tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66550152300503229962024-03-05T10:33:19.080-05:00The Blog Around the CornerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger592125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-68878980714573012802016-06-01T12:25:00.000-04:002016-06-01T14:52:48.967-04:00The Great Big Chloe PostHow do I begin? These past seven weeks have been like living inside of a dream. I hold my baby and marvel that she is mine. <i>This one is growing. This one is healthy. I don't have to give this one back. </i><br />
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<b>Preparing for Chloe</b><br />
After receiving <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2016/04/were-adopting.html" target="_blank">the call that changed our life forever</a>, I went into supersonic speed mode and had to juggle wrapping up work projects, packing for our temporary move to Virginia, figuring out what we'd need for the baby and finding a lawyer and adoption agency. On top of this, I had a bunch of friends and family members to call with our happy news! We immediately begin receiving gifts — <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BEFFpkltsOQ/?taken-by=laurarennieinteriors" target="_blank">a delicious meal</a>, a stroller and carseat, baby clothes, generous checks... so many kind gestures! We are even receiving breast milk from kind friends! (I tried to nurse the first few weeks — <a href="http://www.llli.org/faq/adopt.html" target="_blank">yes, it is possible</a> — but I did not produce.)<br />
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<b>Chloe's birthday (April 14)</b><br />
I hope to write a blog post solely about this special day soon. I had planned to be in the operating room with J, but she had to go under general anesthesia and no one was allowed in surgery with her. We were able to meet Chloe shortly after she was born. It was MAGICAL! We had a private room that we spent the night in and our nurses took incredible care of our girl. We received a 24-hour discharge and I walked out of the hospital <i>with a living baby in my arms! </i>Thank you, Jesus.<br />
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<b>The first few weeks</b><br />
Chloe was the easiest newborn! She rarely ever cried, except to tell us when she was hungry. Even then, her cries were polite and short. I call them baby lamb bleats. She seemed to attach to us right away — especially to Andy. She would gaze into his eyes and stare at him until going cross-eyed with exhaustion. Everyone in the family (extended family included) fell in love with her right away. She fits into our family so perfectly! We all kept saying, "<i>are you real? is this real?" </i>(I still ask this!) My mom and I would run errands now and then and we'd take Chloe with us, and people would say, <i>"you look great for just having had a baby!" </i>I would simply say, <i>"thanks!" </i>Haha. It felt good to get out of the house, especially because my time at home was often spent scanning documents and making phone calls. That leads me to...<br />
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<b>Adoption requirements</b><br />
Oh for heaven's sake. The amount of documents to scan, errands to run, phone calls to make... Chloe's adoption was a full time job! It was absolutely worth doing, and we had to get it done ASAP in order to have a timely consent hearing and move back to Frederick, but it was truly miserable. I desperately wanted to spend all day holding my baby and enjoying being a mother, and instead I was spending hours every day dealing with paperwork and fees. Thankfully, it's mostly over! We'll have a few follow-up home studies and we'll go back to court in one year. There is still SO much I don't know or understand about adoption. I'm hesitant to share much about our experience because it happened under such unusual circumstances (and I was in a new-momma daze the whole time). I know adoption is often a very long and hard process. Still, I'm happy to answer questions if anyone has any.<br />
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<b>Work</b><br />
Andy quit his job with Kellogg's at the end of February and took a job selling solar energy with Vivint Solar. The timing was interesting, because his new job is 100% commission and has zero benefits. (Totally ideal situation for having a baby!) Then, in March, a friend called and offered me a job with her graphic design company. As if two new jobs wasn't enough of a change, we were offered a baby soon after! I've been teasing Andy that a new job and new baby is enough — he can't get a new wife! We are blessed to both love our jobs and our coworkers. I now work part-time as an administrative assistant for <a href="http://www.kalicodesign.com/" target="_blank">Kalico Design</a>, doing everything from website work, social media, client projects and making a million spreadsheets and google docs. I've been commuting from NOVA to Frederick twice a week since the end of April, and Andy has been commuting to his territory in Gaithersburg. Andy's hours allow him to be home with Chloe while I'm at work, which is yet another blessing. I will be cutting back on Laura Rennie Interiors, but I'll still take on projects here and there as my schedule (and sanity) allow.<br />
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<b>Chloe, lately</b><br />
Chloe is growing like a weed! She was 7 lbs 13 ounces at birth and was 9 lbs 8 ounces at her four week check-up. It breaks my heart that she no longer fits most of her newborn clothes!<br />
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A few of her favorite things are:<br />
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- Baths! You wouldn't know it from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI88oeeU5nQ" target="_blank">this video</a>, but Chloe LOVES baths! We started giving her a bath in the sink, and that seemed to help. I have her sit with her little bottom over the drain and use one hand to hold her chest while using my other hand to bathe her. She doesn't make a single peep during the whole bath, even when water runs over her face!<br />
- Being held against our stomachs. She likes to have her face planted in our side, with her body against our belly and her legs dangling over our other side.<br />
- The word "oblivious." It makes her smile. It's the darnedest thing!<br />
- Tummy time<br />
- Being sung to<br />
- Feeling a burp cloth being tucked around her neck. She immediately stops fussing and relaxes her body. She is so trusting of us!<br />
- Her daddy, grandpa and uncles. She loves deep voices.<br />
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Chloe has been to Winchester to visit her Meemaw (Andy's mom), Grancy (Great Aunt Nancy) and Andy's brother's family. She's also been to the movies! My mom and I went to see "Love and Friendship" the other day. Chloe slept through the whole movie. We took her to a restaurant for the first time last night, and she did fabulously. We celebrated Chloe's adoption at my family's favorite restaurant — Carlyle, in Shirlington. Chloe gave it five stars.<br />
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<b>Us, lately</b><br />
Andy formed an instant connection with Chloe and is such a natural with her. He took on feedings and diaper changes as if he'd done them a million times! He has been an amazing parenting partner, selflessly serving me and our girl. Having help from my parents has given us the ability to get good sleep and have occasional just-the-two-of-us time together. For our anniversary we were able to leave Chloe with her Grandma and Grandpa and go out for dinner at Southside in Old Town and ice cream at The Dairy Godmother in Del Ray. It was so weird to us (but fun) that we had a baby to go home to! Living in Springfield with my parents has truly been a gift. If you know my parents, you know they're the ideal people to have to live with for 7 weeks! I've only cooked and done laundry a few times. :) We miss our friends and our home and will be glad to get back to Frederick, but we will miss the love and help my parents have given to us and our girl. Once we get the go-ahead to cross state lines we will head to my family's cabin in Pennsylvania for a short vacation with my parents, brother, sister and their spouses. We hope to get the call today!<br />
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<b>Even more praises</b><br />
- We hit our $3500 fundraising goal! We also received personal checks. I haven't done the math, but I would estimate that we've raised a little over $5,000 for Chloe's adoption! These funds are a HUGE blessing, as we have three attorney fees, plus the cost of home studies, random adoption related fees (fingerprinting, driving records, etc.) and medical bills. Huge thank you to all who have donated!<br />
- Thanks to gift cards and the many presents Chloe has received, we have not had to use our own money to pay for any baby items! I actually haven't bought Chloe a single item yet, other than things for her nursery.<br />
- My brother and sister-in-law, who live in Korea, had planned their May/June visit to the states long before we knew about Chloe. What great timing, right?<br />
- We continue to have a great relationship with J (Chloe's birth mom). Adoption can be a heartbreaking experience for adoptive parents, but we have had full confidence in J. I love spending time with her, because it gives me a glimpse into Chloe's potential future personality and looks. Plus, I truly enjoy her company! She's funny and independent and driven and smart.<br />
- Chloe is a healthy, happy baby who sleeps well and eats <i>really </i>well. Praise God!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by Erin Swann Photography</td></tr>
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The end! :)<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-46410683710477556292016-04-12T13:30:00.000-04:002016-04-12T15:16:44.726-04:00We're adopting!<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFH3XetpzaLe35xUta0M9-vs2QH1NecO8zlUSVKM7l_jTJghqz3pYgawbknW4DTLDJBYrmkabnXKBBSR1GWtc9uCdwK0SfvTjZEKIadwzJ5Bfxp8FAU8d_gV6Oza3dyDA5WecXpYsp7yQ/s1600/lastdatebeforebaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFH3XetpzaLe35xUta0M9-vs2QH1NecO8zlUSVKM7l_jTJghqz3pYgawbknW4DTLDJBYrmkabnXKBBSR1GWtc9uCdwK0SfvTjZEKIadwzJ5Bfxp8FAU8d_gV6Oza3dyDA5WecXpYsp7yQ/s320/lastdatebeforebaby.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">on our last date before baby — Five Guys! (We're so fancy.)</td></tr>
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<b>Our wild adoption story:</b></div>
Thursday, April 7th: My mom called today with the craziest news. <i>“J is making an adoption plan, and she’s offering the baby to you and Andy. It's a girl, and she's being delivered next Thursday, April 14th."</i><br />
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(I know. I KNOW. That is in two days! Crazy town!!)<br />
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Oh, the tears. I cried so hard and so loud that my dog fled from the room in fear. The best word to describe it is verklempt. I could barely speak. I managed to get out the words <i>“I want her so bad."</i><br />
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I called Andy and asked how he felt. When he said, “I’m open to it,” I immediately burst into tears again. I’ve done a lot of crying over the last few months, but nothing compared to how much crying went down that day! The start of this year has been super emotional for me. This summer marks the third anniversary of our son John's death, and the second anniversary of the loss of our daughter Jane. (You can read more about them and my grieving process <a href="http://www.lrennie.blogspot.com/p/stillbirt.html">here</a>.) My heart has been aching for my babies and I've wondered what the future held for us in terms of children.<br />
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It feels amazing to be weeping tears of joy.<br />
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It turns out Andy already knew about the baby. My parents had the wisdom to share with Andy first so he could pray about it before I found out. (I think everyone knew I would be all in!) He asked me to give him a little bit more time, which was absolute torture.<br />
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The next day I woke up smiling. I prayed for Andy to make a decision by the end of the day. Before he left for work he turned to me with a grin and said, <i>"What are we waiting for? Do you want this baby? Let's have this baby!" </i>It was the absolute BEST! I imagined the angels in heaven bursting into cheers and songs of praise.<br />
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I went back and forth between astonished laughter and fits of happy tears. We kept saying over and over, <i>“How is this real life? What is happening? We are having a baby in a week!” </i><br />
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I called the birth mother and she was so happy and relieved to hear our answer. J is a friend of my parents and both Andy and I met her last fall when she joined our family for Thanksgiving dinner. Funny enough, I joked with my family that I was going to ask J for her baby! God knew all along. :) </div>
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Ever since Jane died I have prayed for God to bring a baby to our doorstep. I begged Him, <i>"God, make it easy. We don't want to have to go through more pain."</i> He heard my prayers! I've also been asking for God to restore my ability to hope and to show me His redemptive love through my pain. Through this crazy amazing experience I am learning that God wants us to dream big and pray even bigger!<br />
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Andy has been the most wonderful partner through all of this. Our shared grief brought us closer together in a sad but beautiful way. We have experienced seasons of being hermits and seasons of being social, and I'm grateful when I think of how much sweet together time we've enjoyed. (We celebrate eight years of marriage in a few weeks!) Andy has been especially helpful over the past few days as I have been an absolute wreck trying to tie up loose ends and pull things together to prepare for our daughter, who arrives in a matter of <i>days!</i><br />
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Friends, we get to hold our <i>living </i>baby in our arms. (More tears!) God willing, we will leave the hospital with a baby instead of leaving empty-handed. We are in awe of this incredible gift!<br />
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<b>What happens now:</b></div>
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Our baby will be delivered Thursday morning in a Virginia hospital. J has graciously invited me to join her in the operating room so that I will be able to hold the baby right away. We will be living in Virginia until the adoption is finalized, which may take a month or two (or longer). We cannot cross state lines with our girl during that time, but we will both be coming up to Frederick here and there for work and getting our home ready. We are working with an attorney and will receive a home study and follow-up visits in the coming weeks.</div>
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<b>What we have:</b></div>
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We are so blessed to have already received some baby items in addition to a few things we had for John and Jane. If an item is not on one of our registries, we likely already have it. We will add things as we think of them or ask for anything someone might be able to give us secondhand. If you happen to leave something at our door or send something to our home in Frederick, it will be picked up by a neighbor and we will receive it the next time we are in town.<br />
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What we don't have: a name! We're working on it! :) We will joyfully share a birth announcement on Thursday or Friday.</div>
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<b>How you can help:</b></div>
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Pray for this adoption to proceed smoothly and quickly. Pray for J as she recovers emotionally and physically. Pray for us to show one another grace as we navigate this new, exciting, sleep-less season! </div>
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We have already received many requests on how people can help out. Here are a few ways:<br />
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<a href="https://www.youcaring.com/baby-rennie-553842" target="_blank">Donate to the baby Rennie fund</a><br />
<a href="http://www.target.com/gift-registry/registry/oqX3IXbP4vZISqAR0QwU2A?lnk=copiedLink" target="_blank">Our Target registry</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/12I3CN2MTBDPW" target="_blank">Our Amazon registry</a><br />
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Our church community will set up a meal train for when we move back to Maryland. If you'd like to be a part of that, you can either leave your e-mail in a comment or message me on Facebook.</div>
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While I love to share this news and tend to over-share in general, I want to protect J's privacy and our baby's story. We will not be sharing any more information about the birth parents publicly, and may choose not to share it privately, either. If you know J, please do not give her identity away. Thanks! If you're wondering, we are legally allowed to share pictures of our baby, and J has given us her blessing to do so.</div>
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A final note: hugs to anyone reading this who is bummed to hear this news via Facebook. These past few days have been a whirlwind — so much to do in so little time!<br />
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<b>Your prayers for our hearts have carried us through such a long, dark time. Thank you! God is good and He is faithful <i>always.</i></b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Psalm 145:3-21</i><br />
<div class="poetry top-05" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 2.6em; position: relative;">
<div class="line" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
<span class="text Ps-145-3" id="en-NIV-16324" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">Great<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16324F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16324F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> is the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> and most worthy of praise;<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16324G" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16324G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">his greatness no one can fathom.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16324H" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16324H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-4" id="en-NIV-16325" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>One generation<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16325I" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16325I" title="See cross-reference I">I</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> commends your works to another;</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">they tell<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16325J" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16325J" title="See cross-reference J">J</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> of your mighty acts.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16325K" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16325K" title="See cross-reference K">K</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-5" id="en-NIV-16326" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>They speak of the glorious splendor<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16326L" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16326L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> of your majesty—</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-5" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and I will meditate on your wonderful works.</span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-6" id="en-NIV-16327" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>They tell<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16327N" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16327N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> of the power of your awesome works—<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16327O" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16327O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and I will proclaim<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16327P" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16327P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> your great deeds.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16327Q" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16327Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-7" id="en-NIV-16328" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>They celebrate your abundant goodness<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16328R" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16328R" title="See cross-reference R">R</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-7" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and joyfully sing<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16328S" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16328S" title="See cross-reference S">S</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> of your righteousness.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16328T" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16328T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="poetry top-05" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 2.6em; position: relative;">
