Wishlist Wednesday

 

            I thought I’d do something a little different and fun today, and share a Wishlist Wednesday post. Yvonne at Stone Gable collaborates on a Wednesday Weekly Wishlist post, and I always find fun things on there. For today I thought I’d share some actual things from my running wishlist. Maybe you’ll find something fun for yours too!

I have these slippers on my list, because the slippers I have (and adore) are quite fuzzy and insulated, and I’m sweating my way through the summer in them. These look more summer-friendly!

A few years ago, I fell in love with quilts for bed covers, and I absolutely love the one we have had on ours for about the past four years. Alas, it sustained a little damage during Lexi’s chew-on-everything phase. We’re still using it because it still has tons of life left in it, but I have earmarked this one for our next quilt. I love the colors!

It shouldn’t surprised ANY of you that I have many books on the list. Here are a couple:

We Will Feast, by Kendall Vanderslice, is a book about worship and community. I read another book by Kendall a few months ago and loved her writing style, so I want to read this one too!

I’ve been following Nicole Burke on Instagram for a while now, and I have learned a ton from her about garden planning. She has a couple of books – and this one, Kitchen Garden Revival, is one I have on my list.

I read (probably on Instagram) about this hair styling product, and it came with rave reviews. I have it on the list in case I ever feel like trying some new things in the world of hair!

I love this hourglass from The Keeping Company. It is a five-minute hourglass and has an inscription with the quote “Only one life, twill soon be past…only what’s done for Christ will last.” I love what it represents!

Similarly, I love this “tears in a bottle” from Mary & Martha! The item is cute, but the representation is what matters most!

You know how much I love Lindsay Sherbondy’s art. This boat and water themed print is gorgeous!

So there’s a peek at my list…what’s on yours?

Summer Capsule Wardrobe

 

For the last couple of weeks, you’ve seen (on Saturdays) my capsule wardrobe outfits using my summer capsule, but I haven’t yet shown you what’s in it! So today is the day! 😊

            The summer capsule feels harder than the others because when you live in heat and humidity, the last thing you want to do is layer. So this wardrobe feels bigger to me than the other seasons, because I need more mix and match parts, since layering is less of an option. Also, this summer is a wild mix of needing to dress up and dress down, so I also feel like I need more options for each category.

For winter and spring, I used inspiration capsules from Clothed in Grace, and she has a summer capsule too, but alas, she hadn’t published it yet when I needed to make sure I had all the pieces and parts, so I actually used this capsule from Putting Me Together (from a previous season) as my inspiration.

            I reused quite a few pieces from spring and also stuck with many of the colors I’ve been loving: navy, white, pink, and a little green. I added a few new things, and in a really rare move, I actually got a few of them brand new. (Gift cards and birthday money.) Many of the pieces have a coastal feel to them, which feels appropriate both for summer and for living on the lake!

            Am I doing this perfectly? Probably not. Am I having fun doing it? Absolutely.  

            I’m writing this post to you at 10:30 the night before it needs to post, and I just realized I forgot to take pictures of the shoes! But I only added two new pairs of shoes beyond what I used in the spring. I have a picture of one, I know. So I’ll throw that in. The other pair came from the thrift store but was, I’m pretty sure, new! They’re wedge espadrille heels with a blue toe cover. I love them!

            So, without further ado, here is my summer capsule!

Dresses:

I kept the navy and white t-shirt dress I had in the spring capsule. I love this dress and how much it feels like jammies.

I also pulled out a tropical-looking maxi dress I bought about five years ago for a cruise. It’s been sitting in the back of the closet for the last 2-3 years and I decided to bring it back.

I bought a brand-new sleeveless navy dress from Kohl’s that I love. I think it was about $20 and it’s super lightweight, super comfortable, and the bonus? It has pockets! I wore it to church this past Sunday and loved how it felt.

I brought back a similar, but different, navy dress with cap sleeves. I bought this last year for my Easter dress. It’s a little too big this year, but because of the style of the dress, it still works, and it’s comfortable, so I love it.

And finally, I found at the thrift store a pink striped beachy sleeveless dress. Comfy and affordable – double win!

