Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

Good morning, friends! This week has been full and beautiful, and I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow! I hope your week has also been a good one, and if you need some random fun for your Saturday, I can help!

Check out this beautiful, historic old schoolhouse that has been converted into a home. The price tag (and size) far surpass anything we could ever afford or need, but goodness, I love the detail of this home. The windows! The stone! The ladder! The kitchen stove! The natural light throughout! The shower! The chandeliers in the closet! (You get the idea.) Beautiful attention to detail, storied history (I’m sure), and lovely setting. (BONUS: I read that the Full House home – the exterior shot house – recently sold for six million dollars. This article has pictures of the inside of the real house, which looks very different from what we saw on TV!)

I have always been fascinated by houseboats…the kind that live permanently in a marina and serve as year round homes. I even follow a lady on Instagram who lives in the Pacific Northwest on a boat – year round. But this article is about a family who travels on a boat each summer – up and down the Mississippi. I loved reading what it’s like to be mobile on the water…certainly a different kind of work than the work I read about for the stationary boats.

I make cookie bars in a large dish when I don’t have time to make individual cookies, so the idea of making a “pancake casserole” instead of individual pancakes is intriguing to me! I’ve not seen a recipe quite like this one before, and I admit it sounds pretty tasty!

Isn’t it tempting, in prayer, to ask for all the things that make us successful and comfortable? I do it when I pray…even though I try hard to make sure my motives are pure in the asking! But Scotty’s words about prayer remind me that praying for the things God desires actually brings about change in my OWN desires. Some food for thought here…

We have a couple of hummingbird feeders, and we really enjoy watching those little birds zip in and out for a meal throughout the summer. I’m always looking to learn more about how to make our hummingbird dining spaces more welcoming, so I was excited to find this post that gave some great advice!

I have a couple of art prints for our home that focus on the cross…Holy Week. I like being able to switch them out with the message of the resurrection, though, when Easter comes! Here is a free printable that says “He is Risen” that you could easily add to your home if you need something small and affordable to celebrate the message of Easter! There is a single piece version and a multi-piece banner version! (BONUS: This is still on my list of things to get for our Easter décor!)

I know most homes don't have as much carpet as they used to have, but if you do have carpet (or a rug!) this is a great time to clean it. Get all the winter grime out of there and freshen it for spring. 

If you haven't done so lately, this is also a great time to clean out the microwave. Take apart the turntable and everything! Make it sparkle! :) 

The Encouragement Exchange

 

Last night was a sweet and special night in my life.

                I told you a few weeks ago about a meeting I had with a group of people who assembled to talk with me about my next steps in formalizing my call to ministry. Everything about that day was a mix of miraculous (in the details) and encouraging (in the happenings).

                After I completed that step, I had a dozen essay questions to answer, and it took me several weeks and pages to complete that assignment. I wanted to be thorough and thoughtful in my answers, because I felt like I owed it to the committee who would read them to see my heart.

                I’m sure it won’t surprise you to know I wrote the answers, sat on them for a while, tweaked them, sat on them some more, tried to see if I could improve them, sat on them some more…and finally told myself to JUST SEND THEM before I overthought them to the fullest.

                I sent them and for the last couple of weeks, I’ve wondered what the committee thought as they read the essays – nearly a small book – I wrote.

                Last night I learned the answers.

                Ryan and Jonathan accompanied me to my interview with the committee, which took place about an hour from where we live. It was fun driving over together and catching up on life.

                When we arrived, we all sat in a circle, and the committee took turns asking me questions based on things they’d read in my pre-interview answers.

                The questions were deep and tough, but really good. They shared words of encouragement in between questions and took time to pull out of my answers things they thought were especially worth additional pursuit.

                They invited Ryan and Jonathan to answer some of the same questions they asked me, and I enjoyed hearing their answers.

                When the interview concluded, the three of us moved into a side office to wait while they talked together, and they approved me to be licensed in ministry.

