Breezy, Coastal Bedrooms

All images, Coastal Living

Time out for Marriage: Or Things To Remember

My husband has a tiny scar beneath his left eye that is the only visible reminder of his run-in with the chicken pox at age 6.

I love that scar.

I remember falling in love with that scar some 8 years ago now-as well as the rest of him.

As I was laying in bed last night, watching him sleep, I wondered if he was gone forever, whether I would remember everything about that scar. And about the freckles around it. Would I remember the exact color of his blue eyes and the way they change with the light? So I lay in bed last night and listened to my love breathe, I watched him dream, and I memorized his beautiful face. Most nights, when we are falling asleep, I will reach over and whisper in his ear:

"You are my hero."

It is as natural to me as exhaling. I wonder if he is tired of hearing this after seven years of marriage?

What a wonderful, wonderful thing that marriage is. Yet so delicate. I try to think of my marriage like a baby bird in the nest: a miracle, a blessing, beautiful, special, but delicate, fragile, requiring exquisite care and attention and time.

I pray I never forget to respect the delicate nature of this awesome gift called marriage. I pray I will never forget to let my husband know that he is my hero. And that I will, if only every once in awhile, take the quiet time to study and memorize his face.

It is, after all, a marvelous gift from God.

Fall Nesting

What is it about fall that makes for such a wonderful season?

Cool air and short days that make you feel more able to curl up indoors with a great book?

The smell of freshly fallen leaves, the inside of a pumpkin set for carving, or a pumpkin spice latte or hot apple cider?

The taste of apple cider doughnuts? Apple pie? Pumpkin pie? Delicious fall confections?


Flannel quilts and a wood burning fireplace?


Yes, yes, yes, and yes. To all of the above.


This weekend we had our first cool temperatures, I had my first apple cider doughnut (heaven!!), and I took at least two naps under a homemade flannel quilt. Please don't judge, I am napping for two. :)

Aren't you so glad that fall is here? Or right around the corner?

I have unique memories of childhood falls in Michigan, where I took countless walks with my dad through our woods and had the rare opportunity to enjoy the smell of fall leaves with the sound of Lake Michigan crashing on the beach below.


If you missed the post last fall, this soup is just incredible and remains my fall favorite. Well, unless you count apple cider doughnuts. Have I mentioned those already???

Stay tuned for a post on my new obsession-easy peasey homemade applesauce, as well as a list of great fall reads.


Welcome, Fall!


We missed you dear friend.

Dear Birthday Boy,

My Dearest A,

Do you know that you were born into this world 6 years ago today? And that I remember your first breath? That I memorized the sound of your first cry and the feel of your tiny finger when it reached for mine?

Did you know that it has been you and me, from the beginning?

That every little boy needs an Aunt E?

That I made just a few close friends in law school because I always rushed home to be with you, play with you, rock you? Do you know that I had more fun with you in a minute than I would have in an evening with those others?

Do you know that you made me see the world in a new way? You made me see the beauty.

You made me wonder.

And believe.

Do you know that the day you were born, heaven opened up and poured its secrets into your big, beautiful blue eyes?

Do you know that I still see heaven there?

Do you know that I was there on your first birthday? That we ate chocolate cake and chased balloons? That you were just learning to walk and were proud to toddle around holding my hand?

That I was there on your second birthday? That you cried blowing out your candles? That we raced down the slides together?

And that I was there for your third birthday?

And your fourth?

And your Fifth?

And all the days in between?

Do you know that you made me believe in Santa Claus?

And that we were always silly together and had inside jokes?
I know that you know I am not there today. On your 6th birthday. Because you are there and I am here and there are many miles in between.
Do you know that you are in my heart, dear one?

That God is teaching me obedience, and patience and trust because we are apart?

And that God therefore still speaks to me through your big, blue eyes.

Happy birthday to my darling Adam, my partner in crime, my best buddy, and my first "baby."

I will love you forever and ever and ever,

Aunt E

Calorie Free Apple Pie

After my last post, several readers asked me to post my apple pie recipe. Thank you for asking! The best thing about this recipe is that there are NO CALORIES in it! Seriously! When it comes to apple pie in the fall, calories don't count! I am pretty sure it is in the gospel somewhere.

There are two keys to a great apple pie: (1) the right apples, (2) a great crust. Ha! Rocket science, no? :)

For step-by-step pictures of my simple go-to pie crust, click here.

My favorite pie apples are Macintosh. Other good bets are Ida Red and Johnathan. I can't stress enough, you absolutely need a good "pie apple" to make a good apple pie.

Before you get going, prepare your crust.

For your filling, peel and cut your apples until you have enough (rough visual) to fill your pie dish. Place apple slices in a large bowl and add 1 Cup of sugar. Stir. Add 6 Tbls white flour (or your choice of thickener), and 1-2 Tbl of cinnamon. That's it! Mix and pour apples into prepared pie shell. Feel free to add a few small pats of real, salt-free butter to the tops of your apples. Butter makes everything better. Except for maybe heart disease.

Place top crust over apples and cook in a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until crust is slightly golden brown and apples are hot and bubbling.

Enjoy, and remember to have seconds.

I did.

I am, after all eating for 1.001

It's a Beautiful Day

source

Top Ten Reasons Today is a Beautiful Day:

1. My headache went away before noon.

2. At noon, I went to the farmers' market and bought the first Macintosh apples of the fall to make an apple pie.

3. That means that at 6 p.m. tonight, I will be barefoot and pregnant, in the kitchen, and therein, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

4. I am wearing my go-to red heels.

5. I think they may just have scored me a discount on the apples.

6. Speaking of apples, my baby is now about the size of an apple, and I'm proud of all the hard work it took to get to this point!