Layering Pieces:

I don’t need many of these and am not sure how much I will use them, but I want to have them on hand in case.

I kept the thrifted lightweight navy cardigan from my spring capsule. It’s dressier, so if I need to attend something that might be heavy on the air conditioning, I’ll be set. (Also I’m not going to hold my breath on that.)

I also kept the thrifted denim button-down shirt from the spring capsule. I figure it might come in handy on a chilly lake evening. (Later.)

I also kept the thrifted white button-down shirt for the same reasons.

And I kept the khaki vest I’ve had for several years.

Button Down Shirt:

I found this cute, lightweight, beachy striped button down in all the right colors. It was at a thrift store, and it felt like the perfect fit for the collection. It does run a bit on the short side, so I wear a cami underneath it, but I love how it looks!

Sleeveless Shirts:

Since it’s so hot out, sleeveless shirts are a must!

The white shirt was free to me several years ago – and I haven’t worn it a ton. It’s a little dressier than I would choose for this capsule, but I already own it, so it works!

The navy sleeveless shirt was in my spring capsule and was also free to me several years ago. It’s dressy and longer, but it works for this one!

I found the blue and white sleeveless shirt at a thrift shop – and it works for dressing up and dressing down!

I found the white sleeveless lacy top at a thrift store – and it’s also good for dressing up and down!

The tan sleeveless lacy top was part of my spring capsule – and is a repeat of my thinking above!

Dressy Shirt:

This navy print shirt was a repeat from the spring capsule. It’s one of my favorites!

T-Shirts:

These finds are a mix of plan and graphic tees, and because summer is all about comfort, I did add in a couple of extra ones.

The pink and black t-shirts were both thrift store finds for the spring capsule, and I moved them on over to summer.

I found the Lake Girl shirt at the thrift store for just a couple of dollars.

You’ll recognize the “It’s a Good Day to Write” shirt that my sister gave me for Christmas. It’s been in every capsule so far!

Grow in Grace was a thrift store find before the spring capsule that I moved to summer.

The Perfectly Imperfect shirt was a thrift store find – and while I don’t adore how it fits, I do adore the message and the price!

Skirts and Dressy Pants:

I kept the tan knee-length skirt from the winter/spring capsule. I had gotten it at a thrift store and it works great.

The navy skirt was one I had purchased last year at a thrift store – but never wore. The color worked, so here it is!

I found the print maxi skirt at a thrift store and grabbed it for a little extra fun.

The two linen pants were brand-new purchases from Kohl’s this spring. Both feel like jammies and have a good beachy look to them!

Shorts:

I found the striped shorts at a thrift store and loved their beachy feel.

I purchased the white shorts at a thrift store just a few weeks ago – and they are perfect! I am pretty sure they were brand new.

The denim shorts are ones I’ve owned for several years. They don’t fit very well, but until I can find a replacement pair, they work.

The tan pair came from a thrift store and also appeared to be brand new!

Jeans/Pants:

None of these are new! The jeans were all part of the spring capsule, the tan pants are recycled from the winter/spring capsule, and the white pants were free to me several years ago!

I told you I forgot to take shoe pictures, but I do have to show you this one pair I bought as a fun splurge. Got them at TJ Maxx. Aren’t they cute?

 

So there you go! Capsule wardrobe for summer!

Memory-Keeping: What's Worth Keeping?

 

For the last month, Ryan and I have been working nearly every evening to sort and clean out storage tubs. As some of you well know, when you make it to 45ish years old, you’ve managed to accumulate quite a stack of life-long memories. (More so, I’m sure when you make it to your 60s and beyond!) And even though we have done our best to be diligent to let go of things each time we’ve moved, we still had a lot of, well, stuff.

            Our house isn’t huge. Our storage options are minimal. And we don’t want to pay for external storage. So…what’s worth keeping? It’s been the question of the day for the last month or so.

            Today I thought I’d share with you the thought processes we’ve tried to adhere to and the principles we’ve used in deciding. They’re not foolproof. Perhaps some would work for you and others wouldn’t. But I’ll share what we’ve done and let you decide how it might work for you!

