How I Became Famous. Kinda. Not Really.

Most of you who read this blog are aware that I run a Facebook page called Mommy Needs A Latte. About two weeks ago I got a message on the page from Brittany Roscheck asking if I would be interested in trying out some doTERRA Essential Oils and then doing a review on them. After I picked my jaw up off of the floor (seriously?? I get free stuff to try and then get to write about them??), I replied as fast as my fingers would let me with a resounding YES! She called me on the phone for a brief chat and then sent me a message the next day telling me they were in the mail!

Two days after she told me they were in the mail, I got this package! Look how easy they make it to travel with your oils! Just attach them to your purse or key chain!

I opened up the pouch and the bubble wrap, and found ten different oils.

* Lavender

*Oregano

*Slim & Sassy

*Melaleuca

*Peppermint

*Lemon (swoon!!)

*Breathe

*Digest Zen

*On Guard

*Frankincense

The A-Z Essential Oil Guide gave me hundreds of different ways to use the oils, I couldn't believe it! My favorites so far are On Guard, Frankincense, and Lemon. I've used the Lemon as a refreshing pick me up in water and as a perfume (Dab on pulse points.). The Frankincense I use at night. A few years ago I had a menopause inducing surgery and putting the Frankincense on my wrists and on the back of my neck at night helps curbs the hot flashes that make you feel like you've swallowed the sun. (You ladies know what I'm talkin' about!) The On Guard is A-Ma-Zing. I felt myself getting a cold the day after I got the package. I started putting On Guard on the bottoms of my feet every morning after my shower, and I didn't get sick!! (My husband did...I'll have to start putting this on him while he sleeps to avoid the dreaded "Man Cold".)

I have to say, I was incredibly excited to have a chance to review something, (And to get mail, I love mail!) but I didn't realize how much I would love this, and that I would be able to use it regularly!

I'm very excited to learn more about the other oils and have even more uses for them!

 If you like what you're hearing, give my girl Brittany a shout and get the doTERRA hookup!

Thanks for kinda sorta making me almost famous Brittany! :)

My First Crock Pot Freezer Meal Experience!

Hello, hello, friends! My mom and I have been hearing a TON of amazing things about Crock Pot Freezer Meals, and we've been telling each other that we were going to do this for months now!

We finally did it!

I went on Pinterest and looked up a bunch of pins on this subject and then narrowed it down to pins that had shopping lists attached. After that, I looked through recipes to find a good match for my family to narrow it down even farther. I found two pins that seemed to fit the bill so I printed off grocery lists and decided, TODAY WAS THE DAY!

My mom and I met at Walmart, and looked over the lists. We eventually decided to do only one of the two for our first attempt. I chose the recipes and shopping lists provided by Femiology and did everything that she did. To avoid plagiarism ;), and to save myself a bunch of work, I'll link the lists here.

First mom and I crossed off anything we might have at home. Then we looked over the recipes and decided that we since we would be doing this together, she would buy the teriyaki sauce and I would purchase the soy sauce, and then we would share ingredients. That was able to be done for a few different things, saving some money. We loaded up our carts, and headed for the checkout!

In her blog, Femiology buys everything she needs for $55 for 12 meals. Mom and I both bought enough for 12-15 meals each and  we both spent more like $85. I'm not sure if it was because of location, or sale prices, or if Femiology just had more things in her kitchen cupboards then us, but it still worked out to about $7.00 for each meal. (That's each meal, not individual portions.) We also adjusted the meals to our family sizes. My mom was able to create a few extra meals because she has a smaller family to feed. So she split some of her meals into two meals and ended up with 15 meals instead of 12. I added a little more meat to my meals to ensure that there would be enough for my family.

Getting started!!

 We had decided to do this together, so this morning I went over to my mom's house (My fabulous husband stayed home, keeping the kiddos entertained!), and we got ready to rock out these meals!

(Hi, mom!)

First we wrote on the bags. We included the name of the meal, what setting to put the crock pot on, how long to cook the meal on each setting, and any additional directions (i.e. serve over rice.)

Then we chose a bag and started assembling! Initially we were putting ingredients in bowls to later dump into the bag, but very quickly realized that was a waste of time. We took high mixing bowls, and an ice cream pail, and opened up our bags into them. Then, reading the list of ingredients from the website, we prepped for that meal and filled the bags! It sounds simple, because it WAS simple!

