Morning's Light

Glimpses of beauty and simplicity around the world.

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  • friends + family + mansion + concert = weekend

    Brenda + hudson 3
     

    friends:  Brenda is my mom's bestest of friends, and she was in town this weekend.  It took my nephew Hudson hours and hours to warm up to Brenda, but just as he and his family were to leave, he ran up and hugged Brenda's legs and *poof* they are now buddies!

    Bonus: Brenda is a nurse and she figured out from my symptoms what medicines I would need, and she was correct.  I took her advice and have not had a coughing episode (for that is what they are) in 24 hours. Thanks, Brenda!


    HPIM8315 Tall kids series - mimo 1
    Tall kids series - caleb 2 Tall kids series - all three kids - hudson - mimo - caleb
     
    family: here's a photo series I'm calling "Tall Kids" as they each look extremely tall.  Cute kids, wouldn't you say?! They are my nephews and niece: Caleb (age 12), Mimo (age 5) and Hudson (age 2 1/2).  In May they'll be joined by a brother, Christian James (CJ for short). 

    Kids - mimo
     
    Kids - hudson imitating caleb
    (Caleb was watching a show, and Hudson wants to be just like his older brother, so he found a pillow and plopped down as close as possible to Big Brother. I found it adorable.) 



    Pabst Mansion

    mansion:      Toured Milwaukee's Pabst Mansion with Brenda.  Seven of us took the tour and included five of us who were vocal ["Ooohhh….ahhhh….look at that tapestry!  the woodwork!  the storage!!!"]  and a couple who were silent [*crickets chirping*].   Beautiful home with two of the first three stories restored.   


    Concert - sign for alysia

    concert: Battle of the Bands took place at church this weekend, with one of my junior high small group girls, Alysia, performing her own songs. She did amazing and had such a strong stage presence!  She even had fans who made signs!   

    That was the weekend + a little baking + a little cooking + a little cleaning.  Just right.


    photos by sunnygirlsf.  click on photos for larger versions.

  • Swedish Townhouse

    Swedish Townhouse - 5

    A pretty Swedish townhouse.  Makes me love orange even more.  My most favorite room is the bedroom with the white + pops of color and lots of storage – because I'm trying to plan a more peaceful bedroom in my home.

    My next favorite room is the office.

    Swedish Townhouse - 6 


    And there's more, of course!


    Swedish Townhouse - 4
     

     Swedish Townhouse - 2
     

    Swedish Townhouse - 1
     

    Designed by Swedish Architect firm Elding Oscarson. 
    Photographed by Åke E: its Lindman. 
    via See Saw Designs

  • bottles n’ baskets

    The homely place - kitchen - 1 
    image: the homely place


     On a new-to-me blog, the homely place, was a kitchen photo that's adorable and reminded me of a crush I have on kitchens that have bottles of mineral water lined up on a shelf. I also have crushes on kitchens with baskets on shelves or counters.  Voila!  For you today, photos of bottles and baskets!

    It's Friday!  I'm so happy that it's Friday I could do a little dance.  Actually just did one that you didn't see.  I have a free evening which means I'll be making dinner and catching up on shows from the week.  Tomorrow will be a workout followed by a breakfast of swedish pancakes (crepes) at my mom's house with family and friends.  Then I get to hear one of my junior high girls sing songs she's written and performing them from the piano – at a concert Saturday night.

    Sunday will be church and then a free afternoon – which usually ends up being a Sunday  nap followed by playing cards at a cute coffee house.

    Do you have something fun planned this weekend??


    The homely place - kitchen - 2
    (no baskets or mineral water here..just a cute kitchen!)
    image: the homely place


    Pretty kitchen - BUY BOTTLES OF WATER FOR KITCHEN


    Flickr - finelylnc - baskets kitchen
    flickr



    Flickr - omoo - san pellegrino water
    flickr



    Flickr - deusXFlorida - san pellegrino 

    flickr
         


  • swedish influence

    AT house tour - Oscar - swedish influence 1

    Glimpses of a Swedish-inspired house in Canada via an Apartment Therapy House Tour. Clicking the link takes you to all the photos, but I'm including the two rooms that were my favorite: the kitchen/dining area and the bedroom.


    AT house tour - Oscar - swedish influence 3
     


    AT house tour - Oscar - swedish influence 2
     



  • How not to do youth ministry.

    junior high girls - eighth grade group
     















    "How Not to Do Youth Ministry" 
    by Sunny

    When volunteering with a youth group at church and leading a small group of eighth grade girls, do not assume a girl is going to ask an irrelevant question when she raises her hand – even if history tells you that the question could be about ice cream or a pet dog.

