Friday Featured Etsy Seller: Garnet Girl Designs

Madelynn Cassin offers beautiful creations in metal and gemstone in her Etsy shop, Garnet Girl Designs. I am really in love with this aquamarine ring. If I didn't already have a wedding ring, I would seriously consider this one. My husband's birthstone is an aquamarine, and I think this would be a rather elegant option.

Thursday Text: T.S. Eliot

A couple of weeks ago when we had to speak in church, Tony shared a quote by T.S. Eliot that I really liked. It's from Little Gidding:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Gliding Love Seat

We're starting to think about furniture that we'll need at our new rental house in Illinois. There's one thing we found that I keep thinking about. Kansas City is home to one of the huge Nebraska Furniture Mart stores, and we like to go browse. We found a gliding love seat that looked like the sofa below. It's pretty basic, but I'm enthralled by the idea of having a glider. We have a porch swing now, and we love to sit on it. Maybe this is the next best thing...

Aggie Ice Cream

Something that always sounds good is Aggie Ice Cream. When I was going to college at Utah State University, I would walk home to the dorms past the food science building. I didn't get Aggie ice cream very often, but I did like to buy the yogurt that they made. You could get freshly-made plain yogurt with fresh berries mixed in. Delicious! (Yes, that is Aggie Blue Mint.)

Polaroid PoGo

Have you heard about the latest from Polaroid? It's an instant digital camera that will print 2x3" sticky-back prints. Isn't that amazing?! I think it sounds like a lot of fun. And it uses a new technology that doesn't require ink for printing. Wow.

Friday Featured Art: Leaf, Botanical Art

A couple of years ago, my sister Sara and her family gave us a beautiful framed leaf for Christmas. The leaf art is made by Owen Mortenson, who used to share a studio with Joe. The interesting thing was that she gave us a tulip tree leaf, and we didn't yet know that tulip trees grow in Missouri. It was a happy coincidence. I also like this piece with ginkgo leaves and was interested to find out that Owen also does botanical pendants. I love the Queen Anne's lace.

Thursday Two Things: Gateway Arch/Hancock Tower

Architecture is something that tends to be distinctive about a city or region. So, here is another set of something that I'll miss when I leave Missouri and something that I'm looking forward to in Illinois.

1. Missouri - the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. (I take tons of pictures of it every time we're in St. Louis because it's so fascinating to me.)


2. Illinois - the John Hancock Center. Tony took me to the Signature Room at the 95th for dinner once, and it was fabulous. Now we usually go up to the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor for great views of Chicago like this one (below).

Sensibly Styled

Are you following the blog Sensibly Styled yet? It's a blog that gathers modest clothing options from mainstream stores and puts them all in one place. For me, it's a great reminder that there are options out there that aren't short, sleeveless, skimpy, etc.

Martha Stewart Lighting

I came across more lighting options from Martha. I really like the Schoolroom Milk Glass collection. Aren't these ceiling lights pretty?

Stark Brothers

This isn't the best picture because I took it out the window of a moving car, but I really love this barn. It has a bear and says Stark Trees Bear Fruit. It's for the Stark Brothers Nursery in Louisiana, Missouri - along the Mississippi River.