Monday Favorites: My Love

Good morning and happy Monday to all you wonderful readers! My post today is about my favorite person in the whole wide world who happens to be my most wonderful fiance!

Carl Edward Watkins

Dearest Carl is amazing! Really! And being his fiance, I have the right to brag a little (or a lot!). :) He is sweet and thoughtful. He always holds my hand when we're walking anywhere... literally anywhere. :) He is multilingual: English and Carl-O. He has a very curious and inquiring mind. He writes me letters. He fixes cars. He is a critical thinker. He gives the best hugs. He is understanding and helpful. He likes playing Mindcraft. He loves any kind of sugar. He likes to ride his bike. He is encouraging of any troubles or goals I have. He can always find an analogy for anything. He will watch chick flicks with me. He is a genius at fixing computers. He enjoys ranting about things when he's right. He loves listening to soundtracks. He is a hard worker. He knows my favorite drink from Starbucks. He licks his lips when he's concentrating on something. He likes xkcd comics. He always texts me good morning and always good night (even if he just left). He can fix just about anything with a little time and Google. He has a green laser pointer that he enjoys messing with. He dreams about having a family and living in the country, just like me. He loves to snuggle. He is a very good cook. He has the best laugh. He loves Jesus and does his best to follow Him. 

Yeah... I'm the luckiest girl in the world. <3

Now for a song that is indeed Carl Watkins approved. :)

Enjoy the rest of your day dear readers and keep those smiles on! Until next time!

"There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved." ~ George Sand

"If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand." ~ Anon.

"I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach." ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"Lastly, do I vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things." ~ Catherine of Aragon

Feminine Friday: Tea Parties

Hello my lovely readers! Today I'm feeling very girly. Probably because today my mom, grandma and I went to a tea house for lunch! It was called The Ruby Pear and it was simply delightful! I had Cinnamon Spice tea (which was fantastic), chicken and vegetable soup, a tuna sandwich, a dark chocolate orange scone (absolutely scrumptious!), a chocolate cookie and a chocolate covered strawberry. All eaten from pretty china plates with the painted petals showing pinks and purples beneath the delicious looking food. We had china teacups, striped with gold and our own little white teapots with our tea. The restaurant itself was in an old Victorian style house and we had our own little table in a backroom by our lonesome. Our room was painted spring green and had pretty pictures of the countryside on the walls and a string of vintage aprons hanging across the backdoor. Now I wish I had taken my camera so I could show you but oh well.


Did you ever have tea parties when you were little? I sure did. When my cousins would be at my grandma's, we would pull her little kids table into her marble-floored foyer, dress up in the best dress-up dresses, bring out the plastic tea set and play for hours. We did get into trouble sometimes when we got water all over the floor though but of course THAT part was due to the boys coming in and being wild. :) To me, tea parties are the ultimate feminine event! Why? You drink a light drink out of delicate teacups, you have lovely little sandwiches and cookies on pretty flowered plates, you dress up in whatever pink and white you own and get together with your girl friends to talk about how lovely life is. I think we should have tea time all the time! I can tell you that I can't wait to have tea parties with Little Bird and eventually my own daughters. :)


Now for your song, which today is, of course, a pretty Jane Austen piano piece. :)

Enjoy your day and keep those smiles on! Until next time!


"Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company." ~ Anon.


"If you are cold, tea will warm you.  If you are too heated, it will cool you.  If you are depressed, it will cheer you.  If you are excited, it will calm you." ~ Gladstone


"Another novelty is the tea-party, an extraordinary meal in that, being offered to persons that have already dined well, it supposes neither appetite nor thirst, and has no object but distraction, no basis but delicate enjoyment." ~ Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin


"The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose." ~ George Gissing

Wish List Thursday: Decor

I absolutely love this! And I really really really really really really really really want one for the apartment when Dearest Carl and I get married! <3

Enjoy your Thursday and keep those smiles on! Until next time!

Monday Favorites: Mango Sorbet

Hello my lovely readers! Happy Monday to you! So far, my Monday is looking lovely. :) Sunshine, peppermint tea, a bit of British Literature homework, soundtracks and the promise of hanging out with Dearest Carl a little later this afternoon. :)


For today's favorite, I'd like to introduce you to a little dessert: mango sorbet!

It's awesome because it's cold and tasty and sweet like ice cream but fruity and lighter than ice cream. :) You'll have to try it! Here's your song. :)

Okay, now for my news! I've finally got myself a nannying job! Awesome right?! It's all day Monday through Thursday and I'm babysitting on little girl. We'll call her Little Bird. :) So guess what this means. Yup. Since I'm still in school and I'll be working now, I'll most likely be blogging a lot less. I'll try to often enough though! :)


Well, enjoy your day dear reader and keep those smiles on! Until next time!


"Ice cream is happiness condensed." ~ Jessi Lane Adams


"Ice cream cravings are not to be taken lightly." ~ Betsy Cañas Garmon

Wish List Thursday: Wardrobe

Hello dear readers! I've decided to add another day (which will probably be pretty sporadic). It will usually just consist of a picture of something that is on my wish list. Depending on what is in the title (wardrobe, kitchen, bedroom, etc.), that should clue you in to what it is. :) Today is a dress that I absolutely love! Expanding my imaginary wardrobe:

Isn't it lovely? Ah me. Well enjoy your day dear reader and keep your smiles on! Until next time!

“Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.” ~ Anon.

Homemaker Wednesday: Flowers

Okay, so I know that it's still February but oh how I am longing for Spring! The weather has been just blech for weeks and it's giving me the winter blues. You know what I mean? Gray skies, brown grass and tree branches, cheek-stinging eye-watering cold wind, snow/rain/ice.... are you getting the picture? The longer this goes on, the more I am wishing for Spring! Blue skies, birds serenades, green leaves, warm sunshine, time to read novels, picnics at the park, long walks in the golden light of the setting sun and oh the flowers! 


I think fresh flowers perk up any room during any season! My mom has several lovely flowerbeds so we will have flowers on our kitchen table or counter all summer long. It just makes me smile! I can't wait to have my own flowerbeds someday and put fresh flowers on my kitchen table. :) But since it IS still February and there are no flowers to be found right now, here is some color that I found instead. 

Keep your smiles on! Until next time! 

"Daisies are like sunshine to the ground." ~ Drew Barrymore

"Flowers always make people better and happier; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul." ~ Luther Burbank

"Earth laughs in flowers." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day my dear readers! I hope that all you married, engaged and taken ladies out there get lots of chocolate and pretty flowers! For you single readers, still waiting for your Prince Charming, just remember:

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness." ~ Jer 31:3

You are loved! Forever and always!

Keep your smiles on! Until next time!


"Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!" ~ Thomas Hood


"You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip." ~ Jonathan Carroll


"Who, being loved, is poor?" ~ Oscar Wilde


"True love stories never have endings." ~ Richard Bach

Monday Favorites: Downton Abbey

Hello my dear readers! Again, it's Monday and again, I have a favorite to share with you. Okay, now usually, I'm not one to go get stuck on TV shows. The only episode entertainment I watch will be any Jane Austen, all of which have been on DVD for years. So when I first started this show, I was skeptical. However.... I'm now lost in the world of Downton Abbey. 

The intrigue, the drama, the romance, the suspense, its all just absolutely lovely! I watched the first season on Netflix and it ended HORRIBLY! I mean the kind of ending that's completely open, leaving you dying to know the rest. So in January, I was very pleased to find them airing the second season on PBS (and I'm liking the second season so much better than the first)!!! It's flat out amazing. So, if you have a little time on your hands or maybe a few loads of laundry to fold, here is the link to the second season episodes. At least the ones that have aired on TV. But watch out dear reader! You may get hooked like me. ;) (And never fear, beyond a few kissing scenes, it's quite clean.) 


And your song for today is, of course, the music from Downton Abbey. Enjoy! 

Keep your smiles on! Until next time! 


"I'm not being ridiculous. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house - especially somebody they didn't even know." ~ Lady Grantham 


"If she's got a boyfriend, I'm a giraffe." ~ O'Brien


"I bet women were the ones who suggested both husband and wife sleep in the same bed." ~ Me to Dearest Carl after last night's episode

Feminine Friday: Noble Character

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

(Proverbs 31:10)

Ever since Dearest Carl and I got engaged, I have been wondering, what makes noble character? Oh how I long to be a wife of noble character! I so hope that my future husband will find me worth more than rubies. What do you think dear reader? What makes a wife of noble character?