<div class="line" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
<span class="text Ps-145-8" id="en-NIV-16329" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>The <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> is gracious and compassionate,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16329U" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16329U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-8" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">slow to anger and rich in love.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16329V" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16329V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="line" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
<span class="text Ps-145-9" id="en-NIV-16330" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>The <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> is good<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16330W" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16330W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> to all;</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">he has compassion<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16330X" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16330X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> on all he has made.</span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-10" id="en-NIV-16331" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>All your works praise you,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16331Y" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16331Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>;</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-10" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">your faithful people extol<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16331Z" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16331Z" title="See cross-reference Z">Z</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> you.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16331AA" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16331AA" title="See cross-reference AA">AA</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-11" id="en-NIV-16332" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">They tell of the glory of your kingdom<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16332AB" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16332AB" title="See cross-reference AB">AB</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-11" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and speak of your might,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16332AC" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16332AC" title="See cross-reference AC">AC</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-12" id="en-NIV-16333" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>so that all people may know of your mighty acts<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16333AD" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16333AD" title="See cross-reference AD">AD</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16333AE" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16333AE" title="See cross-reference AE">AE</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-13" id="en-NIV-16334" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16334AF" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16334AF" title="See cross-reference AF">AF</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and your dominion endures through all generations.</span></span></div>
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<div class="poetry top-05" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 2.6em; position: relative;">
<div class="line" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">
<span class="text Ps-145-13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">The <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> is trustworthy<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16334AG" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16334AG" title="See cross-reference AG">AG</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> in all he promises<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16334AH" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16334AH" title="See cross-reference AH">AH</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-13" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and faithful in all he does.</span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-14" id="en-NIV-16335" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>The <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> upholds<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16335AI" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16335AI" title="See cross-reference AI">AI</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> all who fall</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-14" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and lifts up all<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16335AJ" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16335AJ" title="See cross-reference AJ">AJ</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> who are bowed down.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16335AK" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16335AK" title="See cross-reference AK">AK</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-15" id="en-NIV-16336" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>The eyes of all look to you,</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-15" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and you give them their food<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16336AL" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16336AL" title="See cross-reference AL">AL</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> at the proper time.</span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-16" id="en-NIV-16337" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>You open your hand</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-16" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and satisfy the desires<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16337AM" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16337AM" title="See cross-reference AM">AM</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> of every living thing.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></div>
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<span class="text Ps-145-17" id="en-NIV-16338" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">The <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> is righteous<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16338AN" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16338AN" title="See cross-reference AN">AN</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> in all his ways</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-17" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and faithful in all he does.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16338AO" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16338AO" title="See cross-reference AO">AO</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-18" id="en-NIV-16339" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>The <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> is near<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16339AP" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16339AP" title="See cross-reference AP">AP</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> to all who call on him,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16339AQ" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16339AQ" title="See cross-reference AQ">AQ</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-18" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">to all who call on him in truth.</span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-19" id="en-NIV-16340" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>He fulfills the desires<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16340AR" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16340AR" title="See cross-reference AR">AR</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> of those who fear him;<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16340AS" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16340AS" title="See cross-reference AS">AS</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-19" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">he hears their cry<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16340AT" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16340AT" title="See cross-reference AT">AT</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> and saves them.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16340AU" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16340AU" title="See cross-reference AU">AU</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text Ps-145-20" id="en-NIV-16341" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>The <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> watches over<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16341AV" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16341AV" title="See cross-reference AV">AV</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> all who love him,<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16341AW" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16341AW" title="See cross-reference AW">AW</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-20" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">but all the wicked he will destroy.<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16341AX" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16341AX" title="See cross-reference AX">AX</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="poetry top-05" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 2.6em; position: relative;">
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<span class="text Ps-145-21" id="en-NIV-16342" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>My mouth will speak<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16342AY" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16342AY" title="See cross-reference AY">AY</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> in praise of the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>.</span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-21" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">Let every creature<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16342AZ" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16342AZ" title="See cross-reference AZ">AZ</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span> praise his holy name<span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-16342BA" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-16342BA" title="See cross-reference BA">BA</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.625em; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-145-21" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">for ever and ever.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-32152814582216514462015-08-27T11:39:00.002-04:002015-08-27T12:33:43.755-04:00around here<i><b>doing</b></i><br />
- Design work! I’m planning to launch <a href="http://laurarennieinteriors.com/">laurarennieinteriors.com</a> in a couple of weeks, and I am bursting at the seams to share it with y’all!<br />
- House updates. We got a gorgeous four-poster bed frame for the basement guest room! For FREE! I also sold some furniture to purchase a new desk for my new office. :) :) :) I’m going to paint this weekend while Andy is off doing fantasy football shenanigans. It’s a good thing I still have a few <a href="http://undisclosed-podcast.com/episodes/">Undisclosed</a> episodes to listen to!<br />
- Reading outdoors. These crisp mornings and sunny-but-not-sweltering afternoons have been <i>amazing. </i>I’ve been hit with deep sorrow on an almost daily basis and getting outside always boosts my spirits.<i> </i><br />
<i>- </i>Barre. What?! I tried it for the first time last week and <i>loved </i>it. I went back this morning and had an awesome <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1lF6D8frfw">“Center Stage”</a> moment while doing glute bridges.<br />
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<b><i>eating</i></b><br />
- roasted petite potatoes like it’s my job<br />
- butter lettuce. With roasted potatoes on top. :) And bacon, and fried eggs. My new favorite salad.<br />
- honey bunches of oats with unsweetened almond milk. And roasted potatoes. (Kidding!)<br />
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<b><i>watching</i></b><br />
- Project Runway is back!!!!!!<br />
- <a href="https://33.media.tumblr.com/f155a693920f1bbb39ea27d27e2969f8/tumblr_n59vmhwV7y1qk08n1o1_250.gif">Playing House</a> on USA is <i>great.</i> It’s our new favorite show.<br />
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<b><i>reading</i></b><br />
- I just finished “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir/dp/0804139024/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">The Martian</a>” by Andy Weir — have you read it? I have mixed feelings about the movie cast.<br />
- “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anything-Prayer-That-Unlocked-Soul/dp/0718037200/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440688701&sr=1-1&keywords=anything+jennie+allen">Anything</a>” by Jennie Allen. Who gave me this book? Whoever you are, thank you.<br />
- “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Book-Hope-Books/dp/1414301332/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440688730&sr=1-1&keywords=the+one+year+book+of+hope">The One Year Book of Hope</a>” by Nancy Guthrie. I tried to start this devotional after John died, but I gave it up. Then I tried it again after Jane. I’m finally dedicated to having a morning quiet time, and this daily reading plus some Scripture has been manna to my soul.<br />
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<b><i>wishing</i></b><br />
- Doritos were vegetables<br />
- For more crisp mornings and sunny afternoons, and that it would be Monday, because that’s when Dunkin Donuts starts selling their pumpkin coffee!!!!!!!!!<br />
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What’s going on with you? What are you reading/cooking/watching these days?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-80890119414825560032015-08-10T21:12:00.000-04:002015-08-11T17:06:16.211-04:00my first Stitch Fix<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My friend <a href="http://www.andersonjm.blogspot.com/">Jackie</a> received a gift card to <a href="https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/5587009">Stitch Fix</a> last Christmas and has been talking about the service ever since then. (She <i>finally </i>got a box last month.) I'm more likely to try something if someone else tries it first, so I followed suit and decided to give it a try for myself!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/5587009">Stitch Fix</a> is an online styling service that sends five items picked for you right to your door. (Packages are the best!) You fill out a style profile when you first sign up to let your stylist know what sizes you are and what styles of clothes you like, hate, and want to try. You pay a $20 styling fee for each fix, which is later applied as a credit if you choose to keep anything from your fix. If you keep all five items, you receive 25% off the entire purchase. Return shipping is free and easy. </div>
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Click <a href="https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/5587009">here</a> if you want to try it yourself!</div>
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<a href="https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/5587009">Stitch Fix</a> sends the items neatly folded and wrapped along with a run-down of item names and prices and tear-off style cards that give you examples of how to wear each item. Your personal stylist will also include a note explaining why she picked each item for you. It's a really nice touch!<br />
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I knew if I took pics with my Nikon that I’d be really picky about the background and I’d want to edit them and I’d put stupid pressure on myself, so I decided to snap pics with my phone instead. I am a super awkward selfie-taker. Also, I'm clearly in a bathroom. #keepingitreal<br />
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Here we go!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7MGawTBev4MwK28WKOTfTCI12voCNj5RXh5VzZpDzodmjS-Rr_Eg9dT18PLliP-_OdrDwM0UPamKtmasilx3ndRMj7xOfBT6og-Jdyp0xHbOUjj1k710g9lQJrfUUyfS53l51F5b9JQ/s1600/IMG_1581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7MGawTBev4MwK28WKOTfTCI12voCNj5RXh5VzZpDzodmjS-Rr_Eg9dT18PLliP-_OdrDwM0UPamKtmasilx3ndRMj7xOfBT6og-Jdyp0xHbOUjj1k710g9lQJrfUUyfS53l51F5b9JQ/s320/IMG_1581.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Market & Spruce Sam Hi-Lo Short Sleeved Tee, Gray - $44</b><br />
I <i>love </i>this top! It fit perfectly, the hi-lo isn't too drastic and it’s incredibly soft. Unfortunately, it's a little bit sheer, and it's not quite special enough for me to spend $44. <i>Regretfully returning!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QYtyykiEpWpKM32jBk6nACZQcEs3nKWXw9yyYPwhsQLnz0kahZO7hnyVZ_NH0MWik_zvIosyqLVKLYhuzZtLBVRU6bAz0HpMceJvmLjxh4vJdaMrmULmlznqagg9tKmgJQSDJ6aKa-M/s1600/IMG_1582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6QYtyykiEpWpKM32jBk6nACZQcEs3nKWXw9yyYPwhsQLnz0kahZO7hnyVZ_NH0MWik_zvIosyqLVKLYhuzZtLBVRU6bAz0HpMceJvmLjxh4vJdaMrmULmlznqagg9tKmgJQSDJ6aKa-M/s320/IMG_1582.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Just Black Rogers Distressed Boyfriend Jean - $78</b></div>
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These fit me like skinny jeans - not at ALL like boyfriend jeans. Regardless, I liked the fit everywhere except the knee. The material was noticeably loose in the knee area, and that would be a problem for me. I also didn't love the distressed detail on the top part of the jeans. But, I was impressed that they fit well (other than the knee area), considering how hard of a time I normally have when it comes to finding pants that fit. <i>Returning.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtknqpXThppK20WLo9mjiwRLwWW2sN9ExB18Zf7o5zehPRexE-A7U7s6drddSgB0yOLBTT7QOLt0YNWP8jGnuUqFQj-_cs57C0CgcYSadx-1EkQxvA4Ogtwt3I-Pdfx-hf5dtLIASnVg/s1600/IMG_1585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtknqpXThppK20WLo9mjiwRLwWW2sN9ExB18Zf7o5zehPRexE-A7U7s6drddSgB0yOLBTT7QOLt0YNWP8jGnuUqFQj-_cs57C0CgcYSadx-1EkQxvA4Ogtwt3I-Pdfx-hf5dtLIASnVg/s320/IMG_1585.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Market & Spruce Corinna Striped Dolman Top, Navy - $48</b></div>
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Stripes. Dolman Sleeves. Navy. These are a few of my favorite things. I am on the fence about this one! It’s GREAT and I’m willing to pay for it, but I have several similar tops. <i>Update - sold this item to a girl who returned hers and regretted it. </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgsjVIuPwSBQzg4nTImh3ExyqpT-Lw990IxQOK3HJ282FCYvLJn_nKvaHkLBLlnsCVG7xkhdNBzW6XxR0QskuMqTsG6eG_czZKQGwDiks2i_kqtWB8z5_bRuHrRB9r2huCL88QEl6AI-o/s1600/IMG_1593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgsjVIuPwSBQzg4nTImh3ExyqpT-Lw990IxQOK3HJ282FCYvLJn_nKvaHkLBLlnsCVG7xkhdNBzW6XxR0QskuMqTsG6eG_czZKQGwDiks2i_kqtWB8z5_bRuHrRB9r2huCL88QEl6AI-o/s320/IMG_1593.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Levant Wavy Laser-Cut Earrings - $28</b></div>
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I asked for medium-sized gold earrings, and my stylist delivered. Unfortunately, the wavy texture was a bit too funky for me. <i>Returning!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-M6zuhKo-pGAEufOEWbbkxFlze8tYiwqcblsgx3dhFtyVB291fJlf84xMiM7P24NEwYy0-Fnjk_6TFeGYGw0IoLYLCPDo4-Oc7JLWIBze96J79ixoFzukn5X7oLIveCLHffBKvrv5TT8/s1600/IMG_1592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-M6zuhKo-pGAEufOEWbbkxFlze8tYiwqcblsgx3dhFtyVB291fJlf84xMiM7P24NEwYy0-Fnjk_6TFeGYGw0IoLYLCPDo4-Oc7JLWIBze96J79ixoFzukn5X7oLIveCLHffBKvrv5TT8/s320/IMG_1592.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Pixley Kathy Striped Fit & Flare Dress - $68</b></div>
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I fell in love with this dress when I saw it on another girl's blog. I had a hunch it would fit my body type well, and I was right! It fits like a glove, and I feel great in it. I already own a 3/4-sleeve striped fit and flare dress from GAP, but I don't care... this one I'm KEEPING!!!! (Knowing the dress will be $48 with my credit made this an easy decision for me.) I may never take this dress off. </div>
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I was grateful to receive lots of advice from Jackie on how to get a successful "fix." I was as specific as possible when filling out information about my body type and style preferences. I also provided my stylist with a link to a Pinterest board containing images of clothes I like. I even included a few pictures of myself.<br />
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<i><b>What I didn’t like about my first Stitch Fix</b></i><br />
