Beach Cottage November {A Second Wind}

After seven weeks away, we finally arrived back at the beach cottage this week!  We are settling in and preparing for a white Christmas.  {Are there any two words more lovely than "white Christmas?"}  We had so much fun in North Carolina, but it is so good to be home!  Was everything this beautiful when I left?  Because I could have sworn that the cottage I left in early October was very much "under construction" and making progress at a snail's pace.  It was a frustration.  I was glad to walk away from her for a bit.  But Monday evening I greeted this sweet cottage with fresh eyes.   These white washed walls and crystal chandelier and baby's sweet mobile welcomed us like a long-lost friend.  I have a new boost in renovator's energy.  A second wind.  Apparently distance really does make the heart grow fonder. 

And I am finding I am quite fond of this cottage of ours.  Perhaps I am even falling in love.  I think I will celebrate with frequent updates and photos of cottage life this December Christmas season.  

Imperfectly beautiful cottage living . . . white Christmas-style.

I hope you will join me. 

. . . and November goes

via

Here's to a Beautiful Thanksgiving!

{With thanksgiving for all the beautiful things!}

motherhood: vintage beauty

It isn't very often that you see the job of  mother and homemaker portrayed in such a beautiful {glamorous} light.  And yet it is a dream job, where the end of the day yields love, sticky hugs and innocent adoration- outweighing the frustrations and the mundane.

For that reason I fell in love with these images from talented photographer Mandy Lynne.

May God bless us all, dear mothers {and those praying to become mothers}.  Ours is the most beautiful job on earth.

Macaroni and Cheese {a culinary love story}

When we were married, my husband brought into our marriage the gift of his family's recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese.  It was his dowry of sorts.  Never mind that I don't particularly care for macaroni and cheese,  I love my husband and I love that macaroni and cheese is one of the four things he is able to cook and that he makes macaroni with gusto and ease and big pats of sinfully delicious butter.

Over the years of our marriage, I have (as the cook in the family), attempted to make variations of this family recipe, if for nothing else but the sake of (at least in the beginning) variety.  I have long wondered how many casserole dishes of the same basic mac and cheese one grown man can consume before tiring of it entirely, but it seems that his appetite is endless.  Endless, I tell you!  So therefore, in search of his highest praises on what to him is one of life's greatest joys, I have in times past, tried alternative versions of his basic (errr holy)  recipe.  I would work over a hot stove and wait patiently as he finally tried the first steamy spoonful of what I was sure would be the new and improved version of his Marvelous macaroni and cheese.  And he would politely "mmmm" and nod his head and say "it's good. . . . just not as good as mine."  He would pat me on the head, beaming his million dollar smile and jest that I could be the best at so many things but that macaroni was his domain.  He was the king and he wasn't surrendering his thrown.

Now a less competitive person would have given up and let the king have his day, but there was a nagging need inside of me to know that I had taken something that made his life oh-so enjoyable (even in the years before me) and made it better.  Better because of my contribution.  Now I know what you are thinking: "get over yourself, it's a side dish." But it was so much more.  Macaroni is . . . dare I say, his other love? His culinary mistress, if you will.  And I wasn't going to rest until I had one-upped her once and for all.

And so it came that one day, after many many years of marriage and many many many casserole dishes of macaroni and cheese, that I trumped her-the original recipe, that is.  While previous efforts had involved complicated additions of expensive ingredients, the solution to the riddle was, in the end, ever so simple.  Dijon mustard!  In the final stage of the original recipe, one pours several cups of milk over the prepared macaroni and then heats the dish in the oven.  One day when Mr. Marvelous wasn't looking, I added a tablespoon or so of Dijon to the milk, whisked it well and poured the milk over top without him any the wiser of the new addition.  When that macaroni came out of the oven, he took a bite and declared it the best macaroni he had ever made.

Amen to that!

I could finally rest.  The original family recipe now includes a tablespoon or two of Dijon mustard.  Every time!  And I took something that was great in his life and made it just a little bit better.

Isn't marriage fun?!

I love you, Mr. Marvelous!  Run away with me to the land of milk and honey and macaroni 'n cheese!

The Bee's Knees

. . . or at least his mama thinks so :)

Don't you love that blazer?  $3 consignment sale find . . . love that!

November Sponsors {and a giveaway winner}

I am delighted to introduce you to this month's sponsors!  

First up, my warm thanks to sponsor, Katie Lloyd Photography.  I just love her food photography and her scripture art!

Many thanks, also, to the talented Lisa Leonard, who needs no introduction!  I will be hosting a giveaway for Lisa in the next few days so be sure to stop back by . . .  

Have you ordered Holiday cards yet?  Check out the stylish designs of sponsor Tinyprints.com!

And last but not least, thanks also goes out to Harmony Acres Soap Company!  You can read more about Harmony Acres in my previous post . . . all-natural soap, lotion and lip balm deliciousness . . . family-owned and operated!

. . . and 

The winner of the Harmony Acres Soap Company giveaway is commenter Betsy and Jason!  Congrats, Betsy, drop me an email so I can get you your bar of Harmony Acres all natural baby soap!
 

Harmony Acres Farm

Wynn and I recently had the fun of visiting a working family farm here in Western North Carolina.   Don't you think it is fascinating to see how other families live and work?  I do-especially after leaving our "normal" suburban American, 2 salary lifestyle to follow the dreams God has written in our hearts.  Our lives have literally been turned upside down in the past year-I should write more about that, shouldn't I?  Lately I have been feeling like a bird that was let out of its cage and the view is amazing from up here in the sky . . .

For now, let me introduce you to the beautiful Emmons family.  They run a CSA program and a handmade soap company {the Harmony Acres Soap Company } from their farm in Wilkes County, North Carolina.  

After my mother in law met Mrs. Emmons at a local farmers market, The lady of the house was kind to invite us to the farm for a visit and behind the scenes peak at how things are done . . . it was awesome.  The Emmons are the real deal-timeless, with 8 beautiful children like little blond stair steps. They grow acres of organic produce, raise organic chickens, harvest their own eggs . . . I could go on. 

There was nothing worldly about this family and it was a true breath of fresh air, especially when I learned that both husband and wife had grown up in urban environments and followed the Lord and their dreams to farm life in the country. 

When I exchanged emails with the family before our visit, the directions they provided said that I would recognize the house by "brick farmhouse, 2 brown cows, 1 goat."  I loved this place before we even arrived.

During our visit we were able to see the area where they grow and harvest produce for their CSA program. 

Wynn met the animals and we chatted with the family about eating local and homeschooling-two things I have a growing interest in.   You can read more about life on the farm at their blog.  We were also able to see first-hand how their Harmony Acres Soap Company is organized and run. 

We also took home lots of goodies-soap and lotion.  Their products are seriously wonderful.  I picked out several bars of baby soap which I thought would be of special interest to all of my mommy-readers, and they are sitting here waiting for a good home.  What do you say we do a give-away? 

If you would like to win a free bar of {beautifully packaged} natural soap {which smells like heaven by the way}, simply "like" Harmony Acres on Facebook and leave me a comment here telling me that you did!  I will chose a winner at random before the end of the week. 

Thank you so much to the Emmons family for hosting us and letting us peak into your world!

All images courtesy of Harmony Acres Soap Company.