for the love.

I am feeling the need to come clean with you on one little subject matter.

I'm worried it might become a hindrance in our relationship if it hasn't already.

It’s just time to simply get it out of the way.

So here goes...

I own a VHS copy of ‘Riverdance.’

Providing you with a little space here to figure out what you think about this.

Feel free to laugh profusely, cry, whatever, just let it flow, I understand.

*

*

*

*

*

Okay. 

Take a deep breath, I’m going to move on now.

So this little gem of a tape is the main reason why we still own & operate a VCR.

I cannot tell you how many times this tape has been viewed.

It has carried us through many cold, snow-filled, windy days & maybe even a few perfectly nice days where I should have turned the tv off & forced my littles to go outside already but sometimes you just gotta Riverdance for the love of Ireland.

In the past year & a half we have actually been carried further into the fun, amazing world of Irish step dancing because my oldest absolutely loves it {her sister is soon to follow in her 'dance' steps} & we love her enough to drive 124 miles roundtrip every other week, sometimes more for lessons.

This past Monday as we were traveling to Breckenridge I realized yet again, how blessed I am to call the mountains home.

I may drive 2.5 hours roundtrip for a 45 minute dance lesson but the scenery along the way is spectacular.

Something tells me I'd have to try a whole lot harder to enjoy the view driving across the Panhandle of Texas every other week {although the multiple Dairy Queen stops would surely be a bonus}.

I am thankful for the places the people in my life take me.

& I am grateful for the sparkly views along the way.

ps. Happy March!

saturday skirt.

Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush Velveteen + sewing machine = a happy little Saturday afternoon project.

ps. A lot of excitement in our house today because our favorite ice cream spot opens up for the season & like my momma always says ‘it’s never too cold for ice cream!’

meet jenna.

{heartcommajenna}

So excited for my delightfully creative friend Jenna & her new etsy shop!
ps. I ♥ etsy!

a love list.

{bonjour birdie print from here}

Did you all enjoy Valentine’s Day?

A little list of things I love in honor of the love season.

1. I love typewriters.
2. I love little surprises like today’s impromptu pizza lunch with the youngest piece of my heart.
3. I love Anthropologie's Latte Bowls.
4. I love hymns.
5. I love this new 'books' fabric from David Textiles. Wouldn’t that make a cute library tote?
6. I love this quote from Anne Lamott.

      ‘No’ is a complete sentence.

       7. I love that my little ones know that I love peace & quiet.
            Doesn’t mean I get much of it but awareness is the first step, right?
       8. I love porch swings.
       9. I love the memory I have of my mom taking me & my brother to get

            sno-cones after school.

            Lime was always my flavor of choice.

      10. I  love making lists.

ps. I love the challenge of blogging but will confess that sometimes it takes awhile for inspiration to come.

I'm sure we could all say that about many things in life.
Thank you for your patience!

lovely & random.

Thanks to random.org I am happy to announce that Julie is our giveaway winner!

Thank you all for entering!

Have a lovely weekend.

ps. Have you heard about Anthropologie’s new, oh my heavens, wedding shop BHLDN unveiling this Valentine’s Day?

Talk about some sparkle potential!

Kinda makes me want to get married all over again.

To the same guy of course. :)

pps. Jules, I’ll be in touch!

joy found.

In the past year I have had the privilege of making encouragement totes for people walking in circumstances that none of us want anyone to be in.

Cancer diagnosis.

Death of a child.

Addiction.

Divorce.

Loss of a mother.

I have to tell you that in the midst of all this pain there is joy found in making these totes & praying for the people I am making them for.

Sometimes I personally know the recipient but lately I’ve been making more & more for people unknown to me.

But I don’t have to know them to pray for them.

I don’t even have to know their situation to call their name out to the Lord.

There are no ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ necessary with God.

He knows.

& I love how God allows us to use our giftedness with each other.

Even in the giving we receive.

Even in the pain there is joy.

God is so good.

ps. Know someone that could use a little encouragement?

Leave a comment with their name {no details needed, remember?} & I will select someone at random to send a tote to on your behalf for free.

Enter by Thursday, February 10^th for this little giveaway.

This brings me so much joy!

well hello february...

free desktop wallpaper from on the dot creations

February already?!

How in the world?!

We are enjoying a snow day today as it is minus something degrees outside.

Maybe you are doing the same given the weather reports from across the country.

