In my Dreams

I love my life.  I love my husband and our dreams and everything that God has blessed us with.  However, when I ran across this little cottage, I felt the slightest twinge of jealousy.  Not the kind of jealousy that makes me unhappy with where I'm at, but the kind that makes me hope I someday get to have something just this precious.  Even a room in a house, or even a closet, that looks like this, would make me so giddy.

The best part about this adorable cottage is that the owner created all of the loveliness herself.  And she did it with $3000.  Though I don't just have three thousand to spare, she did an amazing job with that small of an amount.  Thank you, New York Times, for making me feel so happy and hopeful.  And giving me a place to dream about...

Could you imagine sitting on this porch?

I already love all white decor.  She made it even more desirable and just so gorgeous.  

She makes this shabby-chic look so effortless.

Window boxes, Rain boots, White-washed porches...

Need I say more?!

Oh... and, she has a blog.  She has the most darling Christmas photos up of the cottage.  Here's just a peek:

all images used from Mrs. Foster's blog

Ah, dreamland.  Please tell me that even if you're not an English nerd like me, you still just get all wobbly in your knees for this kind of thing?!

Let's all have a pretend tea-party here.  See you at noon.  Or any time of day, because it'll be gorgeous.

Writer's Block

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind.

First, my husband and I travelled all the way across the country for 4 days, and we had the time of our lives.  San Francisco was beautiful, and we loved seeing some old friends and meeting some new ones.

Then, last week, before Christmas, we got to deliver Christmas presents out to our block, which made me want to never leave the sweet people that live there.  Their openness to us over the past year has given me such a new perspective on my community.

And, then, of course, there was Christmas.  Splitting the holiday between two families ends up being less splitting and more spreading ourselves out.  We love the chance to see both sides, but I am completely exhausted.  My house needs cleaning but even more than that, I need a day where I can be alone.  So far this morning, I have not said any words out loud.  And I'm really ok with that.

Please Read This:

To add to this, I have been feeling a form of writer's block.  It is probably better explained as writer's confusion.  For awhile now, I have been contemplating the direction of my blog.  I love sharing fun stories and life things with my readers, but I also do not want to be completely self absorbed in my communication.  There are other things that are so important to me (the fight against human trafficking, women growing closer to the Lord, etc.) that I sometimes have a terrible time striking a balance between the two.  I find myself at a sort of a crossroads.  Here are my options:
   a) Stay the same.  Try to be more balanced in fun posts and serious posts, though it might confuse my audience a bit.
   b) Change up the blog to make it more serious and shoot toward more meaningful posts every day, perhaps losing some readers that enjoy a more lighthearted post, but knowing that I am truly fulfilling what I feel called to do.
   c) Keep bon mot to be what it defines - clever, fun, and lightheartedness.  Start a second blog that is closer to posts like this, this, and this.  That way, readers will be able to choose, and I won't feel pressure.

Please, please tell me what you think.  It would help me tremendously.

These two things are completely disconnected:

1. We (me and my adorable husband) leave for California this Thursday, and will return next Monday.  I'll try to schedule posts, but if I don't get to, send me happy happy thoughts for our first time ever on the west coast!  I hear it's beautiful, and we get to see a lovely array of people we oh-so admire and look up to.  Some of them even have blogs:

Mandy Santos

Rebekah Jackson

& 

Stacie Wood 

(whom I have only met once, but am looking forward to getting better acquainted with!)

We are just so thrilled.  California, here we come (oh, that sounds so cheesy... in an old-timey way... but that fits me, I guess).

via

2. I knew that if I didn't blog about this, I wouldn't remember, so here goes:

Yesterday, Billy and I were standing in a line at Wal-Mart, waiting patiently as the people ahead of us were attempting to use a gift card that seemed to have run out.  Actually, Billy was the one being patient, and I was sighing and rolling my eyes.  If I'd had something to tap my acrylic nails on, it would have been the perfect moment.  The people in front of us were just buying one thing - a six dollar bottle of wine.  They were a couple, and she was insisting that their gift card had "Six dollars and thirty-two cents" on it.  Exactly.  Over and again, and again, she repeated.  

And then it happened.  The cashier looked at her, right between the fifth and sixth try of swiping the gift card and she smiled.  She sweetly asked the wine-purchaser, "Are you pregnant?"  All I could think was, No she didn't! Seriously.

This girl had to weigh all but 80 pounds.  Plus, she was purchasing wine, very decidedly.  She'd carried it, she was paying for it, and by golly, I think she was going to drink it.  If she was pregnant, that would be a bad mommy-move.  Almost everyone knows that you don't drink alcohol when you're pregnant (or at least you shouldn't!).

Obviously, the wine lady gawked at the cashier, right as her gift card cleared, and stalked off with her husband.  Oh, and she said, "NO, I am not pregnant."  And she blushed.  I almost blushed for her (I'm a regular blusher.  It's a talent.).

We were next, and I stood there breathless... literally.  I held my breath, and sucked in as much as I could.  I was NOT going to get asked if I was with child.  I may claim baby fever, but if I look pregnant, there better be a baby coming soon.

Evidently, my mission was accomplished.  She didn't say any extraneous thing to me besides the final prices.  She was probably embarrassed.  Either that, or I just looked super skinny for those two minutes.