 A few of the recipes required potatoes. We've read that raw, peeled potatoes can turn black after being frozen. To avoid this we stole the tip on boiling them for 15 minutes. The peeling and boiling was probably the most involved of the work, possibly aside from browning the ground turkey. An advantage to this is that it is incredibly easy to cut a slightly boiled potato, and getting the scalloped potatoes ready were a breeze!
At the last recipe mom and I realized that we needed MORE potatoes! We both groaned and got back to work and then my mom had a brilliant time saving idea. Microwave! We put all the potatoes in a ziplock bag, left a corner of the bag unsealed to prevent explosions, set the timer for 2 1/2 minutes and perfection! I highly recommend this route.

Each time we made a meal we cleaned up the dishes we used and reused the same dishes for the next meal prep. (Bowls, spatulas, knives, cutting boards, silverware, etc.) We also threw unsaveable containers, wrappers, and scraps away as we cooked to prevent cluttering and an overwhelming work space. When we were done, final clean up was probably only 10 minutes and felt almost like we were forgetting something!

So here we are, 3 1/2 half hours later, 27 meals ready to go in the crock pot! My mom and I both have large chest freezers in our basements, so storage was a non-issue. If you don't have extra storage, I suggest cleaning out your freezer, taking advantage of the door space for items that will fit, and then lay the bags as flat as possible, and stack them.

I'm so excited that this was as easy as we had hoped it would be, this will save so much money by not having to come up with a dinner plan on the fly, or giving into tired-ness and ordering take out!
Let me know what you think in the comments below, happy crocking!

The Light Comes

Last night I was laying down, battling insomnia, and watching the fish tank from my bed. We have a beautiful fish tank. It's a 55 gallon saltwater tank, and everything in it is alive. The sand, the rock, the coral, the zoas, the candy cane mushrooms, the sponges, the...well, the everything. My husband does a great job maintaining it, it always sparkles.

                                   

The light on top of the tank simulates the sun over the ocean. With a flip of a switch, it changes to simulate moon light on the ocean for night time. Last night it had gotten left on and I was struck by how dramatic the change was.

(This photo was taken several months ago in the beginning stages of tank setup.)

Initially, I was staring at the bubbles from the filter, thinking about how they sparkled in the "moon light", and how relaxing it was. Then I started noticing other things.
There are four fish in this tank. (I will show photos of three, the "beauty coral angel" fish is a little camera shy but you can kind of see her in the bottom left corner of the first photo.)

This is a "Sailfined Tank". Her fins expand to get huge when she's startled.

This is a "Caramel Clown Fish". I named her Java.

In the middle of this rock is a "Lawnmower Blenny". He is aware of you when you are looking in the tank and he is one of the rare fish who will look back at you.

Anemone 

Anemone 

So, I was watching the tank, and moved from the bubbles over to the left hand side. I noticed that Java was swimming back and forth in almost a jerking motion, and never left the 4 inch radius that she was swimming in. I couldn't figure out why....Why wasn't she making the most of her space? Then I saw the shadow of another fish drift by and I jumped a foot in my bed.

All the sudden the tank wasn't so pretty in the moonlight.  It was dark, and it was scary. There were things lurking around that "weren't there before". Of course this is absurd. I know what is in the tank. I put much of it in there myself, with my own two hands. But as I watched the outline of a particularly large kenya tree sway in the currant, it looked sinister. And I realized, that the clown fish had no way of knowing if the tank was safe at night, in the dark. She had no way of knowing if there was a lurking predator or something that will hurt her. She just had to hang on til morning, until the light came back on.

Then it got deep folks. I couldn't help where my mind went. How many people do you know that are in the dark, just hanging on, swimming in their tiny corner, waiting for the light?  Probably more then you think. Can you be the one to encourage them? To hand them a flashlight?

Because I'm here to promise you, the light comes. It does. The light comes.

#TeamJesus

#MommyNeedsALatte

#DepressionIsReal

#JesusDidntForgetAboutYou

Hope

HOPE

hōp/

noun

1. a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen

2. a feeling of trust.

verb
1. want something to happen or be the case.
 

 

Tonight I started to cry for reasons that I couldn't explain. Other than confusing my husband, they served no purpose besides release. I think it was a frustrated cry, an overwhelmed cry, a things-aren't-working-out-the-way-I-planned-and-that's-really-hard cry.