Keep your smiles on please. :) Until next time! 

Homemakers Wednesday: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Hello my wonderful readers! I hope you're having a lovely day so far! As you may have guessed, I am a huge fan of making cheesecake. If you want it, I'm willing to experiment and make it for you! So today, I thought I would give you the recipe that got me started. Chocolate chip cheesecake! Enjoy! :)


Ingredients:
- 1 roll refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (you can make your own cookie dough if you'd prefer but I find this easier)
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 packages cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 package chocolate chips

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Press cookie dough into the bottom of a springform pan (I put wax paper on the bottom first)
- Thoroughly mix eggs, vanilla, cream cheese and sugar until smooth
- Stir in chocolate chips
- Bake approximately one hour (top will be golden brown)
- Refrigerate several hours to overnight

Add your aprons to those smiles today! Until next time! :)

“This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!” ~ Julia Child


"When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste." ~ Laiko Bahrs


"Chowder breathes reassurance.  It steams consolation." ~ Clementine Paddleford

Monday Favorites: Jewelry Pretties

Happy Monday my lovely readers! For today's post, I have two little Etsy shops for you to see! So I'm not a huge fan of jewelry however I found these shops (both owned by the same person) and fell in LOVE with some of these lovely pieces! Take a look at a few. :)

So, without further ado, here is Oh Nostalgia and Little White Chapel. And of course your song. :)

Enjoy your day and keep those smiles on! Until next time! 

"I would rather be adorned by beauty of character than jewels.  Jewels are the gift of fortune, while character comes from within." ~ Titus Maccius Plautus

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." ~ Emma Goldman

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." ~ Prov. 31:10

Feminine Friday: Contentment

Good morning my dear readers! Today is a better Friday than usual. :) In case you didn't already know, today is my birthday! I am 20 years old. Aka, ancient. ;) And today I want to start practicing a new trend in my life. 


Over the past year, I've noticed something. I've had trouble being content! I've been thinking "Oh if I could just have this," or "Oh if I could just not have to do this," and with or without, life would be better. Well I've realized recently that there will always be something I can be discontent about. No matter what stage of life I'm in or what I have or don't have, I can always be wishing for something else. And when I'm focused on what I am missing, I get grouchy. Yes, not very pleasant to be around. Mopey unhappy disagreeable pessimistic Eeyore.  And I don't want to be that way! I don't want to wish my life away! I want to be content with what I have! I want to use the most of my life right now and not wait around with a bad attitude for this or that to change. So, as of today, I'm going to start practicing being content! Instead of looking for the things I don't have, I'm going to try to focus on the wonderful blessings God HAS given me! Because He is a WONDERFUL God and He has given me SO MUCH!!! I will forever be thankful! 


Now for your song. :)

Enjoy your day and please oh please keep your smiles on! Just remember all that God has blessed you with. :) Until next time! 

"Cultivate a spirit of gladness in your homes.  Subdue and overcome all elements of anger, impatience and unbecoming talk one to another." ~ Gordon B. Hinckley


"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." ~ 1 Tim. 6:6-8


"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." ~ Phil. 4:19

Homemaker Wednesday: Magical Powder

Good morning my fine readers! I hope your week is going well. Today's post is about a magical powder. Maybe some of you can guess what it is! It does pretty much everything. You can use it as a skin exfoliant, to clean your bathtub and unclog drains, to keep flowers fresh longer, to repel ants from getting into your house, to make your omelets fluffier, literally almost everything! Can you guess what it is? Well then let me tell you! It's.....

BAKING SODA

A normal substance usually found in your pantry. Pretty common and yet more useful than we realize! Here is a link to a site that lists 75 ways to use baking soda and some of them I found quite surprising! Now for your song. :)

Enjoy the rest of your day my dear reader and keep those smiles on! Until next time! 

“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. ” ~ C.S. Lewis

“The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing something better than anything else her hands could find to do beneath the skies.” ~ J.R. Miller