I was really hoping to see a fun sleeveless top in my fix. I pinned a bunch of different ones I liked, so I was surprised not to see one. HOWEVER...<br />
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<b><i>What I did like about my first Stitch Fix</i></b><br />
I was overall thrilled with my first fix. My stylist clearly took the time to read through my notes and look at my Pinterest board. ALL of the clothing items I received were ones I had pinned! Some people don’t love their first fixes because their stylist is still getting to know them. I’m glad I took the time to give my stylist a lot of information about myself. My stylist played it safe by giving me items I specifically said I liked, and I think that was the right way to go.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">This post contains referral links. If you sign up for </span><a href="https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/4155481" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Stitch Fix</a><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> using my referral link, I will receive a $25 credit to use toward future purchases. </span></span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">(Please use the referral! If you accidentally skip the referral section, you can still get me the credit by sending my email address and name to the customer service email. I</span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">’</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">d love to try Stitch Fix again! Make sure to read <a href="http://blog.stitchfix.com/get-your-best-fix-2/">this post about how to get your best fix.</a>)</span></span></i></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-41307200727301784982015-07-31T17:23:00.003-04:002015-07-31T17:29:21.374-04:00God’s real love in my real suffering<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eqVFWJmMzGW_Qs9OYeXerwWWUiip-awDGhQcHhBABQ0bcZU2r-8i13KmHF9HEP2yC2VPKNjLMQHczg9ZEHz9aTvzI3yEKzXlFit-QTgSDac9CpbIX4HnZYAcHcW_F9ig0qenWu6zq8Y/s1600/babyprofilearm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8eqVFWJmMzGW_Qs9OYeXerwWWUiip-awDGhQcHhBABQ0bcZU2r-8i13KmHF9HEP2yC2VPKNjLMQHczg9ZEHz9aTvzI3yEKzXlFit-QTgSDac9CpbIX4HnZYAcHcW_F9ig0qenWu6zq8Y/s400/babyprofilearm.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>our precious baby John</i></td></tr>
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Each night at VBS this week we’ve focused on a characteristic of God’s love: <i>incredible, faithful, invincible, unconditional </i>and<i> real.</i><br />
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Last night the 4th and 5th grade girls in my group learned about the <i>realness</i> of God’s love. Both their craft-time and Bible-time teachers asked the girls if they could give examples from their own life of how we know God is real (even thought we cannot see Him). Several girls had stories to share, and they all went something like this:<br />
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<i>My cousin’s baby had a hole in his heart but everyone prayed and now that baby is eleven.</i><br />
<i>My mom’s stepsister’s baby was sick before it was born and it was really scary but she’s okay now.</i><br />
<i>My sister’s <strike>extension</strike> umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and she almost didn’t live, but she did.</i><br />
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Goodness, was it ever tough to sit there and hear those stories.<br />
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When the doctor listed off everything that was wrong with John, it made sense that he would die. But I believed God could make John whole. I believed (and still believe) God could have done some crazy heavenly fetal surgery and the doctors would have been speechless, and I could have gone on to birth a healthy, living baby, and people around the world who had been praying for us would have been able to point to John as an example of God’s love. He could have healed John, but He didn’t.<br />
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When I became pregnant with Jane, I battled fear constantly and I prayed constantly. I believed God was blessing us with a life after our loss. I believed God would rejoice in giving us a healthy baby, and I prayed that He would. He could have, but He didn’t.<br />
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God didn’t show His love to me by giving me what I prayed for. <b>The evidence of God’s real love in my life does not look like what I thought it would (but it is still there). </b>There have been many dark days when the choice to recall to mind God’s love and goodness has felt excruciating, but I HAVE that choice because His love IS real.<br />
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<i>"I cry out, “My splendor is gone!<br /> Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”<br /><br />The thought of my suffering and homelessness<br /> is bitter beyond words.<br />I will never forget this awful time,<br /> as I grieve over my loss.<br />Yet I still dare to hope<br /> when I remember this:<br /><br />The faithful love of the Lord never ends!<br /> His mercies never cease.<br />Great is his faithfulness;<br /> his mercies begin afresh each morning.”</i><br />
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-Lamentations 3:18-23</div>
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We need these stories of real love during real suffering.<br />
We need to remember God’s realness isn’t only found in “success stories” and prayers answered “yes.” We can experience God’s love throughout our times of trial — not just when the trial is over.<br />
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My story is not "God is real! He healed my babies."<br />
My story is "God is real! He is healing <i>me.</i>”</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-55163666481635889762015-07-27T09:49:00.000-04:002015-07-27T15:59:14.457-04:00what I buy at Costco and Trader Joe’sI know I can’t be the only one who is curious about how other people live — whether it’s how they schedule their day, what makeup they wear, what TV shows they watch, etc. I’m sharing what I buy at Costco and Trader Joe’s because I’m hoping you’ll tell me what one (or five, or ten) thing is missing from my list that I absolutely must try.<br />
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I do most of my shopping at Giant Eagle, which is close enough to our house that I occasionally walk there. I usually go two times a week, for around 5-20 minutes of actual shopping time. I write my list according to where things are in the store. I <i>always </i>use a basket when I’m doing my weekly shopping. It helps me to stick to my list, and I move faster when I’m desperate to relieve my tired arm! Plus, I have enough items in my pantry and freezer that I tend to only need produce, meat and dairy products.<br />
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A sample shopping list might look like: salad, green beans, bag of baby potatoes, an onion, apples, grapes, deli meat, chicken breasts, milk, eggs, cheese.<br />
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Costco and Trader Joe’s build up my pantry and freezer.<br />
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<h3>
<b>Costco</b></h3>
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I don’t go to Costco very often, since there are only two of us. (I’m grateful to have a free membership through my dad’s company.) I store the bulk items in our laundry room and I freeze whatever bread products we aren’t using that week. </div>
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I mostly go for specific food items, but I occasionally browse the center area and the small kitchen appliances section. I’ve bought socks, flip flops, towels, a rice cooker, splatter screens, a beach chair...and maybe two or three times a year I’ll stock up on movie passes, toothbrushes, shampoo, and baking goods (I love their bulk spices and salt and pepper grinders.) These are the things I most consistently purchase:</div>
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<ul>
<li>naan</li>
<li>rotisserie chicken</li>
<li>frozen meatballs</li>
<li>paper products (tissues, TP and paper towels)</li>
<li>dog treats</li>
<li>black beans</li>
<li>tomato sauce</li>
<li>Kirkland tuna</li>
<li>rice </li>
<li>coffee</li>
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<h3>
<b>Trader Joe’s</b></h3>
Our closest TJ’s is about 25 minutes away, but I’ve actually never been to it! I always go to the one in Springfield, VA, which is right by my parent’s house. I’m there every two months or so.<br />
<ul>
<li>flowers</li>
<li>wine</li>
<li><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ggwLAK226jE/TkHb1kqRMpI/AAAAAAAABNI/GquYgbk9-_s/s800/tj%252520sandwich%252520thins.jpg">whole wheat slims</a> (for Andy’s lunches)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/reduced-guilt-chunky-guacamole">reduced guilt chunky guacamole</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/768">tomato and roasted red pepper soup</a> (The BEST pre-made tomato soup. Don’t get the low sodium version.)</li>
<li><a href="https://traderjoesrants.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/refried1.jpg">jalapeño refried beans</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/686">feta dressing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2317">sriracha bbq sauce</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.cooktj.com/trader-joes-products/mandarin-orange-chicken">mandarin orange chicken</a> (I serve it over rice)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/680">chicken burgers</a> (Great with guac)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/1077">pork potstickers</a> (Served over rice — and I like to make a little sauce with brown sugar, soy sauce and sriracha. It’s spicy and a little sauce goes a long way) </li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/895">chicken tamales</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/1681">dark chocolate peanut butter cups</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/561">cookie butter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2198">maple leaf cookies</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81DmD5b-t9L._SX425_.jpg">iced cranberry pistachio biscotti</a> (seasonal)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/732">frozen almond croissants</a></li>
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What else should I try? </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-34266357181629130192015-07-10T12:29:00.002-04:002015-07-10T14:35:49.808-04:00cabin weekend and homemade thyme rollsLast Friday we met my parents at the cabin for the weekend. I made <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2013/12/chicken-tikka-masala.html">chicken tikka masala</a> for dinner and we read, played Pinochle and watched “Big Hero 6.” The temperature dropped to the low sixties and we had the windows open when we went to bed. It was <i>gloriously </i>chilly<i>.</i> I woke up to the sound of rain and Andy’s soft snoring, and I burrowed back under a quilt and fell back asleep.<br />
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The cabin is my very favorite place to sleep in.<br />
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Sometimes, if you’re very good, your mom or dad will creep up the stairs and bring you a little “taster” of bacon. And if you like, you can take a mug of coffee into bed with you and spend the morning reading and staring out the window.<br />
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Once you’re finally out of bed, you can read on the screened-in porch for a bit. You can have a snack, then climb in the clawfoot tub and read some more. And if your nightmare comes true and you realize <i>you didn’t bring enough books</i>, you can dip into the basket of James Herriot books and old Martha Stewart Living magazines that permanently reside next to the couch.<br />
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CAN I JUST LIVE THERE, PLEASE?<br />
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As lovely as summertime is, it’s a bit sucky that I finally got over the hump of Jane’s anniversary only to face another anniversary: the death of our son, John. Two years on Monday. <i>Blegh.</i> It’s frustrating to be in a complete state of bliss and then suddenly crying, or simply feeling blue. A few days ago my body started freaking out. I was dry heaving, my head was killing me and the area around my incision was hurting. (It rarely ever hurts anymore.) It’s amazing how our bodies react to stress and pain.<br />
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A lesson on grief: there <i>will, </i>eventually, be good days. Followed by hard days. Followed by numb days.<br />
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This week has flown by. I’ve been spending hours each day working on my first paid design job (!!!), catching up on lessons and assignments for my design class and trying (but failing) to keep the house in order. I’m having one of those seasons of being completely uninspired in the kitchen, but Andy is usually able to get me out of my rut by suggesting I try to copycat a dish we’ve had at a restaurant. (Like <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2015/03/old-bay-wings-with-homemade-blue-cheese.html">Old Bay wings</a>.) On Wednesday Andy cooked me up a <i>fabulous </i>ribeye that he seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. He remembered a restaurant we went to in Culpeper, VA, back when we thought we were going to move there. The restaurant, called “It’s About Thyme,” had rolls with...you guessed it...thyme!<br />
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<i>how many times (get it?) am I going to write the word ‘thyme’ AHHHHH I need more coffee.</i><br />
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ANYWAY, long story short, I made homemade <a href="http://www.alexandracooks.com/2013/11/26/thyme-dinner-rolls/">thyme rolls</a> last night! I hardly ever bake, so I was thrilled when the rolls came out looking just like they do in the picture. They were incredible! I cut the recipe in half, because I knew we were going to eat all of the rolls that night. You can’t <i>not </i>eat all the bread when it’s hot out of the oven!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexandracooks.com/2013/11/26/thyme-dinner-rolls/">No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls</a> from Alexandra Cooks</td></tr>
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I served the rolls with heated up <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Trader-Organic-Tomato-Roasted-Pepper/dp/B00B4K8QTW">tomato and roasted red pepper soup</a> from Trader Joe’s and a salad with goat cheese, walnuts and dried cherries. I would be perfectly content to have that meal every week!<br />
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I'm working on a post of my favorite things to buy from Trader Joe’s and Costco. Stay tuned!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-43005445877458124132015-06-24T19:02:00.000-04:002015-06-24T19:02:04.182-04:00around hereWhile I’ve had my fair share of hard days over the past two weeks, I’ve also made some fun memories and taken every opportunity I can to breathe deep and let myself <i>be</i>. To push the constant stream of “this time last year” thoughts to the back of my head and choose to focus on whatever is in front of me: a good book, a patch of sun, a furry pup, an article I need to turn in.<br />
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Two weekends ago my sisters and I tried on mom’s dresses from when she was in her late teens/early twenties. We did a little impromptu fashion show for my parents. I actually wore that dress with the animal print skirt to one of my bridal showers!<br />
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Doesn’t the pink and gold dress look so Betty Draper? I <i>really </i>hope I have an event I can wear that dress to someday.<br />
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I also went to yoga in the park for the first time, bought new running shoes (that I actually run in, <i>whaaat who am I)</i>, enjoyed a sweet sibling dinner date with my brother, started an online interior design course, read two books (“The Likeness” and “The Last Letter From Your Lover”), hosted some friends for brunch, participated in a team trivia night for the first time and went on a date with my guy.<br />
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A few weeks ago I thought about throwing out all of the cards people sent after John and Jane died. <i>I’ll never read them again, </i>I thought. <i>They’re just taking up space. </i>But something made me wait. A few days ago, on the anniversary of the day I held my stillborn Janie Lou, I took out my “Jane” box and read through every single note. It was a bittersweet activity, and by the end of it I was completely wrecked from crying. I’m glad I did it, though.<br />
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This weekend we have a combined cookout with our small group and our old small group, and then Sunday we’re heading to Winchester to hang out with dear friends visiting from Florida and Andy’s family. I can hardly wait!<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-37881158084459209742015-06-09T13:18:00.001-04:002015-06-09T13:26:39.422-04:00beach trip ‘15I broke my two-month break from fast food with breakfast from Taco Bell on our drive to the Outer Banks. <a href="http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Dug-I-Do-Not-Like-The-Cone-of-Shame-Up-2009.gif">And I <i>liked</i> it.</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">from Twiddy’s website</td></tr>
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Last week we headed to Corolla, N.C. to spend the week with my family — my parents, my older sister Katie and her husband Todd, and my older brother John-Michael and his wife Sky. JM and Sky live in South Korea and we usually only see them once a year. I loved chatting on the beach with Sky and screaming “it’s a big one!” with my brother as we ducked under waves like we did when we were kids.<br />
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We also had the pups with us — our dog, Casey, and my parent’s dog, Ellie. They happily spent the week chasing sand crabs, kissing squealing children, running into the water and flopping down under the umbrella for a snooze.<br />
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My little companion. I love her so!</div>
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I re-discovered my love for tennis last week. I don’t remember playing legit tennis since I took lessons when I was <i>twelve. </i>Our house was steps away from a tennis court, and we all had a blast hitting around and playing doubles. We laughed over how one of our rackets is so old it was made in West Germany!</div>
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Andy told me on the drive down that he was going to take me out one evening for a date. We went to <a href="http://craftycowburgers.com/">The Crafty Cow</a> for dinner (Jeopardy was on!) and played mini golf afterwards. I’m still thinking about the loaded tots we had... they had grits on them, of all things! But they were fabulous.</div>
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I was pregnant with Jane when we were at <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2014/07/beach-trip-14.html">the beach last year</a>, and the week after our vacation was when she died. I was understandably a little nervous about how I’d do on vacation this year, considering. I set as much of <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-decision-to-be-faithful_26.html">my grief aside</a> as I could and chose to focus on the many blessings I <i>do </i>have. Now that I’m home, much of what I pushed deep down has come up and I know I have to let myself process these feelings, as painful as they are. There really isn’t an easy time of year anymore, because every season is tied up with different emotions and memories, but summer is especially hard.</div>
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God has answered and continues to answer my prayers for moments of relief from my sorrow. I’m grateful our beach trip was one I truly enjoyed, and that the following months hold cookouts, reunions with dear friends, new design projects<i> </i>and <i>lots </i>of summer reading.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-62689333067801712412015-05-26T16:58:00.002-04:002015-06-10T21:13:01.275-04:00the decision to be faithfulI’m torn between two very strong feelings: that God is calling me to shine a light on my grief (however ugly it is) and that it hurts too much to sit and dwell and reflect and re-hash.<br />
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A month or so ago I listened to <a href="http://northpoint.org/messages/in-the-meantime/believe-it-or-not/">a sermon by Andy Stanley</a>, and he said something I can’t get out of my head. He said, "<i><b style="font-family: inherit;">You have no idea what or who hangs in the balance of your decision to remain faithful when everything around you says "Be faithless." </b><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">You have no idea what God might be up to through your faithfulness when everything around you says, 'There's no point...</span>”</b></i><br />
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Then, a few days ago, I listened to <a href="http://www.newphiladelphiachurch.com/podcast/2015/Sillim/2015.04.26.sun%20-%20Take%20Yourself%20Seriously%20-%20sjb.mp3">a sermon by my sister-in-law</a> about God’s purpose for us and why we need to embrace the gifts He has given us. She talks about our place in the body of Christ — how we might think of our role as unimportant, but that truly the body is made stronger and better when we take our role seriously and use it to serve Christ and others. She said, <b>"It’s the enemy’s greatest fear that you guys are walking in the plans that God has for your life.”</b><br />
