Patchwork Clutch (a collaboration)







Isn't this clutch gorgeous?
Allow me to explain how it came to land in my hands (happily!)

A while back.....so long ago I don't even remember when-I became friends with a lady from  Missouri. I think she must have read my blog or something and we started communicating every now and then.  She's also on Etsy, and makes these fabulous clutches, in addition to other sewn items as well.

One day recently my friend wrote and asked if I would take some pictures for her of a patchwork clutch from her shop.  In exchange, I would get to pick out a clutch from her shop and keep it.  
I had been wanting one of these for a while anyway, so it worked out beautifully.

This is the clutch I picked out.  It is a combination of my favorite colors! I just adore it.  
The stitching and sewing is impeccable.  
It even came wrapped beautifully! 
There are so many little treasures to fit inside, and many opportunities to take this clutch along with you...it's perfect for a diaper or two, some art supplies, or your keys, phone, and lipgloss! 

I sure did enjoy photographing this and collaborating with my new friend!  
A fun trade, indeed. 

You can check out more of Cheryl's shop HERE!

Pink.

We are a pink house. Officially.  I fought it hard before Anna Ruth was born, saying I didn't want everything to be all pink. That girls could wear other colors.  And they can and ours do. Then I got asked a time or two if she was a boy, or comments like "Look at your sweet boy", and out came the pink.  Pink was my shield against people wondering if I held a little gal or guy.  Not that there's a thing wrong with little guys....it's just not who our family is right now.  With the addition of our pink auction rug everything around our house just feels very rosy. Beautifully blush.  Brett's given up on fighting the pink for now.  Smart man. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  
I captured these pictures one afternoon of our gals and thought they just looked so pink.  Our two gals love the farm and cows.  They prefer a truck over a car.  But they are girls to the max.  And that's just the way I like it.  Anna thinks it's perfectly normal to check the cows with a pink purse slung over her arm.  A little cow couture...




Happy, curious, pink, rosy gals.  

{What color describes your home?}

Autumn List..and apples.

Perhaps it was one too many drives past the apple tree,
the bright red apples hanging cheerfully.
Maybe the cooler temperatures we had a night or two,
or the anticipation of September coming,
freshly sharpened pencils,
holidays looming,
a little more sparkle and cheer,
but something stirred my mind, body, and soul about this upcoming autumn.

An excitement.....a twinkle in my eyes.
Autumn is coming! 
We are bursting with excitement over the arrival of a new season around here.  We've embraced and enjoyed summer to our fullest capacity...as far as autumn goes, I think more than anything we're excited that this year won't be a repeat of last.  From this month on (this time last year) I became a crazed, crazed list-maker.  I made a list, then made a list for that list, and so on.  I even had a whole notebook for lists!  There was one for Brett's 30th birthday, one for Christmas decor, a list for Christmas presents, etc, etc, etc.  It's embarrassing really.  I wanted things to be perfect before Betsy Grace arrived.

And she arrived, and our house was decorated and I'd still sit next to the beautiful Christmas tree and cry every single night as 5 o'clock rolled around and the darkness loomed until the next day. I'm a sunshine kind of gal.  Add pregnancy/new mama hormones to the arrival of dark evenings and it just wasn't a lovely sight.  Nothing rosy about it.  It was sad and long and hard.  I knew every night I'd have to set up camp in our bathroom and be up for hours with tiny Betsy.  

But remember that verse about joy coming in the morning?
This autumn is our morning.  :)  I still don't care for the early darkness and gray colors that come once winter arrives.  But, instead of giving into the seeping gloomy thoughts, we're fighting it , Brett and I.  We've decided to live intentionally each season, planning some things ahead so we embrace what each season has to offer, instead of dreading it.  Our goal isn't to make list after list and plan the fun right out the door.  We hope to make sure dreamy moments occur often, and aren't an afterthought. 

A rich life given top priority........so here's a peek at our Autumn List so far. 
I'm sure we'll continue to add things as they pop into our minds. 

Doesn't it look exciting?! All that wonder and possibility up ahead...
bring on the dark evenings :)

{What would YOU add to this list?}

a rosy list.

 1. Green summer grass
2. books that make me think, laugh, and cry in equal parts
3. "I like you mama"
4. morning and evening coffee
5. chickens, baby calves, and cats
6. pastels (my mind can't get enough lately)
7. singing. lots and lots of singing.
8. folk music.  clapping hands in the backseat while I drive over the lake.
 9. Brett's twinkle in his eye
10. pep talk from Brett
11. feathers, acorns, heart rocks, branches, leaves....gathering
12. vintage flashcards
13. Isaiah 49
14. the many references to food, dining together, and gathering found in scripture
15. "my sweet dreamer".........spoken by Brett
16. new friends through blogging (hi)
17. the sound of the mower
 18. nice, nice neighbors who check on us, love on us
19. the apple tree
20. knowing Heaven is waiting
21. on the other hand-a dream list so long I'll need to live to be 120
22. Betsy's chubby rolls
23. Betsy's eyes
24. the way Anna runs, arms and legs flailing
25. Anna's piercing eyes
26. "I need maaamaaaa"-Anna
27. Anna Ruth singing "Doe a deer"
28. staying up late