I started feeling that familiar feeling of sadness and sinking into a desperation feeling, a no way out feeling, that I've been so used to feeling for such a long period in my life, and while I was nervously examining the emotions, I realized something was different.

So, so many time I have laid in my bed, crying tears, feeling lost, misunderstood, like there wasn't hope- and that's when it hit me. Hope. I don't feel like there's no hope.

There has been such a huge dramatic change in my life in the past year and a half, that I can't fully put it into words (which is almost frustrating for me being a writer..). I used to never see an end to the tears. I thought they were going to last forever. Honestly, I know that sounds like I'm exaggerating. But I never had hope.

And now, now I do. Now it's not even a question. Now I know that the tears will dry, that tomorrow the sun will shine, that eventually spring will come. Now I know that I never have to worry about being hopeless ever again.

See, for 16 years I struggled with a depilating depression. For 16 years I have been on medications and seen therapists, and been in hospitals. For 16 years I have let people down, made poor choices, didn't reach for anything that seemed out of my grasp. For 16 years I was a disappointment- mainly to myself.

One day I woke up, and I was ok. I woke up and didn't feel like I needed to take my medication that day. One day I woke up and I smiled, I saw a little light in the darkness. One day I didn't cry.

Now before I continue, I want to add that I sound like I've had this horrible life with no one who loved me and no one that I could lean on. That's not true. I have great parents, who were praying for me every day. Helping out whenever I called, and holding my hand whenever I would let them. I have a great husband, who continually picked up the slack when I couldn't do it. Who loved me more then I probably deserved, and who never thought that maybe he made a mistake marrying me. I am so blessed to have great children who call me mom.  I don't have the ability to explain what that word does to my heart. I had a great friend, Jennifer, who never backed down or away when it got hard, or messy, or complicated.

But y'know what else I had? Deep down, under all that blackness and hopelessness, way down there, I had forgotten that I had a Jesus who loves me. Luckily for me, He hadn't forgotten. For 18 months now, I've been healed of my depression. Just like that. He took it all away and He gave me hope.

Very quickly after that, He gave me a calling. Yup. Me. The girl with tattoos, the girl with a past full of mistakes and screw ups, He wants to use me.

He called me into ministry, and I answered that call as quickly as I could. I have never been so honored in my life. I believe God allowed my fight with depression, a fight that I almost lost several times, to happen so that I can come out the other side, refined, and able to relate to other peoples circumstances. God has big plans for this girl! He wants to use me. And I know he wants to use you too.

Decide For Yourself

As children we believe what our parents tell us. They teach us right from wrong, they instill their values into us, and most often, we believe what they believe.
But I wonder if we keep that trait as adults. If we blindly believe what other people say to us, taking their opinions as fact.

Throughout my years as an adult, I've fallen so often into the trap of believing things about another person just because a friend shares their opinion with me. Automatically siding with them, or agreeing that they are indeed the "worst" or "best", depending on how my friend thought of them.
Finding out later on that I've missed out on friendships because I was misinformed, or didn't have all the information, or was simply not willing to find out for myself, was a real metaphorical kick to the stomach.

Disappointment.

On the playground little girls (or boys) stand together in groups and whisper, and giggle, and other kids join in without any of the information just so they wont be "next".

In more adult relationships, we listen to what our friends closest to us have to say about people and make judgments, sometimes without ever having had a conversation with those people!

What opportunities have been lost! What friendships, what enriching conversations, co-family dinners, our kids being best friends, and on and on and on, have we missed out on because we didn't take the time to decide for ourselves?

I look around at people that I've held at arms length because I've made a decision about them based on what I've heard from someone else. And I'm sad. Sad because I'll never know if I'm missing out on something truly amazing.

So, from now on, I'm vowing to make my own decisions. And I'm challenging you to do the same.
Who's with me?!?!

Loving By Choice

Hi Friends! I thought I would jump on the WORDLESS WEDNESDAY bandwagon! Check it out

The bond between a step-mother and a step-daughter is such a special and beautiful thing. When you love by choice, and not by blood.

Likewise, the bond between step-father and step-son is just as amazing.

I'm so thankful for all the blessing and gifts that God has put into my life through my family.

(Ok, so KINDA Wordless Wednesday!)

 

Happy Happy Happy!

"I'm making this for Mommy, so it has to be extra perfect."

I'm in my "mom chair" (Coincidently, the only chair in the house that my cat thinks that she has free reign to sharpen her claws on..)  when I overhear my husband say this to our children.