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Do you think God might be trying to tell me something?<br />
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Part of the struggle with sharing my grief is that I don’t <i>want</i> to be that person who is allowed to suffer so that her suffering might be used for God’s glory. I don’t want losing two babies so I can witness to others to be God’s plan for my life. You might think that’s fair, or you might think I’m being terribly selfish or terribly un-Christian. But the thing is, now that it’s happened (my losses), I DO want to bring God glory through my suffering and how I choose to share about my grief. I just wish the losses had never happened in the first place. I wish there was some guarantee that my grief is over — that I won’t lose anything else. I thought John was it, and then I lost Jane. The fear doesn’t come from what’s already happened as much as from wondering if this is my lot. I wonder what else I will be asked to give, or how long I will be asked to wait.<br />
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I wonder what hangs in the balance of my decision to be faithful.<br />
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I wonder what being faithful is supposed to look like for me. Does it look like telling the story of my hurting, slowly healing heart, even though I <i>desperately </i>wish I didn’t have this story to tell? Does it look like listing out my sufferings like Paul, so I can point to the list and say, <i>Hey, all these terrible things happened to me. Did you hear me the first time? I’ll tell you again. I suffered. I suffered. I suffered. One thing has never changed: God is present, God is good and God is working in my life.</i><br />
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I had a great Saturday. I started the day off with a run (!!!), attended a “packing party” where I ate delicious scones and coffee and boxed a million DVDs while chatting with a friend, snuggled my pup and read a good book on the deck. I took a fabulous shower and was excited about our plans to go out that evening with a group of friends. I started to dry my hair, and then, out of the blue, I started <i>sobbing</i>. Loud, gasping sobs. I grabbed a pillow and screamed into it, laying sideways across the bed and thinking, <i>whaaaat the heck?</i><br />
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It’s simply always there. The cost of being sad all the time is that it’s miserable to be sad all the time. The cost of setting grief aside for a bit is that it eventually bubbles out of you and you do yourself a disservice by not letting yourself feel.<br />
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<i>I miss them.</i><br />
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I gave myself five minutes to cry. Then, I pulled it together, put on my makeup and went to dinner. I had a wonderful time. I can look back on that day and think, <i>the old Laura is coming back.</i> I can see the “new” Laura is present in the story, too... the Laura who cries out of the blue sometimes, who misses her babies and often feels very alone. The Laura who would really like for God to send a baby to her doorstep, preferably with a note that says, <i>John and Jane are waiting for you. Here is a little one to hold. You get to keep this one.</i><br />
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The Laura who never thought the decision to be faithful would look like this.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrdjqG_FBw_2UrFdxAyzT9pcTDSYA4u1jwUrVqH6w3L9fjNQApM51HsYOs7OFShhKosiP2qGJZqJ98Dp-fsyhFsaCR6hyYNygxm8bAVFSeULEosJXSOwIcpBfT7F8IHlZHkfKCzWSqeE/s1600/the-decision-to-be-faithful.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrdjqG_FBw_2UrFdxAyzT9pcTDSYA4u1jwUrVqH6w3L9fjNQApM51HsYOs7OFShhKosiP2qGJZqJ98Dp-fsyhFsaCR6hyYNygxm8bAVFSeULEosJXSOwIcpBfT7F8IHlZHkfKCzWSqeE/s640/the-decision-to-be-faithful.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">design by Mary Hairston<br />get the free printable <a href="http://www.marydeandraws.com/2015/06/right-now-counts-free-printable.html">HERE</a></td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-52924900594075165002015-05-22T14:34:00.001-04:002015-05-23T23:13:17.074-04:00Laurel’s guest room makeover<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Earlier this week I headed to Bel Air, Maryland, to visit my closest friend. Laurel and I have known each other since middle school, and she is one of my greatest cheerleaders. Most recently, she has encouraged me to pursue my dream of having a side business as an interior decorator. She invited me to visit her new home and do a makeover of her guest room. How sweet is she? </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Laurel described her guest room as a bland-looking space with a hodgepodge of various pieces of furniture. I was given a budget of $225 (though she </span>preferred<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I stay closer to $200) and </span>full freedom to decorate how I liked. She already knew she wanted to reupholster the chair and asked for my help with picking a fabric. She told me she wanted the room to feel welcoming and cozy, with a place for guests to set down their bags. She also hoped to see a pop of color somewhere in the space.<br />
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Please excuse my not-so-great phone pictures. I can’t believe I forgot my DSLR! :(<br />
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Here’s what the room looked like before:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8DqanSD_mtjONJPm3F6faeQVd5WpM69nxDVAjr4chXbqW7NofNZTSuD_bWWFpyk5GdUSYRaelG-55EWwoUci4Lt69qfDzCjrESOWeglpAilV-gNVZiE216cjlDUUvUflv4HvoUMbH04/s1600/b_LGR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8DqanSD_mtjONJPm3F6faeQVd5WpM69nxDVAjr4chXbqW7NofNZTSuD_bWWFpyk5GdUSYRaelG-55EWwoUci4Lt69qfDzCjrESOWeglpAilV-gNVZiE216cjlDUUvUflv4HvoUMbH04/s400/b_LGR2.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccGzppe8eKa4S_6QyMGu3k-2I_N7Mk4WiD2gNUd_kfBUtTARbVdzZjdhf3LZ2C1M8UARkB5nKJWAUfBZtxjj__DCKMNTzoc7HT8dMjTXlcu6pXfou1SF6Cr1T5S68pqVncZ04krkaTAs/s1600/b_LGR1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgccGzppe8eKa4S_6QyMGu3k-2I_N7Mk4WiD2gNUd_kfBUtTARbVdzZjdhf3LZ2C1M8UARkB5nKJWAUfBZtxjj__DCKMNTzoc7HT8dMjTXlcu6pXfou1SF6Cr1T5S68pqVncZ04krkaTAs/s400/b_LGR1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedHucObqfh1jEJAVC72TfSFfEZvDYMObzK3y0dQUw0GRZo0AnzkZajHuE80xjs1YJatfb1ahC1AualVP27hGTdE5IRZTGEiYyu80YdCq9ZGa6sBl-_fl65jxnCB_3zGwIHniQe2HnX3w/s1600/b_LGR3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedHucObqfh1jEJAVC72TfSFfEZvDYMObzK3y0dQUw0GRZo0AnzkZajHuE80xjs1YJatfb1ahC1AualVP27hGTdE5IRZTGEiYyu80YdCq9ZGa6sBl-_fl65jxnCB_3zGwIHniQe2HnX3w/s400/b_LGR3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And here’s what it looked like a day later:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVto8XT2nP5hLims0GCHT0JbhlHfbo-92myfUKOz2YxIvpcv5HDfu2RK4pt6xo18hyBEqWZEDosOzb3gDe5_0pO-nzv26Mqrb3KLTRWjpJ91VhWRxZpZ1upnA-mI_b31W-mEQtcspu40/s1600/a_LGR2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVto8XT2nP5hLims0GCHT0JbhlHfbo-92myfUKOz2YxIvpcv5HDfu2RK4pt6xo18hyBEqWZEDosOzb3gDe5_0pO-nzv26Mqrb3KLTRWjpJ91VhWRxZpZ1upnA-mI_b31W-mEQtcspu40/s640/a_LGR2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3F_641aTVZe6Cmh93ijykBPCUw1h7f79q5D9Z1mDk8bf6Pu2Sq70c7nIjG4q2DbS19qzjx9w40wjkJdWV1U73jKTYot7ONo29CkM12qm8GQbjjtb1jMODLNwt1l8CUd2luecxtaLeGek/s1600/a_LGR7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3F_641aTVZe6Cmh93ijykBPCUw1h7f79q5D9Z1mDk8bf6Pu2Sq70c7nIjG4q2DbS19qzjx9w40wjkJdWV1U73jKTYot7ONo29CkM12qm8GQbjjtb1jMODLNwt1l8CUd2luecxtaLeGek/s640/a_LGR7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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What a difference!<br />
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In case you can’t tell from the pictures, there is just over a foot of space on either side of the bed, and several feet of space between the end of the bed and the closet. My very first suggestion was to remove the trunk at the end of the bed. The trunk is truly great, but it was too deep for the space. While I love mixing up styles, it was<i> too</i> different in style from the bed. Laurel agreed that it wasn’t the best fit, but she really wanted a surface for guests to set down their things. I walked around her house to try to find a different piece of furniture. Thankfully, she had a bench that was the perfect length and depth for the foot of the bed! We swapped the trunk for the bench right away and the room already looked better. </div>
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The pale yellow wall color is very fresh in person and I had a hunch we could make it work. Laurel can always paint in the future. The bookshelf looked a bit plain in the pictures Laurel sent me, but once I saw it in person I could see it’s a beautifully made antique piece, and the wood is too pretty to paint!<br />
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I suggested we try the following: a colorful patterned bedspread with white curtains, or colorful curtains with the existing white bedspread and a few fun accent pillows. I was originally leaning towards colorful curtains, but Laurel said she’d ideally move the white bedspread to her own bed. Our direction was decided upon pretty quickly when Laurel fell in love with a blue quilt on our first shopping trip to Target. (Funnily enough, I have the same quilt in yellow.) We found curtains we loved, but they weren’t in stock. We left Target having spent just over half of the budget (quilt, shams, accent pillow and faux plant.) I still wanted to pick up curtains, a nightstand, a lampshade and a piece of framed art, but we didn’t have a ton of money left over. I also didn’t love the accent pillow we had picked up from Target. We went to Home Goods next and I immediately spotted the PERFECT pillow. I also found a great little accent table at Home Goods. It was the right size, shape and color for the space, and it was only $40! (Accent tables at Target were $60+.) We picked up a couple baskets to try on her bookshelf and eyed the framed art section. No luck on art! We also tried Kohls for art, but again — no luck. </div>
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We called it a day and went back to Laurel’s to have dinner. We played around with our new purchases and discovered we liked the look of the quilt <i>without </i>the shams. Not buying shams opened up more room in our budget, which made me very happy!<br />
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The next morning we went to a different Target and picked up the curtains we had wanted, a third storage bin for the bench, and a curtain rod and lampshade. We peeked at Ross for art, but didn’t find anything we loved. At that point getting art was last priority. We actually didn’t have room in the budget for art. We would have only picked something up to show what Laurel could do in the future. We went to Walmart for fabric and decided to see if they had better prices on a similar looking curtain rod and lampshade. They did! YAY! I also spotted an inexpensive owl vase that I thought would look great on Laurel’s bookshelf, since it’s very close in color to the blue quilt.<br />
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Back at the house, Laurel worked on installing the curtain rod while I styled the bookshelves. I used the new vase and basket along with books and and a sewing box Laurel already owned. I had brought along one of my mirrors to use in her room and offered to sell it to her at a fair price. I wish we could have hung the mirror lower, but then no one would be able to actually use it! (If you love the mirror, the T.J. Maxx in Frederick is selling that exact one for $20. Mine is from Target several years ago.)<br />
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Here are a few more pictures of the updated room:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kqtQeR4iu-2Tc-hGcVvW8idFP27k61kXqSexR0V4gAEdzNpVcxKv3EvfAA5OZ8yh6GKMC2WaRHUXo31ZAAwVVCEmSQ4gbyTOZMsquRfb5noaUVjnhMEkU9ZXtW-H0VucGWou1aADSCQ/s1600/a_LGR1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kqtQeR4iu-2Tc-hGcVvW8idFP27k61kXqSexR0V4gAEdzNpVcxKv3EvfAA5OZ8yh6GKMC2WaRHUXo31ZAAwVVCEmSQ4gbyTOZMsquRfb5noaUVjnhMEkU9ZXtW-H0VucGWou1aADSCQ/s400/a_LGR1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The top print says, “Be our guest” and the second says, “Welcome, the wifi password is ...”</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">(The room looks blue because this photo was taken at night, when the only light was from the lamp.)</span><br />
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Remember, this is how it looked before: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93CjlNBl-QMQLBthSmY5BpN2FJMwDjyhDcyOugcmcj-I9dRV7Gy7_q885XWzEzSG1mrxGP21DQHLE3jdVsLdh57vqjkuYPfyC72bsaeld7vTMcmz5qr5ytbUB_GnDpD74ympli5JhEiQ/s1600/b_LGR1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93CjlNBl-QMQLBthSmY5BpN2FJMwDjyhDcyOugcmcj-I9dRV7Gy7_q885XWzEzSG1mrxGP21DQHLE3jdVsLdh57vqjkuYPfyC72bsaeld7vTMcmz5qr5ytbUB_GnDpD74ympli5JhEiQ/s640/b_LGR1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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and now:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVto8XT2nP5hLims0GCHT0JbhlHfbo-92myfUKOz2YxIvpcv5HDfu2RK4pt6xo18hyBEqWZEDosOzb3gDe5_0pO-nzv26Mqrb3KLTRWjpJ91VhWRxZpZ1upnA-mI_b31W-mEQtcspu40/s1600/a_LGR2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFVto8XT2nP5hLims0GCHT0JbhlHfbo-92myfUKOz2YxIvpcv5HDfu2RK4pt6xo18hyBEqWZEDosOzb3gDe5_0pO-nzv26Mqrb3KLTRWjpJ91VhWRxZpZ1upnA-mI_b31W-mEQtcspu40/s640/a_LGR2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Those curtains! That lampshade! And that little faux plant! Eee! :)</div>
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Laurel already owned the two gray storage bins. We bought another, but accidentally grabbed the wrong size. We would have hit her max budget if we had bought the bin, though. We agreed it wasn’t necessary and she can always add one in the future.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43waZMF58P8TwSUQ7NuiCJ3DOS1RL2jhZ6mIHvjsKsQ8Z3fMjn2JwH74pXfzMOlQx54g5JPXu03Onn-Eh0pGTrVdR59PNZh49cmV4MCJsRNHhec4LekBW0v0_eJwM8__HDfbxFk1ygDE/s1600/a_LGR4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43waZMF58P8TwSUQ7NuiCJ3DOS1RL2jhZ6mIHvjsKsQ8Z3fMjn2JwH74pXfzMOlQx54g5JPXu03Onn-Eh0pGTrVdR59PNZh49cmV4MCJsRNHhec4LekBW0v0_eJwM8__HDfbxFk1ygDE/s640/a_LGR4.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Laurel wasn’t sure about this table when I picked it out, but she was willing to try it. I’m glad she fell in love with it, because I think it’s absolutely perfect.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3F_641aTVZe6Cmh93ijykBPCUw1h7f79q5D9Z1mDk8bf6Pu2Sq70c7nIjG4q2DbS19qzjx9w40wjkJdWV1U73jKTYot7ONo29CkM12qm8GQbjjtb1jMODLNwt1l8CUd2luecxtaLeGek/s1600/a_LGR7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3F_641aTVZe6Cmh93ijykBPCUw1h7f79q5D9Z1mDk8bf6Pu2Sq70c7nIjG4q2DbS19qzjx9w40wjkJdWV1U73jKTYot7ONo29CkM12qm8GQbjjtb1jMODLNwt1l8CUd2luecxtaLeGek/s640/a_LGR7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The white fabric I picked for the chair has a gorgeous weave. I know white is risky for stains, but it looks awesome against the wood and Laurel can easily Scotchguard the fabric.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTWDBQyUoi8439MrDbraFjUQNyKCMzc1k8UZ2GfoP9TM37Ti4baee3AH8p8wtSLN5GlpLjIbGN6gTcnSE3RpTgyN9wKjdJCjSf_FJUNrFpRLcjiWX0rWH0Bax8SAyXlggOnFce8FB-qE/s1600/a_LGR5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGTWDBQyUoi8439MrDbraFjUQNyKCMzc1k8UZ2GfoP9TM37Ti4baee3AH8p8wtSLN5GlpLjIbGN6gTcnSE3RpTgyN9wKjdJCjSf_FJUNrFpRLcjiWX0rWH0Bax8SAyXlggOnFce8FB-qE/s640/a_LGR5.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Notice how nice our purses look on top of the bookcase? Haha.<br />
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I adore that accent pillow. Laurel was outside of the store when I found it, and it was really fun to see the look on her face when she walked in and saw me holding it up. It was love at first sight. :)</div>
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The photos truly don’t do the room justice. It was a pleasant room to be in before, but it lacked personality. I loved how the original white bedspread brightened up the space, so I’m glad we went with white fabric for the chair and used all white pillows (as well as mostly white curtains). The gray lampshade is much fresher looking than the old one, and it adds subtle color and texture.<br />
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Laurel has a beautiful front board from an upright piano that she mentioned could be used in the room as art. I LOVE that idea! I suggest painting it white with milk paint and giving it a slightly distressed look. (Like <a href="http://www.simplicityinthesouth.com/2013/09/how-to-distress-furniture-with-milk-paint-and-wet-cl.html">this</a> and <a href="http://www.missmustardseedsmilkpaint.com/category/uncategorized/">this</a>.) The color of the front board is too similar to the wall color in daylight. The little ledge could be used to lean pictures against, but I think the piece is gorgeous just the way it is.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrPWTlqdyIsOWz3Z9xF3kjMtABS8u1S1E6ZiYk30l6f-CQ_FL5REZL-f9aPVNYzY1_vY1NeD82R-PKyIuQqA_dk7MO-yWEpnspqkHnY2rAd0vu65eyNpRPaY7lxi3-srMV5JFyAA9k5E/s1600/f_LGR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyrPWTlqdyIsOWz3Z9xF3kjMtABS8u1S1E6ZiYk30l6f-CQ_FL5REZL-f9aPVNYzY1_vY1NeD82R-PKyIuQqA_dk7MO-yWEpnspqkHnY2rAd0vu65eyNpRPaY7lxi3-srMV5JFyAA9k5E/s640/f_LGR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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How the budget was spent:</div>
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<a href="http://www.target.com/p/threshold-stitched-floral-bedding-collection/-/A-14910259?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=14910259&CPNG=Bedding&kpid=14910259&LID=29pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=14910259&kpid=14910259&gclid=Cj0KEQjwhPaqBRDG2uiHzpKLi6ABEiQAk_XXiVFGRvmpYdbUhVpiL6rDbFB4Cds9nmPNanrGN7mxIh4aAuaO8P8HAQ">Target quilt</a> - $60 (on sale)<br />
<a href="http://www.target.com/p/threshold-scroll-embroidery-curtain-panel/-/A-15423752#prodSlot=medium_1_17&term=threshold+curtains+">Target curtains</a> - $48 for 2 panels (on sale)<br />
Home Goods accent table - $40<br />
Walmart lampshade - $15<br />
<a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/22066013?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=22066009&placement_id=irs-2-m1&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=Lng0_InmS2sOtjRER9BdKw&category=&client_guid=f513e141-46ee-493f-8cdf-c62b8ed30b30&customer_id_enc=&config_id=2&parent_item_id=22066013&parent_anchor_item_id=22066013&guid=51a98550-d665-453d-8bf4-5df66060e360&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n&productRedirect=true">Walmart curtain rod</a> - $12.50 (cheaper in store)<br />
<a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lerman-Decor-Ceramic-Owl-Vase/44749166">Walmart owl vase</a> - $10<br />
Target mirror - $10 (no longer sold in stores or online)<br />
Home Goods Basket - $6<br />
Target faux plant - $3 (from the dollar bin section!)<br />
Walmart fabric (for chair) - $3<br />
=$207.50<br />
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I happened to visit Laurel on her birthday. My gift to her was the white accent pillow from Home Goods. It was a good price for a large and well-made pillow. I wish I had bought one for myself!<br />
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Here’s what Laurel has to say about her room’s new look: <i>I completely adore it! The transformation is amazing to me. It went from being very plain to inviting, fresh, and pulled-together in no time! </i><i>My absolute favorite is the curtains she picked out and how she hung them. They really add interest to the room and help mask the fact that the window is off-centered. I was a little unsure of the wooden side table at first when she picked it out at Home Goods. I wasn't sure it would go well in the space, but once I saw it next to the bed, I fell in love. It's the perfect little table for that corner! </i><i>Laura made the space exactly what I wanted. I can't wait to have my first guest come to stay! </i><br />
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Which change or new addition do you like best? I love it all (duh), but I think the biggest wow comes from swapping out the curtain rod and curtain.<br />
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Laurel, thank you for encouraging my dream and for trusting me with your guest room!</div>
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D6655015230050322996%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5292490059407516500%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-pt_mxHzJoFY%2FVV9HZIJZivI%2FAAAAAAAAE6Q%2F6mUZZsMHFSM%2Fs640%2Fa_LGR2.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 113px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1432px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D6655015230050322996%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5292490059407516500%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-pt_mxHzJoFY%2FVV9HZIJZivI%2FAAAAAAAAE6Q%2F6mUZZsMHFSM%2Fs640%2Fa_LGR2.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 113px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1432px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D6655015230050322996%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5292490059407516500%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-pt_mxHzJoFY%2FVV9HZIJZivI%2FAAAAAAAAE6Q%2F6mUZZsMHFSM%2Fs640%2Fa_LGR2.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 113px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1432px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D6655015230050322996%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5292490059407516500%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-pt_mxHzJoFY%2FVV9HZIJZivI%2FAAAAAAAAE6Q%2F6mUZZsMHFSM%2Fs640%2Fa_LGR2.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 113px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 1432px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><br />