    Your girls may surprise you.  One of them may have a question for you and the proper response is not to say, "What is your question about? Is it about shoelaces???"  Because you will then find out that her question is about the Bible verse you just mentioned and what the reference is because she wants to look it up later.

    Oh.  I'm so sorry!  It's Romans 8:26.  Glad you're looking it up later!


    My co-leader Anna and I have a great group of eighth grade girls.  They have a lot of energy, they care for each other, pray for each other, and are there on Wednesday nights to have deep discussions.  And have fun as well.  One of the girls has a mom recently diagnosed with cancer.  Another girl has ongoing medical problems.  More than one has a troubled family background yet each one shows up cheerful, energetic and willing to dive in to answer discussion questions and share prayer requests.  They're such an encouragement to me each week.  I've not been there 100% the past few weeks – being sick and then having a whirling mind due to too much cough medicine in my system…. and they welcomed me back with open arms last night!  

    This Saturday is a battle of the bands and A, in the lower right corner of the photo above, will be featured at the piano while singing songs she's written.  I cannot wait to hear her sing!  


    So now you know how I spend my Wednesday nights!  I work with a great team of junior high leaders.  Our preparation meetings are filled with laughter and with planning.  Then we pile out of the classroom and into the gym where we play basketball, mingle with those who hang out on the side of the gym, then play one big group game – which changes every week.  Gotta say those nights are the highlight of my week!


  • House for Sale


    House for Sale, originally uploaded by The 10 cent designer.

    Hello, Beautiful Home!

    I wish I could buy you. I love the kitchen, the accessories your owners selected, the light streaming in the rooms, the adorable front door and stoop.

    Signed,

    A Renter Who Wishes She Lived in the House for Sale


    To see larger versions of the photos, click the photo to go to the flickr page, then select "all sizes" and view the original size.


      

  • raina’s house…white with pops of color

    Raina1

    Raina Kattelson's house was a sneak peak on Design*Sponge, and I was captivated by the first photo of the brightly colored walls and was only drawn in further by the remaining photos.  This is definitely a "May I please live here?" kind of a home.  I have a little crush on the red "jack" piece on the table.  (That's what it is, right? a big ol' jack like kids play with but way bigger?!)  Am also quite fond of the tall wooden cupboard.


    Today is an important day for my family: my mom is retiring from her job of 28 years with the State of Wisconsin. I'll be attending her official retirement dinner tonight.  Supposedly she's not too sad to be leaving, but is in fact looking forward to soon moving an hour away to live closer to four  (3 + 1 on the way) of her grandchildren! She gets to move into an adorable studio apartment that has bamboo flooring, a murphy bed, stunning views of a ravine in a park, and close access to grandchildren – steps away!   Luckily she'll be there to help with the birth of the fourth child, Christian James a/k/a CJ, who is due in May.



    Raina5

    Raina8
     

    Raina3
     

    images: design*sponge

  • Shelf Love

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    Shelf Love, originally uploaded by Lockette.

    If every shelf in my apartment could look this beautiful, I’d be in heaven.

    It’s Monday! Again! The weekend flew by but seemed to be a mix of friends and alone time. LOVED it. Am now immersed in planning the menu for a retreat – and listing what items each participant will be bringing. Maybe I can sneak in some shelf-prettying in there somewhere!

    How was your weekend?

  • It’s the Freckled Nest!

    Freckled nest workshop 1
     

    Clicking around online to find new worlds is quite fun, and it's how I found Freckled Nest!  Leigh-Ann (I'm partial to her name myself) selected her blog name intentionally.  Freckled = "I looooove when people have freckles; they're like human polka dots!"   &  Nest = "Nests totally feel like the way I create my art; I take found pieces from around my community, work them together and let my stories live there."

    Leigh-Ann recently prettied up and organized her workshop, and the result is happy indeed!

    Freckled nest workshop 2

    Freckled nest workshop 3

    Freckled nest workshop 4

    images: freckled nest

  • the prettiest of packaging

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    just for you, originally uploaded by KisforCalligraphy.

    In catching up on blog reading, I’ve been reading posts at Oh, Hello Friend and discovered a post showing the packaging for many participants in a “lovely package exchange” which happened Fall 2009.
    (www.ohhellofriend.blogspot.com)

    I mention this because Danni of Oh, Hello Friend is planning another swap in 2010. Will post details here when that happens.

    Meanwhile, I have some items to mail out, and the pretty parcel pictures have inspired me to spiffy up what I send out – just to make the recipient’s day!