"A Bad Kind of Radical"

My friend, Chrissie, shared an article today on Facebook that I love and find so encouraging. It's called, "How Ephesians Killed My Radical Christianity."As Chrissie said, "It's so difficult to be faithful in the little things, when I could be doing great things for God (without being weighed down by all the tedious obedience Christ in his lordship expects from us)." It's definitely an article that young adults, especially those involved in campus ministries, should read.

Happy Friday

It's finally Friday, dear people.

This week has been really busy, but I hope next week to share  some of the artwork I've been looking at for our walls as well as a few of our plans for Iceland. Our trip is coming up soon!

Enjoy the weekend!

Sitting in my Shopping Cart

There are several home items that I have been eyeing for a while now. I periodically go check on them, put them in my online shopping cart, and then close my browser window and will myself to "save! not spend!"

I had a really close call this morning. I was literally at the page where you fill in your credit card info (in order to buy a Makelike poster I've been coveting), and then I realized that the site I was about to order from also carried Ferm Living's shower curtain and that if I was going to buy the poster, I should seriously consider buying the shower curtain at the same time in order to save on shipping. Then I realized that spending $30 for a poster is much more practical than $120 for a shower curtain and I closed my browser window and virtually walked away. Welcome to my brain. But I still really like this poster. It's sweet.

close-up

Another trinket I've been watching for a while: a cat tape dispenser. You did not hear incorrectly.

It's just so darn cute!

Washi tape is also on my list of must-haves:

At $5-10, this is a bit more practical.

Also, should I buy a cactus? I've been wanting one for a while but they only ever have teeny ones here in Billings, and finally Home Depot got some bigger ones in and they're really cool....but I researched them and their sap is poisonous and I'm not sure I want that around my cat though I don't think he'd eat them or anything.....I'm just not sure.

I couldn't even decide which one I'd get. Big spiky or little feathery? Both? None?

Records

I have decided that we need a record player. On Saturdays in the summer, when we don't have a project we're working on, or when we'd just like to get out of the house, we have started going garage-saling. At first I had to beg Eric to take me, but one week, after I had gone to a couple of estate sales by myself and returned with a few old books, he was suddenly less reticent to come. And then, his discovery of a book containing the inner-workings of train machinery (for 50 cents, mind you), caused him to recommend that we add our names to the estate sale email list. But what does this have to do with a record player, you ask? Well, one thing that estate sales have, without fail, are records. They're usually 25 cents, maybe a dollar, but they are always there. Currently, the only music we listen to is She & Him, and that is typically reserved for the short amount of time that I cook. The rest of the time….we listen to the dulcet tones of one another's voices. I think we need more music in our lives. Doesn't an evening sipping Moscow Mules on the back patio, listening to the crackle of the Statler Brothers serenading us from our new turntable, sound grand?

Clockwise from top left: 1. Turntable; 2. Outdoor Planter; 3. String Lights; 4. Outdoor Rocker; 5. The Beach Boys; 6. Throw (for chilly nights); 7. Copper Mug (essential for serving Moscow Mules)

Shower Curtain Solution

Our bathroom is basically done. The shower works, all the tile is in, the walls are painted....there are just some finishing issues....that will probably never be completed. The area between the top of the shower and the ceiling still needs a little love (and mud), and the two little narrow walls on either side of the tub are far from perfect. Oh, and the molding above the door is whacked. Those things need to be fixed. But it's basically done. And I find myself....un....thrilled? Don't get me wrong, it's nice.....I think the main problems are (1) that you do not do an all white, minimalist bathroom and have flaws. Everything must be square and perfect because the tiniest imperfection will scream out at you and smack you in the face. (2) I am a perfectionist. Really, I'm being super picky. Any normal person would have quit hounding their husband and finished the thing three weeks ago.

I have three choices:
1) Be a normal person and call the thing finished. 
which is obviously not happening
2) Paint the walls
therefore making the bathroom into something other than a minimal, white space
3) Buy a shower curtain
retail-therapy has been known to work wonders

I think I will start with option 3 and work my way up. The fact is, the curtain we have now is a weird, yellow-y white (probably from being balled up in a grocery sack for a year) that looks horrendous with the rest of the bathroom; I was going to have to get one anyway. I'm thinking of ordering this one from West Elm....

Or maybe one of the following....

Because they're similar to (but more affordable than) the one Eric (still) wants...

But most likely, I'll end up going to Target and buying the first one that looks decent. That or World Market.
Then to Home Depot for paint :)

Front Bedroom

This quilt rocks.

Or maybe something more generic so I can switch it up frequently?

Next Bedrooms

Now that I know what the back bedroom will look like, I can start thinking of the other two. I think I want the front bedroom to be a little like this....(especially the first image, less so the next two).....

And the middle bedroom to be like thissss.....

 But who knows what they'll turn out like! It will most likely be eons before they're put together! :)

How to Hang Towels

Are hooks or bars better in a bathroom? Hooks would let us hang more towels, but bars dry them faster. Also, is it weird to put hand towels over a toilet?

Things I Like II

I am a little worried. I have been attempting to make our house look like this.....

for some reason I was totally in love with this sliver of room

When, in reality, I like houses more like this......

this is the best dining room in the entire world!

What's a girl to do?