 29. a gentle, cool breeze
30. my bro-in-law getting engaged
31. gaining a new friend in the family
32. being silly
33. holding Brett's hand
34. a bowl of dry cheerios
35. collecting fiction books for winter
36. exercising
37. grandparents who love on my gals
38. "Where we going today"
39. checking the mail
40. waffles
41. hearts-rocks, paper ones, real ones. Hearts matter.
42. challenging myself at photography
43. the sound of cows eating
44. chalk and bubbles on the front porch
45. the smell of the floors after they've been mopped
46. butter
47. 17 cent notebooks-stocking up, just waiting to fill them up
48. "this looks like fun to me!"
49. doilies
50. anything chippy
51. farm fresh eggs
52. my sweet neighbor friend
53. quiet
54. honesty
55. helping in the nursery
56. autumn list
57. hearing Anna Ruth pray
58. twinkle lights
59. barn metal
60. anticipating autumn
61. old-school Hillsong
62. thrifting
63. the concept of art journaling
64. painting
65. glasses
66. playgroup
67. being a twin
68. etsy orders
69. fresh basil
70. candles
71. a mini green grill
72. bread, always bread
73. a wish to wander
74. instagram
75. grilled food

{you?}

Turn on the light.

 Last Saturday I woke up to the most brilliant light.  I saw light spilling in through the shades, scattering itself onto the wall.  I thought about the concept of light, breaking through in the midst of darkness.  How enthralling, hopeful, beautiful it is.  Captivating, warming. Everywhere I seemed to turn that day, there was a little circle of light.  Even as I typed this post. I looked down, and there next to me was a tiny circle of light shining on the floor.  




It made me think of a favorite quote, buried deep in my heart. 

"Miep Gies: But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a

teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in
a dark room."

{Who can you turn on the light for today?  Perhaps for yourself even?.....}

Giggles and gals.

Happy Monday! 
How was your weekend?  Ours was wonderful.  We have entered a new season with our gals that is just so much fun.  I suppose I've been saying that for a while, but being able to go out to eat, take car rides, and have fun as a family of four is a new feeling for us.  A wonderful, silly new feeling.  

So back to the weekend.  It included crafting my booth for Arkansas Women Blogger's Unplugged conference, making birthday decorations for a silly bash with my TWIN sis and I, buying new books for my bday (more on those soon), getting Anna Ruth a new backpack (pack-pack), and lunch-box for school, laughing, lounging (sorta), inspiration spilling over, good food, photo shoots with my favorite props......good, rich living. 

Onto these girls.......*I suppose I should record how old the girls are because I'm forever forgetting! (how many specific months that is...)  Betsy Grace is a few days shy of 9 months and Anna Ruth is 2 years and 2 months old.  I can successfully say we've now moved past the stage of people looking at me like I'm nuts and the stares are more appreciate and amused now.  :)  More of a "how blessed you are" now.....
Our girls play together now!! Woohooo!! 
Having two babies so little is a whole 'different ballgame.  While Betsy was born (and for the first 6 months of her life) Anna was still so little.  So really it was like two very needy babies who didn't know how to play on their own, change their own diapers, etc.  (obviously!)  Now I'll be brave every so often and let them sit by each other on the floor and "play" while I'm a few feet away.  The conversation usually goes like this "Hi Detsy!! I like Detsy!"  and then...."here Detsy!"  Anna Ruth is truly sweet to her sis. And of course Betsy Grace adores everything about Anna.  It's a pretty sweet little friendship these two have going on.
Betsy Grace is obsessed with grabbing Anna Ruth's hair. She just can't help seem to help herself.  Anna's face here makes me laugh-it's like she's saying "do you see this mom?"  
Of course sometimes there's still the "No, Detsy, No!" command being barked out from Anna's tiny body, like she's a drill sargent, or commanding a dog.  LOL.  

This pic shows our new (to us) rug from a country auction recently! It's wonderfully pink and cost $27. I rarely say I want something that costs $$ out of the regular budget. But this, I did.  I told Brett to get his number ready because I liked that pink rug.  And he won it for me. :) Or was the highest bidder, however you want to look at it.  I was originally going to "save" it for my Rosy Retreat building I plan of having (are you sick of hearing about this yet?!).  BUT, if you know me well at all, then you should know I don't like saving things.  Waiting for a grander occasion.  It's like people who leave their candles wrapped and china packed.  We are so NOT that family.  So down the rug went. Will it still be around when the retreats start someday? Who knows. 

But for now I know a certain little gal that likes to run laps around this pretty pink track and that's enough reason for me to leave it down. Joy shouldn't have a start date.

Brett says Anna Ruth looks like a teenager here.  She is just the funniest gal and says the most original, hilarious things.  "I'm a little lady" was a recent statement.  
And then there's my sweet, sweet little Betsy.  She's cuddly and close in a crowd or around people she's not familiar with.  At home she comes alive!  She likes to sit and kick, squeal, and is very expressive with her eyebrows.  She's interested in just about anything we let her see, and that goes for food also.  One of the top favorite parts of my days are getting her out of her crib. She grins so big at me! 

This sums up Anna Ruth so well, and is the reason why she's perceived as quiet or serious sometimes.  But she's not always.  What Brett and I know is that she just simply didn't want her picture taken here and this is her serious look for showing you that.  She's giggles galore at times, serious scowl at others.  (aren't we all) 

Two action-packed, bundles of personality.  We have never been more excited and sure about enjoying this season of our lives, we've been looking ahead to the next big thing (building a house, having a baby, having another baby) for so long we feel like we've gone "Ahhh......" and just let out the biggest breath we've been holding for about 3 years.  

{What stage of life are you in?  What makes you let out a deep breath?}

I've got a new blog! Come see. :)

Room for the Rosy  is my new blog. I hope you'll come see.