weekend grace

Y’all.  Can I tell you how much I love long weekends?  And long weekends which involve a lot of football?  It’s my love language.  I don’t know how to properly convey to you the excitement that rattles through the air around these parts when football season starts.  We’ve been nervous for days about our young Volunteers but they did us proud last night.  Rocky Top never sounded so good! All 467 times we heard it.  🙂

via Southern Living, the 10 commandments of College Football

It was a pretty good weekend to be stranded with a stress fracture because, well, FOOTBALL!  It also lends itself to reading and writing nonstop, which has become my life.  I’m in a walking boot for a few weeks and I must confess that I did ask my dear orthopedic surgeon friend why in world cam walkers didn’t come in the shape of cowboy boots.  He asked me why in the world I continue running when I end up with a stress fracture or torn muscle every other year.   I told him about how I’d likely land myself in a funny farm in a straight jacket without running, in which case we agreed that a cam walker for a few weeks isn’t so bad after all. [Read more…] about Weekend Grace, Football and Holiday Edition

I’m over summer.  Well, that’s not exactly true.  We’re heading out on the boat today to meet some friends for a delicious (and greasy) lunch at a nearby marina.  They make THE BEST homemade fries.  But, after that, the dog days are dead to me.  As a matter of fact, I’ve already started knitting hand warmers, in radical rebellion of 100% humidity.

I may even take my knitting on the boat in some kind of desperate plea to the weather gods to SEND FALL  ALREADY.  I stumbled onto this awesome yarn in Walmart and spotted a pattern for leg warmers (which I may shorten to boot cuffs) and hand warmers that knit up SO fast and are perfect for beginners.  The book is called Learn to Knit, in the craft section at Walmart by the knitting stuff.  I have a little video on knitting dishcloths on my blog that might be enough instruction to get you started.

I like knitting so much I’m thinking of starting a knitting club.  In related news, I’ve decided I’m choosing Meme as my grandma name whenever these kids of mine have some babies.  #nopressurekids

I’m obsessed with Lulie Wallace.   She’s a gifted artist who lives in Charleston and does just beautiful work.

I have three of her prints in my house and I’m DYING for a painting.

She’s also got a line of fabrics, bags, pouches, etc.   For now, I’ll  enjoy my Lulie prints but I hope to incorporate more of her art into my life!

 

I LOVE these receiving blankets kits from Anna Maria Horner.  Her fabrics are so wonderful and these would make the perfect gift for bebes!

I never told you about my weekend at Becoming.  And now it seems like a lifetime ago.  I’ll give you the cliff notes.

Paige was my roomie and then stayed at my house a couple of nights.  We SO enjoyed the girl time.  We talked a lot about mom guilt and mom failures, so I came home and wrote about it.  Noonday launched their new fall line so check out Paige’s Noonday site and see what goodies you must have.

Ruth’s talk on Clutter Free Forever led me to come home and clean out all the closets in this house.  Have mercy on my soul, is all I can say.

She and I both do this thing called Sunday Prep, where you spend a couple of hours on Sunday evening getting ready for the week.  Well.  I never realized how seriously she takes hers.  You’ve got see this post on her Sunday prep routine.  Can we just have a moment of silence in honor of this piece of well lived life? I’ll post mine someday just for fun.  Hint.  Her Sunday prep has a spread sheet.  Mine does not.  Hers involves making ten meals.  Mine involves sorta planning 5.  In other words, her Sunday prep is outta my league but I’m may just have to try it someday.  And I thought I was an overachiever.

The night we finished the conference, I got to spend a wonderful evening with some of my favorite people.  We laughed until I seriously thought I might choke.  There was a fair amount of discussion about #oldladyproblems though Bri is a bit young to have to hear such horror stories.

(Bri, Ruth, yours truly, Kristy, Jen, Paige)

I also got to see Rhoda  which was a treat!

Let me finish with what’s currently on my nightstand.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed (memoir about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, soon to be a  movie starring Reese Witherspoon)

Bleak House, by Charles Dickens (book of the month for my nerdy book club) (also, I LOVE these covers, designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith)

The Death of Adam, essays by Marilynne Robinson

Hope your weekend is full of good things!

xoxo

It was the week for some awesome summer house tours.   I didn’t do one this year, but here’s a peek at last year’s summery pics.  I can’t do a new summer tour until the hydrangeas are in full bloom.  Obviously.  This photo also reminds me that the bust of Aphrodite needs to wear the #mamatried hat for summer.  Of course.

From the tour, my favorites were— Melissa’s,

Myquillin’s, of course,

and Ashley’s—one of the most colorful and creative homes I’ve seen!

(You can find a full listing of the tour participants at any of the above blogs.)

Heather came up with this GENIUS and adorable way to organize your desktop.  You don’t even want to know the level of sheer folder organization I’m capable of.  It could be a late onset spiritual gift.

 I’m speaking in Asheville in August (8th and 9th) at the Becoming Conference and some of my favorite people in all the world will be speaking too.  It would make a great (cheap) getaway for you and some girlfriends.  I’d love to meet you there.  Register before it gets filled up!!

Lastly, lifestyle bloggers like myself occasionally take some heat about the one-sided portrait we can sometimes paint of beautiful food, beautiful spaces, and seemingly perfect lives.   I need beauty in my life, not because I’m perfect, but because I’m so desperately broken.  Beauty is our teacher.  Beauty woos us, draws us to the Maker of all that is good and true. We were created for beauty.  It’s the air we breathe.  I’m so thankful for the artists and creators who, in the image of their creator, share the work of their hands with the world, reminding us that the beauty is in the giving, always.   I talk about why it’s so important here.

Happy June Weekend, beautiful people!

I’m currently obsessed with patio spaces and have been looking high and low for some black and white striped cushions.  Kristen did a fabulous job reupholstering her cushions and I’m thinking I may need to do the same! Also? That charcoal exterior is how I’m 98% sure we’ll be staining our cabin. I’m pretty much in love with all of this.

[Read more…] about Weekend Grace

I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be speaking again this year at the Becoming Conference on August 8 and 9th.  It’s held in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains at Ridgecrest Retreat Center near Asheville, NC.  Some of my favorite women will be there speaking too, so I know this weekend will be a blessing.  Check out this speakers page and register today! It sells out every year so don’t delay.  It’s very inexpensive for a conference and so much fun! I’m working on a whole new talk this year that I’m so excited about  called The Qualities of a Well Loved Home—7 Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Create a Home You Love.  (The 7 things might surprise you!)

I’m also speaking next weekend in Milwaukee at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, so if you live in the area, email the church and join us on Friday night.

If you haven’t yet joined the Nester and Emily’s membership site, Hope*ologie,  you should.  They release new content every month on a private site and the cost is $10 to join. (I think soon going to $12 per month).  I loved last month’s content and I think you will too.  The May release is next week and I can’t wait to see what they’ll be sharing.  They have blog posts, podcasts, videos and projects.  Read all about it here!

I love Shaun’s new site redesign and think you’ll get some awesome ideas from his generosity post.  Love the bookmarks too!

Happy weekend! Hope it’s the slow, simmering, countrified kind!

xoxo,

edie