Visit Me Here & Winners Announced

Happy Monday!  Who has big plans for the week?  We don't and that makes me very happy.  I'm guest posting over on my friend Miranda's photography blog today, giving some tips on pulling together outfits for a family photo shoot.  Tis the season and I know a lot of us are getting ready to shoot our holiday cards, so if you get a chance head on over and see what I've learned about dressing our family along the way.  If you do stop by, please say hi so we know you visited, and if you're local and in need of a great photographer, Miranda's your girl.  She's currently booking sessions and filling up fast.

Anyhow, thanks so much to all those that entered the giveaways last week, and for those that are new subscribers here.  I am truly grateful for every single one of my readers.  And of course thank you to all the sponsors that generously donated to the giveaways!  I have a cute outfit post lined up for tomorrow and a fun DIY involving leather and rhinestones, for later in the week.  But for now, here are all the winners for the giveaways.  Please contact me by the end of the week so I can send you your winnings (or discount code if you won a shop credit).  And remember, you still have until tonight to enter the Cents of Style giveaway.

p.s. thank you also for the awesome support on this post I wrote on Saturday. There's a lot of thank yous in this post :)

The winner of gift bundle 3, which included a Rags to Stitches shop credit, Just Lovely Things shop credit and prints from Daylight Designs is:

The winner of gift bundle 2, which included a leather pouch from me, a Knitty Bitties camera strap cover and a Style Bandit shop credit is:

The winner of gift bundle 1, which included treats from Baby Boy Bakery, the Aspen Bay Candle & The Pleated Poppy shop credit is:

Congratulations to everyone!

Thoughts of the Week - Finding My Religion

If you're new here, Thoughts of the Week is a series I do almost weekly where I take time to reflect on events of  the week.  Sometimes it's silly things like asking for cookware advice, but often times it's where I dig a little deeper and get real.  A small sampling would be posts like these, where I talk about the anniversary of my brother's death, woman and friendships and the struggles of parenthood.  On Monday I usually get back to pretty things...

(the Serenity prayer, the one prayer I did know from going to Alateen when I was a kid)

Art surprised me last night by coming home and proudly announcing that he had found a sitter and he was taking me out on a date.  We've been married over 12 years and he's admittedly not the best planner, so for him this was special.  I wore a pretty blouse and we saw Drive, which was great and made even better by its incredible soundtrack.  But first we went to dinner and over his Blue Moon and my lychee martini we talked of many things, but a good portion of our conversation was dedicated to religion, prayer and faith.

I think I've told you before that I didn't grow up going to church on a regular basis.  We had a church to attend that my Aunt and her offspring all attended.  My grandma played the piano and my cousin was the co-Pastor.  We made an effort to attend church on the big days, you know Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, but that was about it, and our sparse visits were made only slightly uncomfortable by my Aunt who would say every single time, "How nice to see you all here.  It's been so long"  (emphasis hers, not mine).  My parents were too busy trying to pull their $hit together to seriously dedicate themselves to our spiritual development.  It's fine and I don't blame them or anything, but it makes me only slightly envious of those that grew up in the church, their feet firmly planted in the strength of knowing God's love.  My husband is one of them.

Our conversation turned to prayer and I asked him straight up why he doesn't pray with me and he flat out said he doesn't believe in it.  "What do you mean you don't believe in it?"  He explained that to him prayer is a very private, personal moment made that much more powerful when done alone and in your own head.  "Well what about the kids, who's supposed to teach them how to pray?" I asked and he said "How about Him?"  I bring this up not to stir up a debate about what makes a biblical marriage and home, and to bring on judgement to our family, and I'm not claiming he has all the answers.  But his answer did make me stop and think.

Do we fall prey to making something that should be private and personal, too public?  Does our desire to build community and unity at all costs lead us to turn outward when we should be turning inward?  How does one really reach that spiritual level when you feel God's touch?

And then that made me stop and almost question my right to think these things when I didn't grow up in the church.  I don't know much scripture and I've never read the Bible through and through.  Who am I to even question these things?  And that made me long for a place for people like me, that are really just searching for these answers later in life because they didn't have the upbringing or parents to shepherd them to these answers.  It sounds silly but almost a spiritual training for dummies of sorts, or at least for those just starting out, because in many ways I feel so very far behind in my faith and in my spiritual development.