                I was thrilled with the news, yes, but what thrilled me even more than that was the encouragement of the conversation in the interview. I really appreciated the time they took to teach me from their own experiences and to share wisdom. They told me they felt I had encouraged them in the conversation, and I appreciated that, too!

                It’s a night that will be forever meaningful to my story and my journey, and the thing that mattered most was the exchange of encouragement.

Rosemary

 I learned many things from Lynne Ford when I worked with her, and one of them is that rosemary is for remembrance. Lynne loved (and I presume that hasn’t changed) the fragrant herb and always tucked a sprig of it inside cards when she sent them. I have dried rosemary stems in the cards she gave me – from the beginning to the end of my time working with her.

                I don’t know that I’d ever inhaled the (indeed, memorable) aroma of rosemary prior to meeting Lynne, but I sure love it now, and I love it that it always reminds me of her. I remember how she taught me it’s for remembrance, and I remember all the other things she taught me, too.

                Years before I was born, my grandparents worked at a bakery called The Rosemary. It closed before my time, and I have lived all my life hearing the stories of life at The Rosemary.

                I’ve always been sad that I never had the chance to experience the deliciousness of the beloved recipes, carefully crafted and sold to the Rosemary customers. I’ve always been sad that they didn’t write a cookbook so those of us who came along too late to appreciate the bakery could have attempted to recreate the goodness.

                I may not have had the chance to eat from the Rosemary’s menu, but I did eat at my grandparents’ table – many times – and experienced the goodness of their culinary talents.

                I remember that.

                It’s my rosemary.

                I remember the cakes and rolls, the chocolate candies and macaroni and cheese. I remember the cups of coffee (though I was too little to participate) an buttered toast for breakfast.

                As I continue to build our recipe box, I love the memories attached to the stories surrounding the recipes we love.

                They are my rosemary.

                Last night I made sloppy joes, and I remembered the evening Ryan and I ate sloppy joes with my parents and he told me after dinner that he thought the joes were extra tasty and wondered what Mom’s secret was. It turned out that she didn’t even have a written recipe for them, but she tried to write down how she made them, and I used her recipe for years. I’ve swapped some of the ingredients now to make it healthier, but the story of the sloppy joes always takes me back to that meal we shared with Mom and Dad after Ryan completed some random project for them.

                So I write the stories of the recipes. I search for the perfect way to make the dishes we love the most so it’s both tasty and healthy.

                These recipes are my rosemary.

Hair Routine

 

Today is one of my favorite kinds of days, because it includes a hair-freshening! Is there anything better than settling into the chair for a little pampering and a lot of great conversation while it happens?

                I’ve been slowly transferring over to a new (consistent) line of hair products over the last year and have just one more to add to complete the process. (I used up everything I had until it was gone, and the conditioner I’ve been using is the lone product remaining from before.)

                Hair products, like everything else in the world, leave me feeling a bit like a squirrel in the middle of the road. Can I afford it? Does it work well for my hair? Is it filled with all the horrible things I should never use? (The questions can go on for days…truly!)

                Bottom line? None of it is perfect, but my hair still needs washed and styled.

                I’ve found a line that works well on my hair…isn’t the cheapest, but also isn’t the most expensive…isn’t the cleanest, but also isn’t the worst. I’ll share it with you, and if it isn’t for you, that’s okay!

                The line is called Kristin Ess, and what caught my attention initially was that the line was developed to be a bit of a luxury line, but you can buy it at Walmart. I appreciate the accessibility of it, because I don’t want to have to go to a salon to purchase my hair products. I also appreciated the lack of sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and silicones. (It’s also cruelty-free.)

                The most recent addition to my lineup was shampoo, and I chose the Purple Shampoo. I’ve heard about purple shampoo for preserving blonde hair, but I’ve never tried it. To be fair, it’s so new to my routine that I don’t feel like I can give an honest review yet, but my experience so far has been positive. (A 10 ounce bottle is about $12 at Walmart.) I plan to add the Purple Conditioner when my current conditioner runs out.)