<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D6655015230050322996%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5292490059407516500&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-rsSvFt0ehl4%2FVV9TJefa8gI%2FAAAAAAAAE7I%2FKrLIF0Koow8%2Fs640%2Ff_LGR.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 40px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 8026px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D6655015230050322996%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5292490059407516500&media=https%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-rsSvFt0ehl4%2FVV9TJefa8gI%2FAAAAAAAAE7I%2FKrLIF0Koow8%2Fs640%2Ff_LGR.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 40px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 8026px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-30619138009652929802015-05-17T13:13:00.000-04:002015-06-08T21:34:10.103-04:00styling shelves: how toThis is the post several of you have asked for! Today I’m sharing five tips to get you started on styling your shelves.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Look for inspiration and determine your vision</span></b><br />
Pinterest is an obvious (and great) source of inspiration. I also like to look at store catalogs, design books, interior designer blogs and magazines/online mags, such as Elle Decor, Lonny and Better Homes and Gardens. I knew very little about decorating when I got married and our first big furniture purchase (Sloane leaning shelves and desk from Crate & Barrel) overwhelmed me. I looked at the C&B catalog to see how <i>they</i> styled the shelves, and that’s where I <strike>stole</strike> got the idea of hanging art over the desk space.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLSFp8syuK7d0720muzn46JFQ7fvuQdQ-qmS1d3td-Xxk5fR5s4MgFas8RePMyNwSZaPys1C2M3KeL-msU226jOhcYr4UVZma1VTk7nDJJ3Bw9HYKoIf199HkCt51N8yUkaBLHghBAag/s1600/LR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglLSFp8syuK7d0720muzn46JFQ7fvuQdQ-qmS1d3td-Xxk5fR5s4MgFas8RePMyNwSZaPys1C2M3KeL-msU226jOhcYr4UVZma1VTk7nDJJ3Bw9HYKoIf199HkCt51N8yUkaBLHghBAag/s640/LR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Oh, and I totally copied <a href="http://www.almostmakesperfect.com/2013/04/29/diy-shelving/">someone else’s gorgeous shelves</a> when drawing up plans for <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2015/03/den-shelves-are-done.html">our den shelves</a>. There’s no shame in my game!</div>
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<i>Check out a variety of bookshelf styling ideas all in one post <a href="http://stylecrumbs.blogspot.com/2011/04/inspiration-book-shelf-styling.html">here</a>.</i></div>
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When it comes to creating a vision, think about what you want the shelves to be used for and what you’re hoping they’ll look like. Do you want them to look airy and bright? Crowded and colorful? Do you want to display mostly decorative accents, storage solutions, books or a mix of all three? My top priorities when setting up the den shelves were displaying lots of books and my various brass decor items.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU96kgPInOBZ78lKDHiFJ2yq-DaKVAFs5yBzRES9JAVib4TctntncwPvNhEcnbcaewH_gifwvr8BqET1e0TUwkmZW2oZ2O7ASqo8THL7JtlNXOgdgIAtfDV72-o6waPiBKgw5nnVieK_c/s1600/1shelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU96kgPInOBZ78lKDHiFJ2yq-DaKVAFs5yBzRES9JAVib4TctntncwPvNhEcnbcaewH_gifwvr8BqET1e0TUwkmZW2oZ2O7ASqo8THL7JtlNXOgdgIAtfDV72-o6waPiBKgw5nnVieK_c/s640/1shelves.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>2. Gather items (keeping dimensions in mind) and start with the big stuff</b><br />
It’s time to get all of your stuff together in one spot! Try going around your house and “shopping” the various rooms for items you could put on your shelves. Don’t forget to only grab items that work with the dimensions of your shelves.<br />
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Getting started can be the most overwhelming part. I recommend putting big items up first (including large storage pieces). Play around with left, right and center alignment. For my den shelves, I first put up the antelope bookends, armillary sphere, large framed picture and magnifying glass stand.<br />
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<b>3. Add in books and smaller items</b><br />
Next, add your books. There are lots of options here — stack them horizontally and vertically, lean them against something, group them by color... I recommend trying a little bit of everything! Then add in all of your smaller decorative objects. Try grouping like items together, such as a trio of bud vases or a pair of framed pictures. Make sure to put your most unique accents around eye level or slightly above.<br />
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<b>4. Evaluate scale</b><b> and finish/texture</b><br />
Scale refers to the height of an object in relation to another object (or person). See the four items in the very middle of my den shelves? They all vary in height, but I have two relatively large items and two relatively small. My<a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2015/05/styling-shelves-jessicas-built-ins.html"> sketches for Jessica’s built-ins</a> show more examples of how to use scale in design.<br />
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Aim for a variety of finishes and textures throughout your shelves. On my leaning shelves I have a leather magazine bin, a textured box, a vintage fan, white textured birds, a pitcher, a plant, a metal oversized initial, a wooden bird, silver frame and porcelain bowls. It all works because it draws from a mostly neutral color palette.<br />
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You’ll notice from looking at inspiration photos that some people totally stuff their shelves and others have a lot of white space. I personally think SOME white space is necessary, because it gives your eyes a break.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/living-room-dwr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/living-room-dwr.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">styling by Emily Henderson - photo by Ryan Liebe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I like how the white walls, white brackets and white shelves help keep the unit pictured above from being overwhelming. Notice there is a mix of tall and short items, plus a mix of finishes. <i>I want that lamp.</i></div>
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<b>5. Edit <i>one more time!</i></b><br />
Once you’re done, take a picture — then switch the placement of a few of your pieces. Take another picture and see which one you like better. Now take something off of the shelves, and take another picture. Go through the pictures and imagine you’re looking at them in a magazine. Which picture appeals to you the most? Sometimes simply moving (or removing) one thing will make a big difference.<br />
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I have a trio of miniature wooden bowling pins that I really wanted to display on our den shelves. I kept moving them from shelf to shelf, seeing how they looked. They’re adorable, but for some reason they didn’t look great on the shelves. Seeing the way they looked in a picture versus in person helped me make the decision to nix them completely.<br />
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If you’re still stuck, who you gonna call?<br />
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(The answer is me. Not Ghostbusters.)<br />
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<i>contest update -- Caitlin won! thank you for entering!</i><br />
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I’m excited to share with you the first post in a series I’ll be doing on styling shelves! To kick off the series, we’re going to peek into the home of my friend Jessica. Jessica lives in a ranch-style home in Suffolk, Virginia, and has a gorgeous wall of built-ins in her family room. She sweetly asked for my advice on how I’d decorate them, and out of her request a blog series was born!<br />
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Here are those swoon-worthy built-ins:<br />
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The
cabinets are being used to store DVDs, games and toys, and it’s time the upper
shelves got put to work, too! She wants to use the built-ins as a space to display
family photos, books and decorative accents, and would love to see some nods to
Scotland, where she and Matt spent their honeymoon. She describes her decorating style as “relaxed, warm, lived-in coastal cottage.” Her favorite colors are earth tones. </div>
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As much as I love a great vase or kooky decor item, I wanted to make sure I was also bringing in some pieces that will have a practical purpose. Baskets and boxes can store small toys, crayons, handwritten notes, loose photos, stamps and envelopes... the list goes on. I also imagined that some of the shelves could display pretty dining pieces, like a serving platter, cutting board or set of glasses. Below I share some of my favorite finds -- but as much as I love them, I see them more as a jumping-off point. I’m all about finding a bargain or waiting for a sale, and I tend to space out my “big” purchases. It’s worth looking at the home section of Goodwill, Ross, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Michaels, Hobby Lobby... even Craigslist!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagToZjgsTRHBAtkOi9N9jeeScIn-GjvY7EAeLtzgOYIiHyZ-44-u6oeK65qlc6DygU15JJk-uyDcQUmDlmTh4k9As0AW93NCJlOpWVFxiYZ1kilQbQGqCpqNRjoQE2Gyy__A_WEd3gz0/s1600/jwinters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagToZjgsTRHBAtkOi9N9jeeScIn-GjvY7EAeLtzgOYIiHyZ-44-u6oeK65qlc6DygU15JJk-uyDcQUmDlmTh4k9As0AW93NCJlOpWVFxiYZ1kilQbQGqCpqNRjoQE2Gyy__A_WEd3gz0/s1600/jwinters.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>clockwise from top left:</i> <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/scoop-ball-set/s171056">Scoop Ball Set</a> (hide the ball in a cabinet) - $39.95 / <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/infusions-decanter/s682200">Infusions Decanter</a> - $1.97 / <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/amuse-serve-board-16.5/s663655">Amuse Serve Board</a> - $19.95 / <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/kiwi-bird/s231084">Kiwi Bird</a> - $29.95 / <a href="http://www.shopterrain.com/garden%2Dtools%2Dwatering/mini%2Dheirloom%2Dwatering%2Dcan">Mini Heirlo</a><a href="http://www.shopterrain.com/garden%2Dtools%2Dwatering/mini%2Dheirloom%2Dwatering%2Dcan">om Watering Can</a> - $18 / <a href="http://www.target.com/p/nate-berkus-snail-placecard-holder-set/-/A-16639431#prodSlot=_1_25">Nate Berkus Snail Placecard Holder set</a> (just for decoration) - $7.99 / <a href="https://www.onekingslane.com/product/51894/2020253?cat=81">Asst. of Three Essential Book Boxes, Navy</a> - $29 / <a href="https://www.onekingslane.com/product/54965/3557383.html?cat=83">Whale Bookends</a> - $45 / <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/mae-bud-vases/f55326?rv=Decorating+and+Accessories%3aCandleholders+and+Vases%3aVases%3aJayde+Vase+SKU+347144+Product+Page">Mae Bud Vases</a> - $5.97-7.97 ($20.91 for the set) / <a href="http://www.containerstore.com/shop/storage/binsBaskets/decorative?productId=10037634&N=71225">Blackwash
Rattan Bin</a> - $25 / <a href="http://www.worldmarket.com/product/mini+owen+easel+chalkboard.do?camp=ppc%3AGooglePLA%3Anone%3A63000991512c_conditionvnew&adpos=1o3&creative=62747531219&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAjwsZyqBRCT1aq6qcD53DQSJACcen4CgZp_wzy5ksKTHT2MQ3utxgLLsmNgTxE3vqxfKC0zLRoCEhjw_wcB">Chalkboard</a> - $12.99 / <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Norcal-Pottery-4-in-Terra-Cotta-Clay-Pot-100043011/100332408">4 inch Terra Cotta Clay Pot</a> - $0.78 each (plus $0.77 for saucer) / <a href="http://www.target.com/p/terra-cotta-vases-set-of-4/-/A-17286186#prodSlot=_1_21">Terra Cotta Vases</a> (set of 4) - $27.99 / <a href="http://www.pier1.com/Rope-Lantern/2782830,default,pd.html#q=rope&start=1">Rope Lantern</a> - $15 / <a href="http://www.containerstore.com/shop/office/desktopCollections/navyMartenCollection?productId=11001121&N=90191">Navy
Bisgo Marten Paper Drawers</a> - $26.99 / <a href="http://www.pier1.com/Gold-Quatrefoil-Hurricanes/PS51855,default,pd.html?cgid=hurricanes#nav=top&start=1">Gold Quatrefoil Hurricane</a> - $19.96 (but I found it at Marshalls for $12.99!) / <a href="http://mosleylane.com/product/yuzu-sea-salt-mason-soy-candle/">Yuzu and Sea Salt Mason Soy candle</a> - $14.49 (or buy pillar candle for hurricane - p.s. I have this candle and it’s amazing) / <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/clarus-house-box/f59100">Clarus House Box</a> - $34.97 / <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/blair-tall-vase/s231149">Blair Tall Vase</a> - $6.97 / <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/209027199/glasgow-scotland-heart-map-print?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share">Glasgow Heart Print</a> - $18 / <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/leone-blue-pitcher/s548928">Leone Blue Pitcher</a> - $6.97 / <a href="http://www.crateandbarrel.com/wood-houses/f58785">Wood houses</a> - $6.97-11.97 ($28.91 for the set)<br />
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Other potential items, not pictured: <a href="http://www.worldmarket.com/product/metal+sphere+decor.do?page=3&refType=4">metal sphere</a>, <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/artisan-botanical-objects-d2933/?pkey=cgifts-25-under&">artisan botanical object</a>, and of course, Jessica will want to find frames she likes to display family picks. For grouped frames, I’d suggest thin black frames with a white mat. For single frames to display throughout the shelves, she could do something that would give more of a statement, like <a href="http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/swing-design-trade-mini-easel-frame/202134?categoryId=12173">this</a>. I also bought Jessica two bowls — one brass, and one amber glass. They’re perfect for placing on top of a stack of books. (Also, I’d pick one of the two sets of bud vases pictured above. I chose to work with the set of four when I drew out plans.)</div>
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My top picks: Everything! But if I had to choose only three things, I’d go with the whale bookends, gold snails and the set of wooden houses. That kiwi bird is rather fabulous, too.<br />
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Please excuse my smudge-y and terrible drawn ideas for how Jess could style her shelves. I’m no artist! Also, I apparently don’t know how to properly scan paper. This is my first time doing this, people. Let’s play the game “guess what decor item Laura was trying to draw.” Try not to look at my watering cans and whales too closely. :)<br />
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Option one:<br />
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Whoops, I forgot the snails! I’d put them on the far left, second shelf up, in front of the vase. I put the set of wooden houses on the shelf above the entry. The far right top shelf decor item is an imagined low basket with bowl fillers, <a href="http://knockoffdecor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Woodland-Imports-Decorative-6-Piece-Ball-Sculpture-Set.jpg">like these</a>. <a href="http://www.almostmakesperfect.com/2015/03/04/diy-triangle-bookends/">Here’s a DIY</a> for those triangle bookends. The two rectangles on the middle far left shelf are the rattan baskets. This option doesn’t have the kiwi bird, and has a potted plant on the bottom middle shelf.</div>
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Option 2:<br />
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For this option, I have a set of decorative plates on display above the entry. I have the snails (terribly drawn, lol) in front of the set of three plants.<br />
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Phew! Are you still here? I had so much fun with this project, and I can’t wait to get started on my next one! Jessica, thank you so much for encouraging my love for decorating and for giving me the opportunity to play with your built-ins.<br />
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<b>Fun news: I’m doing a giveaway for a free design consultation! </b>We will discuss a room or area in your house that you’re struggling to decorate, and we can communicate through Skype, e-mail...however you want! I can offer you the same service I gave Jessica, or tailor my service to your needs.<br />
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<b>To enter: </b>leave a comment below or on Facebook and include the phrase “I want to win!” Contest ends Friday, May 8th at midnight.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-72672854645264429782015-04-25T15:00:00.002-04:002015-04-25T15:16:16.113-04:00Laura’s chicken over rice and beans<div>
There are two types of cooks: those who prefer to follow a recipe, and those who like to wing it. I prefer to wing it — which is probably why I prefer cooking over baking. (I can never keep track of how many cups or tablespoons I’ve put into the mixing bowl!)<br />
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This meal isn’t very original, but it’s good. Really, that’s all that matters! As with most of my recipes, you can make substitutions or additions to suit your preferences. Use pinto beans, shrimp or steak, whatever veggies you want...this is one of those fabulous meals that comes together with only a few staple ingredients.<br />
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The other night I was looking through our almost-bare fridge and trying to figure out how to pull a complete meal together from the various odds and ends. I ended up with this dish, which I knew we’d enjoy because we love all of the ingredients and flavors. Andy liked it so much that he requested I make it once a week! </div>
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<i>I use a rice cooker and cook my beans and rice together. I use 2.5 cups of water in the rice cooker and use the “quick rice” setting, which took about 45 minutes. If you don’t have a rice cooker, use whatever method you like to cook the rice and beans. I would suggest <a href="http://www.unclebens.com/products/whole-grain-brown-rice/instant-brown-rice#.VTvigEIvM5I">quick rice</a> in the microwave and heating up the beans after! </i></div>
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<i>To reheat leftovers, sprinkle some water over the dish to add moisture to the rice. Heat the meal in a covered </i><i>skillet over medium heat for about five minutes, or in a covered bowl in the microwave for about two minutes.</i></div>
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<b>Laura’s chicken over rice and beans</b></div>
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makes 4 servings</div>
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inactive time is based on method of cooking</div>
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active time, including prep, is around 20 minutes</div>
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<li>1 can black beans, drained</li>
<li>2 cups uncooked brown rice</li>
<li>1 chicken boiullon cube or “<a href="http://i5.walmartimages.com/dfw/dce07b8c-841f/k2-_655fa86b-d8a0-4e2b-9632-307f245be47a.v1.jpg">better than bouillon</a>” equivalent </li>
<li>1/2 onion, diced</li>
<li>1/2 or one whole bell pepper, diced (any variety will do)</li>
<li>2 chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces (if the breasts are really large, use one and a half.)</li>
<li>½ tsp onion powder </li>
<li>1 tsp garlic powder, DIVIDED</li>
<li>½ tsp cumin</li>
<li>salt and pepper</li>
<li>1 Tbsp vegetable oil</li>
<li><i>optional: 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro</i></li>
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1. Cook the rice and beans. If cooking them together in a rice cooker, add the bouillon, ½ tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper and cilantro. If cooking separately, cook the <b>RICE</b> with the bouillon, salt and pepper and cook the <b>BEANS</b> with ½ tsp garlic powder. Add the cilantro after rice and beans are done (if cooking separately).<br />
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2. While the rice and beans are cooking, heat a TBSP of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and pepper and let them cook, stirring occasionally.<br />
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3. While the onion and pepper is cooking, season your chicken pieces with the onion powder, remaining garlic powder, cumin and a dash of salt and pepper.<br />
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4. Scoot the onion and pepper pieces to the edges of the skillet. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet and let them cook for two minutes, then turn the pieces and let them cook for another minute or two. Use a spatula to split the chicken pieces into smaller chunks if desired. If the chicken breaks apart easily, it’s done.<br />