I find myself sometimes so frustrated reading books like this one, or reading faith based blogs or even just sitting in church.  It all seems so presumptuous sometimes.  Assuming we are all at the same place spiritually, emotionally, even knowledge wise.  Books and blogs filled with verse after verse and how my life should relate to those verses.  It's like they're teaching at college level and I'm still in 1st grade.  I want to scream out loud sometimes, "Stop, back up, I don't get it!  Wait for me to catch up please!"  Where is this place for people like me?  Where is the book that will gently, kindly help me catch up?  

But I don't think anyone can tell me that, whether you grew up going to church everyday or you've never set foot in a church.  There is no instructional manual, there is no "how-to guide", and growing spiritually doesn't require a devout knowledge of scripture.  It just requires an open, teachable heart and mind and a little bit of tenacity to find my place.  I joined my first small group at church this week.  There were only a few times I felt a little out of place, a little behind.  It didn't stop me from asking questions though when it came to spanking and its role in biblical parenting.  Dummy or not, I'm never afraid to question, to beg for clarity so it makes sense.  I think that alone would make God proud.

It was such a fun and exciting week around here, but I have to admit I'm glad to have my space back to myself now for a bit :)  I really needed to get this out.  If you are in the same boat as me or you took the same journey as me, please share.  I'd love to hear from you.  

Tricks & Treats & Kinks

I would have told you all I would be gone for a few days but the paranoid side of me said "don't tell the internet you're going on vacation and leaving your house alone for 3 days!"  Yes, I tend to be cautious that way not because you, my readers are thieves, but because somewhere out there thieves exist.  It was just how I raised.  My dad taught us to never leave empty boxes out on the curb for the trash man that would reveal some new hi-tech gadget purchase, lest you attract the robbers.  Anytime we purchased a new VCR or even a new coffee maker, he broke down those boxes into such small pieces they were unrecognizable and stuffed them way down to the depths of the trash can.  If he's ever driving around a neighborhood and sees an empty flat screen box on the curb, it takes all his strength not to pull over, get rid of the evidence and give the home owners a lecture about tempting the devil.

But anyhow, I guess it's safe to tell you all that we went to San Diego for a few days since Taylor had the week off from school.  We visited La Jolla and went to the Wild Safari Park and Legoland and got back late Friday night so we wouldn't miss soccer.  We were exhausted but it was a great trip.  I took hundreds of pictures and while I sort through those, I thought I'd share a few pictures from around the house.  We spent Saturday afternoon putting up what was left of our Halloween decorations after so many of them were destroyed by the rat bastard mouse.  Which by the way, I'm certain is dead somewhere in our garage.  The bait was taken and now I could swear there's a faint smell of a shriveled up dead mouse in there.  Art's on excavation duty this week...

We spray painted pumpkins for the first time this year. And these bones and skulls are a new addition this year too.

We painted a house a few weeks back, and this is the new color of the mantel, after we painted it off white right before Christmas.  Quite the transformation from last year at this same time.

So that's how things are looking around here.  Each year I seem to get more and more into Halloween after being a stick in the mud for so long.  I guess my in-laws have completely rubbed off on me :)  So do you go all out for Halloween or just sail right past it?

In other news, there were supposed to be some exciting things happening on the blog here today, but due to some kinks and a mini vacation on my part, the excitement will be waiting until tomorrow.  Please come back though to see what I've been cooking up!

See you guys tomorrow! Linking up with Thrifty Decor Chick's Outdoor Spaces Party

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Pleats & Animals

{Leopard umbrella: giveaway from my St. John days; Leather Jacket: Nordstrom Savvy department; T-Shirt: James Perse; Pleated skirt: Trouve; Snakeskin Shoes: Stuart Weitzman; Jewelry: Forever 21 & Vintage}

Adding some real glamour to my day because after Monday's events, a dose of the real thing is in order.  Fall has officially arrived in Southern California and I couldn't be happier.  Have a lovely week friends.  

Linking up to Bloggers Do It Better Animal Print Challenge , Amber for Real Girl Glam  and of course Lindsey for WIWW

The Glamorous Life I Lead

I love the life I lead, really I do.  I am blessed, lucky, whatever you want to call it.  But sometimes I just can't believe how absolutely glamorous it all is.  I just have to pinch myself sometimes.

Like yesterday for instance.  Our garage is a disaster and has been since we've moved in.  We're busy folks and Art just hasn't had the time to get to it.  I don't blame him, it's not on the top of my priority list either.  But I needed to get the Halloween stuff down so I thought I'd help a guy out and do a little cleaning for him.  After all the garage shouldn't just be a "man's job" right?  I can do this.

