Music Monday: The Band Perry- "All Your Life"

As you can probably tell from my "About Me" section, music is a big part of my life. It moves me, motivates me, makes me think. Music always makes my day better. I don't think a day goes by that I don't have at least one song running through my head on repeat. Specific songs make me think of certain memories. I turn on the radio as soon as I get in the car. When I get a little extra money, I try to figure out which CD has a song I've been craving to hear so I can buy it and put it on repeat as soon as I get it out of the packaging.

So, because of this love of music, I thought it only appropriate to begin celebrating Music Monday.

Right now, the CD I have on repeat is The Band Perry. It's one of those CDs that I put on and play the whole way through. Every song is good, not just the singles.

Their song "All Your Life" has been my recent sing-along choice. I love the vintage feel they've presented.

(Music video by The Band Perry performing All Your Life. (C) 2011 Republic Nashville Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.)

In the end, a simple request.

What are you listening to this week?

A Snack for the Birds

I didn't intend to be a once-a-week blogger. I started out with high hopes of multiple-posts-per-week blogging, but I haven't seemed to figure out the time management part yet. Bear with me as I work on this!

Here's a project I worked on with my mom recently. It's so simple and has very pretty results. My mom said that my Grammy (her mom) would do this project with all of the kids when they were young.

We simply used a needle and thread to string the cranberries and popcorn together. We alternated but you can use any pattern you want.

Here are the supplies needed:

The popcorn is regular non-salted, non-buttered popping corn. We popped it in a Whirley-Pop on the stove.

The strands really brightened up the bushes and trees during the gray days of January.

The birds seemed to enjoy the popcorn the most. It went first. There are still some cranberries hanging around on the branches.

I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but hopefully you are getting a few days of sun here and there!

The Liebster Blog Award

This past Sunday, I was given an award. A MAJOR award. No, not a Golden Globe.

I like to think of it as my blog world leg lamp.

LIEB-ster. That must be German. J

Anna over at Anna Land graciously passed this award on to me! Take a look at her wonderful site.

I get to pass on the award to five more bloggers!

So, it is my honor to present the Liebster Blog Award to the following people (in no specific order):

Magie at Teacups and Bunting

She’s from England! Her pictures are enchanting and I love her decorating ideas.

Rachel at Rachel Writes…

Rachel is one of my favorite authors. I found one of her books a few years ago and have yet to find one that I don’t like. The faith of her characters (realistic women!) is so motivational to me. Same goes for her own faith which she shares on her blog. Check out her blog and her website for a listing of her wonderful books.

Betsy at The Little Red Hen at Home

Some of you may know already that Betsy is my mom! She inspired me to get started blogging and she continues to inspire me with her vintage-filled posts.

Allyson at Cupcakes & Candy Canes

I love her honesty and her outlook on life. The moment I saw the title of her blog, I knew I’d love it!

Lou at Saville’s Row

I think you’ll agree that these dresses are beautiful! Wouldn't you love to have these hanging in your closet?

Hopefully none of you were already given this award. If you already did get it, then I think that this proves that your blog is worth the visit!

So here are the rules for this award:

This award is for bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers and are newer to the world of blogging.

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who awarded/nominated you.

3. Copy and paste the blog award to your blog.

4. Reveal your top 5 blog picks!

5. Drop by your top 5 picks and let them know you chose them by commenting on their blog!

Thank you again, Anna!



The Help

I had the pleasure of reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett recently. As I’m sure you have heard, it’s an outstanding book—the type that keeps you up at night and is picked up first thing in the morning until it is finished.

It is a fascinating look into the not so distant past. Growing up in what I feel is an overall accepting community, it’s hard to process how one human can treat another in some of the violent ways that happened during the Civil Rights Movement.

At the same time, it is touching to see how close the household help could be with the children. Aibileen and Mae Mobley’s relationship is still something I think about every day. Her desire to make Mae Mobley feel worthy is moving.

One of my favorite phrases of the book is what Aibileen says to Mae Mobley and has her repeat back:

“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”

It’s something I find myself repeating.

The storytelling overall is exquisite. I am amazed by how personally connected I feel to the characters. They are real, flawed individuals. Yet despite these flaws, vulnerability comes through (even Miss Hilly!).

I love how the written word is what empowers the group of women. It brings them together and ultimately it separates them (to a certain extent), but it changes lives throughout that process.

I won’t say much more in case you haven’t read it. I can tell it’s going to be one of those books that will become a classic. Go to your local library or bookstore and pick up a copy. You’ll be glad you did.

I watched the movie too. It was a nice overview, but I’m one of those book purists. I think the depth of some of the relationships is missing.  I understand this is because of time, but I found that I didn’t feel the same intense connection to the characters as I did while reading the book. It was definitely still fun to see, though. I think you’ll agree that they cast Minny and Aibileen just right!

If you’ve read it, what did you think?

Confidence

-Henry David Thoreau

 

Tea Time and the Antique Hunt

Today my mom and I ventured out on an antique hunt. If you’ve been to my mom’s blog, you probably know that this is one of our favorite ways to spend a day!

First though, we needed some sustenance for the hunt. Our first stop was for tea and lunch at The Ruby Pear. This is our favorite tea room. It’s located in a beautiful Victorian house. The tea comes out steaming in large teapots and is poured into a variety of lovely teacups. What I love the most about having tea here is that you feel like you are having tea in the home of a good friend.

Here’s the tray of delicious sweet treats we devoured!

Their service is wonderful. They encourage you to sit and talk awhile even after you are through with your tea. Isn’t it nice to see a business that’s focusing on the true meaning and relationship building of tea time? I can imagine ladies sitting together years ago sharing tea time together in their own Victorian homes.

So, you are probably wondering what we found on our great hunt! It turns out we only bought a couple of items. We’ve decided we aren’t going to buy things just to spend money (which is so easy to do!). Instead, we make sure an object really speaks to us before buying it.

These two packages of patterns definitely spoke to me. I love to collect paper items like these to use in collages. And who knows, maybe someday I’ll even take a try at making the outfits using the actual patterns!

Aren’t these two ladies so classy? They are posing on the front of an Advance pattern.

I love the look of the polka dots and plaid! I wish women still wore outfits like these. How pretty and feminine. And look at those waists!

I couldn’t resist these either! These two look ready to lead the band right off of the Simplicity pattern cover.

She's ready for a winter skating party!

Aren't they precious? So vivid and cheerful. Vintage graphics are so much richer. I can't wait to display these.



Sing and Don't Be Silent

Happy New Year!

I’ve felt the urge to write for a long time.  I’ve decided that 2012 is the time to do it. Why not now? I’ve always come up with a long list of other things to get done first.  If I continue to do this, I’ll never get around to writing. So instead of just putting the activities I love aside until later, or waiting for what I think will be the perfect time, I’ve realized I need to incorporate these things into my life now.

I’ve been drawn to blogs because of the way they allow a person to express his or her personality. To me, blogs are like mini magazines. I get to be the editor! What’s better than that?

“Sing and Don’t Be Silent” is a call to action for me. It is a reflection of how I want to live my life. Music and singing is a part of who I am. I think you will find that out as we go along. This blog, though, will highlight a variety of my interests and ideas. Through this blog, I hope to break my “silence.”

So I hope you will step up to the microphone with me.

Together we will sing and not be silent.