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5. Serve the rice and beans mixed together on a plate or low bowl. Top the rice and beans with the chicken, onion and pepper mixture.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-30362154740251473612015-04-20T20:59:00.002-04:002015-04-20T21:08:12.372-04:00out and about in FrederickIt hit me last week as I was pulling flannel sheets off of our guest bed that we hadn’t had an overnight visitor since November! It felt so good to get the house ready for a guest, considering I haven’t hosted much in the past nine months.<br />
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<a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2012/06/holly-bakes-orange-dreamsicle-pull.html">Holly</a> came up from Harrisonburg on Thursday night (bearing donuts from Strite’s, bless her heart) and we immediately fell into our pattern of non-stop chatter and laughter. And <i>EATING</i>. I am beyond thrilled that our baby friendship in Harrisonburg has weathered my move to Frederick. Holly and her husband and their two friends are opening a brewery in Winchester called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/winchesterbrewworks">Winchester Brew Works</a>. I’m so excited for them!<br />
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I purposefully invited Holly to come up this past weekend so I could take her to <a href="http://chartreuseandco.com/">Chartreuse & Co</a>, a monthly tag sale set up in six buildings filled with antique/vintage (or faux-antique) goodies. I knew it would be a great place for brewery decor inspiration.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PB96butT_pERT0bbK9rB9DjaCdDnu2Xpj4Gb7GqZq7kYUfFdCbRxfq9V1eSm2FkYTOFy-GeZmsUPXrit8BP2V2jKWfMKQrE9MKN96A2cx-RuPUoThff_8XyxC2KeacM3H1_FxGDTMOc/s1600/IMG_0498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PB96butT_pERT0bbK9rB9DjaCdDnu2Xpj4Gb7GqZq7kYUfFdCbRxfq9V1eSm2FkYTOFy-GeZmsUPXrit8BP2V2jKWfMKQrE9MKN96A2cx-RuPUoThff_8XyxC2KeacM3H1_FxGDTMOc/s1600/IMG_0498.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the second floor of the main barn at Chartreuse & Co </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-L2ITEHJpNHaRVLq4nYNGBq45dJs_ieqwgEwgNona1JUEic-H6zDG1-QYllVZ4hSIK2Cv6_taf2-OOFRWuWucswWogSEDq5WHhI8LLoqwBvErDBRRAahL3qrUv_NxXQ2o1cLok3yQ08/s1600/IMG_0499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-L2ITEHJpNHaRVLq4nYNGBq45dJs_ieqwgEwgNona1JUEic-H6zDG1-QYllVZ4hSIK2Cv6_taf2-OOFRWuWucswWogSEDq5WHhI8LLoqwBvErDBRRAahL3qrUv_NxXQ2o1cLok3yQ08/s1600/IMG_0499.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wanted these SO MUCH</td></tr>
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We spent hours exploring the various buildings before heading downtown for lunch. I went to <a href="http://www.thewinekitchen.com/frederick/">The Wine Kitchen</a> a few weeks ago with my friend Sarah and <i>loved </i>it, and I knew Holly would enjoy it, too. We split the house made pappardelle starter and the mussels starter and each got our own Mexican BLT sandwich. We chowed DOWN. We should have split the BLT, but we were both doing the prix fixe menu. Everything was phenomenal, and it was nice to just sit and take our time with lunch. The stand-out dish was the mussels, which were cooked in a <a href="http://jayfublerharvey.com/qt-content/chronic3.jpg">crazy delicious</a> Thai-style broth. I asked the waitress for the ingredients (like I did with our favorite <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2015/03/old-bay-wings-with-homemade-blue-cheese.html">blue cheese sauce</a>) because I’m dying to make them at home. Recipe to come!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7uu50hY904jCDWnI0BjQ53Y5OF-3QS5-SdiB8ZLO55XLe2k_kLPAnmaJZzWvMV5ADQUB1wRw2-TPmRZkKOB2MuyL3dP1-EVrDoXExGwk5HQXaiZ4_K-U6GINj_qA0rtWMVaks9u6uQo/s1600/IMG_0502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7uu50hY904jCDWnI0BjQ53Y5OF-3QS5-SdiB8ZLO55XLe2k_kLPAnmaJZzWvMV5ADQUB1wRw2-TPmRZkKOB2MuyL3dP1-EVrDoXExGwk5HQXaiZ4_K-U6GINj_qA0rtWMVaks9u6uQo/s1600/IMG_0502.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fabulous Holly w/ her wine flight! I had their yummy “Gossamer” cocktail. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQjfHLXE7tz38mwr3d3VomINGPv9THEZAP_-qsBpMXNe5CMUQBGlsO_anSA8CXjwlgvndSlYkFzdsxUh28ihx_wUu20jRThnTaNrlE02JTNDzz2wqW_v-Cbh-2aGWq62JwT5eO9Gl4rc/s1600/IMG_0504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQjfHLXE7tz38mwr3d3VomINGPv9THEZAP_-qsBpMXNe5CMUQBGlsO_anSA8CXjwlgvndSlYkFzdsxUh28ihx_wUu20jRThnTaNrlE02JTNDzz2wqW_v-Cbh-2aGWq62JwT5eO9Gl4rc/s1600/IMG_0504.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our starters</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5mpqU9w0l_4Hg2YFLjOgaW2IayvcAQMASN0u1Xex3eaktBjODEpmoY3AtCkdKq8UsvAvvA8lbmNwhhlJ7tK4nHKdPJxV9XB9eOaF5_hUwyJRXdjr8WR1cnpjxac6XSCPjnqVe2OrpRuU/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5mpqU9w0l_4Hg2YFLjOgaW2IayvcAQMASN0u1Xex3eaktBjODEpmoY3AtCkdKq8UsvAvvA8lbmNwhhlJ7tK4nHKdPJxV9XB9eOaF5_hUwyJRXdjr8WR1cnpjxac6XSCPjnqVe2OrpRuU/s1600/IMG_0505.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my Mexican BLT and the mussel broth</td></tr>
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It was a beautiful day to walk around. One thing I love about living here is that we have a great downtown! We went to Relish, The Smokestack Studios, Treaty General Store, Retro Metro, Velvet Lounge, Tiara Day, Simply Beautiful Boutique, Firestone’s Market on Market, Hunting Creek Outfitters, and Muse. We skipped a lot of shops on Patrick Street because we were exhausted! I drove Holly through Shab Row and Baker Park and then we went home and put our feet up for a bit. We ended the night with Sardi’s Peruvian chicken and rented “Big Eyes” on Redbox.</div>
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Holly left after a breakfast of bacon, eggs and donuts, and I immediately swore to start eating better and went for a run. :) Let me know if you’ve tried any new healthful recipes lately!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-74365206668477888752015-04-04T22:36:00.000-04:002015-10-02T17:46:12.906-04:00filled with sorrow, or expectant joy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I wonder what the disciples thought on the second day. They had just witnessed the wrongful accusation and brutal death of their close friend and precious Savior. He had told them He would rise again. In fact, enough people had heard talk of Jesus rising on the third day that Pilate ordered Jesus' tomb to be reinforced so the disciples couldn’t scam everyone by stealing the body and claiming the empty tomb as proof of a resurrection.</div>
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I wonder if the disciples were filled with sorrow, or filled with expectant joy. </div>
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I wonder if they experienced both of those feelings. The battle between soul-crushing reality and soul-saving promises. </div>
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Did the disciples feel defeated by Christ’s death? Did they feel let down? How could they... knowing He would rise again?</div>
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I feel defeated. I feel let down. I find myself in this place of second-day-ness, of knowing <i>the glory is coming</i> but feeling the weight of grief. </div>
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That confusion between <i>I know You are good</i></div>
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<i>...how is this good?</i></div>
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Habakkuk, the Old Testament prophet, felt that confusion. He longed for justice to be brought to the land of Judah. He pressed God to take immediate action. He asked, <i>do I have to wait</i> <i>forever?</i> God replied, "If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.” God’s plan for justice, and the timing of it, didn’t make sense to Habakkuk. But he resolved to wait.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span class="text Hab-3-16" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; position: relative;">"I will wait..</span><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="text Hab-3-16" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">.</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;" /><span class="text Hab-3-17" id="en-NLT-22762" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">17 </span>Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;" /><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Hab-3-17" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and there are no grapes on the vines;</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;" /><span class="text Hab-3-17" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; position: relative;">even though the olive crop fails,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;" /><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Hab-3-17" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and the fields lie empty and barren;</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;" /><span class="text Hab-3-17" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; position: relative;">even though the flocks die in the fields,</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;" /><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Hab-3-17" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">and the cattle barns are empty,</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;" /><span class="text Hab-3-18" id="en-NLT-22763" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">18 </span>yet I will rejoice in the <span class="small-caps" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>!</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;" /><span class="indent-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Hab-3-18" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;">I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!"</span></span></i></span><br />
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I see how this waiting — this waiting that I hate so much — I see how it’s sanctifying me. I see how this waiting has led to blessed conversations, to new perspectives, to the opportunity to encourage and affirm. I see how this desert place has made my soul thirst for God. </div>
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Oh, but this waiting is <i>hard</i>.</div>
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Oh, but remember! <i>Glory is coming</i>.</div>
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Thank you to my friends Shannon and Rachel for encouraging me to write this post. Shannon re-blogged a post she previously wrote called <a href="https://adoptiongraceandlife.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/easter-saturday/">"Easter Saturday,"</a> and when I read it this morning I thought I couldn’t possibly add anything (which is why my timing on publishing this post is rather late). Shannon’s post is simply beautiful. You need to read it. My favorite line is, "<i>I still find myself in the middle place where reality and expectation collide, where life experience and future hope aren’t always woven together as seamlessly as I would like them to be.” </i>And then the ending -- I love that ending.</div>
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If you’re waiting (or if you just want to hear a lovely song), give <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkYN5ndRBDg">this</a> a listen. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-29976435179112902892015-03-21T10:41:00.004-04:002015-03-21T10:42:21.482-04:00den: the shelves are DONE!Today I’ll share my favorite part of our updated den — our <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2015/02/diy-shelving-unit-for-den.html">DIY shelving unit</a>! Please excuse all of the crazy shadows in the pictures. See, I <i>had </i>beautiful naturally lit photographs, but when I went to post them I realized I didn’t have any art in two of the frames. Then a few episodes of Arrested Development and a big bowl of <a href="http://www.dinneralovestory.com/instant-dinner-party/">pork ragu</a> happened, and all of a sudden it was dark out!<br />
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Worth it.<br />
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The biggest transformation in the room was going from this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_oQVJsRKwdqLuDKxlYe-_Y8Tedr6nSnDwCmZmzHcm819981grVzQ7bopTFqz26BrCR3w5m2igmV1BmqiAVtOOE574dPNdFRb6Ftz-1_5lKwkOJZs7mzkrSOAZkHfddp8LOhhmmGATmc/s1600/blankwall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_oQVJsRKwdqLuDKxlYe-_Y8Tedr6nSnDwCmZmzHcm819981grVzQ7bopTFqz26BrCR3w5m2igmV1BmqiAVtOOE574dPNdFRb6Ftz-1_5lKwkOJZs7mzkrSOAZkHfddp8LOhhmmGATmc/s1600/blankwall.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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To this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXhHmajLKXayySWZnZsaYoAuVPksCE-6fADAvCktNJvGw5aZ5iH9l56rXXk8dS9J26glVo5-caXzF8hmFdYpOnbaATGpotq2HdCnJVmZWutiM47Ltcr38ZSrVK_mo7CtDMJ6-xGIl1gw/s1600/1shelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXhHmajLKXayySWZnZsaYoAuVPksCE-6fADAvCktNJvGw5aZ5iH9l56rXXk8dS9J26glVo5-caXzF8hmFdYpOnbaATGpotq2HdCnJVmZWutiM47Ltcr38ZSrVK_mo7CtDMJ6-xGIl1gw/s1600/1shelves.jpg" height="430" width="640" /></a></div>
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I had the best time putting up several of the books and decorative objects I’ve collected over the years. Really, the hardest part of the styling process was choosing to say "no” to a bunch of my favorite objects in order to keep the shelves from looking cluttered.</div>
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I don’t mind the way the top shelf looks with the left side being blank, but I’m going to try putting a vine-y plant up there. I spent TWO HOURS in Michaels the other day looking at artificial plants! My mom saved the day by offering to give me an offshoot of her Philodendron.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5g1JOL8fieBwcr6S0urVPjTM3IRyuz1QKLOpT0lka0lbEStS9gKlnOV0qEZg5FHKFLdCJt9T2RbS_or-Qf3mAqh28W5fIj4qJw0B5uV6ZXyGyHpZwRdBW1gGUumsLtmYYuQbX5YpK3kE/s1600/clamps2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5g1JOL8fieBwcr6S0urVPjTM3IRyuz1QKLOpT0lka0lbEStS9gKlnOV0qEZg5FHKFLdCJt9T2RbS_or-Qf3mAqh28W5fIj4qJw0B5uV6ZXyGyHpZwRdBW1gGUumsLtmYYuQbX5YpK3kE/s1600/clamps2.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
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I was originally planning to use my agate bookends on this bottom shelf, but my colorful books distracted from the agate and they got sort of lost in all the color. I picked up 4” clamps for $8 each at Home Depot and voilà!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvzkcTXaRLpNK_FP8DYA-Z6T0mrVx8irjHKcZwzXV6k4x6i-bMAqg-0Vb6CRkU0u1oPAgwS4Pije3BTgrka6hgnUQbnkzXR_PWgkRM3Grv_h5BnAkONhQozvmQjoiirpQLD_9NuEpjcM/s1600/Lshelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLvzkcTXaRLpNK_FP8DYA-Z6T0mrVx8irjHKcZwzXV6k4x6i-bMAqg-0Vb6CRkU0u1oPAgwS4Pije3BTgrka6hgnUQbnkzXR_PWgkRM3Grv_h5BnAkONhQozvmQjoiirpQLD_9NuEpjcM/s1600/Lshelves.jpg" height="400" width="260" /></a></div>
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These hanging frames at World Market caught my eye and I knew they’d be perfect for this spot. The art is a page from a book of quotes that I tore out and cut in half. I originally bought a beautiful faux <a href="http://cdn.americanbox.com/media/catalog/product/cache/5/small_image/205x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/j/g/jg-rr140-a.jpg">mother of pearl box</a> for the shelves, but I ended up having the same problem with the box that I had had with the agate bookends. It was really hard for me to return it (I’m still having second thoughts), but the basket I replaced it with was much cheaper and is less distracting. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sanTMGO9Ega1iU26QRgcBsLtn6DzKrL7-qlGTREBd6hyphenhyphenff5OVK5rYx9bl8CjTNIHKBqisMUJBRv3PVnPS5QB9aUXY4a6iwv00CX_LwMcjKq8bAE99cRXElMvPMfDisqhRu_-tdNf_TU/s1600/upclose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sanTMGO9Ega1iU26QRgcBsLtn6DzKrL7-qlGTREBd6hyphenhyphenff5OVK5rYx9bl8CjTNIHKBqisMUJBRv3PVnPS5QB9aUXY4a6iwv00CX_LwMcjKq8bAE99cRXElMvPMfDisqhRu_-tdNf_TU/s1600/upclose.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
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I had a mini freak-out when I saw this brass stand magnifier at an antique mall in Georgia. It is one of my very favorite things. The large piece of art is my “big” souvenir from my Europe trip. It’s a pen and ink of Salzburg, Vienna, with gorgeous watercolor detail. It happened to fit perfectly in an empty frame and mat that my parents had given me on one of my many “Becker basement shopping sprees.” (The bell was also taken from their basement. Thanks, mom and dad!)</div>
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The picture in my prism frame is cut from a postcard I bought at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwMI2gJwNNlT7stWJxb3W6oiTkVrmRs1YAY4ni9HToCp34-EFR4P596y4ETTO3x8RNfExDY2bAuz0qkGP8GVm4UwKOuQkuplTc6-n49-I5ZBUtIzgXAbs5oJmdPjXQP9e6WE673huuLE/s1600/Rshelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwMI2gJwNNlT7stWJxb3W6oiTkVrmRs1YAY4ni9HToCp34-EFR4P596y4ETTO3x8RNfExDY2bAuz0qkGP8GVm4UwKOuQkuplTc6-n49-I5ZBUtIzgXAbs5oJmdPjXQP9e6WE673huuLE/s1600/Rshelves.jpg" height="400" width="286" /></a></div>
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For $6, you too can have a ridiculous looking eyeglass holder that will make you smile.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPgV-fdCEX_vIwz-60zes17rtnV14SvLVN1wjMX2Kzvy1ljUdKSjxVJiezwKhRbW8D0MaQ2H4t4l_SIu-S0L1Lh-5sMW2IpxEwFu5fpmE8uLOPwc80R0V8VXvH7LD2qR70dLmQ2sAoGg/s1600/BRshelves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPgV-fdCEX_vIwz-60zes17rtnV14SvLVN1wjMX2Kzvy1ljUdKSjxVJiezwKhRbW8D0MaQ2H4t4l_SIu-S0L1Lh-5sMW2IpxEwFu5fpmE8uLOPwc80R0V8VXvH7LD2qR70dLmQ2sAoGg/s1600/BRshelves.jpg" height="400" width="365" /></a></div>
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Believe it or not, I’ve been keeping my eye out for a trophy cup for nearly a year now. This cup, from one of my favorite shops, is the perfect size and it has a gorgeous patina. </div>
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There you have it! I am <i>loving </i>these shelves. I didn’t enjoy spending time in the den for a long time because of how cluttered it was. Now it’s a lovely space that I look forward to cozying up in.</div>
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Come on over! :)</div>
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<b><u>Sources:</u></b><br />
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Trunk – from my childhood<br />
Shelving unit materials – Home Depot</div>
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C-clamp bookends – Home Depot</div>
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Trophy cup – The Cottage in Dayton, VA</div>
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Rhinoceros – Kohls</div>
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Vintage camera – thrifted<br />
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Armillery sphere – gifted (World Market)</div>
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Hanging frames – World Market </div>
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Rectangular basket – Michaels </div>
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Prism frame – Retro Metro (also available at Bed Bath & Beyond and CB2)</div>
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Brass bell – gifted </div>
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Salzburg print – gallery in Salzburg, Austria</div>
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Mat and frame around Salzburg print – gifted</div>
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Magnifying glass holder – Canton Street Antique Market in Roswell, GA</div>
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Eyeglass holder – World Market </div>
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Brass antelope bookends – from grandmother</div>
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Gold clock – awarded to Andy from Kellogg’s!</div>
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Vintage set of “works of” books – from grandmother</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-48933033745379965352015-03-16T11:30:00.002-04:002015-03-16T11:34:46.835-04:00on a Sunday in MarchWe’ve only been to church a handful of times this year (after a seven-month-long stretch of staying home). I haven’t wanted to participate in worship, so we arrive late. We hurry out after the sermon ends, because I haven’t wanted to run into anyone who hasn’t seen me since last May.<br />
<br />
We were late yesterday, but the worship team was still playing as we scooted past a beautiful family of six, including an infant. My heart began to race when I recognized the song as “The Lord Our God” by Kristian Stanfill. The last time I heard that song was when I was pregnant with Jane. <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2014/06/in-waiting.html">I even blogged about it.</a><br />
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I can hardly bear to go back and read through the posts I’ve written about my grief. Sometimes I can’t believe it’s <i>me </i>that is experiencing all of those emotions and bearing all of that (this) pain. When I wrote that post in June I was terrified out of my mind, but deep down I believed our baby would be healthy. I listened to that song and thought God WAS leading us out of our dark grief from John and into a time of joy with our second baby. My most prayed prayer over my second pregnancy was that God would be delighted to give us a healthy baby — that it would bring Him joy. I thought <i>with a prayer like that, surely I will get to hold this baby and watch it grow.</i><br />
