Thoughts from Alice W.

Farewell Dear Spring...

With the month of June just around the corner and the warmth of the sun getting stronger each day...it seems that our beloved spring will soon be on it's way...not to visit us again until next year.

In a way...it is bittersweet.

While I do enjoy lazy summer days, spring always seems too short lived. Spring represents so many things to us...rebirth of the earth, regrowth of plants and flowers, refreshing our homes with the yearly overhaul that is spring cleaning...

In a word...spring represents change. And for me...this year's spring has brought many changes...

My business has changed...dramatically. With my ongoing computer woes, I have had to make many changes on how I spend my days and strive to earn money. I can't currently rely on my design work as my main source of income, which has been quite a challenge...but this has also brought positive change. I have been able to refocus on other aspects of my creativity {jewelry, artwork, etc.} and find new product lines to bring to my wonderful customers. And while money has been very tight...I have been learning how to live with and enjoy {the key!} what I have...

This change has also given me more time to focus on my home...decluttering, rearranging, organizing and creating a more peaceful atmosphere. It is amazing how much joy you can find in a nicely organized closet or laundry room. With a fresh new look in the living room and dining area I am able to see my things with new eyes...and remember how much I love my home. And it has been so lovely to actually be able to sit and dine at the table...no more couch meals!

I have also been renewed in my spirit to seek out God in the every day...and realize that he was right here all along...when I wasn't paying attention and just wallowing in my own selfish desires. There is so much beauty in this world...but I had been forgetting to notice it...focused on all the "what if's", on the things I don't have, on myself...and my needs only...

I have been able to start paying attention to what I put into my body...eating healthier...waking up early {as opposed to sleeping the morning away as I had previously done} to drink herbal tea instead of the coffee that I would load up with cream and sugar. Eating fresh market vegetables and fruits {as opposed to only sugar, bread products, and processed foods} And the difference? I feel lighter...{and actually lost 4 lbs!}, feel renewed in my mind, open to possibilities, am finding contentment in where I am...and all because of some simple changes to my diet...

Another refreshing change, is the time that I have been spending with my soulmate...remembering how much I love him...and reveling in his love for me. It is so easy to always think the grass will be greener one day..."when we have a house, a baby, a yard, more money, etc, etc. etc." and forget to enjoy these precious moments that will quickly be gone.

I am holding his hand again. Loving his company. Flirting. And stepping away from negative talk to find sweet words flowing out of my lips in its place.

So this has certainly been a season of change for me. And one that will be carried with me throughout the year...and beyond.

Some blog specific changes to share...I have been overwhelmed with all of the new readers here...and am so thankful for each and every one of you. I wish I could visit you all and tell you my thoughts, but if I did...I think that would turn into a full time career. I do want to thank all of you that come and take the time to leave your precious words here. They really do brighten my day and give me something to look forward to. Some of you may have noticed I am posting less frequently...and this may be the case for a time...I have many other things I am tending to...but I will still be here...sharing my thoughts. I have not been able to visit your beautiful blogs in so long with all of these changes, and sometimes I feel sad inside knowing there is so much inspiration you are putting out there that I am missing...but hopefully over time I will be able to schedule in more room for that. I do hope you understand and know that I am cherishing the words you leave for me.

****

And just for fun...look who else has had a big change just in time for summer...

Before...

After...

{Although, he isn't embracing it as well as I have been striving to with all of my changes ;)}

If you have read this all...thank you...and I am sorry for getting so long winded...guess it has been awhile!

{Oh and I almost forgot! Tomorrow is the second anniversary of my days in blogland...so a giveaway will be just around the corner!}

Till next time...

 

Meet Mae...

Have you ever wanted something for so long you began to think it would never come?

Well that is how I have felt for several years about our newest addition...

And then the other day...there she was...waiting for me.

She seemed so out of place at a roadside sale, stuffed behind Mickey Mouse chairs, a child-size picnic table, and a plastic mannequin sporting a large Hawaiian shirt.

She certainly did not fit in.

Her good looks may have gone unnoticed by many of the passersby that day...but not by me. She stood out like a queen...like a Hollywood starlet...just waiting to be given the adoration that she deserves.

I walked as fast as I could {without trying to seem too eager}, and asked the man selling her, how much?

Sixty-five dollars was the answer, and she was sold before I heard the words.

Err...actually...before I had time to look to Joshua for the money that I certainly didn't have on hand...and before I realized he was in the mood to haggle. And this sale was smack dab in the middle of the Lilac Festival, with crowds of people and no way to pull up and put her in the car. She would need to be carried...like a lady...several yards away.

I never think when I spot something I have longed for.

Thankfully Joshua is always a good sport. Went to an atm and wasn't even upset he didn't get to ask for a lower price. It's a good deal, he assured me. He didn't complain as he had to carry her {and she is a bit on the heavy side} all the way to the car...past all of the gawkers.

I am a lucky girl. Well...Mae and I are both lucky girls...because now she will be loved and adored.

Prized in our home...

I dressed her up a a little bit for her first photo shoot. I am sure she will see many different looks throughout her life here.

I hope you enjoyed this first "meeting"...I am sure there will be many more to come...

On a side note...Joshua and I are going to Buffalo/Niagara Falls with my family for the weekend to celebrate my sister's graduation from college, so I won't be around to read all of your lovely comments and emails until I return. I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and before I go, I wanted to share with you the lovely flowers "Renoir" gave me for Mother's Day...he likes color ;)

I hope they brighten your day as they did mine...

Till next time...

Bonne Fête des Mères

Mothers are beautiful and life would never be so sweet without them. I know mine wouldn't.

I love spending time with my mother. Her presence alone is comforting and feels like home.

How will you celebrate your mother today?

Perhaps a tea or brunch....a card in the mail...a bouquet of flowers {or if you're me....a potted hydrangea plant in a deep shade of pink...her favorite color}...

Or, if your mother is no longer with you...reflections on her life and how she touched yours...

Above is my favorite photograph of my beautiful mother and me. I hope one day, when I become a mother, to impart the wisdom that she has bestowed upon me throughout my life...

Love unconditionally.

Don't judge others.

Use your imagination and you never know what you can create.

Good things will come, even if it takes awhile.

Believe in yourself.

The simplest of pleasures can bring the greatest joy.

Laugh.

Remember what is important - people, relationships, faith, hope and love... 

{the button above is my mother and me in 1982}

So today I wish all of the mothers, grandmothers, and motherly caregivers out there, a beautiful day filled with love, relaxation and pure bliss in the knowledge that you have changed the world.

Being a mother enables one to influence the future.  ~Jane Sellman

Till next time...

A Love Affair with White

My love affair with white began many years ago...with a little gold frame that one day, I decided to paint white. I found some sand paper, and when I began rubbing away some of the finish...I fell in love.

I have been in love ever since.

This little frame sparked the beginning of a journey for me...a journey for simplicity, romance, and day's gone by. I began collecting anything along the spectrum of white...ivories, creams, pale grays, sepias, and everything in between. These collections have grown over the years...

Clear glass...in the right light...appears white...

White buttons...I can spend hours enjoying the infinite beauty of these tiny adornments...

White furniture can be found throughout our home...along with ever growing stacks of linens and lace...

with monograms a favorite find...

Creamy white, off set with gold, is always pleasing to the eye...

and with a monochromatic palette...change can be simple and refreshing...

The hutch in our dining room was purchased at a thrift store for only 50.00. The dark pine wood would be unappealing to most...but a simple coat of white paint and it instantly has a new life...

A lover of white can never acquire too many ironstone, pottery and china pieces...

I long for an all white kitchen, but until we have our own home, I fill our kitchen with favorite white pieces including this delicate apron that hovers above the sink...

The studio, where artwork and creativity abound, is also filled with white inspiration...

Vintage thread and crocheted trim...

Antique cabinet cards displayed on painted wooden rulers...

Bolts of vintage lace...

and an endless supply of vintage papers, sheet music and books...

And no home is complete without a coordinating companion...

If you long to achieve the look of a white home, here is some inspiration that I have found along my journey...

Both of these were purchased on Amazon for relatively low prices.

And some websites and blogs filled with with lovely white inspiration:

Carolyn Westbrook Home

Belle Blanc

Modern Country

Me and Alice

Villa Extra

A Vintage White

White Living

Milly Garden

White Vintage

This is only a small list of the inspiring "white" sites and blogs out there. The love of white traverses the globe and even with language barriers...the photographs can speak for themselves.

I wish you all an inspiring day...till next time...

Angels Among Us

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2

Do you ever wonder if angels walk amongst us? Perhaps their wings and halos aren't as apparent as we have been lead to believe.

Maybe they are bedraggled...dirty...with wrinkled faces and missing teeth. A strange thought?

Perhaps.

A couple of weeks back, when Josh and I were headed to the cemetery {see here}, we drove downtown to get cappuccinos from our favorite coffee shop. It was rush hour and the road was packed...no where to park. Josh asked if I would get out and order and he would drive around and pick me up.

I cringed when he asked. {For those of you who don't know me well...this is not something I would jump at the chance to do. I am not very comfortable doing things that involve crowds and chaos on my own.} But as cars started filing behind us, I reluctantly got out of the car.

I quickly made my way inside and was delighted to find no line. I asked the barista for two cappuccinos and stood waiting as she made them.

A few moments later, I noticed a figure approaching me. The first thought that came to my mind was "homeless," I am ashamed to admit. I stood at an angle so that our eyes wouldn't meet...as if I hadn't even noticed him at all.

He got closer.

I could feel him behind me. He began to cough for a few moments...a serious cough. I began to hear a voice...telling me to turn...smile. I didn't want to. I prayed silently for him and his cough. And then feeling the urge stronger, I turned and gave a rather awkward smile being sure to look him in the eyes. He smiled too. I turned back to the barista wondering if she would be done soon...but you know how it goes with good coffee...it takes awhile.

I heard this man start to speak. "You have a dimple," he said with a beaming grin.

"Do I?" I asked with a coy smile.

"That means an angel poked your face."

I immediately began to laugh...and felt my reservations melting away. I told him I had never heard that one before. He said he had a dimple...quite a few in fact. "I am not at my best," with a bit of a frown. {Okay here is the part that I wish I could insert some amazing consolation that I offered him....but all that came was a brief glance in his eyes and pursed smile.} We went on to make small talk about lattes vs. regular coffee, he asked the barista for $2.00 worth of cake, and we stood together all the while smiling.

My cappuccinos were ready. I turned to him and said, "I hope you have a good day," again with a smile. He said the same and as I turned back, the line behind me had grown to the door. I hadn't even noticed. I walked around the crowd, out the door, and into the car waiting for me.

"Thanks for getting the coffee and sorry for making you go in," Josh said as I got in.

"It's okay. I think I was supposed to."

I tossed and turned that night...thinking of all the things I should have done. Asked him his name. Paid for his cake. Paid for a meal? Oh why didn't I think of these things when I was there with him? Why was I so afraid...so awkward? I prayed for him that night...and the next...and the next. Hoping and wondering...could God use just a smile? Could that ever be enough?

Then I remembered the mustard seed and knew the answer. Perhaps he wasn't an angel after all...perhaps he was just an ordinary homeless man in a coffee shop who needed a smile. Next time maybe I will be able to offer more...but even if a smile is all you have...it is a wonderful gift to offer...

"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40

Till next time...