Home Sanctuary

Company Girl Coffee 2.10 - and a Glowing Small Thing

The tissue paper pom poms I told you about last week were really fun and easy to make - and the thing I liked best about them was the fact that they radiated a soft glow from inside. They made people want to come close and see what made them light up!

I got to thinking about the idea of an "inner glow" - you know, the kind that newly expectant mothers have just before they start telling their exciting secret to the world that they are having a baby. You can't bottle that kind of beauty, but if you could you'd be a gazillionaire.

There's the kind of glow that children have, like when they've just discovered how to blow on dandelions and watch the tufts float away. Or when they clutch a kite by a string - and it really flies! Or they sound out a new word or learn to tie their shoelaces.

There's the glow of that first kiss, a summer dance under the stars, and falling in love.

And there's a glow that comes from an unexpected compliment, or when a Thanksgiving turkey was cooked to perfection, or a new haircut turned out great.

Glowing comes from the inside - it radiates out like a bright light - and it's captivating, mesmerising and attractive. People can't help but be drawn to someone with that special sparkle from within.

YOU have that sparkle.

Maybe it's gotten lost in the busyness of life lately, but it's in there. I know it is. And you're going to love our Small Thing today because....

Today's Small Thing is to find your inner glow.

Ask yourself: what is it that really lights me up on the inside?

Let me throw out some ideas and see if any of them catches your imagination.

Plan a surprise: a romantic moment with your husband, a fun "date" with your child, or a gift for a friend

Create something: work on a craft, paint a piece of furniture, make a pretty cake, make a scrapbook page

Try something new: a new restaurant, a new skill, a new hairstyle, a new walking route

Be child-like: ride a bike, turn a cartwheel, color a valentine with crayons, look at clouds, buy silly string, have a pillow fight, take a nap

Spend time with God. Let His Spirit fill you to overflowing.

Pretend: Yes, simply pretend that you're glowing. Smile, hum, skip and draw happy faces....pretty soon you WILL be glowing for real.

YOU choose! Take a few moments and decide on something that will bring you joy from the inside out.

Dontcha love Small Things that don't involve cleaning and organizing? See, that stuff  is good, but it can only take you so far. But GLOWING? Now, THAT my friends, will take you over the moon.

What will make you glow today? Let us know in the comments!

Company Girl Coffee is next up....I hope you'll link up and do some visiting over the weekend!

Company Girl Coffee 2.3 and a Room Full of Puffs

 

I've been making tissue paper pom poms like these in my spare time this week:

Instructions can be found here: MarthaStewart.com

Mine are all made out of white tissue paper and I'll have about 50 of them when I finish tomorrow. Yes, 50. They aren't that hard to do and I figured that they take me about 6 minutes apiece....10 per hour.....yikes! That's a lot of tissue rustling. I wish I'd taken a photo of my living room floor, covered in white puff balls before I scooped them into big garbage bags for transport! It was quite a sight, and quite dreamy I might add. It looked like a cloud had settled on my carpet.

So what are the puffs for, you ask? They will be decorating my church for this weekend's marriage conference....the romantic dinner and dance part of it on Saturday night. We are going to hang a bunch of them over the dance floor with fishing line so it looks like they are floating, and also use them for centerpieces on the tables. But our little twist is this: we are going to tape some small LED lights inside each one so they will glow. I will definitely take photos because I do think it will be a cool effect. If THAT doesn't spark romance, I don't know what will. :)

If you want a Small Thing to do today, I suggest enjoying the Inner Sanctum of your bedroom in some way. You've given yourself a place that is clutter free and inviting - a retreat that is just for you. If you did not get anything done in there this week, why not take today and make it special? You deserve this. I really mean that.

