Finished Object Friday

Mom and I did some sewing last Saturday. I had been eying some fabric at Hobby Lobby for quite some time. When I finally decided to get it, the lady marked it 1/2 off!! So we decided to buy the rest of the bolt and make everyone matching skirts... then we did a little extra: (heehee!)


See? We all match!! It's all in the family! :)

I'm loving my skirt too!! So comfy - and simple, just one straight seam and hem and elastic at the top. Mom and I both worked on the skirts, and I did most of the tie work myself (using this tutorial - easy!) I have a feeling if there is a little boy in my future, he will be getting some bow ties! :)

(This is the guys' "I'm cool enough to wear a funky bow tie" look!) :)
That's our friend Andrew on the left.


Oh, and the guys were great sports and wore them into church.

When our pastor asked Mark about his tie, Mark said, "My wife made me do it."
Andrew's answer? "HIS wife made me do it!" heehee!! Thanks for putting up with us guys!!

So how about you? I can't wait to see your crafty projects!! :)

A Distant Melody

My last book review was a bit of a downer, I know. Believe me, I was disappointed as well! However, the more I read A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin, the more excited I became. This is an excellent book!! First, a small synopsis:

Allie is an heiress to a fortune, and she has always done everything just as she "should" at least according to her parents. June 1942, World War II is just beginning. While visiting for a friends wedding, Allie meets Walt and her world is turned upside down. Walt is a pilot with the Army Air Force. But there is a problem. Allie is dating Baxter, and according to her parents, should be a good girl and marry him so the family fortune remains in good hands. But I don't want to give anything away!! It really is a cliffhanger until the end! Excellent story!

But should Christian fiction just be about "good stories?" Shouldn't it go deeper than just a story, and should it not ride the fence of appropriateness? Allie and Walt struggle with real life issues. And they try to deal with those issues Biblically. Here are just a few of the themes dealt with in this book:

• Telling the truth at all times
• Not being unequally yoked with an unbeliever
• Obedience to God rather than sacrifice
• The power of prayer

Wow. That's some good stuff. Not only that, but from what I can tell it's pretty historically accurate. (I haven't done a whole lot of in depth study of WWII.)  The writing is also excellent, this one, like my last review is a debut novel. You can tell that the author has done her research and knows her era. My only major issue about this book is "What took me so long to read it??" :) 

I know I've done a lot of reviews in the last few weeks, and I hope you aren't tired of them. This book isn't even for a review program - no one gave it to me to review, I got it from the library. You know I like to share good books and this one merited it's own review. (You can purchase it here.)

PS~ Just in case you are interested - I've been keeping my Book List page updated! :) 

Spring for Susannah

Spring for Susannah is a historical fiction book about a mail order bride and her adjustments to Dakota frontier territory. Susannah, out of options in her hometown now that both of her parents have died, marries her minister's brother, Jesse, by proxy before heading out to meet him for the first time. This book is about her adventures and adjustments to married life as well as life on the frontier in a sod house. She also has the adjustment of getting to know her husband, who is suffering from post tramatic stress dissorder - residual from the Civil War.

I looked forward to reading this book because I love reading books about couples who are married and then fall in love. (Think Love Comes Softly.) This book has a good basis for a story line, and the writing is pretty well done - especially for a first novel - but was a little hard to follow at times. What I didn't like about this particular book, however, is that the author put too much emphasis on the physical aspects of their marriage. Any reader of this type of story line knows that this conflict is there, but I believe it is up to Christian fiction to hold to a higher standard. I think the author would have done well to focus more on other conflicts that deserved more than a cursory mention - such as the stress disorder faced by Jesse. So to summarize, while I enjoyed the book overall, there were parts that made me uncomfortable, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to an unmarried person.

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Booksneeze gave me this book in exchange for a honest review.

The Garden Times

In this edition of the Garden Times, we will visit my garden and see how much it has grown since our last visit!

I'm not sure if I should be surprised or not, but it has grown rather well!!

I've gotten a bit of ripe fruit - mainly cherry tomatoes. I seem to do really well with those, but the stawberries have been really good - the few I've picked. This are my biggest so far... any strawberry tips you have would be greatly appreciated! :)

And I have a bit of fruit that I am eager to get ripe!

Here's something else colorful - in my herb garden! :)

Finished!! (well...almost...)

Ready for some before and afters? Well, we'll start with a "after" because I like the pretty pictures to be first! heehee!

 

Just to get everything in perspective... this is what our bedroom looked like from the time we moved in, until about a year ago...

But I was ready for a change - here was my "let's see how this looks" photo...

Then with some help from a friend - it looked like this:

 

 Look how similar the paint ended up! (well... it looks pretty close in person - it's sooo hard to get colors right on the camera!) :)

A few weeks ago, you saw this:

Now look!

I still want to get a wreath for the big frame, then hang the "M" on top of that, but I haven't found one yet. Something similar to this. (Anyone know why HobbLobb doesn't carry pretty wreaths???) Any ideas where to find one for a good price? :)

But in all, I've been tickled with how this turned out. The funny thing was that I orginally planned to paint everything cream, but decided to first hang it all and see how I liked it. After getting everything hung, I'm so glad I didn't paint anything!! I love it just the way it is! :)

And this picture?

I just got it for the frame! But once I got it home (and out of the "thrift shop pile of frames") I REALLY liked it, and it matches perfectly! And brings something a little different than just empty frames or mirrors. Just goes to show, you never know! Give something a try and you might just like it, right?? :)