Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to another...

I hope everyone had a great week!  Mine got a little hectic toward the end, but that's okay because it was due to the first unexpected and wonderful thing I want to share with you this week!

My Pastor and his wife  have been praying for the perfect opportunity to adopt and that opportunity came this week in the form of two precious little boys!  So there was suddenly a baby shower to prepare for! Whoot!  I can't share with you what I made just yet (I'm sure the new mamma is far too busy to read this 'ole blog, but still, it's only right that she see it first!) but I'll be sharing the cuteness with you next week!

You may remember when I shared my Lemon Cake recipe with you that a friend had loaned me her Kitchen Aid mixer and I was looking for excuses to bake.  Well, this week she arrived at my home with another "accessory" for the mixer.

The BOW is the new "accessory" !!!  She decided to give me her mixer! Wow! I'm still in shock. I'm completely thrilled, and yet deeply humbled by her generous gift. It's not nearly enough, but, thank you, Susan. (And I hope I got my comma usage correct in that sentence!)

I may not have won the Raspberry Artisan that Sweetopia was giving away, but truly, this is so much better!  I will think of, and be thankful for, my dear friend every time I use it!

 

Finally, it's always unexpected when the babies fledge!!

Baby #3 was born about 4-5 after his brothers (no, I don't really know their sex, but don't they just look like boys?) and it was so cute to watch his big brothers hide and protect him whenever the big, bad human came near!

I can't help but crack up every time I look at them.  Their markings make them look like little frowning bandits!  I will enjoy my last few days with them.  Soon they won't be returning to the nest.

Of course, I'm not the only one who's been watching them...

There is so much "cuteness" at my house, I can hardly stand it sometimes!

 

What serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,

Inspired by... serendipity

Welcome to another...

I hope everyone had a great week!  Mine flew by at a rather alarming speed... but I did find some unexpected and wonderful things to share with you!

Found...

This 36" high cutting/craft table at Joann's for $80 – delivered!!

If you've been following me on Pinterest, you know I've been collecting ideas for my (someday-hope-to-have) craft room.  Hubby was planning a build-out on the shed we have in our backyard and I was thinking the day would be sooner than later, but things are on hold right now.

Bec, over at Little Lucy Lu had some great ideas for a DIY craft table, which had been my plan all along (the DIY part). However, now that it looks like I'll be working out of my bedroom for the foreseeable future, I need a table I can fold up and store away once in a while. (Yeah, right. Like the surface will ever be clear enough to do that!) And one that is much higher off the floor, to make my back happy.

So why is this find unexpected and wonderful? Because after doing some research on line, the cheapest one I could find was $140, including free shipping. (This table at Joann's was originally $150 when I looked at it last week) I was getting ready to place the order for the $140 table when I decided to consult with my friend M.E. about the table height. She had a Joann's circular that showed this table for $79.99. When I went on line to compare it with the other tables I'd found, it was on sale for $69.99! Whoot! and is basically the same table I found for $140 elsewhere. Whoot – whoot! 

Enjoyed...

Jan Karon's Mitford Series.

I had read Karon's Mitford series back in '94-'96 when they were first released, but somehow my mom had missed them. She recently picked book one up at a yard sale and asked me to find the rest of the series for her. Since it had been (gasp!) 17 years since I'd read the series I decided to re-read them as she finished with them. Karon's story is still as witty and charming as it was the first time around. I'm enjoying them immensely... and I didn't expect to!

The other thing I discovered is that Karon started another series about Father Tim.  The second book, In the Company of Others, was released last October (hardcover). The paperback version is due out at the end of this month. Perfect timing.

If you've read the Mitford series, you may be interested to know that this book, In the Company of Others, is about a trip to Ireland, which Father Tim and Cynthia take after learning some shocking interesting things about Father Tim's family in the previous novel, Home to Holly Springs. Karon went to Ireland in person to do the research for this novel, and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Delighting...

...in watching the swallow babies grow.

It's hard to get a picture of all three, they hide down in the nest whenever I come out onto the patio.  I captured this shot right after mamma had been to the nest to feed them. Can you believe how fast they're growing! It was only last week that I shared with you about baby number three! He's the one in the middle, you can tell he was born a few days after the other two.

And finally, I don't have a picture for you, but there was a lavender sunset last night. {sigh}  They are usually red or creamsicle orange around these parts. It's not often you get to see that lovely shade as the blue changes to red. It was dreamy.

So what serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,

Inspired by... serendipity

 

Welcome to another...

Serendipity is about finding unexpected and wonderful things. Each week on Serendipity Sunday, I share with you some of the serendipitous things I found that week!

(I just love using that word: serendipitous. It's a bit like saying Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which is also very fun. Don't you think?)

 

Okay, back to what I found this week...

 

While doing Blog Train downloads, I found Designs by Krista and absolutely fell.in.love with her designs!

Aren't these papers gorgeous?

Love. Love. Love.

What's even MORE exciting is that she accepted my application to be on her Creative Team! Yay!

Here's my first LO, using her new Whimsy Collection:

Click on the image to go to Designs by Krista (store)

 

Since I actually have followers on Twitter now, I'm trying to be better about sending, ah, Tweets. Admittedly, this does not come easy for me, especially since I'm careful about tweeting things I think people would actually be interested in knowing – ha!

It was on Twitter that I found out about this fantastic Giveaway!

Sweetopia is giving away two of these babies!

I can honestly say, I have never participated in any blog giveaway.

Until now.

My friend recently lent me her KitchenAid mixer and I.love.it!

Winning one of these would definitely be serendipitous!!

Click over to Sweetopia for all the entry details and please, pretty please, mention I sent you.

So we can BOTH win one!

How cool is that!

 

Okay, last but not least.

Remember I told you about the two births at our house earlier this week?

Well, yesterday, I discovered there were actually

THREE!

Aren't they just adorable!!! 

Their eyes aren't even open yet! (can't say that about their mouths – ha!) And yes, their mouths really are that color.  I did not alter the photos in any way.

I'll try and update you on their progress. I have to be careful when I take pictures though. The sound of the camera got them so excited I thought they were going to push each other out of the nest! They must think its mamma coming to feed them.

 

What serendipitous finds did you have this week?

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

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Inspired by... the little things

 

We had a birth at our house this week!

Actually, two births!

 

 

Last month I shared with you about the swallows on our back porch. 

The first round of babies were fledging and there was a lot of excitement around here!

(I also shared a recipe for No Melt Suet.  Which may come in handy, since nearly everyone is melting this summer.)

Well, this week, the excitement is all about the

two new baby Barn Swallows

that just hatched!  That's one of the eggs pictured above.

I haven't seen them yet, they're only about 3 days old, but I've heard them callin' their momma!

So sweet!

When Kim Klassen announced her theme for this week, "It's the little things," I just knew I had to share about the new babies!

I absolutely love Kim's texture, Waterstained Frame!

 

Here's the recipe for the image above:

I just love what the texture did for the background photo, which is actually the top of a box I purchased at a craft store.

I love boxes and baskets 'cause they hide my junk help organize my stuff! and look so pretty doing it!

What's your favorite way to hide organize your junk stuff?

 

Blessings,

 

Sharing inspiration here: