A little more patriotism

My new wreath isn't the only summer decorating that I have going on around here. I had fun putting my mantle together as well as a few more patriotic touches here and there.

Not sure if you can read it, but the "parchment" in the frame is the Pledge of Allegiance. :)

Our living room has a bit of a different set up recently:

We sold our couch to some newlywed friends. Although I do miss having a couch every now and then, I do enjoy the open feel of my living room. (Don't look to closely at that side table though... it is a work in progress!) ;) Here's a post showing how our living room used to be set up. Yes, I DO like the more open feel. Eventually we may purchase another couch, but it may be when we change homes. :)

On the piano:

I am enjoying changing the decor in my cloche - I love having that New Testament in there. Such a piece of my family's history! :) (It was the NT my grandfather received as a soldier in the Pacific in World War 2.)

How about you? Anyone else done some summery/patriotic decorating? I am going to put Mr. Linky up just for fun! Feel free to share your decorating post, or anything else really... I think I'm kindof missing linking up every other week... ;)

Finished Object Friday - Patriotic Wreath

As I said earlier, I've been doing a bit of redecorating around our house. I really enjoy decorating for the seasons - not only Christmas, but for each new time of the year. So, since it is now June and basically summer here in Texas, it was time to put away my springtime things and get out my summery decor.

I haven't been super thrilled with the little welcome sign I had on our door in previous years. So I decided to make a wreath. I bought a spool of burlap "ribbon" and wrapped a 12 inch wreath. (With 30 feet of ribbon, I had about a yard leftover.)

 Then Angie and I made flowers out of fabric and buttons that I had on hand. We attached them to clippies so they are removable! I can remake my burlap wreath any way that I want to... and having them on clippies helped us to be able to reposition them until they were where we wanted them. (This is where sis really came in handy. I knew if I kept working with them I'd probably never be satisfied with the placement. I just had her put them on, and it turned out really cute - and I wasn't tempted to keep fiddling with them! It's great to have her home for the summer!!) :) Cost for the wreath about $7.00.

So have you been making something patriotic? I'm excited to see what you all have been up to the past month!

Coming up next!

Can you believe it's June already?? It's been a busy month!We have been busily putting the finishing touches on our home study! Our "rough draft" has been submitted and we are getting feedback from the agency before we are officially "in the book" and waiting! That may even happen in the next week or so! Exciting!! :)

 In the mean time, it is once again time for our monthly Finished Object Friday!! Well... come Friday anyway.... Here's a little sneak peek of my project. I've been doing some redecorating for summer around our house. :)

See you Friday!

Book Review: Where Lilacs Still Bloom

There are authors that are fun to read… then there are authors that are just so good that you read one of their books and you just have to “chew” on it for a while. I have known, without even reading her, that Jane Kirkpatrick falls into the latter category. (Sometimes you just know…) Where Lilacs Still Bloom is a fictionalized biography of Hulda Klager. Hulda was an amazing woman – German immigrant with a passion to minister to others through her garden. She developed many different varieties of lilacs in her lifetime as well as raising a family.

It took me a little while to get into this story. Even when I didn’t think I was quite “into” it, I found my mind going back to her story and being drawn back in. (in other words, it wasn’t one of those “Can’t put it down” books for me, but I still couldn’t quite get away from it.) The storyline was a little hard to follow initially. There are several different characters that seem unrelated at first, but by the end of the book, they all are very much impacted by Hulda and her work.

 I love the fact that Jane Kirkpatrick puts so much research into her work. Her goal is to tell the stories of women in history and she does a good job. Her books are certainly something with “meat” in them. I loved learning about her characters and by the end of this book, I had a new appreciation for lilacs and plant propagation.


 (Thanks to Waterbrook Press and Blogging for Books for my free review copy. All opinions are my own.)

Book Review: Simple Secrets

I enjoyed reading Lucy Swindoll’s Simple Secrets to A Happy Life. It is comprised of fifty short, easy to read chapters. The book was like sitting down and having a nice chat over a cup of coffee. Luci’s personality shone through and it was easy to discover who she is as a person. I think the book is well designed – the cover is what really drew me to the book, as well as the title. However, I think I was expecting more emphasis on “simplicity” than the “happy life.” While it was an enjoyable ready with many timely tips, it wasn’t extremely deep – very practical, but not too in depth.



 (Thank you to Book Sneeze for the free review copy. All opinions are my own.)