                One of the first things I used was the Dry Shampoo, and I really like it. I’d tried a couple of cheaper dry shampoos a while ago, and they left white powder in my hair, which I didn’t love. This has not done that at all. I only wash my hair about once a week, so I will use this in the last day or two before I wash it again, to help cut down on the oily feel near the scalp. (This 4 ounce bottle is about $12 at Walmart.) Note: this is a very loud aerosol, and Lexi HATES the sound of it, so I have to be really sneaky about using it.)

                I think my favorite product is the Leave-In Conditioner. After I wash my hair, I take it out of the towel while it’s still very wet, brush out the tangles, and then spray this (non-aerosol) conditioner liberally on my hair. I let it air-dry as long as possible, and it really does help make it feel softer. (An 8 ounce bottle is about $8 at Walmart.)

                I’ve also been using this Blow Dry Mist, though I apply it before using the flat iron/curling iron, rather than using it before blow drying. I have never seen anything leave such a shine on my hair as this mist! It’s a non-aerosol spray, and though it’s the most expensive product I use from this line, I think it’s worth it. (4 ounces runs about $15 at Walmart.)

                I’ll probably use this more in the summer than I have so far, but I also bought the Beach Wave Spray. I have a little natural wave in my hair, so with the assistance of a little bit of product, it can give me a pretty decent beach wave. I like it that this spray doesn’t leave a crunchy/brittle feel in my hair – and I can usually get 2-3 days out of it before I have to wash it out. (A 6 ounce bottle is about $10 at Walmart.)

                And finally, I use this Workable Hairspray. I will say that if you need your hair to stay put, this hairspray probably wouldn’t work for you. It’s not cemented enough. But I like to have a little movement in my hair, so this works for me.

                So that’s my current hair lineup! They have other products, and maybe I’ll add one or two more as I go. But I love what I have – and I also love that the bottles are on the smaller side. They do have travel versions, but I like carrying my full-size bottles when I travel. They really aren’t all that big and bulky!

Spring in Shafferland

 

When winter settles in, Ryan pulls the stacks of Christmas tubs from the attic and I sift through each one, pulling memories from plastic and arranging them around the house. I tuck sparkly, celebratory pretties in every nook and cranny in the house and let the beauty of it all warm the house that feels chilly from the onset of winter.

                When spring settles in, Ryan returns the stacks of Christmas tubs to the attic, each carefully packed away for another year, and he brings in a much smaller stack of spring décor, which I carefully distribute  here and there throughout the house.

                I don’t own nearly as much décor for spring as for Christmas, and it’s probably good. We wouldn’t have a place to keep it all.

                Today, though, I thought I’d give you a mini-tour of spring in Shafferland. We still haven’t brought in the Easter-specific items, and I’m not sure at this point if they will make it to their respective locations this year.

                This sweet little robin egg crate – and the house blessing – were new to our home last year, and I loved seeing them back in the kitchen this spring. The kitchen is the heart of the home, right?

                These tiny white plates and yellow napkins were Mom’s, and she gave them to me when she moved last year. I found the blue and white napkin rings at the thrift store last month and bought four of them for one dollar! The little vases were consignment store finds right around the new year, and I am so happy we bought them, even though they were an impulse buy.

                Ryan bought me tulips a couple of weeks ago, and they’ve since retired, but I sure loved seeing them in the centerpiece mix while they were here.

                This corner feels so cheery to me…

                …and this little island vignette.

                I added a few flowers to the office…

                …and our bedroom.

                Remember the little nest flower pot? I added it to a corner of the staircase.

                This little bird and nest were finds from the boutique at Ryan’s work last spring, and I just love them. They are perfect in our living room!

                It is still half-winter outside, but it’s fully spring inside, and my heart is happy!