The smile that spreads across my face isn't controllable. I get the very best! How awesome is this?

Earlier that day I had casually asked if it was possible to make my desk more attractive, we're moving into a new house and I really want to try to spruce things up a bit!

I got my desk second hand (well, to be fair, it looks more like I got it fifth hand...), when I was accepted into Berean School of the Bible. I *needed* a desk. It was important to me. A symbol.

So I said to Josh "Do you think it's even possible to sand it down and add a little paint?" And his response was "Yes!"!

He asked me what color I would like, (Pistachio Green) and put on a face mask and got started!

I was in complete shock, and so, so grateful! I have to be honest though, while I didn't doubt my husbands abilities in the least, I doubted this desks potential. I had no idea it could be beautiful!

And what is extra special, is while the Hubbs was at the store, he found these stencils on clearance and grabbed one for my desk.

"With God, all things are possible"

Overhearing him confiding in the children about the extra love that he was putting into the desk is something I will never forget. Unfortunately for him, now that I know the work that he's capable of doing....well, let's just say he has a list. A kinda long one.

 

Yay for International Happiness Day! My desk makes me happy happy happy!

30 Day Challenge

I was explaining something to my son tonight and I was just thinking about how powerful it had the ability to be to everyone. I'm going to share a little bit of what I told him.


                          Our conversation centered around this verse in the Bible.

When we focus our time, and our thoughts, our attention and our energy on things that are true, and good, lovely, pure, noble, admirable, and pariseworthy, our hearts become GOOD! They become GOOD!
Likewise, when we turn our attention to things that are negative, and icky (Remember, I'm talking to a nine year old), and evil, and unattractive to our souls, things that are wrong to us, and things that cause us to feel guilt- when we give those things our attention and our energy, our hearts turn into those things.

So when those things come into your head, into your thoughts, quickly tell them that they don't have a place in your life! Speak against it and replace those thoughts with something that is lovely, or true. Because those are the things that the Lord has for us!

Friends, I know that you're not nine year olds, but this is true for all of us. When we surround ourselves with negativity, we ooze negativity. But when we make the decision to surround ourselves with positivity and things that are pure, and true, and good- we become those things!

This is an intentional choice we have to make. I challenge you to take 30 days. Change how you think! What are you watching on tv? Listening to on the radio? Who are you hanging out with? What words are coming out of your mouth?
Are these all positive and worthy of praise? Try it! You're going to be amazed at how light and happy you feel if you make this a regular practice!

What are YOU good at?

Growing up, and even now, I've always wanted a hobby. Something that I'm good at. Something that I can get lost in and feel confident about.
Today, watching something on television, I was watching a woman paint. She was incredible, extremely talented, and while I was watching I realized that I was starting to feel that familiar longing for some kind of talent of my own. I was becoming sad.
So, I decided to come here and whine to all of you.
But as soon as I clicked on my blog button I realized that I had no reason to be throwing a private pity party, and decided to write a different kind of blog instead.

How often do we downplay our strengths? No, really, how often? Almost every single one of us do this every single day. Why? Because! Because it's not modest to tell people that we're good at something! We wait for our spouses or our friends to tell someone else how talented we are in a certain area, and then we smile humbly, blush a little, and DOWNPLAY it!
So, this was originally going to be a sad "I can't paint my way out of a box" post, but instead I'm going to list some strengths of mine. No to brag, but because every once in awhile, we need to be reminded that we all have gifts. So, here goes!

It's me! MJ! And these are my strengths!

 

 

1. I'm good at being passionate about Jesus.                                                                                             

 It's not something that I can control, or put a lid on, this is just one of those things that bubbles up inside of me, and I get to proclaim it! What a privilege it is! I love being open to the Lord, and being able to witness the things that He does, and then give Him glory! I love it. And ask my friends, I have a hard time shutting up about His love ;) !

2. I'm good at reading.
   Sound weird? Probably a little right? I don't think I was ever "taught" to read. Probably a little, but I flew pretty immediately with this one. In 6th grade I had a 12th grade reading level. It takes me a couple hours to read a book, not a couple days, *and* I love doing it. Not to mention it gives me all these smarty -pants words to add to my vocabulary ;).