1.       Ruthlessly pick and choose what life-long memories to keep. Ryan and I learned that both our mothers kept almost everything from our childhoods – right down to every single card they received for every single baby shower. The memory-maker in me was kind of giddy about that, but the space-saver in me had to make some decisions. So as we went through the boxes, we chose to keep the things that meant the absolute most to us in our own memories. One of Ryan’s? Bubby – his little stuffed bunny that he carried everywhere as a kiddo. One of mine? The dress I was wearing when I was dedicated in church as a baby. We tried to whittle down all the childhood/high school/and pre-Shafferland memories to about six tubs combined. And it’s possible that if we go through these again in a few years, we might weed out even more.

2.       If it’s in a tub you’re probably unlikely to miss it, so don’t overthink letting it go. One of the things I learned from photo management classes is that photos in a tub aren’t being enjoyed and appreciated, so it’s almost like they don’t exist. I think that can be applied to most stored memories. When I started to feel sad or worried about things I was letting go of, I reminded myself that in some cases, I didn’t even know the items existed until this month, so I’m probably not going to miss them long-term. Items that can stay in long-term storage without being missed are probably okay to go.

3.       When in doubt, keep it. Every now and then, we encountered something we just weren’t sure we were ready to part with – so we didn’t. We kept it for now. We’ll revisit it again and maybe by then, we’ll be ready to let it go. If you have the space for it (and this doesn’t become the story for every single thing), it’s okay to keep it until you’re sure one way or the other.

4.       Honor the things that mean something to you. In my sorting, I found a photo of kindergarten Bekah, taken at a VBS. It was glued in a popsicle frame bearing the words “Jesus, I will follow you.” I kept it, because it was right around that same time that I chose to do just that – follow Jesus. I am going to keep that picture on my desk as a reminder of a pivotal time in my life. In my sorting, I found two letters from authors who inspired my own writing journey. I’ve been carefully keeping those letters for 30ish years, but what good are these letters in a box? So I framed them and Ryan is going to hang them in my office. In my sorting, I found an award I won in college, so I pulled that out to keep in my office, too. The things that mean the most shouldn’t be in storage anyway.

5.       Put the things that need work where you can reach them. I have an entire tub of pictures and memories that I keep meaning to sort and organize, but the truth is, they keep getting placed out of reach. Up high on a shelf in the garage or buried in a stack of tubs. They are now in a place I can access easily, so I can begin going through them little by little. I’m excited to do it.

So those were our guiding principles. Our rule for our home is that if something doesn’t help tell the story of us, it doesn’t stay. We’re trying to use that same idea as we sort memories. If we can’t remember or don’t know – why keep it? If it doesn’t tell the story of us, does it need to stay?

Maybe one of those things will be helpful to you! Happy memory-sorting!

Sunday Sentiments: Sitting with the Father

 

Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there who may be reading along today. Ryan and I are thankful today for our own dads – thankful that they are still here with us and part of our lives! And I’m thankful for Ryan, who is a great dad to Braeya and Lexi.

            And today I’m thankful for my Heavenly Father, too, and all the extra time I’ve been able to spend sitting with Him over the past few days. (That may sound like I’m reaching, but I promise it’s so very true.)

            I’ve been working so hard to write the messages I’m sharing at church this summer, and that has driven me to spend so much extra time in prayer and Bible study. I’m learning so much. I’m making notes in my Bible. (I have run out of room on some pages and have moved on to adding sticky notes to the pages!)

            I am grateful for the chance to learn, to think, to understand, and to find a fresh hunger to do more and more of the same.

            I am grateful for the beauty I’ve seen in the world around me – when I look out the window, when we go for walks, and when I sit on the porch as the sun slides down for the night.

            I am grateful for the memories I’ve encountered lately – memories of the journey God and I have taken together over the years.

            I’m just grateful. And today is a good day to make mention of it and soak in it.

Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

Good morning, friends! Happy Saturday to you! I have many goals for this day and the first one involves SLEEPING IN. We’ll see how far I make it. While I’m still snoozing, here are some fun things for you to check out!

ONE. 