7. I felt the baby move for the first time a few nights ago, so every minute of every day I am waiting to feel him/her again so my world can stop.

8. Mr. Marvelous.

9. I know that tonight, by 7:30 p.m., Mr. Marvelous will be sitting with me on the sofa, eating homemade apple pie, and talking to our baby.

10. GOD IS GOOD.

So what is beautiful in your world?

Hanging in There

Thank you so much to everyone who reached out to me the past week to see how/where I have been. I would be happy to report that my nausea started to let up some in the past few weeks, but sadly the nausea was replaced immediately by migraine headaches of a wicked severity-of course, including nausea! I have really been struggling to keep my head above water, so I pray you'll stick with me and I will be back to blogging more frequently as soon as I am able.

Also, thank you so much for the GREAT feedback from my last post, and be sure to check out the great stores featured in the right hand margin-I'm proud to be able to share them with you!!

Above picture from this awesome Etsy vendor.

Ordinary Acts of Kindness

I am so excited to announce the following two ideas!

Before the announcements, a "brief" aside:

I have written before that I started this blog at a time in my life where I was craving something MORE. I wanted a place where I could record the little, simple, beautiful things in everyday life that otherwise go unmentioned or unappreciated due to the basic act of trying to survive another stressful day.

I started blogging (selfishly?) for me.

I wanted a place where I could record how amazing the first daffodils of spring look after a hard cold winter, and how a homemade pie can take the edge off even the most stressful of work days. I am a simple girl at heart. My husband would be the first to tell you that nothing makes me happier than crawling into bed at night with freshly washed sheets.

To my amazement, other people began reading this journal of the little things, and somehow I have had nearly 100,000 visitors to this site in less than a year! As the blog has grown, so have my ideas and desires for this little corner of the world. (details below)

I encourage you, today, no matter what the circumstances, stop and pick some wildflowers outside your front door (weeds count, even leaves from a tree, I'm a big weed picker!), put them in a vase in your bathroom and enjoy the colors and textures of Nature. Wash your bedding, crawl into bed tonight and breathe the scent of fabric softener and know how lucky you are to have a bed and a home. Bake something, even if it is out of a box! Make sure it has lots of sugar and butter! Indulge and embrace the simple things that make life meaningful. If you have children, hold them tight, scratch their backs when they crawl into bed at night and take the time to smell the sweet smell of their hair. Remember the texture of your little one's favorite stuffed animal or blanket, soon enough it will be relegated to a closet or a basement. If you are blessed with a spouse, hold them close and tell them they are your hero. Love deeper, if just for today. Sit back and watch what it does to your heart.

In effort to love deeper, if just for today, I'm excited to announce the following!!

1. I would like to open up FREE advertising on my blog to anyone who is running, or just beginning to run, their own Etsy shop, or self-started small business. I think it is so important to encourage each other in these simple ways and I know that many women start their own small businesses, on Etsy or elsewhere, in order to earn extra money to stay at home with their children. Please email me if you would like to advertise here. proverbs2434@gmail.com I will get together the details. Space will be limited on a first come first serve basis to make sure the blog is not taken over by ads. :) Right now my plan is to cycle ads each month. No fees, no hidden agenda, just an ordinary act of kindess.

2. A sweet friend nominated me for a blog award at the site Divine Caroline in the Home category. The winner in each category earns $250 and I would LOVE to win that money to send to this incredible husband and wife team who gave up the easy life in the U.S. to become missionaries working with orphans in a hospital in Ethiopia. If you want to be inspired to dig deeper and love bigger, check out their site, because they are inspiring in every sense of the word. And please follow the icon at the top right to vote! (Edit, or here is the link: http://www.divinecaroline.com/awards/Aug-09/2153-rare-and-beautiful-treasures) I do think you'll be prompted to "register" after you click "vote" by supplying an email address and making up a password (sorry for that inconvenience).

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:37-40

If you stuck with me through this whole post/epistle, THANK YOU! I am so glad you are here! Now go forth and bake something with lots of sugar and butter and soak up the last days of summer.

darling image at top from here .

House on a Rock

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. "

Matthew 7:24-27

Clingstone, an unusual, 103-year-old mansion in Rhode Island 's Narragansett Bay , survives through the love and hard work of family and friends. Henry Wood, the owner, runs the house like a camp: all skilled workers welcome. The Jamestown Boatyard hauls the family's boats and floating dock and stores them each winter in return for a week's use of the house in the summer.

Mr. Wood, a 79-year-old Boston architect, bought the house in 1961 for $3,600. It had been empty for two decades. Clingstone had been built by a distant cousin, J.S. Lovering Wharton. Mr. Whartonworked with an artist, William Trost Richards, to create a house of picture windows with 23 rooms on three stories radiating off a vast central hall.

The total cost of the construction, which was completed in 1905, was $36,982.99

There are 10 bedrooms at Clingstone, all with "indecently beautiful views."

The house is maintained by an ingenious method: the Clingstone work weekend. Held every year around Memorial Day, it brings 70 or so friends and Clingstone lovers together to tackle jobs like washing all 65 of the windows. Anne Tait, who is married to Mr. Wood's son Dan, refinished the kitchen floor on one of her first work weekends.

Sign by the ladder that leads to the roof reads: No entry after three drinks or 86 years of age. "It used to say 80 but we had a guy on a work weekend who was 84, so I changed it," said Mr. Wood, ever the realist. It would have been a shame to curtail the activities of a willing volunteer!

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A friend sent me an email featuring this cool house!! I do not know the source of the original text of the article, but most photos can be found, here.