While looking through Flickr for a recipe I thought I’d photographed before (nope), I had to acknowledge that my food photography needs work. But the lighting situation in my kitchen is an even bigger problem. I have one long overhead fluorescent light, and no additional light in the bar area, which opens into my fairly dim living room. The adjoining dining area has decent natural light in the daytime, but only one overhead fan light. This makes for terrible food photos. I want to put task lights under the cabinets, but on my one Lowe’s trip specifically to buy some, I got overwhelmed and intimidated. I don’t know which type of bulb would work best (who knew there were so many kinds??), much less how to get them up and working. Aren’t there battery-powered lights that you can stick up with adhesive foam? :P
Like flower arranging and choosing accessories, home lighting is something I greatly appreciate, but have NO knack for. I need someone with The Eye to come over and tell me where to put various kinds of lights throughout my house, and then install them for me. When done right, lighting can make all the difference in a home, but it seems so non-crucial that I’ve never gotten around to it. Advice? Thoughts?
3 Comments + Posted in: what i'm into
(Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, one of my early style influences)
I gave up clothes shopping for Lent. Part of me is ashamed to admit this, because it’s such a privileged, first-world “sacrifice” to make. I struggle with certain aspects of Lent and hadn’t observed it in a while. But this year, I wanted to do something that would honor God in some tiny way and also be spiritually beneficial to me. The weekend before Ash Wednesday, I came home from the overstock clothing store with a bag full of amazing deals, and suddenly knew what I needed to do.
For the last several years, I’ve shopped too much. Not overspent – most of the time I don’t even buy anything. Just performed the act of shopping too much, in my opinion. It started as an emotional Band-Aid in the last couple of years of my marriage, and briefly escalated after that was over. In small doses, I think it was and is fine. But I don’t need it anymore, and it was time to show it who’s boss, to refocus my priorities and react to unpleasant emotions in a more productive way.
I’ve mostly been excited about this. But, three weeks in, I have to admit… it’s getting tough, you guys. I LOVE FASHION. I miss perusing DSW.com and checking The Limited to see whether that dress I loved is on sale yet. But the difficulty is proof that I needed to do this, and that God has something to teach me through it. So I look forward to whatever that is!
5 Comments + Posted in: faith, fashion
It’s time for another random Favorite Things post!
Blueberries. I knew spring was really on the way when 2-for-$5 blueberry pints reappeared at Kroger. Fresh blueberries are like heaven to me. I can go through two pints in a week all by myself! I like them in baking, too, but they lose some of their blueberry-ness in things like pies and cobblers.
Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm. I’ve used up several BB Lip Shimmers in my time, but frosty makeup is never my first choice. So I was thrilled to find these at Ulta! They don’t tingle like the Shimmers and traditional BB, but there’s a definite balmy feeling, and the amount of color is perfect. I chose Hibiscus.
Crystal Light On the Go packets. These have been a part of my daily life for years! I drink them at work, and always keep several flavors on hand so I don’t get bored. Otherwise I’d drink nothing but coffee and tea all day. My current favorite flavor is the Cherry Pomegranate, but I also get the Peach Tea and Fruit Punch frequently. I can’t do lemonade flavors because most powdered lemonade is too strong for me. The knockoff Target brand drink packets are also good (especially grape and cherry limeade), but the Lipton brand is not.
Silicone muffin cups. My parents gave me a dozen of these for Christmas, and I use them at least weekly. They make baking much easier. Once I forgot to spray the cups with cooking spray, and they still peeled off without much trouble. I love not having to buy paper liners anymore, or worry about whether I have enough for a batch!
P. Allen Smith. His gardening tips are GREAT! He lives in my zone (7a), so everything he says is applicable to my garden, which is so helpful. You can find a monthly garden tips schedule on his website – I copied it into Word and made monthly slip sheets for my dayplanner. He also offers an informative e-mail newsletter. If not for his weekly reminders, I might have given in to temptation and planted already! (Yes, I’m a gardening nerd. Among other varieties of nerd.)
Mickey, the rabbit who visits my yard. Since I see him so infrequently, I no longer think he actually lives in my yard. But every time I think he’s gone for good, he makes another appearance! :) I leave hay and carrots out for him, but he seems to prefer the grass on the side of my house.
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♥ My latest Blissfully Domestic article is up! It’s about making marble magnets, which has been one of my favorite crafts since college. It’s so fun and versatile.
♥ Memphians, if you need something to do this weekend (and you will, because the weather forecast is awful), go to the first annual Fareveller music festival! Of course the highlight will be the Myla Smith show at 9 pm Saturday at Young Avenue Deli. :) (Also, check out Myla’s review of the new Adele album on Blissfully Domestic.)
♥ My mom and I were planning a garage sale tomorrow, but we had to cancel due to the expected storms. We’re both so busy that we can’t try again for another four or five weeks. Since I had already priced most things and put them in the garage, it’ll be a difficult few weeks for my near-OCD tidiness. On the other hand, by the time we have the sale, it’ll be more organized than a Target in there.
♥ I loved this Nathan Fillion article in last week’s Entertainment Weekly (I’m addicted to EW – one of my impossible dreams is to write for them). I also enjoyed this cover story on Miranda Lambert in Redbook (which has started coming in the mail even though I never subscribed to it). I’ve decided I really like Miranda Lambert. A lot of artists project a false down-to-earthness, but she seems like the real deal. Her songs are so honest. I especially loved the part of the interview when she admitted to “rocking out to herself” on the jukebox in a rowdy bar. Hilarious!
♥ My sister is coming to town for the first time since Christmas. Yay!
2 Comments + Posted in: crafts, music
I’ve been doing a great Bible study on Mark with a group of women from church. This week’s text was the Crucifixion. Not a new passage, but one of the questions floored me. It focused on “My God, why have You forsaken me?” and what exactly was happening between Jesus and God at that moment, and asked how it applies to us when we feel alone or forsaken. It hit me for the first time that in that moment, Jesus knew total separation from and abandonment by Someone who was one with Himself. Because the Trinity is three in one. So He specifically experienced the pain of divorce, like I have, only magnified. That’s incredible and awe-inspiring to me.
It’s easy, even natural, to think that Jesus can’t empathize with the problems in our lives. Obviously He didn’t go through the specific sufferings of our modern world. But over time, I’m learning that although the circumstances may be different, the heart issues are the same. In every pain, every difficulty, He’s right there with us. And He endured separation from God so we would never have to suffer total forsaken-ness. We are never alone. That’s the deepest comfort there is.
I’m feeling great and loving life these days, so this isn’t an indication of my own emotional state. I just wanted to share it, because I know someone must need to hear it.
6 Comments + Posted in: faith, grief