Thank God I did not faint right there in Wal-Mart.  I'm thinking that it was worth it, though.

Moral of the story: NEVER ask a lady if she's pregnant unless it is almost watermelon-sized.  Also, if this story scares you, go for a run.  It's on my agenda today.  Either that, or learn how to suck in and not pass out.  If you figure it out, email me with the secret.

Dear Rudolph,

He's just using you for your nose.

Sincerely, The Other Reindeer.

quoted from here

I'm so excited for all of these movies.  

It's amazing that they got such real footage of Rudolph and all of the elves.  

(Hey, I wasn't allowed to believe in Santa.  I had to find some magic somewhere.)

Merry Almost Christmas, friends.

Completely Belated

Due to life, I'm completely late on many of the updates I've been meaning to give!  However, that means I get to make a list, and my little OCD self is super excited about it!

1.  My new Weekly Favorite is up.  Check out my sidebar.

2.  The Sunday before Thanksgiving (see, I told you that this was late!), we did our annual Turkey Outreach (where we give away turkeys and meals ready to cook).  This year, we gave meals to over 1500 families!  Every year is incredible, but because we've got a block that Billy and I go visit anyway, we got to lead our regular team out there.  It was so amazing to see our people connect with the people on the block.  Sometimes, they're a bigger blessing to me than I ever am to them.

Some kids decorated the boxes.  Adorable?  Yes.

His name is Cash.  But he might tell you today that it's Bob.  And tomorrow, it's Marcus.  But really, it's Cash.  Who cares what his name is with eyes like those?

Unloading the turkeys.  So cute... Ahem, sorry honey.  Manly and Strong.

Is all of the preparation and a whole weekend of work worth it?  Definitely.

(P.S. - This is not me)

3.  I made my own Christmas card and saved truckloads of money.  Maybe next year I'll start a little local business for the cash.  Or, you know, the holiday cheer.  (I will be uploading my card after I send it out.  On my To-Do list.)

4.  I took some pictures this weekend of a dear friend who refuses to blog, though she is hilarious and so much fun.  She's pregnant (hola, baby fever) and adorable.  I'll only give you one picture, because I haven't even shown her yet!  I'm super glad she let me practice my photo skills on her and her hubby.

She loves Zebra.  We wore Zebra shoes in her wedding.  So of course, the scarf...

Alright, friends, we're almost all caught up!

Blair from Wild & Precious

This week's favorite (found in the sidebar) is Wild & Precious.  Blair's is so great and I am so excited to share her with you all!  You just must check out her blog.  It is sweet and down to earth, yet so lovely and sophisticated.

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When did you start blogging?

I had a very short lived blog in 2005 and then started this one in 2007, however for the first three years it was just for friends and family -- and had maybe 3 followers.  In March of 2010 I really started to
expand my readership and really started having fun with my blog.

Why did you start your blog?

When I started in 2007, really -- hardly anyone I knew blogged.  I had to email my parents every time I posted with the link and tell them to read it.  I had two friends who also blogged and were perhaps my only readers.  I like exploring new things on the computer and the blog was just a way of trying something new.  It was also at that point, more of a scrapbook of my life.

What is your favorite aspect of the blog world?

The community it brings!  I really feel like I have made so many great friends.  I also just learn so much from following other people's lives - whether it is about relationships, fashion, crafting... I seriously learn so much.

Where do you find all of your fashion inspiration?

Hmm.. fashion inspiration? I think if people met me, they might be disappointed by my sense of fashion.  I do what I can with what I have -- I'm pretty frugal when it comes to shopping and trends, so what I post I very rarely own.  I like to look at Anthropologie and J.Crew and then see what I have in my (very small but over flowing) closet that might be able to make similar to what I saw but with my own twist.  I'm into comfort, but also like for people to say, "hmm, I wouldn't necessarily wear that, but you pull it off."

Why did you choose the mason jar for your button (which is so cute, by the way)?

I was looking for something simple and kind of obscure that I thought represented both aspects of the name of my blog - both Wild and Precious. I love mason jars - especially old ones.  Use as a vase with wild flowers, sip a summer drink out of them, catch lightning bugs... I just had a lot of memories, both precious and wild, attached to mason jars and so decided it would be perfect for my button (and occasionally in my header image - which I like to switch up a lot).

What is one weird thing most people don't know about you?

I'm probably just pretty weird in general - but to me, all my oddities seem pretty normal. Hmm.. I'm not a big reader, but I do like to read fantasy stuff a lot -- like Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, The Eldest Series (its about dragons)!  I guess thats pretty weird/funny.

Do you think that you are the same on your blog as in real life?

I think i'm pretty transparent.  But like I said, I'm probably not as fashionable or design savy as my blog may suggest.  Although I truly do admire and maybe even aspire to some of the design images or apparel I post, my current taste (and budget) is much more simple.

Lastly, if you were getting a Grammy or an Oscar (because being my weekly favorite doesn't quite measure up to that), who would you thank?

I would like to thank God (you have to thank him first in the Oscars, plus He is awesome), Sarah Ann for being so sweet to highlight me, my husband for putting up with all the time I spend on the computer instead of hanging out with him and for all the html help he gives me.  I'd like to thank all my great sponsors, bloggy friends, all the designers who give great creations away on my blog, and all my followers!

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Thank you, Blair!

Now, go check out her Wild and Precious blog!