 

I'm ready for some coffee. Or maybe some tea today. Either way, it's time for Company Girl Coffee, the weekly link-up that is just for YOU! Simply link your blog post URL into the linkytool below to join in the fun. It's a great way to meet new people, get creative ideas, share your thoughts and most likely a laugh or two! Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Company Girl Coffee 1.27

 

I went to bed last night after a hockey game not feeling well and this morning I'm still fighting it - blech! I'm going to head back to bed and try and get rid of this thing, but in the meantime, here is the Company Girl Coffee link-up! If you are new to Home Sanctuary, each Friday I host a virtual "coffee klatch" that gives everyone an opportunity to visit other blogs and link their own blog up. It's a great way to get to know other Company Girls and make online friends. I often hear stories of how women have connected through CG coffee - it is such a simple thing with great rewards. If you don't have a blog or don't link up, I hope you'll check out the great blogs anyway....and you are always invited to participate in the comment section below so we can get to know you that way.

I've got my tea and pillow and heating pad - I will see you when I return to consciousness. Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Company Girl Coffee and a Flash Story

My donkey Flash has been living the high life.

 

Ever since the wedding in November, he has wanted to get into the enclosure where all the beautiful grass is that had been planted for the event. However, my husband had cordoned off the area to prevent him from, well, pooping all over it and generally messing it up.

Well, ol' Flash didn't take too kindly to the ropes that Tom had strung across the barn opening that leads to that pasture, so he just decided to take matters into his own hands... er, hooves - and broke in. Many times.

But here's the mysterious part. The ropes never moved.

We'd look up and see him standing on the other side of the rope fence as if he'd just beamed himself over. Ropes perfectly intact.

We don't know how he did it. Over? Under? Through? We checked all the fences to see if there was another way in.....nope, nothing.

Sometimes we'd wake up in the morning to see him, eating away, inside that pasture as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Other times, we'd be in the barn and simply turn away for a second, and then there he'd be. Like magic. Right under our noses.

Finally, Tom gave up trying to keep him out of that heavenly green acre and just took the ropes down so he could have at it.

Flash has been happily munching in there ever since, enjoying himself immensely....while we still scratch our heads in wonder over his ability to materialize at will. And although he HAS pooped in the barn, he has left his new grazing area pure and pristine, not a turd to be found.

I guess it's just his way of saying, "Thanks."

Today's Small Thing is to express "Thanks" in YOUR own way to someone.

The EASY way is to simply say it with words. The more complicated way - and sometimes the more meaningful way - is to say it by "doing." By doing an action or activity that expresses thoughtful gratitude. Now obviously, don't use Flash's method of thoughtful gratitude - no manure need be involved here - but perhaps there is another way you can show kindness to another person.

A gesture of thanks can be accompanied by an explanation of why you're doing it without cheapening the action, as long as it's done gracefully. Is there someone who might enjoy a nice turn, after all they've done for you? We'd love to know your "expression of thanks" activity and who you are doing it for today!

 

While you're thinking of something nice to do for someone, how about joining us for a virutal cup of coffee? Company Girl Coffee is our weekly feature that allows everyone to get to know each other by simply linking up. (If you're receiving this post via email, you'll need to pop over to the blog to be able to see the links.) My weekend got crazy last time, and I did not have a chance to get around to visit, despite my best efforts....but I plan to spend some time visiting ya'll this time! We have some wonderful, interesting and fun Company Girls - so even if you don't link up, why not stop in and see them?

 

 

 

Company Girl Coffee 1.13

Happy Birthday, Grayson!

 

Our son celebrated his 18th birthday this week....and of course, I'm sentimental about this milestone. I was going to scan in some of his baby pictures to post here for the occasion, but I think I'll wait until graduation - when I'm REALLY a blubbering mess.

Isn't he cute?? Just look at that kid.

Can't help it, but I still want to just pinch him.

Gray has been such a gift to me, and it's hard to imagine that my time with him at home is coming swiftly to an end! Not that he doesn't try my patience every now and then...but then again, what teenager doesn't? He makes me laugh constantly and I'm forever trying to get him to eat more food so he can gain weight. What a problem. He is funny and smart, sweet and mature. We are so very blessed by this kid - I mean, young man. I really can't believe he is 18 and will be voting this year. Where has the time gone? (cry)

Last night, Gray had a late hockey game in a town over an hour away (we lost, boo), and we did not get home until after midnight. By that time, I wasn't feeling too well and my nice, well-meaning husband made me go straight to bed without letting me finish up my birthday and Small Thing post for today. I guess this will have to do...a half finished post - late. I hope you'll forgive me!