Okay THIS is fun! I follow (on Instagram) this baker named Karli, and she is doing a summer baking challenge. You can go to this page on her website to download her free Bingo card, and then you have from now until September 1 to try recipe challenges and potentially win a gift card. Even if you don’t actually enter the gift card challenge, this is so fun to try something new over the summer, don’t you think?? (Bonus: She did the bingo card in black and white on purpose so you can color it!) And guess what? I’ve already started! Made my first two things this week.

TWO. 

A couple of years ago, Ryan and I watched a series that was on one of the HGTVish channels. (Maybe it was actually HGTV – not sure.) It was all about homes with history and the people that bought them would restore them to their accurate historical glory. It was really cool to learn more about how people lived in early American history and to see these homes restored. Even though I live in too “new” of a part of the country to ever own a home that old, I now have a fresh appreciation for their craftsmanship and significance! This one popped up on my Facebook feed this week – for sale in Pennsylvania. It is beautiful. Look at all those fireplaces!!!

THREE.

I am excited that I found some fun new (to me) dresses for the summer – both casual and nicer for when I’m speaking. I appreciate the good breeze that you get when you wear a dress in the summer! Anyone? Anyone? Audrey over at Putting Me Together has some suggestions for some summer dresses, and I think they’re super cute! If you’re looking for ideas, take a look at hers!

FOUR. 

Yvonne at the StoneGable blog has a TON of ideas for a summer patio. Fun to read! We have several of these, and a handful are on my list of maybe-someday ideas. You’d have to have a porch the size of the Midwest to incorporate every idea, probably, but maybe you can find an inspiration piece or two on there. (Fun fact: we have had to clear our back patio to have work done on it, so right now, our front porch is fulllllllll. This adventure has helped me better understand what I do and do not want to do out there in the future. Meanwhile, we’re enjoying the alternate view!)

FIVE. 

“There is a price to be paid for our exhaustion. There is a price to be paid for our restoration. Which one are you more willing to pay?” This post by my friend, Brenda Jank, is excellent. I would love for you to spend some time considering it!

SIX. 

Father’s Day is tomorrow, and if you’re still scrambling for a thoughtful gift, you’ll find some good options in this post. (And they’re different from the typical list of grilling supplies, ties, etc!)

BONUS:

Here are this week’s capsule outfits!

Saturday, June 08, 2024:

Sunday, June 09, 2024:

Monday, June 10, 2024:

Tuesday, June 11, 2024:

Wednesday, June 12, 2024:

Thursday, June 13, 2024:

Friday, June 14, 2024:

Flashback Friday: Writing Your Story One Week at a Time

 

Happy Friday, friends! This week has been a full one for us, and we are excited to welcome this weekend! I’ve done a lot of writing this week, which has left my heart as full as my week, and it also has provided some fodder for today’s “write your story” prompt.

            As Ryan and I have sorted through so many storage tubs from my parents’ house, I’ve encountered dozens of early versions of my writing. Many were pieces I saved from my childhood and college days, but I found a few gems Mom had saved that I didn’t even remember!

            So it brings me to this question:

            Is there anything about your life that you discovered in your childhood – and do you have any tangible, preserved memories of that skill?

            I think about all the hours of American Idol I watched in the early days, and sometimes they would have blurry home-video footage of the contestants singing at home or church when they were just toddlers. Who ever would have known, when those shaky-film moments were being recorded, that one day they would play them on television while that sweet toddler – all grown up – competes for a music career?!

            I think about my friend Amber and all her incredible artistic talent, and probably somewhere in her parents’ house, there are tubs of her early attempts at art. (And those, by the way, are probably still way better than what most people can produce as adults!)

            And while I’m not American-Idol-contestant material or art-show material, I do love to write, and I loved running across the places where I first tried those skills.

            I found projects I wrote in elementary school, scrawled in questionable spelling across that paper with the dotted lines down the middle of the writing lines.

            I found journals that had entries beginning with “Dear Diary.”

            I found a very creative letter I wrote as a prank to a guy in my class (which was TOTALLY out of character for me) and he actually believed it. Even my parents were kind of impressed by that one.

            I found my first (unfinished) book that I wrote in longhand in a notebook.

