the cannons firing on Fort Sumter at the start of the war-amazing.

This is the family house. Built by Louis DeSaussure.

. . .
The Second best thing in Charleston? The shopping on King Street. Aside from lovely Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma and the like, there are many unique shops, such as this one, South of Market.

Boy oh Boy was this place great. I could have bought every piece in this store if it had not all been so incredibly expensive.

See these throw pillows? $400. Not kidding.

It was still great for inspiration and decorating ideas. Even Mr. Marvelous loved it. Speaking of him, here he is carrying my Pottery Barn bag-what a site!! ;)

We ended up riding up the elevator with another couple about our age and the other guy said to Mr. Marvelous: "Nice linens, man."

. . .

I had my eyes pealed for houses for sale as we were walking along-you know, just in case. :) Look at this cool beauty that was for sale. So run down and in need of some TLC-I would love to be the one to love on this house.

I stood on the front porch and took this picture through the front window-incredible, right? It was full of cobwebs and peeling paint. This is the kind of house we spent a year trying to find when house-hunting; a real fixer, and we just couldn't find it! I loved this house.

Amazing original hardware and operable shutters.

. . .
The best part of the vacation was the time we got to spend together. My husband really is my best friend and we have so much fun together; I can't imagine life without him; he is my greatest blessing.

Getaway

We are not avid vacations. I am a homebody. Mr. Marvelous is a saver. Combined together, most weekends of our six years of marriage have found us content at home-me trying to find the perfect place for my latest Pottery Barn purchase and Mr. Marvelous ~~reviewing our checking account online questioning "you spent how much at Pottery Barn!??"~~ praising my keen eye for coastal cottage style.

Our last official vacation just the two of us was three years ago. We went to Ocho Rios, Jamaica to celebrate the completion of my law review article, which took many long months to write. That was a much-needed vacation.

This winter we figured we could use another vacation. Destination unanimous-last Friday we set off for a long weekend in Charleston, South Carolina. A long weekend is just long enough for me to recharge my battery and develop the first hint of homesickness. After all, ~~my pottery barn sheets~~ Fred Thomas misses me. See?

We set off for Charleston on Friday morning. It was a bitter cold 19 degrees and I was itching for some warm sea air. We arrived at the airport and elected for "economy parking" ($7/night) over "long-term parking" ($11/night). Economy Parking was so full we immediately deemed it "recession parking." There was hardly a space to be had and it was only 7 o'clock in the morning. Speaking of 7 o'clock in the morning, Praise Jesus there is a Starbucks everywhere you turn in the airport. If there had been a Super Target, or say an Ikea, I might have abandoned the trip all together and elected to spend the weekend at the airport.

Sitting at the gate, waiting to board, the airline announced they would begin boarding "first class passengers." You know how it goes. I looked at Mr. Marvelous and confessed that in 20 years they won't be allowed to say "first class" anymore. It will be something like "front seat guests." I found an odd comfort in being in one of the last places in America where (what some might call) political incorrectness is alive and well in all of its old-fashioned glory. Maybe I need to rethink my disinterest in travel- even though I myself, was relegated to coach class travel.

And so we were off. And sitting on the plane in all of my coach class glory, I couldn't remember the last time I had four days alone with Mr. Marvelous-uninterrupted. I saw the sparkle in his blue eyes and the feeling of his hand in mind and then I knew it:

this was going to be good.

Image for the Day

I took this picture last Friday while on vacation with Mr. Marvelous in Charleston, South Carolina. I have lots of good pictures and stories to share from our trip, so stayed tuned, but in the meantime I wanted to share another picture that made me think of the beautiful renewing energy of spring. Blessings to you all, friends.

When the Storm has Swept by

Several years ago a vicious spring storm tore through our area. It was April and my garden had just begun to bloom after a long and cold winter. After the storm, we walked our yard to survey the damage and I found my tulips strewn haphazardly across the front yard.

I cried.

I did. It was like a dream, walking across spring green grass covered in snowballs of hail and tulip petals of every color.

Oh the dismay in the aftermath of a storm.

I gathered those tulips and shook off the icy remnants of hail and carried the precious flowers in the house.

Then I took this photo.

Because they were so beautiful. In spite of the storm. Because of the storm. This is still one of my all time favorite photos. I'm sure it could be improved by photoshop, but I don't own it, and I like the raw honesty of the photo as it is: that beauty after the storm.

When the storm has swept by . . . the righteous stand firm forever.

Proverbs 10:25

Well that was funny!

I read a lovely little blog called Small Notebook: Notes and Encouragement for a Simple and Peaceful Home.

Today's post on Small Notebook provided a useful list of household tools every homeowner should have on hand. Number One on the list was laugh-out-loud funny.

1. Plunger. One time my neighbor borrowed my plunger. I must admit, it was weird when he returned it. Have your own. Don’t be that guy.

I'm not sure which is funnier:

a. The idea of a grown man ringing some one's doorbell to borrow a toilet plunger,

b. The idea of a grown man ringing some one's doorbell to RETURN a toilet plunger, or

c. The fact that I have very vivid memories of living in a huge delapitated duplex my junior year of college with nine girlfriends, and sharing a plunger between our two units.

Ahh, memories.

Thank you for the laugh, Small Notebook

Why so Blue?

I think this shade of blue is the cat's meow. But I am somewhat intimidated to try to recreate this color in my own home.

You see, for me, blue is a hard paint color to choose-it always looks many shades darker on the wall than on the paint chip. When choosing the blue for our kitchen, I test drove many, many paint chips. We lived in a rental while the house was being built, and Mr. Marvelous was a good sport in letting me scotch tape paint chips in giant groups all over the walls.

This picture (below) was my inspiration kitchen, I printed this picture out as large as I could and held it up to those paint chips, over and over, in different lights, trying to find the right shade. It was an impossible task. And the color-match process at Lowes was not helpful.

I eventually gave up and went with my instincts: River Rapids by Ralph Lauren.

I was very nervous about this paint color because it was the first paint color I chose for the new house and the last thing I wanted to do was mess the place up before we even moved in to it! I even hired a pro to do the paint job-something I'd never done before. I'll never forget sitting at my desk at work when the painter called at the end of the day to let me know they had finished the job. I asked him how it looked and he responded "well, when we first opened the cans we thought 'yuck', but it ended up okay."

Well, I don't know what his kitchen looks like, but I think it is more than okay.

And it coordinates with my china.

We are happy here. Especially Fred Thomas.

But I am still hesitant to revisit the blue chips in the paint isle. I wonder how green is to work with . . .

Thoughts?

House Beautiful: 101 Makeover Ideas

I have last year's House Beautiful article "101 Makeover Ideas," dog-eared, highlighted, marked-up, and otherwise loved to death and stowed away in my bedside table drawer. I refer to it all the time for new ideas and inspiration. I was ridiculously excited to stumble upon this brand new list of 101 Makeover Ideas for 2009. Have at it! Grab a cup of coffee and check out this year's compilation of valuable design advice by 101 different designers for House Beautiful magazine.

Example:

Idea #29

"To give your rooms a cohesive, polished look, tell a color story with accessories. Start with the living room and strip out all the bits and pieces. Then choose one color and thread it back into the room with vases, candlesticks, pillows, and throws. Place a lacquered tray in the in the same color on the coffee table." -Shawn Henderson

My personal favorites?

Idea #31

"Buy a cherry red mixer from Williams-Sonoma and bake a cake. It's a very 1950s fantasy. Even if you never bake, it would cheer up your kitchen." -Stephen Shubel

Idea #101
"Take a nap.