the grass, in this case, is actually greener

Are you ready for another farm post? Hope so, cause friends, that is all I have today.
I am farm dreaming  and I cannot help it. Practicality and Easy Choices be damned, it is what I dream of.

Sometimes a girl just has to dream, right?

Sometimes a girl has to dare to imagine  a different life, as Birdie would say. because she believes in her gut it is what is best.

Sometimes you just feel it in your bones, that something is just meant to be, despite all evidence to the contrary.

So what shall I do then? I am going to pray. And pray. And maybe ask some other people to pray too. And then pray some more. 

Oh, and I am going to droll over at Pinterest too...

Eggs & Boots, Henry, Red Barn, Sheep, Laundry, Kitchen, Chick, Cows, Quilt

And then, whatever will be, will be. Que sara, sara...

Sunday's Challenge- on Tuesday

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.

Romans 12:1 (The Message)

Make Do {and Make Lovely} Monday

It is Monday and I am already thinking about Friday. Is that bad? It is because I am off Friday and I have BIG plans. Want to know what they are? I know you do!
 I have HUGE plans to putter around my house doing all sorts of domestic chores, like laundry.  Fingers crossed.  Exciting huh? Well, for this over committed gal it is. A little domestic respite is just what the doctor ordered. Hmmm... I wonder if I could get a laundry line hung up by then in the back yard? I think the Hennies would approve, don't you? Do you think it would motivate me to do laundry more often if I had a laundry line? Does anyone know how to keep your clothes from getting so stiff when they dry outside? 

I love my hens. They are a funny lovely trio and I haven't spent nearly enough time with them this summer. It has just been too darn hot. Slowly, but surely, the weather is cooling off a bit - at least in the mornings and the evenings, and I have been trying to pay them daily visits. A recent rash of rain storms made the previously pitiful grass grow 5 inches seemingly overnight. Even though it is out of control at least is is green. I don't know about you, but I will happily take a wildly overgrown green yard over a short, pathetic brown yard any day. I think the girls like it. they love to run through it, and peck at it and brush their feathers in it.

Speaking of Hennies. Look at this adorable tape dispenser I found online today. Too funny. Like those creamers that are cows. Though I am not sure what chickens have to with tape.






S o that is what is lovely to me today, the hennies and the promise of a domestic day, perhaps a little laundry line in the mix.What about you? What is lovely to you today?

Reading Now

I guess you have noticed by now that I am off my regular routine of post.

That's because I am suffering from the annual Back-to-School- Butt-Kicking cold.

Ugh.  So I am off my blogging game among others (home keeping #1 among them)

Instead of trying to get back on track,  I thought would call the week a wash and  just share what I am reading and waiting to read instead. Sound good? Great!

Folly Beach

So far this is a good, interesting, not too fluffy, not too serious summer read.

Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life

A friend gave me this book for my birthday last year and I am just now getting to take it in. I am loving it and I could not have picked it up at a better time.

My (Not So) Storybook Life: A Tale of Friendship and Faith
This book is by my friend (and practically neighbor)  Liz Owen.

It is not out till October but I cannot wait to read it!

Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Inspirations

This will be on my Christmas wish list for sure. I am always a fan of Rachel's, and I cannot wait to see her newest book.

So there you have it, a brief look at what I am reading and wishing for,

What about you? What are you reading and wishing for?

ummm shells in my cornbread may be sending me a message

Last week I made itty bitty corn muffins in my itty bitty madeline pan. 

I didn't use enough grease and only a few popped out of the pan as they should.

But boy weren't the ones that turned out cute? Isn't that how life is? Not everything works out like you planned, but when it does - bonus!

I made a crock-pot jambalaya to go with it, but it was not pretty. In fact here it looks like spam and mush.
But I promise it was yummy.

I think all this talk of shells and beaches has just about worked a spell on me.

I think I might have convinced Sweet Man that what I need most is to see the Ocean for my birthday and perhaps beach camp.  Fingers crossed, prayers said, we will be able to make that road trip on fall break, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Fly-Away Fridays- the Beach

I thought it would be fun to start a regular Friday feature that is all about dream  getaways... Kind of a bucket list/inspiration list of places and thing.. Want to come along?

(all pictures found on Pinterest under "Beach, Summer and Coastal")

Summer is almost over and I haven't been to the beach. Of course I haven't been to the beach in a few years, but every summer the craving comes up.

Did you know that I used to live near the beach? I did. For 3 years my family lived in Largo, Florida. Which is near Clearwater, which is near Tampa. I was only a kid, so I didn't not get to fully embrace beach life, but  a small piece of it remains in me. A small craving for the way the clouds look above the ocean, the way wet mushy sand feels beneath my toes. Sand just like this.

If I could go to the beach I would want to spend my mornings walking down a path like this 

My afternoons napping here

And my evenings with my Sweet Man here

I would want to dine on this

And drink lots of these

I would want to wear this

And this 

And of course a floppy hat

And I would gather lovely mementos to always remember my calm and beautiful days under the clouds and the stars, with only the sea and the sand beneath my feet..

Thursday's Confessions

Welcome to everyone who has popped over from Heather's blog and my Home Made Lovely home tour today!.

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This is  Thursday's Confessions. A weekly feature where I confess, before you my sisters and brothers, the silly, the ridiculous and even at times the shameful. Why? Because confession is good for the soul. 

Even in Blogland.

Confession: I am a granny at heart. I like to wear long white cotton nightgowns, I have a hair dryer chair (and yes it works and yes I  have used it, and yes it is wonderful.)

 I also like to stay in on Saturday nights and mend stained clothes, putting patches on them, made out of vintage embroidery pieces. I watch way too many BBC Mystery and Classic Novel-Turned-Miniseries' on Netflix and I love the smell of Pond's Cold Cream and Chantilly powder.

And last, but not least, I love helpful household tips- like this one that my grand Maw taught me.

It's a shower cap turned bowl cover. Isn't this the best idea?

They are inexpensive, they are washable, they are reusable, and best of all, they are pretty!

They are a great way to cover those bowls of chips/potato salad/fruit medley.

They are great in the fridge. They are great at a picnic. They are great at a church potluck.

And they are true granny chic. The Olsen's just wish they were this cool.

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Want to join in the confession fun and share your confessions too?

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Grab a button and link back to this post, in your post.

Visit the other links and leave a little comment love - that is what makes it so fun!

Add your link any time today!

make do {and make lovely} mondays

Shhhh...

Momma is not be disturbed, 

she is fixin her hair.

That's right folks! Guess who got her own vintage hair dryer chair? Me!

It is so funky and so great... I found it on a swap page on Facebook.

Every time I walk into the bedroom and see it, I grin a big goofy grin.

 A big huge thanks to my parents for picking it up and bringing it to me. They are troopers!

I have named her Myrtle.  Somehow it seems appropriate, don't you think?

 I am looking forward to hours spent reading, writing and stitching in my new chair, all the while my Myrtle dries my hair. This is my kind of multi-tasking. I am sure there will also be more  silly photo taking in the chair as well, as Myrtle has a certain appeal that cannot be ignored. Maybe it should be a new Instagram collection - everyone who comes to visit has to have a silly picture made with her.

(PS please pardon the rough grainy pictures -there was not enough sun and I was just so anxious to share it with you!)

Happy Monday!