Well after spending all of 5 minutes in there, I discovered we have a rat/mouse problem.  Now we saw evidence here and there a few weeks ago of a rodent but we thought "no big deal" and we put out a couple of traps.  Turns out it was a very big deal.  I'll try to avoid giving y'all a visual that will stick with you all day and just say that rat/mouse droppings were all over.  I started to panic a little, okay a lot, and just started moving stuff out of the garage.  At one point I started crying, because I cry at everything really, and I said to my mom who was thankfully watching the kids for me, "I don't know if I should be doing this, what if I get a disease or something?"  You can always count on me for high drama. ;)

So after a quick call to my friendly local Hydrex man, and after going through boxes and getting things cleaned up this is what I can teach you friends, in case you ever find yourself with a rat/mouse problem:

• Spray Lysol everywhere first before cleaning anything up.  Let it sit for a few minutes and while wearing a mask, gently sweep it all up.  And no, you won't catch a disease or die of Typhoid fever.  The Hydrex man assured me of that.
• Items like that Indian corn you get at the store and use for fall decor?  Ya, throw that stuff away each year or keep it in a tight sealed Rubbermaid storage box because apparently rodents love the stuff.  Who knew?  And make sure plastic Easter eggs are all emptied before storing them away for a year.  Yup.

I'm just full of helpful information aren't I?  Recipe posts one day, cures for rodent problems the next.  You get it all with me.  All in all, I threw away 3 dumpsters of stuff, including half of my Halloween items and half of my Easter items.  Lesson learned to just invest in nothing but those plastic storage containers.  The old folded over cardboard boxes are no match for a pest.  No amount of Lysol and scrubbing could make me feel good about keeping that stuff.  Shivers.

I seriously thought to myself yesterday, "Man, I don't get paid enough for this crap."  But it's done and it's all cleaned up and now I can sleep at night.  Well sort of...

The kicker is while I was cleaning, I found our little pest.  He is in fact a mouse, NOT a rat, thank goodness, and the little bastard taunted me the whole time I was cleaning up.  He was crawling all along the back wall and shelves just staring at me.  My mom wanted to blast him with the fire extinguisher.  I threw a metal baton at him.  He's still in there though so it's time to call in the big guns.  Little mouse, you are actually sorta cute, but today you meet your maker, the Hydrex man. 

Pork Medallions with Sweet Potatoes & Apples

I'm willing it to be fall, even if the weather won't cooperate.  It was in the low 90's yesterday and today, but I still had my pinecone candle burning and I made one of my favorite fall dishes.  Because it sounded good even though the A/C was running, and because it was on the meal plan for the week.  And I try hard not to deviate from the meal plan when I take the time to actually make one.

I originally found this recipe in one of those soft cover recipe books you always find in the checkout aisle of the grocery store.  I've long since lost the book, but I've adapted the recipe from memory and this is what I make now, adding and ingredient here and there like nutmeg, and leaving apple skins intact.  It's a hearty meal, made all in one pan and almost, just almost translates into a thick stew of sorts.  Whatever you classify it as though, be it a stew or just a skillet meal, it's filling without being rich, and the subtle flavors of fall blend together effortlessly.

Pork Medallions with Sweet Potatoes & Apples:

1.5 lb pork tenderloin, sliced 1/2 inch thick

3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced

2 apples, cored and sliced in quarters

1 cup flour 

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 tsp nutmeg

salt & pepper

Rinse & pat dry your pork.  Add salt & pepper to your flour and spread on a plate.  Lightly roll the pork in the flour and add to a large skillet with olive oil.  Cook on medium heat until slightly browned and flip.  Remove pork from the pan when browned on both sides, but still slightly pink in the center.  

Add chicken broth to pan and scrape up the drippings from the pork & stir in.  Add potatoes and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, or till just slightly fork tender.  Add the apples & cook for 5 minutes more.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Add the pork medallions back in and lower heat to low, adding 1-2 tbsp of flour to thicken up broth if need be.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes till pork cooks all the way through.  Scoop up ingredients & ladle some of the gravy over the top.  Sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg.

So here's the thing, I'm posting the recipe here because I'm just nice like that :)  But if you'd like to be able to print up a pretty snazzy recipe card to save you from having to scribble down this recipe on a post-it note, only for it to get lost later, head on over here, to the Shop for Sharlie shop to purchase a printable of this recipe, along with 4 other favorite recipes of mine.

