Homegrown Hospitality

All of the Above

WARNING: A LONG ONE...Grab some coffee, tea...or drink of choice.

We all have a specific "purpose" and several years ago, when I not only "heard" that, but took it SERIOUSLY did I "get it" (no, not "my purpose" but the entire scope of what it means)  

I was EXCITED to know WHAT my purpose was, because I never really "knew" what I wanted to "be" when I grew up besides a wife, a mom and a PTA member (hold your comments !!!!).

Insert screeching breaks....

Ummm...It is not like you stand in line, wait your turn and then be handed a slip of paper that tells you what your Purpose is and, "Duh"...it's not really what "we want to be"... (I thought I had to figure it out...)

 

NOPE.

Our individual purpose is "what we were created to be" and up until a handful of years ago, did I REALLY get it...and I had to "grow through" what I had to go through* to understand it all and now I get it. I mean, I got it...

My Purpose, that is...

and here is the thing, everyone else around you may be able to "see" it and "know it" and even tell you what "it", your purpose is, but until you REALLY get it, you don't...

Oh, I hope I have not lost you because here it is:

I am starting to feel, think and see things differently than I really ever have before and with that, I have to say...

It's not about scrapbooking...(duh)

or doodling.. (eek!)

or making things from paper..(drat!)

or baking things from dough and batter..(whatttt????)

or stitching things from felt...(gulp!)

or painting, stamping or really anything thing else....It, MY PURPOSE is about inspiring, influencing, teaching, reminding and loving all of the above and creating a community around it.

Insert falling confetti, letting colorful balloons fly, blowing party horns, clicking heels like a leprechaun, lighting fireworks..

It only took 42.75 years to figure it out..now I have 42.75 years, give or take, to work it. 

 

Thank YOU for being part of my PURPOSE!

amen.

Live in the Moment

You know why Kamryn is smiling??? (besides the fact that she just turned 10) 
because Auntie Steph made her a birthday cake and let her eat it from the cake plate!

 
Today, create Joy and Live in the moment!

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it"Psalm 118:24..and eat cake from the plate!

Farmers Market Friday

RANDOM CREATIVE is not just about paper, paint, ink or stitching...

Friday means Farmers Market and right now farmers market means....Strawberries. 
then I came home, baked, whipped, filled, frosted and topped it...more soon.

 

Makin' Things

I mentioned a "thank you" to my friends in PA for helping me re-light my ever flickering creative spirit which resulted in a forrest fire of little things in between this, that and the other on Tuesday...

I baked.

I have not baked in months. That alone should have shown that something was off.  Do not get me wrong, I have made brownies and the random cake for little things that we have here, but I baked Chocolate Chip cookies....and as I FB'd about it, the comments came flooding in...so here is the good ol' recipe  

I don’t “cream this” and sift that”..I dump it all in my big mixing bowl like this:

 5 cups of flour

2 cups of brown sugar unpacked

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of slightly soft butter

4 eggs

2 tablespoons of vanilla

2 teaspoons of baking soda

2 teaspoons of salt

alot of love

Mix in a large mixing bowl until all blended. Dump in chocolate chips..I do not measure..I just pour them in! Use a small scoop to scoop dough onto cookie sheet & bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

You MUST add love to this.  If you are baking because “you have to” and you have a yucky attitude about it, they will not come out big and “scone-like”..you must do it with LOVE..just sayin.

and in between baking times and cooling times...I stitched this

 
It is a "Crismon." (CHRIST + MONagrams) A Crismon is a symbol that can be identified with Christ. The first ones were used centuries ago by early Christians as a message to each other to protect Christian meeting places.  Thier purpose was to point to the Good News and to call an ornament a "Crismon" it must be all white and/or gold.  White is the sign of Purity and Perfection, Gold stands for Majesty & Glory.  I am sending my Crismon off today to adorn the Christmas tree at St. James Lutheran Church in Huntingdon, PA.

oh...and in between my school yard duties, I made this SUPER CUTE Ball Jar cozy from an idea I got in Staci's dining room (looking through the Resoration Hardware catalog & thinking about the 10,000 wool sweaters in her basement) just moments before leaving to head to the airport

um, hello??? Is it not the cutest and EASIEST thing ever??? I will put up a tutorial later this week...and I made homemade apple sauce on a whim because I was making a Pork Tenderloin (from Target) because we have groceries in our Target and really, it just does not get much better than an "all-in-one-store"  
subsequently, I did not get a nap in, which resulted in a early bed time, which resulted in a early rise time this morning...which reminded me of my walking tours in PA and this shot which has it very own SPECIAL story of its own

  
I will share later...in the meantime, go bake for someone..They will appreciate the gesture and the cookies and you will feel good for making things!

 

Happy Halloween

This year we are just not in the spookish-mood...We do not even have a .....pumpkin! (but I have a photo from last year)

I did not even make anything..but I have a few photos from last year..and the years before

 

 
 
wow..I even made a layout last year...
 
and..gulp...I did not even throw our annual pumpkin carving party...(but I have a photo from last year)

 
just not in the spooky mood I guess...

I even forgot about cute lil' Charlie

 
Go on..you can sing it..

"Every party needs a pooper that's why........."

but I promise, I will be better for the coming holidays...and I wish you a happy and safe Halloween!