Baby's First Shoes

Could these possibly be any cuter!?

You can get your own right here. (don't worry, they didn't pay me to say that!)

Guess What?

I am going to have a SON.

More on this when I come down from Cloud Nine . . .

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him." Psalms 127:3

Happy Birthday: Lessons Learned in One Year of Blogging

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It's the one year anniversary of this lil' blog!

I would love to pass gourmet cupcakes with sparkler-style candles to all of you faithful readers who have returned time and again to read this little journal of Rare and Beautiful Treasures.

What a year it has been!

I will be real with you and tell you that this has been a difficult year; the kind of year that brings you to your knees and leaves you with but one breath of air left in your lungs to cry out for mercy. Somehow in the midst of that rubble, this blog was born.

Prior to this year I lived my life (like all people?) afraid of the black and blue that hovers in the shadows. I was ready for the black and steeled against whatever the blue might bring, but it was many shades of grey that turned up at my door like a thief in the night to slowly dismantle things: page by page, memory by memory, love by love.

Today, on this anniversary, I can tell you the specifics are not important, but the lessons are varied and true. I consider myself to be but one amongst a brotherhood of the courageous, who will ultimately be called the triumphant. And I am confident that after a year of standing in ashes that God will somehow use them for beauty. I wait on that day with an eager heart, and I pray that I will not be so caught up in my own plans that I will miss the transformation. For today a new life kicks within me and I want to keep walking forward, but to not forget the lessons of the past, learned on ice cold nights when my head was plastered to the ground in silent prayer. My heart will always remember the cries-"Yaweh, where are you??"

So here I sit today, as the season's change, the air is cool but the sky the bright blue of promise, and share these lessons (link heavy!) learned in one year of recording God's Rare and Beautiful Treasures:

1. You really can train your mind to focus on the simple things. It is worth the effort.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

-Philippians 4:8

2. If you write the lovely things in a journal, and then post them on the internet for the world to read, people will. From countries across the world, your voice will be heard.

3. This takes courage.

4. You will make irreplaceable friends that you otherwise would never have known this side of eternity.

5. There is beauty here on earth, but the real treasure is in heaven.

6. Life is the same for readers in Brazil and Australia as it is for me in Indiana: life's stress will come but you can always take time out to watch the birds and to bake a pie. Somehow, in the midst of life's jagged edges, this matters.

7. Home improvement projects will take twice as much money as you anticipate and six times as much time.

8. The easiest projects you create on a whim and a song will circulate through blogland and be every one's favorite.

9. Neutrals may be best, but a pop of color goes a long way.

10. You may cry an ocean of tears, but the Lord knows every tear. Someday He will use them to wash you free of that which will have fallen away.

Thou tellest my wanderings:

put thou my tears into thy bottle:

are they not in thy book?

Psalm 56:8

11. Sometimes you cannot feel God-and that is ok. He is still there.

12. God answers prayers.

13. Sometimes you will be thrown about in a raging sea, but only to be better refined for the journey before you.

14. On your birthday, you may receive a call from a stranger you have never met, offering to pray with you, and then the answer will be clear: "Yaweh, there you are." (thank you to a special friend who has made Jesus alive and real to me over and over and over this year, I love you Steph.)

15. Sometimes the best renovations cost the least amount of money.


16. Ralph Lauren and his paint colors cannot always be trusted. (sorry Ralph, but seriously, send clothes, all will be forgotten.)

17. Green monster smoothies taste great and will help you shed pounds: 1 cup almond milk, 1 banana, 2 heaping cups fresh spinach, 1 Tbl almond butter, few ice cubes, blend. Trust me, friends.


18. A good novel and cup of sweet milky tea can improve almost any day.

19. You are sometimes powerless to protect the ones you love the most. This hurts like walking barefoot on broken glass, but carries an important message-you must trust God to protect them according to His perfect wisdom. For you are not God.

20. Francine Rivers writes life-changing books. Haddasah, sweet sister in faith, thank you for your faithfulness.

21. You will be blessed if you take the time to stop and buy the flowers.


22. You can never have too much wainscoting or too many hardwood floors.

23. You might always walk the earth with a limp, but your crutch will be the One who suffered more and knows all.

24. For To everything, there is a season.

and every season will bring understanding and thereby knowledge. Your house will then be built upon a rock . . .

25. “its rooms filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Proverbs 24:3-4

Reupholstering a Kitchen Table Bench

Several weeks ago Mr. Marvelous and I bought this bench to add additional seating to our kitchen table. I've always wanted bench seating and this bench was the right color, fit, and was very affordable. The cushion fabric, however, was sort of a yawn. As you see from above, it put Fred Thomas right to sleep!