3. I'm good at being a mom.
    Ooooooohh, how many of us wont say that out loud for fear of sounding snotty or self righteous?! My children are fed, clothed, warm, listened to, played with, getting the best education I can provide for them, and most importantly, they are loved. Don't get me wrong, there are temper tantrums and times outs, and tears and pouty faces. But the laughter, and the hugs, and the smiles, and the I love you's, WAY outweigh all of that!
I love my kids no matter what. Nothing that they could do would make me stop loving them, so I think it's important to act that way towards them so that they know that. I don't mean that I don't think there shouldn't be structure, and discipline and obedience in the home, on the contrary, I think it's necessary, and an act of love towards our children to teach them how to be good adults.

4. I'm a good hula hooper.
    LOL! You don't even know! I can do tricks and stuffs! ;)

5. I'm good in school.
    This. THIS is something that I wouldn't have said a year ago. Because a year ago, I would be remembering high school, and I would remember not caring all that much, or being that interested. But I'm in school now, with the goal of attaining my credentials to become a pastor, and I'm good at it! I focus, I study, I absorb, and honestly, I love it. I love it so much.
*cough* Well...hermeneutics is a bit on the rougher side of love, but it's still in the ball park ;).

6. I'm good at being loud.
   What?? Yup, you want someone to come to your event, or party, or meeting and stir up some excitement? You got it! I will clap, and cheer, and laugh, and engage! Hold me back or I might start to sing! I embarrass my poor husband all the time! I yell out answers, and crack silly jokes. I love to see people having a good time doing whatever they're doing!

Ok.....I'm going to go back and correct all my spellcheck errors, because that's something I'm NOT good, at, spelling!

I want to know though, what are YOU good at? Tell me in the comments!

Sometimes it's not, but sometimes it is.

Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes it's not, but sometimes it is. I know that personally, there are times that I can't understand why there is one thing after another coming down on me.

I am currently going to school to become a pastor. In the time of your training, there is a period that is known as "testing time". Not a pencil to paper test, or even on the computer, but personal trials.
Satan comes to try to tear you away from doing to work of the Lord, to make things as difficult as possible so that you will decide that it's easier to fly under the radar and not want to serve our King.

In the past 5 months, we have had two different cars blow up. (Not literally, but close enough) We have had computers crash, and kids in hospitals. We have had financial difficulty and childrens school issues. Friendships have been tested and lives have been changed.

But God can turn every single negative and bad thing in your life to be good and glorify Him. It might not be seen right away or even soon(ish), but it will happen if you trust Him. Every single one of those things that I talked about above, turned out for His glory.

I'm choosing to call this time "My refining fire". I will go through these situations, these circumstances, and I will praise Jesus. I will lean on Him for strength when it's more then I can handle and I will trust in His promises. Jesus will carry me through.

During this time, I am making it my goal to learn. Learn from these experiences that I don't have any control over and learn how to give it all to God. All of it. My reactions to emergencies, my worries about finances, my terror when my children are unwell, my love and my marriage. It's all God's anyway, and my shoulders aren't big enough. But His are.

Friends, Coffee-Beans, please know that "testing time" doesn't only come to those who are studying in pastoral ministry, I'm not part of a "special few". If this is happening to you, please trust that the Lord will pick you up and carry you.

Bed Time Again...

Welp, here we are again. It's 10:21 PM and I'm exhausted and ready for bed.
Where did today, just like every other day, go?
I have plans, and lists, and intentions! Things are going to get done, I'm going to be productive!

And then life happens.
And suddenly you're sitting in the driving isle of the grocery store parking lot with a blown up car.
Four hours after that, you're sweeping up a pound of kitty litter that somehow spilled all over the bathroom while you were cleaning up three clumps of poo that the cat decided would be fun to play with.
Outside of the (litter)box, it's not just for thinking anymore. *giant sigh*

Maybe it only *felt* this dramatic..

I was productive today though. I cleaned my closet. It's a big closet. And it was a giant mess. Really. It is. And it was.
I'm very short on the whole cash flow thing right now, due to the car in the parking lot situation, and well, life, so not only did I clean my closet, but I actually went through it. Picked out all the things that don't fit, or that I don't wear, or that I'm only kidding myself when I picked it out, and I bagged them up to resale. Every dime helps right? *giant sigh* (are you picking up on the theme here?)