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I threw myself into desperately hoping, desperately praying, desperately reciting verses... and when I got home from the hospital after saying goodbye to my second baby, I was, and continue to be, simply desperate.<br />
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<i>My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.</i><br />
<i>-Psalm 73:26</i><br />
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I don’t know why, or even how exactly, but my mouth opened in church yesterday and the words came spilling out. I heard my husband’s voice softly rising alongside mine.<br />
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<i>Still we can know you are good.</i><br />
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I imagined what we looked like to God... two of His people, weary and heartbroken, lifting their voices in obedience and faith. We sang knowing full well God could have given us healthy babies. We sang knowing full well only God knows our future. We sang knowing full well this hard road we’re on may be longer than we’d like.<br />
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Tiny step after tiny step, we move forward.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-59466939662512822542015-03-13T09:53:00.000-04:002015-03-13T09:53:02.495-04:00the den slumpIT ISN’T DONE, PEOPLE. (Long, boring story.) Most of my books are piled in laundry baskets and our basement guest room looks like... well, like this:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOPwY_KXajgU4A2BjbP2LdoTyietoOnm9Hmh1_0a8rsrJBgLZ56xbubS1Avh5h03ZpvxIiHsBETedpT3tHN6pXIzPZvnVOvplGOQkB8cGpMdeoprNGoKdib7xTUXTLlJvMwvldBTxbX8/s1600/IMG_0306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOPwY_KXajgU4A2BjbP2LdoTyietoOnm9Hmh1_0a8rsrJBgLZ56xbubS1Avh5h03ZpvxIiHsBETedpT3tHN6pXIzPZvnVOvplGOQkB8cGpMdeoprNGoKdib7xTUXTLlJvMwvldBTxbX8/s1600/IMG_0306.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">REAL LIFE HOUSES OF FREDERICK COUNTY</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Updating the den has been a lot of fun for me, but it’s also been taking (wait, grab a pretend flashlight and point it under your chin, <i>Sandlot</i> style and say it with me now)... <b>FOR-EV-ER</b>. I started shopping for the room six months ago! Changes inside the room started two months ago. Yeah, I thought I’d be done by now.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn2.thegloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn2.thegloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ack.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of my favorite design bloggers, <a href="http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/">Emily Henderson</a>, recently posted an update on her family room, and her honesty about her lack of progress made me sigh with relief. Emily bought her home in the fall of 2013. She <a href="http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/our-family-room-progess/">first wrote</a> about her family room in early 2014. It’s a mess. Fast forward to November ’14, where she posted about <a href="http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/family-room-update/">some progress</a> that had been made. Notice there’s no art on the walls (except for during the photo shoot) and the pieces of furniture are all “works for now” kinds of pieces. She just gave readers <a href="http://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/an-update-on-my-family-room/">another update</a> of the room, as of February 2015. (Though to be honest, with the way many bloggers plan and draft posts, the room could be completely done right now and we just don’t know it yet.)<br />
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Emily is a successful designer and stylist. She’s had her own show on HGTV, she’s been featured in countless magazines and she was (is?) the home style expert for Target. Between her knack for great design and her bigger-than-mine income, she could pull her dream family room together faster than a year and a half. But she hasn’t! And I love that! :)<br />
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So, no den reveal quite yet. In the meantime I’ve been re-decorating the ladder bookcases in our living room and trying to “shop” in other rooms of the house so I’ll have plenty of options when I eventually style the shelves in the den. So far I’ve pulled a few bookends from the living room, a lidded basket from my bathroom, picture frames from our “Craigslist room” and a bunch of postcards that I had forgotten were in the back of the guest room closet.<br />
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I was hoping to put art up today, but last night Andy asked if I’d be open to putting a TV in the den. Attached to the wall. This should not be a big deal, but I’m the kind of person who internally freaks out whenever a slight change is made to her plans. We shall see.<br />
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Even though the den isn’t done, I’m already <i>much </i>happier in the space. I have a new little spot to sit and read! Here’s a tiny sneak peak:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvmv_y_ZmjXu6m2ZFPcQ7phmMFTCozXByxmz-X93yMcPxG2s4YKS01GT83N5sxWZs4kSrS6tNcZ0uNP7Y-mT6AAzfFhhYWDmlvhyphenhyphenPfOGtj8hCZJL1LSHQlgRcrBwmYlTqwhQwCFDl3yg/s1600/IMG_0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvmv_y_ZmjXu6m2ZFPcQ7phmMFTCozXByxmz-X93yMcPxG2s4YKS01GT83N5sxWZs4kSrS6tNcZ0uNP7Y-mT6AAzfFhhYWDmlvhyphenhyphenPfOGtj8hCZJL1LSHQlgRcrBwmYlTqwhQwCFDl3yg/s1600/IMG_0304.JPG" height="640" width="456" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-73076400253349093932015-03-10T11:09:00.002-04:002015-04-20T21:32:38.272-04:00Old Bay wings with homemade blue cheese sauceI’ve been in a bit of a cooking rut and was <strike>relieved</strike> THRILLED when Andy suggested I try making Old Bay wings. Old Bay wings make my heart go pitter-patter. It’s almost embarrassing how much I think and talk about them.<br />
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It took ages for me to find a recipe for baked wings that sounded <i>right</i>. I used a method I found on <a href="http://www.recipetineats.com/crispy-oven-baked-chicken-wings-honey-garlic-sauce/">Recipe Tin Eats</a>, adapted the seasoning, and was blown away by the result. Andy’s head was in a constant state of nodding “YES” the entire time he ate. :)<br />
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We had such an incredible blue cheese sauce during our Valentine’s dinner at Dan’s Restaurant & Tap House in Boonsboro that I <i>had </i>to ask the waitress what ingredients went into making it. I’m happy to say my attempts to re-create it were successful! (So successful I was eating it like soup.)<br />
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note: I had to cut the following wing recipe in half because my oven isn’t quite big enough for two large pans to fit side by side. I think I could make it work if I used one large and one medium pan. There were 26 wings in the package I picked up, and I cooked 14 last night. I’m going to make the rest today. We munched on salad and raw carrots dipped in blue cheese waiting for the wings to cook, so we were plenty full by the time the chicken bones were picked clean.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1h4UsrYxR8wktoHBSghsldJGaYue3pW1E-M7XMbi8v8-VInYQoEt5PTqqiw2_brHSTzLiqxAtkdr17DBXNZEJcYvIF6gt1xsrSknCHat4ku9kc0kCvsSbsQ9q2jSAnQmFenJyLjDf2M/s1600/oldbaywings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1h4UsrYxR8wktoHBSghsldJGaYue3pW1E-M7XMbi8v8-VInYQoEt5PTqqiw2_brHSTzLiqxAtkdr17DBXNZEJcYvIF6gt1xsrSknCHat4ku9kc0kCvsSbsQ9q2jSAnQmFenJyLjDf2M/s1600/oldbaywings.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was too busy grubbing to take a picture. This is from Andy’s cell phone!</td></tr>
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<b>Baked Old Bay wings</b><br />
serves 4<br />
<ul>
<li>4 lbs chicken wings, separated into sections (thaw them if using frozen wings)</li>
<li>2 heaping Tbsp baking powder</li>
<li>3-4 Tbsp Old Bay</li>
</ul>
1. Arrange your oven racks to use the second to lowest and second to highest racks. (<a href="http://assets.whirlpool.com/files/usr/1856/PositionRacks.JPG">Positions 2 and 4.</a>) Set oven to <b>250.</b><br />
2. Pat down wings with a paper towel until they’re dry, then place them in a large ziplock bag with the baking powder. Shake until coated, then add Old Bay and shake to coat until both sides of every wing is mostly coated in spice.<br />
3. Line a baking pan with foil and arrange the wings on the top.<b>*</b> It’s okay if they’re snug!<br />
4. Bake the wings on your second to lowest rack in the oven for 30 minutes.<br />
5. Increase the heat to <b>425</b> and move your wings up to the second highest rack. Cook for another 50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time.<br />
6. Let the wings rest for 5 minutes before eating. Test the skin with your fingertip, and if it’s not crispy you can cook the wings a little longer. If you have a meat thermometer, check that they’re fully cooked (165 degrees.)<br />
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<i><b>*</b>I used to put the wings on a Pam-sprayed wire rack over the foil-lined pan, but I forgot to use it on my third go of making this dish and the wings turned out to be my crispiest yet. </i><br />
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<b>Blue cheese sauce </b>(also great on top of steak or a burger)<br />
serves 4<br />
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<i>best made 30 or so minutes before serving. I like to make it while the wings are baking.</i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 shallot, thinly sliced</li>
<li>1 package of crumbled blue cheese</li>
<li>3/4 cup mayonnaise</li>
<li>1/4 cup sour cream</li>
<li>1 tsp minced garlic</li>
<li>1-2 tsp lemon juice, to taste (I preferred 2 tsp)</li>
<li>pepper to taste</li>
</ul>
1. Sauté shallot slices in oil over medium-low heat for 5 or so minutes until the shallots are soft and slightly browned. Drain oil from the pan.<br />
2. Mix remaining ingredients together<i><b>* </b></i>and add the shallots.<br />
<i><br /></i><i><b>* </b>I mix the ingredients in the same pan as the shallots and then refrigerate it until cool. You don’t have to heat up the dip, it will mix fine cold — but I like for half of the blue cheese to melt.)</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-68177868049022357972015-02-23T14:38:00.000-05:002015-03-18T22:27:58.133-04:00DIY shelving unit for the den<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When I first began dreaming about changing up <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2015/01/den-before.html">our basement living space</a> I knew one thing for sure: there had to be books. Books, and room for more books!</div>
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I began online shopping for bookcases <i>six months ago </i>and became more and more discouraged with each search. Something was always off — the price, the dimensions, the color, the negative reviews... all of a sudden it was the end of January and I still hadn’t landed on “the one.”</div>
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That is, until an image of open shelving magically appeared on my Pinterest page that made the six months of searching worth it. I loved the look of shelves of different heights and widths, which would allow me to display decorative items that don’t fit on standard bookcases. I spent hours poring over <a href="http://www.almostmakesperfect.com/2013/04/29/diy-shelving/">the original post</a> before landing on my own design:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52YlG54pDqqzWeZVyGq7Gq9QIfndJpD0DLtAb5fSIWdOhBp1RNEhkKHljVtVMCfzyYqPsLGUkGQyNZoeG0H4bynA3JRfGGbly4RxKkBpn0HEu3H38f7Y9Ci5cV_NsCHtmgxrrdU4XxIU/s1600/shelvesplan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52YlG54pDqqzWeZVyGq7Gq9QIfndJpD0DLtAb5fSIWdOhBp1RNEhkKHljVtVMCfzyYqPsLGUkGQyNZoeG0H4bynA3JRfGGbly4RxKkBpn0HEu3H38f7Y9Ci5cV_NsCHtmgxrrdU4XxIU/s1600/shelvesplan.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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My dad picked up the supplies and stained the wood yesterday. I could hardly sleep knowing today was THE DAY THE SHELVES WOULD GO UP! I spent the morning clearing out the leaning bookcase in our living room so I can switch things around. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9LNf6YghXVzHuc8V0rMsjO2BdfA7jgsvcG2eSNv5RZeSUe5zpTn9u_xSyRQy8Svsu9zDQEZ23xKCjwOuhxaNSV9j2N8ysQTFp-6qimF6kpx-hZ89MG8pf1S4f4efNEg_rOz4l7M2fUI/s1600/booksmantle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9LNf6YghXVzHuc8V0rMsjO2BdfA7jgsvcG2eSNv5RZeSUe5zpTn9u_xSyRQy8Svsu9zDQEZ23xKCjwOuhxaNSV9j2N8ysQTFp-6qimF6kpx-hZ89MG8pf1S4f4efNEg_rOz4l7M2fUI/s1600/booksmantle.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Andy had zero interest in the shelves until today, when he joined my dad in hours of measuring, drilling and sawing. He suddenly got the fever, though, and wouldn’t let me come in the room until they were done! I loved seeing the twinkle in his eye as he shooed me away. It felt like Christmas!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzpAuFYmZ0YPRoHB4eOUPlpLSIqYVfN_eCqsp9Rrhtu0T-X0HBrxrKnXAvqVbY3Tz2LLRU9HRZeCjXBVa1pzShD0bhHF1JpOQeIo4njfmjSUaZoyG91pYphy6qD3GT9_Miuq4UKd0QfM/s1600/shelves.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzpAuFYmZ0YPRoHB4eOUPlpLSIqYVfN_eCqsp9Rrhtu0T-X0HBrxrKnXAvqVbY3Tz2LLRU9HRZeCjXBVa1pzShD0bhHF1JpOQeIo4njfmjSUaZoyG91pYphy6qD3GT9_Miuq4UKd0QfM/s1600/shelves.JPG" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://media.giphy.com/media/7rx587MQBM3FS/giphy.gif">!!!!!!!</a> :) :) :) :) :) :)</div>
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Then my dad reminded me the boards need to be coated with polyurethane, and it <i>really </i>felt like Christmas... you know, when you’re handed the new toy you’ve been begging for and it takes hours to get through all of the thick plastic without losing a finger and then it requires triple A batteries but all you have are double A...</div>
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But they are <i>mostly</i> done, and I am over the moon. I’d like to give a round of applause to my guy, for spending the weekend shoveling snow, vacuuming the house, putting up my dream shelves <i>and </i>looking cute to boot, and to my parents, for being incredibly generous with their time and for accepting Peruvian chicken in exchange for their hard labor. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-50996010939196630362015-02-15T16:46:00.002-05:002015-02-15T16:56:14.230-05:00Innsbruck and MunichHEY-O, I’m finally re-capping the rest of my trip from two months ago! Better late than never, right? We started in Vienna, made our way to Salzburg, on to Innsbruck, and finally, Munich! I wrote about our first two stops <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2014/12/vienna-and-salzburg.html">here</a>.<br />
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<b>A few highlights from Innsbruck:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXE6Jl_a5uLHtbIXcUoe8Bsm7DxmOFAeG_mYVoq7waCNpk0NPS-uGPjlmN4tSjejqhElaRNGvx2aMXT4alNEmXdaa0O3O-pm8XoJrGgMlmqBg2FYVeTSPpdzeDP6BsGQVszR44gbFgUI/s1600/i_bldgs3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXE6Jl_a5uLHtbIXcUoe8Bsm7DxmOFAeG_mYVoq7waCNpk0NPS-uGPjlmN4tSjejqhElaRNGvx2aMXT4alNEmXdaa0O3O-pm8XoJrGgMlmqBg2FYVeTSPpdzeDP6BsGQVszR44gbFgUI/s1600/i_bldgs3.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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We had a beautiful train ride to the city center of Innsbruck, where a taxi picked us up and drove us across the river to our bed and breakfast. Our room had a lovely view of the city below. Unfortunately, we only got glimpses of the Alps because of the overcast skies. (Those glimpses were spectacular, though!) We went from staying in the Presidential Suite of our hotel in Salzburg to cozying up in a one room, cabin-like space, but I actually loved it!<br />
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On our first night we walked toward the city center in pursuit of dinner, and landed on a tucked-away restaurant called “Piano Bar.” The three of us shared a bowl of goulash, a potato cake topped with spinach and a fried egg, and wiener schnitzel that was served with a side of shredded potatoes and cooked cranberries. The restaurant’s walls were covered in art and there were candles glowing and flowers on every table. The manager came by and chatted with us for a long time and made us feel like family. I would have stayed inside the restaurant for hours gazing at all of the art, but there were markets to explore outside!<br />
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After dinner we walked through a few Christmas markets and saw more Krampus. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rJHG7KWZsg">Here’s a video of them in Innsbruck.</a>) They were doing some crazy drum circle dance thing and everyone was crowded around and taking videos. I was hoping I’d find a video from that night on YouTube, but just trust me that it was INSANE. It was also freezing, and we <i>had </i>to stop in a café for hot chocolate. You know how if you travel to Italy you have free pass to eat your weight in gelato? That’s how we felt about hot drinks in Austria.<br />
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The next day we went into town to buy tickets for the funicular, which takes you up the Nordkette mountain range. This is a MUST DO in Innsbruck! We stopped at Seegrube, where we were handed free sleds! Somebody pinch me. We kept saying <i>we’re in the Alps! </i>We had lunch (a cheese-filled hot dog for me, thank you very much) and then continued up the mountain. We stopped at a zoo on our way back down before going back to the city center to shop around and eat dinner. We couldn’t <i>not </i>go back to Piano Bar after our incredible meal there the night before. My family is in strong agreement over the idea of going to the same restaurant more than once on vacation. It makes you feel less like a tourist.<br />
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The next morning we had a few hours to kill before hopping on the train to Munich. We went back up the funicular as far as we could go (our passes ran out while we were there!) and got into a snowball fight. My sister hit me smack in the face! That’s what happens when you travel with someone for eleven days... just kidding! :)<br />
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The photo above was taken outside of the Seegrube Restaurant. Notice how foggy it is and how you can’t see any view (despite the fact that we were up in the Alps). If you have 15 seconds, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbvVpvXwlKU">here</a> and go to 1:45 to see what we were missing. CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE THAT? We are going back, for sure!<br />
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<b>A few highlights from Munich:</b><br />
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We dropped our bags off at our hotel and headed toward the pedestrian shopping area between Stachus and Marienplatz. After mostly cloudy weather, we were delighted to have sunshine and gorgeous blue skies. In most of my Austria pictures you can’t even really see sky... you just see white!<br />
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The best part of our first day in Munich was our dinner. We were browsing one of the many Christmas markets and decided to make a meal of two <i>huge </i>pieces of buttery, piping hot garlic bread (okay, we essentially ate an entire loaf), some type of pork on a skewer and a massive cup of french fries smothered in “special sauce.” Then Katie and I topped off our carb-a-licious dinner with a mug of weihnachtspunsch (hot booze), which held us over for a little while until we spotted a Kürtőskalács stand. (Hungarian chimney cake — sweet dough wrapped around a heated rod and rolled in various toppings.)<br />
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The next morning we walked back to the same area and had breakfast at Café Rischart. I declared I was going to stop eating SO MUCH BREAD and then my breakfast arrived with <i>five pieces of bread. </i>I ate four of them. :-/ I had ordered the “American” breakfast because it came with bacon and eggs. It also came with a stick of gum. ??? After breakfast we explored the Christmas market in front of the Rathaus (Town Hall) and viewed the famous Munich glockenspiel.<br />
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Our main purpose in visiting Munich was to visit an old friend of ours. Philipp came to the U.S. as a high school exchange student and stayed with a family in our neighborhood. We got to know him well and he’s stayed in touch over the years and has visited us every now and then. This was our first time meeting Philipp in his home country! He insisted we try traditional Bavarian fare for lunch at Hofbräuhaus, a three-story beer hall founded in 1589. I had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauerbraten">sauerbraten</a>, which sounded gross but was actually very tasty.<br />
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It was an absolutely amazing trip. The Christmas markets were magical!<br />
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Also, I ate goulash at least six times.<br />