I'm off to make hot chocolate for my girlies.

Stay warm!

ps. I hear Belize is nice this time of year.

heart lift.

Do you see the pink blob in the middle of this photo?

That is my heart on a ski lift.

My oldest daughter riding up all by herself for the first time.

I don’t think I took a breath until I saw her skis on firm ground again.

We're doing our part to enjoy winter.

Hope you are too!

ps. In case you have a few or 9 minutes & are in need of a laugh:

Mans Surprising Laugh on The Comedy Barn

sweets.

So last month, before I got sick, before Christmas, before I traversed half of this blessed country I was planning on sharing one of my favorite cookie recipes with you.

This recipe was shared with me by a sweet friend of mine that has a smile that lights up a room.

Smiles & friends are good.

& so are these delicious cookies!

almond sweets

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar  

1/2 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

icing:

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 - 4 teaspoons of milk

Mix all together until smooth.

Stir flour, baking powder & salt together.

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla & almond extract on medium.

Add flour mixture.

Drop by teaspoons, 1” apart.

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Let cool & frost.

Add sprinkles for a little sparkle!

If I really had my act together I’d have a photo to share.

Real sorry I don’t have my act together.

I’m sure you understand the feeling.

ps. Happy baking!

a little inspiration.

I have a few things I’m inspired to do this year.

I’m trying to purge/organize in at least one area of my home everyday.

Maybe it’s something that I’ve had on the ‘list’ for months or it could simply be taking care of the days junk mail on the laundry room counter.

Either way it sure feels fabulous when it’s done.

I’m inspired to ask my girls on a weekly basis if there is something they would like to learn more about & then help them to do just that.

This week my oldest, inspired by her American Girl doll, Kit Kittredge, wants to learn more about the Great Depression.

Hooray for toys that encourage children to think & use their imaginations!

& hip hip hooray for public libraries!

By the way, one side trip on our way home from our crazy road trip was to the American Girl store in downtown Chicago on New Year’s Eve.

Oh my lands!

I think we saw more people on one street corner than actually live in our hometown.

It was a fun detour & another great reminder to enjoy the journey.

What are you inspired to do this year?!

I'm hoping more inspiration will come as the year goes along.

ps. In case you were wondering, I did not get a trip to the Rose Bowl from Santa.

I actually watched the game from a hotel room in Lincoln, Nebraska.

I know, I cried. 

But TCU won & I'm tickled purple!

Tournament of Roses

happy life.

Hello hello!

Were you starting to wonder where in the world I’d run off to?

I assure you I did not intend to be gone so long!

Let me just say that life happened & it has been a great reminder to me that sometimes life does that.

You’re cruising along & things are so smooth it’s as if you are in Junior High again at the roller rink & then:

the holidays & all the usual fun & busy they bring + planning & packing for a 4462 mile road trip {16 states, 16 days} + filling orders for 18 encouragement totes + getting oh so sick {this was definitely not on the to do list} + setting out on the epic adventure & realizing you have no plan for blogging while on the road & you also forgot the Christmas stockings = an unintentional break from the blog world.

Please forgive me for not giving you a heads up ahead of time.

But that’s just it isn’t it?

Sometimes we don’t get a warning.

& the older I get the more okay I am with there being another plan.

It has actually freed me up from my tendency to over plan.

I am much more flexible than I used to be, at least on the inside. :)

So it’s good to be here again & thanks for coming back!

ps. 

orangeyoulucky

the sweet smell of roses.

I recently wrote a letter to Santa.

It went a little like this.

Dear Santa,

Two tickets to the Rose Bowl please.

Thanks, kindest regards & a whole lot of TCU purple Christmas cheer!

Clare Elise Butler

You see the most amazing, crazy, once in a lifetime thing has happened.

In case you haven’t heard, the TCU Horned Frogs will be playing in the Rose Bowl.

I told you it was crazy.

I grew up across the street from TCU & also graduated from there.

While I attended TCU the football program wasn’t anywhere near this spectacular.

We were happy & every now & then a bit surprised if we actually won.

If I had been told that the Horned Frogs would play in the 2011 Rose Bowl, in true Flo fashion, I would have thought ‘When donkeys fly!’

I never really had high expectations when it came to school sports seeing as how I was a cheerleader in high school {farther away from home than college by the way} & the football team won once my freshman year & twice my senior year {one of those games, the score was 2-0 but you would have thought we’d won the Super Bowl}.