I read about Sharlie on Jessica's blog last week and Sharlie's story shook me up, and broke my heart, but there is hope.  There's always hope.  Sharlie suffers from cystic fibrosis and is currently surviving off of 18% lung capacity.  She is a wife.  She is a mother to a young boy.  She is you, and she is me.  And she has over $250,000 in medical bills waiting for her.  Jessica and her sister Mique put together this little shop, filled with tutorials, inspiring printables and other fun stuff, and now I'm proud to say the shop will include some of my recipes! 

So please visit the shop and help support this awesome cause.  I can't believe almost $50,000 has already been raised.  That is so, so incredible!  Oh, and if you head on over and purchase something, come back and let me know via a comment.  I'll hold a fun giveaway at the end of the week for all my readers that help out and purchase something from the shop!

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you all had a great weekend.   Linking up with Heather for Life Made Lovely Monday

Thoughts of the Week - Odd Girl Out

I took this post down early this morning for 2 reasons:
1. I was afraid I wasn't clear about my friendships and that I'd hurt 3 of my best girlfriend's feelings.  Right after college I met 3 amazing woman; Jen, Kimberly and Lea.  We are all still best of friends today.  But because of distance and other factors, it's always hard for us to connect on a regular basis and always has been.  It wasn't until I also met my current "mommy" friends that I have what I have always craved; a sense of community, a support system.  A group of woman that I can spontaneously call up and say let's meet for a cup of coffee, or can I drop off my kids for a while.  It took me 30 years to find a 'group' of friends if you will, where I feel whole.  

2. After recently helping to host a blog conference, I didn't want to seem like I was anti-social media friendships because I'm not at all.  In fact I've been able to turn a couple of online friendships into awesome real life friendships.  What I was trying to convey though is that sometimes we/I can let myself get too wrapped up in how people see me or building connections with people that I may never actually meet in person.  Instead I need to make sure I'm first and foremost growing my 'in real life' relationships.  

I had 2 very sweet friends email me today and offer encouragement after reading the post before I pulled it.  Their words touched me and of course, brought me to tears, so because of their kindness I'm posting it back up...so here you go...yes, I'm crazy :)

{source}

A friend invited me to lunch today.  We went to a new restaurant and I tried oxtail poutine for the first time.  I guess it's a Canadian specialty?  I have to be honest, while such a simple act, an invitation to lunch, it made me feel special.

It's taken me a long time to feel comfortable with woman, and secure in the friendships I have.  30 years to be exact.  The stemming of my insecurities with female relationships is so painfully obvious it almost seems contrived.  In a nutshell, odd girl out one week, good girl in next week BS throughout school left me feeling unstable and left me questioning most female relationships I made all throughout high school and college.  I wish I could say the friends I made in college are still my BFF's, but not even close.  Aside from 1 girl, and my 2 sisters, my entire bridal party would be different now than it was 12 years ago. 

Now I feel like I've finally found a group of friends that believe in me, that love me and care for me, that I can depend on and call on for just about anything.  If you've had a group of friends like this for a while, I'm truly happy for you, because the gift of female friendship is one of the sweetest gifts you can have.  If you haven't found that group of friends yet, don't lose hope, it can still be out there for you in the least unlikely of places.  Like I said, 30 years right here.

This week I've been a bit emotional if I'm to be honest.  Exhaustion mixed with self doubt can prove to be a bad concoction.  Someone wrote to tell me I was so much nicer in person than they expected me to be after meeting me at Blog Sugar combined with the other comment that has since been cleared up, left me feeling at times, well a little crappy.  I even asked a few friends if I come across as bitchy on here or something.

While I don't dare dismiss the friendships I've made online because many of them are true, 100% real worthwhile relationships worth fostering and growing, all this angst made me realize that it's the friendships in real life that are what are truly important.  It's the friendships of those that I see on a regular basis in the flesh that matter the most, and the ones that I need concern myself with above all else.  So while we can make hundreds of friends on Facebook and gain thousands of Twitter and blog followers, it's really those chicas that you have to come face-to-face with that take precedence.

I've known this all along, honest I have, but that invitation to lunch today was the perfect little reminder considering my feelings this week.  It all dawned on me tonight as I was lying in bed with Syd, helping him fall asleep.  A dark quiet room with a sleepy little boy lying next to you usually helps to pull all sorts of things into perspective.  As I write this I cry, because I cry at everything really.  But I really am grateful for all my friends.  Thank you friend for inviting me to lunch today.  It was just what I needed and I love you for it.