 

I look around, and even though the closet and clothing thing literally took me hours to do (I'm not kidding, it's a giant walk in closet.), my night stand table is still a mess. And it's mocking me inches from my elbow as I type. I know that my stairs need vacuuming, and while I scrubbed the bathroom floor and toilet after I cleaned the kitty litter, I know that the sink could use some attention. And the laundry...and the windows... *giant sigh*

It seems that the earlier I get up, the longer my to do list gets, and the more productive I feel like I need to be. I need to figure out how to be thrilled that the closet is clean and not worry about the lack of studying that got done. Because right now it's bedtime (again) and tomorrow morning is brand new.

Breathless

  This post by Juicebox Confession left me breathless.

                                                            Celebrate

                                                                  Read it.
                                                                    Now.
                                                            *cough* Please.

The Little Things

I have such a great story for you! I'm so excited about it, that I'm just gonna jump right in!

Last Thursday, Hubbs and I were laying in bed, lights out, nuh-night time. And like usual, the cat jumps on the bed to share her cuddles with us.

Now let me tell you something about Zelda. She purrs. A lot. Loudly. Like, the neighbors across the street can probably hear her. I know the neighbors next door can! And she isn't one of those cats who purrs for a little while and then falls asleep. Nope. Zelda purrs herself to sleep. And sleep purrs. And then walks around the bed in the middle of the night to stretch her legs. Purring.

Anyway, it's hard to fall asleep when there is a rumble strip going off nonstop and literally making your bed shake. Hubbs has been working over time a lot lately and really needed his sleep. He was trying to be a good sport about it because Zelda was getting spayed in the morning and we both wanted to give her some extra love, but I could tell he was getting a little frustrated. So, after about 15 minutes of this I put my arm around Zelda and prayed

"Jesus, please keep our cat happy and content, but please, please make her stop purring so that Josh can get some sleep!"

I kid you not, the second I stopped praying the cat stopped purring. Not even a second in-between prayer end and silence. And friends, it stayed that way. For the entire night.
There is not a doubt in my mind that God heard my prayer and answered it! I had been going through something a little more complicated and had been crying out to the Lord, and I feel like this was his way of showing me

"My daughter, I hear you. I hear you, and I am with you. I care about all of it. The big things, and the little things."

How awesome is that?

Bleh.

So...hm...you're probably wondering what took this blog so long and how come I haven't come up with something amazing.
I signed up for this incredible deal! I went to Artscow to order a custom mouse pad that I had spent an hour creating the photo for. When I pressed the "proceed to checkout" button, it said that I was getting it for free! WOOHOO! And there was a TON (like 50 more items) more stuff that I could get for free! I was ALL over it!

I made messenger bags and cosmetic bags with MNAL's logo and website on it,

I made a backpack with this beaut on it,

I made cosmetic bags for my friends over at Faith & Works Family, Just a Minute My Cape Is In The Dryer, Juicebox Confession, and Outmanned. (These are four of my best friends in the world, check them out.)

I made 8 mouse pads with my group of friends faces schmeared all over them (which I wont show you because of privacy and all that...)

I made tote bags...

It was all in the free categories! I was rockin it!

I proceeded to checkout.

Subtotal was $120. All for shipping.

Ok....that backpack and messenger bag...maybe.. I took those off.

$110. WHAT??! For cosmetic bags??

*sigh*

I ended up getting frustrated and mad and deleting everything.

So, that's why I don't have a really incredible blog to share with you. Because of the cost of shipping.
I'm going to sit and glare at my computer for awhile....

A Girl Can Dream...

I have fantastic news! A genie has granted me the most incredible wish! I get to design and pick out my dream writing room!
*cough*
Okay, not really, but what a beautiful dream... I'm going to pretend that it's true though, and design away. Who's with me!?

Ok...dream space...

I would need a decent sized room, one of those gigantic living room sized rooms.

One wall would be entirely made up of a beautiful salt water reef aquarium,

 I would (of course) have an elaborate coffee station,

and a deep, deep sofa to dream up blog ideas on.

Ooohh, and maybe over by that beautiful sofa, bunches and bunches of books and a fireplace!

 A beautiful antique 1920's French drafting table!! *gasp* I can't tell you how much I adore that style!

Windows. So many windows...stained glass on the top so that gorgeous patterns showed up on the carpeting when the sun shone through them! Ooh, speaking of carpet! That amazing deep and soft plush carpet? Yup, let's add that!
And the view out the windows...lush greens with a glimpse of water would be perfect!

I LOVE how this is coming together! It's not perfect yet, and probably will change according to my moods and wants and desires...but that's why it's a dream!
Dream big or go home right?