not in part but the whole

I'm blown away by how loving, awesome, powerful and personal our God is. The cup of wrath which was mine to drink was drained by Jesus Christ. Every bitter drop.


And He blesses us still more. This spring, I've discovered gardening and I couldn't be more obsessed. I love learning new skills, and so many great minds have been coaching me this season. My birthday present was 2 adirondack chairs, and we have coffee in them most every morning. I love things that grow, and I love having a place to sit and take it in. We've also decided that our back yard is the perfect place for an Easter egg hunt (for our future/Lord willing/sometime children).

To top it all off, I get to spend my life with this guy - he finds time to be wonderful even while juggling 60+  hour work weeks and his MBA at Chicago Booth. Plus, he is a big dork with me :)


My sin (oh the bliss of this glorious thought!)
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul.


B

love these girls

(at an incredible production of 'Aida' at Chicago's Lyric)

nothing quite like a real book

I won't deny the convenience of a Kindle. Particularly when traveling..

But I'm a romantic at heart, and I'm in love with real books. Kindles can't beat the real thing - the way paper warps as it ages, dust covers, the smell, the texture of excellent binding, the sound books make when you slam them shut, etc



Reading (good) books makes us human.
And real books can be shared with our children, and our children's children; a tool of hope for future generations. And that is why real books always win.

At least in my book :)

B

potato leek soup

With the craziness of a fabulous Christmas over, we're ready for a season of rest; and so we've been hunkering down for a nice and long cozy winter. I've found myself wondering if winter is not too unlike the Sabbath of seasons. Spring brings energy with its brighter days, new life to flora & fauna and the work of planting. Summer is for traveling, celebrating, filling our schedules to the brim and staying up much too late. We harvest, bustle about and feast in the Fall. And then comes Winter - with its dark days, quiet snow and frozen ground. Perhaps I can grow to appreciate the rest and waiting. And perhaps, Lord willing, I will use this quiet season for spiritual and imaginative refreshment.

So yes, this southern girl still finds cold weather disgusting, but she's realized that a fresh perspective helps a bit.

But on to my point :)

I have the perfect winter soup recipe. In fact, the conclusions above were reached while I prepared this fabulous Potato Leek Soup (found on a friend's pinterest board, where everything she pins looks so tempting).Simple ingredients, minimal fussing and incredibly filling - that's my kind of meal. The biggest hassle is cleaning and prepping the leeks, but I've discovered a technique that makes everything easier. The leeks I find out here are always so filthy with mud and sand. But look at this easy (and beautiful, I think) way of cleaning them:

Maybe everyone else has always cleaned their leeks this way, and I'm just late to the party....either way, I'm super glad to finally know better.

As mentioned, this soup is so simple (and affordable!). The leeks are sauteed with butter and salt; potatoes, water, thyme, chili pepper and bay leaves are added; simmer for 20 minutes or so; stir/blend/emulsify to your texture preference. And that's it!

I'd recommend adding more potatoes to increase the soup's thickness. Also, blending the soup gave it a wonderful velvety texture. We sliced up a crusty loaf of bread and paired it with a bit of sherry. It was a wonderful, simple and cozy dinner. 

Perfect for a calm, restful and reflective winter night.

B

get thee to an anthropologie

Run (don't walk) to your nearest Anthropologie. Don't have one close by? Check it out online.

There's one 5 minutes from my house, and I'm forever window shopping and getting ideas....but hardly ever able to afford anything. Even when it's on sale. But right now you can get an extra 50% off of everything already on sale - in stores and online.

Which is how I afforded this (for $25!!):

And this set (for $5!!):

And several other things that I can't reveal before Christmas :)

I just love a good great sale.

B

purple closet

We're converting one of our bedrooms into a library. We're then converting said bedroom's closet into a study (where the computer, office supplies, stationary, etc lives). I love that we can just close the closet doors when we don't need to be on the computer - out of sight, out of mind. Which really is a wonderful thing because I am too distracted by technology.

Because of my flair for the dramatic, we're painting the closet deep purple.... Lavender Suede, to be precise (doesn't that sound perfect?). And my dear, sweet sister Marge is helping me paint. She is the best!

The color is much more rich and dark in person. We're only one coat in and already I can see places where the paint is showing true to color. 

Paint makes me so happy.

B

Approach my soul, the mercy seat...

where Holy One and helpless meet...



....I must. I will. I do believe, Oh God.

B