 

So let's go straight to Coffee time. It's our weekly link-up of readers that is all about YOU! Simply enter your blog post URL into the linky tool below to participate.....then have fun visiting all the great blogs that link up! I actually made it around to all the blogs last weekend, and I loved getting to visit with everyone. We have some incredible friends here, folks, so don't by shy about joining in. Can't wait to visit with you again this time. Have a great weekend!

 

Company Girl Coffee 1.6

This morning I'm going to put a virtual coffee pot on and let you girls get started chatting. I've got to take care of a couple of things right away so I won't be able to finish up my post until a little bit later this morning. But don't let that stop you from linking up below and visiting Company Girl blogs!

Later today, I'll show you photos of my office re-do progress. I picked the week before Christmas as the time to tear into it - GAH! Zoanna asked me to show "in-process" pictures, not just "Before and Afters" and I think that's a great idea. I'm quite sure you'll love seeing the complete disaster that is my office right now - it's a beaut! Can't hardly walk in there!

As for Today's Small Thing, it is to continue working on your Housekeeping System.

I gave you a lot of charts and things to think about and fill in....and I hope you weren't overwhelmed by the process! I have to tell you that I was really challenged as I looked at my time and realized how many "unfocused" hours I have in my day. When I work at home, I do a little laundry, check my emails, hop on the computer.....whew! My time just slips away. I am determined to set "work hours" to help me be more productive.

How about you? Did you find any of the exercises this week challenging? What did you find out as you sat down to work on setting up a simple schedule? To be completely honest, I found that I really don't like to commit to anything I think I might fail at. I've had to swallow hard and press on in order to get over my past failures in this area and simply START FRESH. I appreciate all you ladies for sticking with me and doing the same! 2012 is going to be a great year.

If you're reading this post via email, you won't see the blogs listed below....so just pop over to Home Sanctuary to find them in this post! See ya'll later today!

Company Girl Coffee

I have a fresh excitement for Home Sanctuary in 2012! Did I mention I have a few things up my sleeve for this coming year? Here are four:

• I'm bringing back monthly devotionals - one verse each month, artfully displayed, for you to download, share and print to your heart's content. YAY! Now Melissa at Seven Matters can replace the old verses from 2008 with some new ones for her laundry room. :)
• We'll see more prizes and drawings this year. Now, I'm not going to bring back daily "points" for tasks, although I've been sorely tempted to. It's great fun for the 50 or so people who participate, but probably not so much for the hundreds who feel a bit defeated by not "earning" points if they miss doing a Small Thing. That's OK....we'll just find other ways of giving prizes to ourselves, right?? Can't wait.
• I've been working on re-doing my studio office so I can easily create artwork and new organizational tools for us to use. I'm revamping To-Do lists and housekeeping schedules so they are prettier, and therefore, more likely to get used.
• Project challenges - time to tackle some BIGGER projects....but thank heaven above you won't be alone. Oh no, we're in this together, my friends.

Is there something YOU might like to see happen here at Home Sanctuary this year? Leave me a comment or send me an email and let me know!

Our Friday feature, Company Girl Coffee, will continue on as we have done for the past couple of years. It's an easy and fun way to get to know each other. In fact, why not join in today? Simply enter your blog post URL below, inviting people over to meet you. Then get around to as many linked blogs as you can. Even if you don't link up yourself, I hope you'll take a few moments to stop in at some of these fantastic blogs.

Happy New Year, Company Girls! See you Monday, ready to take on 2012!!