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<i>some more pics, if you’d like to see... most are on Facebook</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGyYYuQqmxwOW9WFGFGom66S3ftY6fjzdcnwvV9LvfxHvTFQQuxpYgsDdCz5HGUqyw-cdu7oFaYjcMOLBqYNh-CgfP30fIGN2T7lGQUinLygnzBKFvhrsW56lFriC0NCFxAIuHC81-Ls/s1600/i_dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGyYYuQqmxwOW9WFGFGom66S3ftY6fjzdcnwvV9LvfxHvTFQQuxpYgsDdCz5HGUqyw-cdu7oFaYjcMOLBqYNh-CgfP30fIGN2T7lGQUinLygnzBKFvhrsW56lFriC0NCFxAIuHC81-Ls/s1600/i_dinner.jpg" height="400" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my favorite meal of our trip - at Piano Bar</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSaDC8rzPYN-9EyhyphenhypheneH2S4ZrjGJTZsrsrkeI2qnS2Dy70OqJECj1McWUgAhbfuZXCJr0yUyicr7F6LReawsNvPktJJ80aLKFfrMbp3Os3L-9yS62_6KEqYoOMcrchHZDsnjZo5cloyzg/s1600/i_meandmompianobar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSaDC8rzPYN-9EyhyphenhypheneH2S4ZrjGJTZsrsrkeI2qnS2Dy70OqJECj1McWUgAhbfuZXCJr0yUyicr7F6LReawsNvPktJJ80aLKFfrMbp3Os3L-9yS62_6KEqYoOMcrchHZDsnjZo5cloyzg/s1600/i_meandmompianobar.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our first night at Piano Bar</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-4gczfN6-mDnjVMN1IJ9rF034qz6pCv9MG8RMzffL2t2y-vBLpzp7Op-MOiu4t3MdF81vV2JRkHzQNRoBDsU2mYjjmLo_tCeLuQgxMu3rmYL24jJldFgs_qPbVhCmYZwR7RPgom7JMg/s1600/i_momandksnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-4gczfN6-mDnjVMN1IJ9rF034qz6pCv9MG8RMzffL2t2y-vBLpzp7Op-MOiu4t3MdF81vV2JRkHzQNRoBDsU2mYjjmLo_tCeLuQgxMu3rmYL24jJldFgs_qPbVhCmYZwR7RPgom7JMg/s1600/i_momandksnow.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sledders on the Alps</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMHRSBjYFYCTubCpxA5wSRWEKptQ3mqcRoQ-xzomM0bVVtcbVnGdP1Ue7AqXc_vKcNZAhMHpZfb-cz5S2DoVOQkoJMcHct7-2Kx2Wnz5tLmDiQyXzzSDPeThzENDAArTZcfFYQFMF6Ho/s1600/i_mesnow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMHRSBjYFYCTubCpxA5wSRWEKptQ3mqcRoQ-xzomM0bVVtcbVnGdP1Ue7AqXc_vKcNZAhMHpZfb-cz5S2DoVOQkoJMcHct7-2Kx2Wnz5tLmDiQyXzzSDPeThzENDAArTZcfFYQFMF6Ho/s1600/i_mesnow2.jpg" height="470" width="640" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tUM16pZ7PQDTB0CQ-r0vheRsunHNutcPx1gTKBVCevGSW-v4kyKJDj8MDaj91BVCM-EvHJEvkT1w17F_X8cPmcKB3Z55J40eU9HKDnLbN6zmOECUvMidJtb-rcA7EUmKNn1k-a8Vnxc/s1600/k_snowabyss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tUM16pZ7PQDTB0CQ-r0vheRsunHNutcPx1gTKBVCevGSW-v4kyKJDj8MDaj91BVCM-EvHJEvkT1w17F_X8cPmcKB3Z55J40eU9HKDnLbN6zmOECUvMidJtb-rcA7EUmKNn1k-a8Vnxc/s1600/k_snowabyss.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">enjoying the view of the Alps at the highest viewpoint on Nordkette... :-/</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0idsSookGOBxEEh8bdoZrupYibFQl0oU4F9IViCIGOks_g2C9vaE1KQjUQP5uq-ftp_Uf90Td2kBTAVhUPZyaCqZGk4xVwNukYxQejpsTZOFQ976uiP9fUHZBZOxs01NkDKs_1q2Obpc/s1600/i_viewfrombb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0idsSookGOBxEEh8bdoZrupYibFQl0oU4F9IViCIGOks_g2C9vaE1KQjUQP5uq-ftp_Uf90Td2kBTAVhUPZyaCqZGk4xVwNukYxQejpsTZOFQ976uiP9fUHZBZOxs01NkDKs_1q2Obpc/s1600/i_viewfrombb.jpg" height="387" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the view from our room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aKw_D1P2bm4af9Jt1WNKZuDn3hjSxzf5KZkz54iZyEDSocy31JCeHEQMADsaStih4Iyt3VxrWRSuU33Ct7qfb3Q4HMV9IbcsF7sMkfsoL1A1ZsAtBXjb7BKP16esSvXJ7FBCLuA1KZw/s1600/m_rathaus2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aKw_D1P2bm4af9Jt1WNKZuDn3hjSxzf5KZkz54iZyEDSocy31JCeHEQMADsaStih4Iyt3VxrWRSuU33Ct7qfb3Q4HMV9IbcsF7sMkfsoL1A1ZsAtBXjb7BKP16esSvXJ7FBCLuA1KZw/s1600/m_rathaus2.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Munich’s Rathaus, site of the glockenspiel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ZdgCcaUODWeeFx4o2ypexzKUot3WQt18tEcAx_ZJZBFcpuwuYSMmApV0UQZVItFNk3jpYVQzGlQVNng8YchyqLWjTOsOIUeKPquVY-3eLfntRxKit3M65hiQRB_C2LevRsgIgB-n55U/s1600/m_usxmasmarket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ZdgCcaUODWeeFx4o2ypexzKUot3WQt18tEcAx_ZJZBFcpuwuYSMmApV0UQZVItFNk3jpYVQzGlQVNng8YchyqLWjTOsOIUeKPquVY-3eLfntRxKit3M65hiQRB_C2LevRsgIgB-n55U/s1600/m_usxmasmarket.jpg" height="362" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HOT DRINKS</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnmHkSDnX2-7UVpE0tDQcXkW2vdkUyUHL1YCkm8wlzTCT9axw6v9LlwIKuDp66TlfPEJmPFZz_aUf_OyYILR3QoAD89mB1xCG-UqpvLv5S-D957TrhYK-kitoHDvtM7tigUpCJ1xDJls/s1600/m_uswithp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnmHkSDnX2-7UVpE0tDQcXkW2vdkUyUHL1YCkm8wlzTCT9axw6v9LlwIKuDp66TlfPEJmPFZz_aUf_OyYILR3QoAD89mB1xCG-UqpvLv5S-D957TrhYK-kitoHDvtM7tigUpCJ1xDJls/s1600/m_uswithp.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">reunited with Philipp! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipU44_sOm5KfrmFPEtVSJEK1OQjpwu0pMVksnLxMilJb625XfNDvByr00rhSFmkBQSPoU4z64IUsjttf3uugvdW8GGlC_uWnX_jT_N44y_u6EocmWSyt1Ksq_r1Dbr-mV0T1uNyKk6Au4/s1600/m_momandpwalking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipU44_sOm5KfrmFPEtVSJEK1OQjpwu0pMVksnLxMilJb625XfNDvByr00rhSFmkBQSPoU4z64IUsjttf3uugvdW8GGlC_uWnX_jT_N44y_u6EocmWSyt1Ksq_r1Dbr-mV0T1uNyKk6Au4/s1600/m_momandpwalking.jpg" height="640" width="382" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">heading to lunch at Hofbräuhaus</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-8607791862956468342015-02-11T15:26:00.002-05:002015-02-11T15:51:01.219-05:00three dinners — one rotisserie chickenI don’t go to Costco as often as some of my friends (*cough* Sarah Downs *cough*) but when I do I always<i> </i>buy a rotisserie chicken. It’s a no-brainer. You get three pounds of delicious meat for only $5, and those three pounds go a <i>long </i>way. I often will use it to make a huge batch of chicken salad, but last weekend I picked up a bird and decided I’d try to see how many different meals I could make with it. (Just remember to use your cooked chicken within four days of purchasing it. You can maybe go a day or two longer if the chicken isn’t gummy or funky-smelling, but be cautious!)<br />
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Here’s how I’m using one rotisserie chicken to get three meals, plus leftovers:<br />
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On Monday night I made Ree Drummond’s <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/11/buffalo-chicken-salad/" style="font-weight: bold;">buffalo chicken salad</a> using diced white meat tossed with a few tablespoons of <a href="http://www.franksredhot.com/products/buffalo-wings-sauce/">Frank’s Wing Sauce</a>, which we happened to have on hand. I used bagged butter lettuce and added some chopped cucumber for crunch. I also used her tip of mashing blue cheese crumbles into ranch dressing. This was the quickest, easiest dinner ever and we both LOVED the flavor. It filled me up, but Andy said he was still a little hungry after he finished his. Next time I might serve it with a baked potato or a big hunk of bread. Go big or go home, right? I’ll be considering this recipe the next time I make dinner for friends.<br />
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(Warning: if you have any leftovers you may find yourself standing in front of the fridge late at night eating cold buffalo chicken coated in blue cheese straight from the tupperware container. You also may die from flavor explosion.)<br />
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I made homemade broth for the first time this weekend by putting the rotisserie chicken carcass in my crock-pot with water, carrots, a quartered onion, garlic, salt, pepper and celery seed. (I didn’t follow a recipe.) I got two quarts worth of yummy, rich broth and divided it up into four pint-sized <a href="https://www.talentigelato.com/our-products/">Talenti gelato</a> jars. <i>p.s. you guys. that gelato is worth EVERY PENNY. </i></div>
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Last night I used a mix of dark and white meat and some of my chicken broth to make chicken noodle soup. If you have kids, leave the hot sauce out of the main pot and just add it to your individual bowl. Or don’t use it at all...but that would be lame.<br />
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<b>Laura’s kickin’ creamy chicken noodle soup</b><br />
serves 4<br />
<ul>
<li>4 cups chicken broth</li>
<li>1 can cream of chicken soup (it’s easy to <a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/condensed-homemade-cream-chicken-soup-recipe/">make</a> if you don’t care to buy it)</li>
<li>1/2 cup onion, chopped</li>
<li>1/2 cup celery, chopped</li>
<li>1/4 cup carrots, chopped</li>
<li>1 and 1/4 cups corn</li>
<li>3 green onions, chopped</li>
<li>Salt and pepper to taste</li>
<li>1 and 1/2 cups egg noodles</li>
<li>1 cup cooked chicken</li>
<li>a bit of half and half or milk </li>
<li>several glugs of hot sauce (Cholula all the way!)</li>
</ul>
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1. Place the first eight ingredients (stop after seasoning) in a pot and simmer for an hour.<br />
2. Add egg noodles and cook for 7 minutes.<br />
3. Stir in chicken, half and half and hot sauce.<br />
<i>OR place the first eight ingredients in a crockpot for 3-5 hours on high or 6-8 on low. Add remaining ingredients at the end of cook time and put the lid back on. The noodles should take around 10 minutes on high heat, probably 20 on low.</i><br />
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Today I have two servings of soup leftover, plus a half cup of dark meat and almost two cups of white meat. I can’t believe I still have that much chicken! I’m torn between making Chipotle-style chicken burrito bowls, <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2014/06/tzatziki-chicken-salad-and-chipotle.html">tzatziki chicken salad</a> or chicken/bacon/cheese quesadillas with honey mustard. Decisions, decisions!<br />
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What are your favorite ways to use rotisserie chicken?</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-51575623832574916332015-01-24T21:59:00.001-05:002015-03-18T21:52:53.106-04:00den: new paint<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My parents came up last Saturday to help us paint the <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2015/01/den-before.html">den</a>. I <i>agonized </i>over paint colors for months and finally landed on “au lait ole” by Valspar. The color already on the walls was fine, but the room needed a paint job and I wanted a darker color. I’m already enjoying this room more, and I haven’t even decorated yet!</div>
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here is a before and after shot of the same wall:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtRfSEqtNwgmSSgeORej0yMPxBf7N8aRrmB0ObT_7jS_PCj5IWU8JaEYdf5s8SP0mUcfOPT_DlR27VBL2l86GT9Kd0OL-uzDtvBmRyoCRmGmle9qHB83_ixRmhWIKAnxueZwFw_l7OXQ/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAtRfSEqtNwgmSSgeORej0yMPxBf7N8aRrmB0ObT_7jS_PCj5IWU8JaEYdf5s8SP0mUcfOPT_DlR27VBL2l86GT9Kd0OL-uzDtvBmRyoCRmGmle9qHB83_ixRmhWIKAnxueZwFw_l7OXQ/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3sWXh7q6XMXCpTqI2o_grgm0wfk526Azjx6cE1VptKR2mVK9xRoYmHb7458RlC40YG2uNFeV078FxxMeT51yub25vzpCKtf9xUQPZWbKF9v2UmDh3caTjoxK0JSQbzODjWvgUejQ4yM/s1600/denafter2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3sWXh7q6XMXCpTqI2o_grgm0wfk526Azjx6cE1VptKR2mVK9xRoYmHb7458RlC40YG2uNFeV078FxxMeT51yub25vzpCKtf9xUQPZWbKF9v2UmDh3caTjoxK0JSQbzODjWvgUejQ4yM/s1600/denafter2.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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I know. It hardly looks like we did anything! But look at how different the two colors actually are:</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: Tahoma; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: auto; padding: 6px; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHJLOBZLaJMNHTdwo22ENY1MCZ4DDUZNSG1D6AzlYXtfQiV3PYHTtN14NMe5eUuy0J7dpEEmNNC8hUm_QwdE9S_vFGThX1UWaE6qbQsW5ecvKBVxGfPz38of32DCI3rgdk_xtb_KfOI4/s1600/denduring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHJLOBZLaJMNHTdwo22ENY1MCZ4DDUZNSG1D6AzlYXtfQiV3PYHTtN14NMe5eUuy0J7dpEEmNNC8hUm_QwdE9S_vFGThX1UWaE6qbQsW5ecvKBVxGfPz38of32DCI3rgdk_xtb_KfOI4/s1600/denduring.jpg" height="426" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">(notice the soot marks in the corner? yikes.)</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaoPbEYFhRJ-HCcEwz5DbLAgXtwyLT2BnYWqgWhNrtsQSvxI4Rn1oq01p0ckR27Yd6EGwuKwI1_7crrM1vh-JjqUNSehAcAfufbyBpKrZdNShnnPFABL6LH524gGZspCVTBGCyMIPHr4/s1600/denafter.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaoPbEYFhRJ-HCcEwz5DbLAgXtwyLT2BnYWqgWhNrtsQSvxI4Rn1oq01p0ckR27Yd6EGwuKwI1_7crrM1vh-JjqUNSehAcAfufbyBpKrZdNShnnPFABL6LH524gGZspCVTBGCyMIPHr4/s1600/denafter.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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You can see from the “before” shot and the “in-progress” shot that the original wall color looked different depending on the time of day I took the picture, and that’s the same with the new color. </div>
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Complete after pics for this room won’t happen for at least a month because I have big plans to build a shelving unit. Wait, did I say <i>I </i>was going to build it? I meant my dad is going to build it. I’m going to try to help and not screw anything up. (He had to tell me to stop painting the trim because I was making a mess. Haha!)</div>
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Until then, I’ll show little peeks of what I have planned for the room. I couldn’t resist these two table lamps I found at Wal-Mart:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMatO1v094QqEuZGHdIjq68D4cMadokfvtT6BAvBaGj8jB_dG4J7BwMrTZGFqXTA3LSgjxIKvcQNEqOWLejdvpi1ZjbZzppB0uvvOomajJWujMv4qahd1lorJkiiFohgW6AvuwpeYryp4/s1600/curvelamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMatO1v094QqEuZGHdIjq68D4cMadokfvtT6BAvBaGj8jB_dG4J7BwMrTZGFqXTA3LSgjxIKvcQNEqOWLejdvpi1ZjbZzppB0uvvOomajJWujMv4qahd1lorJkiiFohgW6AvuwpeYryp4/s1600/curvelamp.jpg" height="320" width="314" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiO69ptd4NGafrBfz3a5GWxPe1_StQvTqap2u3ltIz6O-V_GV-EVIyuHmlnCRwdL94d-csTU4qxQAmHIV4ceRqKlb6rMeLROyYfr8wl2As8OACcFbb_kN3jZVB8Z7tYhvCk3CWOPjSSY/s1600/goldlamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsiO69ptd4NGafrBfz3a5GWxPe1_StQvTqap2u3ltIz6O-V_GV-EVIyuHmlnCRwdL94d-csTU4qxQAmHIV4ceRqKlb6rMeLROyYfr8wl2As8OACcFbb_kN3jZVB8Z7tYhvCk3CWOPjSSY/s1600/goldlamp.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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The gold lamp will definitely find it’s way into the den. It was $25 and I picked up a shade for it, too. The adjustable task lamp was only $18! Way to impress me, Wal-Mart.</div>
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And here are those two pieces of art I picked up in Georgia last November:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbAT3Lb5TjZArtp56bwZM8d2gHFhs7s9uzFKDEmZJaOj1wDSb7hti5SgRV-iWCAiOFVvN9zRUO6oDNtCpMeEOnOakt3R2Wy90QLGcqqasGqa9ZI6IRYuwbTaf7nj6kaSI0nGk25PSlS4/s1600/greensails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirbAT3Lb5TjZArtp56bwZM8d2gHFhs7s9uzFKDEmZJaOj1wDSb7hti5SgRV-iWCAiOFVvN9zRUO6oDNtCpMeEOnOakt3R2Wy90QLGcqqasGqa9ZI6IRYuwbTaf7nj6kaSI0nGk25PSlS4/s1600/greensails.jpg" height="492" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbX2TlSHOcv9zV03Ewu5NPYuCxl5yFxSZAJNcsQO0F9jprYvYSmJs0vzDuXn74cf6XvP3MXkbCDuwE2yY0fBpZBCXc8E40wT0W5X6U1ObnAHwPAejDxZu8rixpfpnYYzYDMp59KZcDeE/s1600/whitesails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbX2TlSHOcv9zV03Ewu5NPYuCxl5yFxSZAJNcsQO0F9jprYvYSmJs0vzDuXn74cf6XvP3MXkbCDuwE2yY0fBpZBCXc8E40wT0W5X6U1ObnAHwPAejDxZu8rixpfpnYYzYDMp59KZcDeE/s1600/whitesails.jpg" height="520" width="640" /></a></div>
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I know not everyone will share in my excitement over these ship prints. I DON’T CARE. I spotted them at Canton Street Antique Market in Roswell, and I knew right away that <a href="http://38.media.tumblr.com/412a9ff275183c4a20f82aea0d32e282/tumblr_mz9hrw1m6V1ricgg0o2_r1_250.gif">I had to have them</a>. The price was right and the custom frames are in good condition. (They just need a little dusting.) The top ship was German and the bottom one was British. </div>
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Are they not perfect for a den? I mean, really. I’ll just try to ignore the sounds of Andy’s video games while I write letters and study <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9GUwTa4_n8">atlases</a>. ;) </div>
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Chaise fans: I have reached a decision. Well, Andy reached a decision and I regretfully agree. It’s outta here. It just doesn’t work with my vision for the room. I’d keep it for another space, but one of the wooden legs is split and sitting in it was a bit of a risk. Farewell, chaise! You were loved by my family and a few readers of this blog. </div>
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Stay tuned!</div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D6655015230050322996%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5157562383257491633%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F-76ymPgaT_EE%252FVMQcYZ696gI%252FAAAAAAAAEkk%252FEuaIPbroWR8%252Fs1600%252Fwhitesails.jpg%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 40px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 3148px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D6655015230050322996%23editor%2Ftarget%3Dpost%3BpostID%3D5157562383257491633%3BonPublishedMenu%3Dposts%3BonClosedMenu%3Dposts%3BpostNum%3D0%3Bsrc%3Dlink&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com%2Fgadgets%2Fproxy%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F-76ymPgaT_EE%252FVMQcYZ696gI%252FAAAAAAAAEkk%252FEuaIPbroWR8%252Fs1600%252Fwhitesails.jpg%26container%3Dblogger%26gadget%3Da%26rewriteMime%3Dimage%252F*&xm=h&xv=sa1.35&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 40px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 3148px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655015230050322996.post-11664546325498115282015-01-16T20:11:00.003-05:002015-01-16T20:28:55.756-05:00den: beforeI’m going into this project knowing I’m never going to get the “after” that I <i>really </i>want, because we have more important things to pay for than new flooring, custom built-ins and all new furniture. (If only, right?) I love seeing room makeovers, but I’m often discouraged when I see that the owner’s budget was thousands of dollars. I have a dream of one day being paid to provide decorating consulting and styling for people on a more realistic budget, so what better way to practice than on my own home?<br />
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The room is in our basement, and has been serving as Andy’s “office.” Let’s call it what it really is: a place to put spare furniture. It was a <i>functional </i>space, but it wasn’t pretty. Andy would invite me to read on the couch while he played video games on his computer and I’d spend the whole time frowning at the room, trying to think of how to improve it.<br />
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I want the room to be a comfortable place to hang out, especially since it’s nice to have a second living area when entertaining guests. However, it’s not going to be our *main* living space, since we already have a lovely living room on the main floor that has our beloved leather furniture. (And our television.) So we’re going to make do with what we have and spend bits of money here and there to finish out the room. A few months ago I came across two pieces of framed art that I instantly fell in love with. I found them while visiting a friend in Georgia and had to have them shipped here, but the price was right and that purchase helped me hone in on my vision: I want this room to be a quintessential <i>den</i>. A cozy, secluded place for working and reading and playing games. A room with thoughtfully placed decor—a mix of masculine touches and pretty things.<br />
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Here’s what it looks like right now (halfway through getting stuff moved out so we can paint):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVpf_4MxUUDllt2-SRlc3kidIJ9LO6iGlUKrsEIHf_Tecovo9wK9Q2J42k_8FdRxFZnEVKbHlJP4OhUhJvCvWj07HwUv0Y_cRlVszrAx4lzlQU6YhQCqfqsJfYN-Fk524yl4iVPoTX3Y/s1600/DSC_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVpf_4MxUUDllt2-SRlc3kidIJ9LO6iGlUKrsEIHf_Tecovo9wK9Q2J42k_8FdRxFZnEVKbHlJP4OhUhJvCvWj07HwUv0Y_cRlVszrAx4lzlQU6YhQCqfqsJfYN-Fk524yl4iVPoTX3Y/s1600/DSC_0001.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DTeifPOJwUYuO20efOnK7UPoUrJc_DlTeZIkyBcyQBwgxr-susQ37Z8zsl_LeQe4OA59wcmoIX8ZXSKiTEgX6riwVtdJsfl8wFaNhU961JbrHBy5Ef4h2dfdnxS8bfZROccS0FTwcdo/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8DTeifPOJwUYuO20efOnK7UPoUrJc_DlTeZIkyBcyQBwgxr-susQ37Z8zsl_LeQe4OA59wcmoIX8ZXSKiTEgX6riwVtdJsfl8wFaNhU961JbrHBy5Ef4h2dfdnxS8bfZROccS0FTwcdo/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMlqz91L0wfAesZLYbhMpO4HBDchReYX-_c2t6FEK0abExoUUxBepwct5eZskT2i2vg1TMn5aEFQg5OVlHMWYUNptE10i6H-8sAehpK6N6ptQ6zIBWoRE65V2BTyIaCrOUFnMuifDRzM/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTMlqz91L0wfAesZLYbhMpO4HBDchReYX-_c2t6FEK0abExoUUxBepwct5eZskT2i2vg1TMn5aEFQg5OVlHMWYUNptE10i6H-8sAehpK6N6ptQ6zIBWoRE65V2BTyIaCrOUFnMuifDRzM/s1600/DSC_0003.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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We used to have our <a href="http://lrennie.blogspot.com/2012/04/home-making-v2.html">black bookcase/cabinet</a> along this wall, but we sold it on Craigslist a few months ago. I wasn’t feeling it anymore. I’m not sure yet what will go here, but it will be some form of shelving.<br />
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We’re keeping the couch and the desk and computer chair. I’m on the fence about keeping the chaise and the glass-doored bookcase. Our first order of business is to paint the walls a slightly darker color. We’re sticking with a neutral since we’re working with a navy couch and potentially keeping that crazy fabulous chaise.<br />
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I can’t wait to finally get going on this room! Stay tuned for progress pics!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0