            I found short stories typed on my word processor (!!) back when I filled my summer days with writing all manner of short stories.

            I found a play I wrote together with my Mom for a kids’ missionary service at church.

            I found a letter I wrote to the Tooth Fairy (also creatively done).

            Some of my pieces were not worth keeping. But I didn’t toss too many. These papers show how I started as a writer. They might only be meaningful to me, but they are meaningful to me. And I absolutely love it that these early versions of my writing exist. None of us knew it would end up being my love, but I’m so glad my first attempts are preserved for my memory collection!

Kitchen Island Legacies

 

Yesterday I told you about the Hoosier cabinet we got from my parents’ house about a year and a half ago – and how it now has new life as a coffee station. Today I want to tell you about another new-to-us piece that came to our house recently.

            Mom and Dad’s new apartment has significantly less square footage than their house, so they needed to be selective about what they would take with them. Mom did a great job, I thought, choosing pieces from their house that were high quality, solid pieces with meaning to their life and story. Some of the pieces they didn’t take ended up in the rummage sale. Some went to their neighbor’s daughter, who is starting out on her own. But there was one piece that Mom and Dad didn’t have room for, and Mom didn’t want it to end up in a random home.

            So it came here.

            I had told Ryan early on in this moving process that I wasn’t planning on taking much from their downsizing adventures, because our house is full, and I didn’t want to add clutter. I would only take something if we truly had room for it and if it was important to me.

            This mattered.

            What was it?

            The kitchen island.

            I wish I remembered more of the timing of the island’s arrival in their home, but I don’t – and they don’t remember either. But I do remember enough to know why it matters.

            When I was growing up, Mom and Dad had the tiniest kitchen – and no dining room. Their now-vintage-style kitchen table sat in the only space available in that kitchen and was a jack of all trades. We ate our meals at the table. Mom made noodles and cookies and pies on the table. She poured fondant and dipped chocolate on that table.

            When she made the pies and noodles she would pull out a giant butcher-block cutting board and heft it up on the table. When she made the chocolate, she would pull out a giant slab of marble and heft it up on the table. No wonder she was always going to the chiropractor!

            After Mom and Dad added an all-purpose room to the back of the house, Dad commissioned this island from one of their good friends, who was an amazing woodworker. He custom-crafted the island to provide drawer and cabinet storage on the lower half, and the top provided a permanent home to the marble slab and butcher block. They sat side by side, eliminating the need to drag them in and out of cabinets with each use.

            The island sat at a height perfect for Mom and rested on wheels to be rolled around the room to whatever location suited best at the moment.

            And so she baked pies and rolled out noodles and poured fondant and dipped chocolate and served soups and holiday meals – all from the island.

            One day, as she mentally sorted through her furniture, she texted to ask me if I would take the island.

            Ryan and I had an island – a rather cheap (aka affordable) find from Amazon we purchased when we moved into this lake house. It has a drop leaf top that made it a perfect size for our little kitchen. It expanded and contracted as needed. It served beautifully and we overlooked its lack of quality in favor of its affordability.

            Keep the Amazon cheapie or make room for the memory-soaked custom piece? Not a hard choice at all.

            I texted back quickly – Of course!

            So on moving day, the island came here and sat in the garage for a while, until we had time to sort through our own island, clean up theirs, and make the swap. Speaking of hefting…Ryan and I each grabbed and end of that solid, heavy piece and managed to get it up a flight of stairs and into the house. It fits in our kitchen perfectly.

            And the bonus? The Amazon cheapie fits perfectly too – right inside the closet in our office. It holds office supplies and when I need to do a project, I can roll it out, flip up the drop leaf, and have a whole extra working surface. Double win.

            But back in the kitchen, we have the marble slab, so we can try our hand at Christmas chocolates. We have the butcher block for cooking adventures. And we have the memories, which matter more than any marble slab or butcher block.

            Maybe, down the road, we’ll figure out a way to add some block legs to the bottom to make it a tiny bit taller, but even the way it is, it feels perfect. It’s home.