Rachel

 

 

Company Girl Coffee 12.16

Wow! I can't believe Christmas is just a week away! I finally started my shopping the other day and made a pretty good dent in it. Another couple of outings and I think I'll have it done. I still haven't figured out what to get my husband, Tom. What do you get for a guy that is happy with what he's got? I can't get a straight answer from him, so I guess I will be heading to the sporting goods store for some inspiration. Come to think of it, I could get him a flashlight EVERY SINGLE YEAR and he'd be thrilled. He loves flashlights. :)

Ladies, thank you for your book orders yesterday. If you didn't get a chance to email me, let me know today....I think that's about as late as I can ship and still make it by Christmas. If you don't care about getting books by the 25th, then it won't be a problem at all. I still have a bunch left.

Now, I want to let you know that I'll be taking next week off from the daily Small Things. You all have enough small and big things to do without me adding to it! I may throw in a random post, but I'll be back on the 27th to finish out the year.

I'm very excited about 2012! I have some fun ideas galloping around in my head that I'm playing with, and I'm inspired to keep making daily, incremental touches to my little sanctuary that make it feel good to be home. And having you all along each day means more to me than you can imagine. You keep me motivated and inspired! Next year is going to be awesome, I can just feel it.

Have a wonderful weekend of Christmas preparation....and may you be blessed this holiday season! Feel free to link up for Company Girl Coffee - our weekly "meet up" that allows us to get to know each other better!

Much love, Rachel

 

Kristina Kuzmic's Apple Berry Bake...and CG Coffee

As promised, here is another fabulous dessert recipe from The Ambush Cook, Kristina Kuzmic. I can't wait to try this one! Don't forget that The Ambush Cook premieres tomorrow (Sat), Dec. 3rd at 12 pm (ET/PT).

Cheer Kristina on through your tweets and FB to let people know about the show. I don't have cable, so I'm having a friend record it for me :). An easy way to support her is to go to the official trailer site and "like" the page and tweet it. Just click the buttons that are at the top of the post. Simple!

APPLE BERRY BAKE

Recipe courtesy of Kristina Kuzmič

 

Filling:

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces

½ cup fresh blueberries 

¾ cup fresh raspberries 

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

¼ cup brown sugar

Cooking spray (for baking dish)

 

Topping:

¾ cup white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ cup quick oats

1 egg

¼ cup butter, melted 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly coat an 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Place the apples, blueberries and raspberries in the dish and toss with flour and brown sugar.  In a mixing bowl, combine white sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, flour, oats, and egg.  Mix with a fork until well combined.  Drop chunks of the dough all over the fruit.  Drizzle with melted butter.  Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm, with ice cream or frozen vanilla yogurt. 

 

Yields: 6 servings

 

 

And now, time for some Company Girl Coffee. It's our way of connecting with each other by linking up below....and gives you all a chance to visit each other's blogs. Why just depend on the comments to get to know one another when you can actually go see where other readers live? That's what this is for. Non-bloggers can participate in the comment section, of course - and we welcome that! Simply chat about what is going on in your life, how you came to find Home Sanctuary, or what you are doing to create a bit of sanctuary in your home....whatever you'd like to talk about! 

Linkytools is having some problems today, so leave your link in the comment section and we'll find each other that way! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Company Girl Coffee 10.28

It's been a good week! I've had fun seeing seeing the results of our efforts to spruce things up around here for the upcoming wedding. The winter rye grass is coming in beautifully and almost all the lights are hung. I will get some photos together to show you our progress next week - I just haven't had time to upload them and get organized.

Since we are on an extremely tight budget, we are having to stretch our imaginations a bit. We've dug through things in our storage to fill in gaps, like resurrecting two end tables that have almost been thrown away twice. I hit paydirt with a neighbor's garage sale and found some great stuff to use both for the wedding and beyond. (3 sections of old picket fence!!!)And, with paint and elbow grease, things are getting in shape for 250 guests. The wedding is now only two weeks away!

There is no Small Thing today, but coffee is on me! Feel free to link up below to share a virtual cup of coffee with other Company Girls. Have a great weekend!!