What's a girl to do?

**Update** For those who inquired on the source of the bench, it is from here. :)

I fell in love with this fabric by Liz Claiborne Home.





Close-up of the fabric detail, photos do not really do it justice, it has a slight quilted texture and it is soft as butter. The soft blues and greens are perfect for our kitchen.


I began the project by turning the bench upside down and identifying the screw holes that were holding the bench cushion onto the bench itself.





One by one, I unscrewed nine screws and then was able to pop the cushion right off.





I cut my fabric, approximately 6" wider and longer than the cushion itself so that I would have plenty of fabric to fold over the corners of the bench. I used a staple gun to attach the new fabric to the cushion pad, placing staples approximately ever 1.5" inches around the perimeter.




I trimmed the corners with scissors to get rid of excess fabric, which made the corners easier to fold and staple in place.



After that, I was able to put the cushion back on the bench and replace my screws. VIOLA!


Looks great with our kitchen table and adds much more visual interest than the plain cream fabric did.

My kitchen is happy!

Let Your Light Shine

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

Fall Reading List

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I mentioned some time ago that I would share a fall reading list with you faithful blog readers. The last time I blogged about novels, a kind commenter introduced me to Francine Rivers and really, my reading-life hasn't been the same since! So following my recommendations, please feel free to leave a comment with what you are reading and loving lately. I seem to be going through about a book a week right now and I'm always looking for a new good read!

Rare & Beautiful Treasures' Fall Reading List:

The following is a collection of books I have recently read and loved, along with those I plan to read this fall.

I recently finished this book and it really blew me away. It is a fast read, once you pick it up you won't be able to put it down. When it is over, you simply will not be able to forget it.

In many ways, it reminded me of The Glass Castle, which is a memoir, and one of my all-time favorite reads:


This fall I have also read and loved The Last Queen:
On the non-fiction front, I have been reading Passionate Housewives Desperate for God.

This weekend (tonight!), I am going to be starting this:

And then hopefully starting on this:

Please leave a comment, for me (and all the other readers), of things you have recently read and loved, or that you plan to read this fall!

Blessings and Happy Cuddling-by-the-fire-fall-reading,

18 Weeks in Love

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: And all that is within me, bless his holy name!"
Psalm 103:1

Cozy Living Spaces

So the weather is cool and its time to get cozy. We finally broke down and turned on our heat last night for the first time this fall. Here is a collection of lovely, cozy rooms, courtesy of one of my favorite sites.


Natural elements in this room, like the sea grass woven light shades, add to the cozy feel of this pretty kitchen.

Warm wood tones, lovely for fall, or anytime.
I could nap in this room any day of the week. I bet that chest is full of great novels too. This room reminds me of my friend Abby's blueroom, that I blogged about here.

Can you believe that this is an outdoor kitchen??!!??

And finally, proving that blue can be comfy-fall-cozy too, a lovely blue grey bathroom. With matching hydrangeas, of course.

Rate My Space: Fall Dinner Party

Just look at these amazing photos from HGTV's Rate my Space! The owner of this beautiful dining room said she was inspired to throw a fall dinner party after finding this dining table, which seats 12, for $29.00 at a thrift store!

Absolutely beautiful!

All of the blue and aqua in my house has been holding me back from doing much fall decorating-these images are inspiring though . . . I'm off to see how I can successfully marry aqua and blue with browns and oranges . . .

Fall Dinner Parties

I am starting to think about hosting a "fabulous fall" dinner party. All of the fall tablescapes out there are so inspiring! We finally bought a dining room table (!!!!) and I'm itching to put it to good use.

All images: myhomeideas.com

The last time I had a fall dinner party was three years ago at our old house. That party was put together in an afternoon, and on a dime (if that).

The house did not have a dining room, so we just pulled our (truly) old kitchen table into the living room and I threw a fall-ish piece of fabric from my sewing box over top for a makeshift table cloth.

I painted small terre cotta pots with chalkboard paint and then used chalk to make the pots into place settings. A few fresh clippings from my fall garden were included.

I think I might want to do something slightly more fancy this year . . . who would like to come to my dinner party? :)

Any plans for entertaining this fall? Do share!

Living House

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house.

At first, perhaps you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you know that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised."

(The house seems better now-more of what you wanted for yourself)

"But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?

The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace.

He intends to come and live in it Himself!"

-C.S. Lewis

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Many thanks to Alyssa for sharing this excerpt on her blog that dug down deep and touched my heart. (Hopefully I didn't offend anyone by adding photos to illustrate the story.)