During my years at TCU I attended almost every home game & had the privilege of sitting with my dad in our reserved seats in the upper deck.

Fond memories.

Now I’m hoping Santa will come through & help me make some memories at the granddaddy of them all in Pasadena, California on January 1^st.

Talk about some sparkle under the Christmas tree!

ps. I’m glad I have those memories because this is what happened to those seats this past Sunday morning.

TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium Farewell

heart full of gratitude.

Gratitude... goes beyond the ‘mine’ and ‘thine’ and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.

. Henri Nouwen .

ps. It has been so good to be thankful with you this month!

oh my...

sparkle UGGs!

UGG Australia

ps. & how about this for a little sparkle in London's Heathrow airport?

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/553/kims-picks-a-homecoming-to-remember

More moments in life like this please!

random littles.

A few random little things I’m thankful for.

New socks.

Cheez-It crackers.

Pedicures with friends.

That hair grows.

Fresh snow.

Google.

Cupcakes.

& Sharpies.

ps. While shopping on Friday I bought a raffle ticket.

I didn’t even know what the prize was, I just wanted to support MaryAnne at Magical Scraps, the store I mentioned earlier today.

I got a call this afternoon that I won.

After getting really excited that I won I had to ask exactly what I won.

2 nights lodging & lift tickets in Breckenridge.

Just in time to celebrate my wedding anniversary.

Thankful!

if i worked at starbucks...

I don’t drink coffee.

In fact, there really isn’t a hot drink that I enjoy much.

I know, it’s kind of sad.

I think my mom thought so too when I was little & she once heated up some TANG for me.

It tasted horrible.

Needless to say Starbucks is not a place I have need to frequent often.

I’m more likely to go in to use their restroom & buy some Walker’s Shortbread {my mom taught me to always buy something from a business if you use their facilities} than I am to partake of a venti beverage.

This past Friday however, while doing my part to paint my little corner of the world pink {I like pink a whole lot more than black} & waiting for a store to open {no this was not 4 o’clock in the morning, around 9:30ish actually} I went in Starbucks with my mother-in-law & a dear friend.

I decided since it was so cold outside that I should order a hot drink instead of the pomegranate Izze that looked so good. 

So I ordered apple cider.

& when the gal called my order out this is what she said, very unenthusiasticly in my opinion but I could have made that up, ‘Hot apple juice.’

As I sheepishly stepped out of the crowd to claim said drink I thought to myself, if I worked at Starbucks I would call it ‘hot sparkling apple goodness delight.'

You know how I love things that sparkle.

ps. The shop I was waiting for to open?

Magical Scraps in Breckenridge.

Such a fun place!
Stop in & say hi to MaryAnne for me.

beyond good.

I’m thankful for God’s grace that allows me to be transformed each day.

The whole idea of transformation is so interesting to me in so many ways, on so many levels.

I don’t believe it’s something that I can make happen & yet I have to choose daily to abide in Him that He might transform me from within.

Sometimes it really hurts & yet I know enough that the pain leads to something beyond good.

& I absolutely love that this:

can be transformed into this:

I guess you could say I found my elf shoes over the Thanksgiving holiday.

ps. Enjoy the last few moments of November!

God's font.

A little shopping, a little football, a little chips & salsa.
It has been a fabulous day!
We head home tomorrow & I'm thankful we don't have far to go.
The place we call home is a tiny little dot on the map in Colorado.
From every window of my home I have a view of the mountains & they never look the same.
I'm thankful for God's majestic beauty that surrounds us & reminds me daily what an awesome Creator He is.
ps. I think I may have to write a letter to Santa asking him for an all expenses paid trip for 2 to the Rose Bowl!

sparkling glimpses.

I'm thankful for when I'm given glimpses of the fruits of my labor.
Kinda makes me sparkle on the inside.
ps. Like idioms?
Check out http://blog.carolinefontenot.com/idioms/ for a really great photo series by my friend Caroline who happens to be an extremely talented & clever photographer.

covering the miles.

drawpilgrim.com 

I hope your day has been full of love & gratitude.
I'm thankful for snail mail, computers, email, telephones, & digital cameras that help cover the miles between family & friends far away especially on days like today.
ps. I decided shopping tonight in 6 below {feels like 17 below} temperature did not sound like fun.
I guess you could say I'm thankful too that I sometimes make smart choices. :)