House Re-Visions: The Coffee Bar

 

Back in January I shared with you how I’m slowly re-seeing the spaces in our home to evaluate their usefulness and tweak as needed. These re-vision, moments are not grandiose. They’re small adjustments usually using things we already own or things I find at thrift stores.

            One of my favorite projects was our living room, and right after I finished it, we had some water damage and now it’s somewhat torn up again. Character building!

            But my most recent project is one that has been marinating for a while, and I just love how it came together, so I want to tell you all about it today.

            When Ryan and I moved to the lake, we didn’t really get many (any?) new pieces of furniture. We were excited and grateful that what we had worked in this space too! But while it isn’t new by a long shot, we did get a new-to-us piece when we moved here: a Hoosier Cabinet that used to belong to my Grandma Freelan. Grandma died when I was in high school, and Mom and Dad ended up having this cabinet refinished and kept it in their house. I thought it would fit pretty perfectly here, and I knew Mom was on a mission to weed things out of her house, so I asked if we could have it.

            She was thrilled to have it out of her house and staying in the family! We moved it here before we even moved in ourselves, and while it fit perfectly in its spot, it never had a specific job of what it held. A few months ago, I came up with the idea to transform it into a coffee bar, and last month I made it happen.

            Here it is in its big-picture glory.

            Now let me tell you the story of the little pieces and parts.

            The plant that trails down the side was so little when we first got it. (It’s about two years old now and thriving.) This cabinet sits near a window and the plant seems really happy there! And then of course there’s Brutus, Ryan’s rhino I gave him a few years ago. Brutus has traveled to many homes with us and always has a place of honor. The monogram was one I bought not long after we were married, and it’s also traveled with us to every home. The little coffee sign was a recent gift from Ryan’s step-mom and is pretty perfect for me.

            Also on the top shelf? This photo from our engagement shoot. It’s one of my favorites and a nod to Ryan’s mom who took it for us!

            We keep our main coffee pot in the kitchen, but we brought the espresso/latter maker downstairs, since we don’t use it every single day. I found these sugar-free syrups at TJ Maxx on my birthday when I was shopping with gift cards. I think I’m set for a while!

            Another sign from Ryan’s step-mom – a nod to my book!

            We still use the underside of the cabinet for storing random things, but this main part is the perfect coffee bar. I absolutely love how it turned out and am excited to make some tasty coffee in this little corner of our home!

Thoughts on a Spring Capsule

 

Well, you all are so very kind to tag along with me (as if you have a choice) on my capsule wardrobe adventures this year. Back in March, when I wrapped up my winter capsule, I shared with yous ome of the thoughts I had on that leg of the journey, and now I want to do the same regarding my spring capsule choices.

            One of the biggest things I noticed in the spring capsule was that I started to feel more comfortable mixing and matching on my own. In the winter version, I was sticking so closely to the inspiration capsule, trying to copy everything she did. In this one, I was more willing to try my own mixes and matches.

            The spring capsule almost felt like two separate groupings: one for cold weather and one for warm. Welcome to spring in Indiana! I kept some sweaters and warmer pieces because I started this capsule mid-March, when we still have plenty of cooler days. But we also had a lot of really hot days between that day and May 31 when it ended, so I felt like I switched back and forth between the two a lot.

            I loved the new colors. My winter capsule had been heavy on the darker colors. This one was much more about pinks and navy and light green. I liked it very much. I’m starting to learn more about the colors I like and that work with my hair and skin tones.

            Layering in spring is not as easy as winter…and I fear summer is going to be more challenging yet! I tried to add some sweaters/jackets/vests and then just take them off if I got too warm.

            Much like the winter capsule, I loved almost everything I chose. There are a couple that I didn’t 100% love and I might not keep in a future year, but  most things were a win!

            Scarves are harder in spring. I had one that was lighter in weight and color, but I only wore it once. (I think that was mostly because I forgot I had it. It was hidden.)

            I’m starting to learn (probably for the first time ever in my whole life) what feels like my own actual style. It’s pretty exciting!

            Here are the spring pictures! (You already saw all of them in the weekly recaps, but here they are all together.)

            The summer capsule is underway, and I’ll be sharing it soon!