Spring Memories

 

This weekend I spent a lot of time in the scrapbooking world, catching up on some albums, and it’s put me in quite the sentimental state of mind.

                It hasn’t felt much like spring here in Indiana this week – unless you count tornadoes and flooding, and then we’re right on track! – but I’m enjoying the chance to think back over some of my favorite spring memories from years gone by. May I share?

                One of the spring traditions I still miss is the Marion Easter Pageant I used to be part of every single year. It still exists (as far as I know, anyway) in a modified form, but my heart will always be with the original production. It made Easter Easter for me, and I miss it. I miss the friends that became family that I’d see every year when we assembled for practices and performances.

                This was one of my favorite memories. It was the spring before Ryan and I got married. I only had to work until noon on Good Friday, and then my friend Amber and I got together for a scavenger hunt in the park and dyeing Easter eggs. It was not only a pretty day, but we had so much fun!

                It was so much fun, in fact, that a couple of years later, Ryan and I enjoyed a scavenger hunt date in the park. We took food from the hot dog stand and had fun people-watching!

                This was one of our Tuesdays at the Table adventures that took place in the spring. We had a family over for dinner, and we did make-your-own pizzas and played games. It was so much fun – and we miss our party garage!

                Can any spring memory top that of Ryan’s birthday cruise from a few years ago? A visit to Aruba, Curacao, and the Dominican Republic? (You remember the waterfalls…)

                This probably wouldn’t be true for everyone, but you know one of my favorite spring memories? The pandemic year Easter. I loved that Easter. I can’t explain it to the fullest, but being home with Ryan all day was my very favorite.

                April of 2021 marked our first outing in Abby the RV. It was the beginning of a love relationship with camping – and we have every plan of returning to it one day. I will always treasure our first outing. It was a complete joy!

                Our first spring with Lexi was so much fun. We enjoyed taking her out for walks and exploring our new-to-us town together!

                And then…who can forget the solar eclipse last year? That was SUCH A FUN DAY!!!! I loved getting to enjoy it at the party Ryan’s work held – and sharing it with our friends and with Mom and Dad!

                Spring (though often unpredictable in weather) has been good to us throughout the years, and we’ve made a lot of fun memories. Thanks for walking down memory lane with me!

Sunday Snapshots: Memorable Moments from the Week

 

You know one of my favorite things from this past week? The leaves on the trees have just popped right out, and it’s feeling green and lovely over here…just in time for more snow, I hear. I think I’m done with snow for this season.

                Here are a few of the moments that stand out from this past week!

As I shared with you earlier this week, we were able to attend Ryan’s grandma’s 90^th birthday party, and it was sweet to watch her enjoy the long line of people who came through to congratulate her! Ryan and I also enjoyed being photographers that day and capturing some fun moments.

We’ve had some super busy days and have more coming up, so we’re grabbing some rest wherever we can. It’s a treat to have a night now and then when we can curl up for the whole evening, talk, read, rest, watch TV, all of it.

This week marked one year since Mom and Dad moved here near us, and I wanted to celebrate the occasion! We got them a little floral decoration for their apartment, and internally, I celebrated all the good that has happened over the past year, even though I know this has been a huge and hard adjustment for them!

We “celebrated” 148 months of marriage by monitoring severe weather and taking shelter in our house. May I pause to say how grateful I am for a husband who is calm, cool, and collected in storms AND a house that has a safe place to go?

Look at this beautiful sunset!! I think this is one of my favorite sunset pictures from this year. The colors are just gorgeous.

Lexi has had a long week of bad weather impeding her walks. She’s a good sport and enjoys playing with her toys when she can’t go for long walks.

Finally finished a couple of scrapbooks this week…including our anniversary trip! Goodness. I got cold all over again just looking at the pictures of our frigid days, but that was still one fun trip. Now I can turn my attention to planning upcoming trips!