I think this lesson should have been learned a long, long time ago.

I was bored last night so I decided to dye my hair. I haven't dyed my hair at home for years and years--I always go to the salon for highlights.

Do I even need to finish this post?
Because it's so predictable it really doesn't even need to be told.

It ended up a sort of light yellow orangey color. And guess what? Most salons aren't open on Mondays. And the ones that are, are booked.

So I am processing my hair again with the same color hoping that it was just my long hair and I didn't have enough colorant. Praying. Because I have to act like a professional tomorrow and it's not going to look so professional if my hair is orange.

Also, this is the nicest day of the year so far and I am thrilled about spending some time outside! Hope you all enjoy the day.

I know I do this a lot, but I have to tell someone other than my husband who just says

"Sell it!"

But today I wandered into an antique shop/used goods shop and found this cake stand. I have been looking for an antique cake stand exactly like this & my photography doesn't really do it justice. My wedding cake was actually even inspired by the look of this style cake stand (sorry, it's a picture of a picture).

I don't have a collection (housewares or anything) like many women do, but I do have a natural affinity for cake stands for some reason.

I paid $8 for it at the shop and knew I was getting a steal. I came home and searched it on ebay and most of these are listed around $60-$90.

I'm thrilled with my find, but my DH thinks my knack for finding cool things like this should mean that I sell them and make a profit.

There is no way I am selling this thing, I have been looking for one exactly like this for years.

I may even have to bake a cake today in celebration.

"To devote ourselves properly to one another, we must brave love's
terrifying undertow, which is grief."

-Catherine Newman

Happy Easter

How could I not be happy with perfect weather and a child this sweet?

He was soooo sick this weekend, which may explain the glassy look in his eyes...but he still had plenty of fun on his hunt for goodies this afternoon.

He is not here; He has risen!

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

What a blessed few days for our family and our church, when we stop to meditate on the profound grace we are offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus.


The month of April carries with it a lot of joy and sadness for me, especially this year. This is the month my son turns two, growing so quickly he delights me with his thoughts and all the things he is learning, his smile and his laugh; the way he looks like me and acts like his father.


April is the month I lost my daughter, Ally, and the month I knew I would lose my father sooner rather than later. The grief remains a deep channel in my heart, sometimes flowing peacefully, bubbling softly in the background—and other times threatening to spill over the banks and sweep me away.


I know that despite my pain and my grief this year—despite anything that has happened, or could happen in the future—God has been so faithful to me. Years after the fact, I can see how God was working in my life at certain times, even when I was walking away from Him.

We all have days/months/years/decades when our faith is weak or wavering. We all have days we want to throw up our hands and sit on the couch and check out.

And sometimes we do.

I think the real danger for me at this point in my life is that I spend a lot of time planning the future and not enough time in the present.

This Easter my goal is to spend more time enjoying the gifts God has blessed me with.

Thankfully, I have a sweet, insistent two year old boy here to remind me that the present is:

“NOW! MOMMY!”

Ganache

My turtle brownies didn't turn out great. They aren't terrible, but not great either.

It was only my first try, and I've never really worked with ganache before except once when I tried to make truffles and that was also a colossal failure. It sounds so easy on the recipes...

I had almost forgotten what 70 degrees felt like.

I kind of wonder sometimes why I live in this climate and not in Southern California, but DH reminds me often that family lives close and family trumps weather. I guess he should know, he's been all over the world with the military and has a very soft spot for home (a.k.a. Nebraska, or as he likes to refer to it The Good Life).

I'm in the process of baking some modified turtle brownies. I'm planning on layering brownies, caramel, and milk chocolate ganache to take to dinner with the in-laws on Saturday night. And Tony is taking brisket.

He cooks, I bake. Yet another reason why we are a perfect match.

This is Holden and my dog Titus watching Clifford the Big Red Dog.