Oh, dear readers, what have I gotten myself into??? You may all run away after you see this. But please don’t. I would be so lonesome! I want honest feedback!
Want to see more.
Never show one of these again.
John and Michaela were most intrigued by their mother sitting over here at the computer with the webcam making a video. I am approved, they say, as long as I don’t go too crazy and start singing and dancing.
Do I have a southern accent? I guess I say GIT instead of GET…?
Now, and I can assure you that I do say NOW a lot in real life. I am not sure how many times I said it in the video, but I said it. Yeah. I want to show you some things I have fallen in love with at LuLu’s!
Do you not ADORE this entire look? This skirt is not so short that I wouldn’t wear it. The boots are gorgeous! And they have heels! Ahhh, be still my heart. The shirt is modest and bright.
Do you love this little Fatso Beagle as much as I do. Look at her dainty little paws and her wild eyes! That’s my Annie! She was all decked out in her sweater today for our walk. She exchanged nose kisses with another Fatso Beagle in the apartment complex. She barked at two big dogs. She ran after (and pulled me along) a dog out jogging with its owner. What a fun day for Annie.
In WORLD TRAVEL NEWS I’ll be trotting the globe tomorrow, as in out and about all day, so I will likely not get to post in the morning (THURSDAY MORNING) as per my usual. So I am checking in now to say to you a sweet North Carolina g’night and to ask you something.
What if I did a tutorial on hairstyles? Like a real honest-to-goodness video showing how to do a hairstyle. I am sort of liking this one I had going on today. What say ye? Yay? Nay? Would you like hair tutorials?
Anyway, gives me something to think about. And you too, for that matter. Not that we don’t already have loads of STUFF in our heads.
I missed you yesterday. And most of today. My internet has been down due to an “off-line” modem that led me through a maze of phone calls, troubleshooting by phone, an appointment, waiting…waiting…waiting… and finally INTERNET IS CONNECTED! I had planned yesterday to share a messy hair bun with you, but alas it did not happen.
Primping in the bright apartment… er uh, Rose Cottage window. I recently found the gray hooded T shirt for a few bucks at G.W. Boutique. It’s very soft but not too heavy. Perfect for these days we have this time of year in North Carolina when it’s not really cold but definitely not warm yet.
Also found a really cool book about the history of cats. It has some breathtaking pictures in it. (TERRY, it made me think of you!) Some scary pictures, some sweet pictures, and some unbelievable information. But I believe it.
Now about the messy hair. Sometime I just like a messy hair bun, but I do NOT mean just pulled back tight in a rubberband so that it is flat on top. No. I want style I guess, but not anything fancy.
I first comb the hair out. I use a big comb more than a brush to try and help care for my long hair. Brushes can really break hair. Oh, and hair that’s really clean makes the BEST messy bun. At least for me.
I comb up the hair at the crown and fluff it up a bit for some LIFT.
I pull back some hair on each side, not too tight and not too much, and it’s okay if some of the hair in the back falls partly over the combs.
Then I start twisting up the back. You can see how the hair is falling over the comb and giving a layered, messy look.
It’s okay if a few hairs stick out around the bun. I put at least TEN pins in loosely all around the bun.
Counting… EIGHT NINE TEN.
BUN is DONE.
MESSY MESSY but feels DRESSY.
I hope your FRIDAY has been wonderful and full of JOY. I am working this evening and trying to make up some time. Who knew I loved my internet so much! Not I.
It is just the kind of question a teenager asks when his mom is posing in front of a camera. You know, by herself, with the camera set up on a timer. And goodness me! if old mother should do anything other than just stand looking lost.
Well, I ain’t dead, even though when I was 17 I also thought my mother was old. Ya. But now I realize how very young 49 is! Yup. I am on the heels of 49 years old. Come March, with its blowin’ wind one day and lamb-like nature the next, I will be 49 years young.
So when I was modeling in front of my dreamy English cottage (I wish) and my 17-year-old son said with a big smile on his face, “What kinda pose is that?” I smiled right back at him.
It’s the kinda pose your mama does because she has a blog that about a dozen people like to read and you have to take pictures if you have a blog.”
He laughed and said, “Oh.”
Not to take a single thing away from my amazing son, who tells me multiple times every day that he loves me, but I get the drift. And that was the end of that. Anyway, would you just look at this delightful English cottage I have picked out? Can you hear the tea kettle whistling inside? Please come visit me there soon.
Actually, dears, the reason I had to strike such a pose was to show you the new lavender-flower-covered summer dress I found! With its perfectly fitted waist and its little cotton slip ready made into the dress. But it is truly made for summer, so into the closet it goes this last day of January, to wait a few more months.
In the meantime…
You are seeing the polka dotted skirt again, but mostly because I love it so much and because I especially liked it with this long very-dark-blue smock-style shirt with a perfect little black Peter Pan collar.
Set off with a brooch, the collar is in fact very striking. Hair’s a bit in the way, but this is sort of a hair post anyway, so I figured we’d work around that.
Thought I would share a picture of what the long hair looks like after a night of being braided. One of the challenges of having long hair is finding ways to style it. It’s a big plus to have long, unlayered hair when you are in the mood for a long-hair up-do. On the other hand, it’s a huge challenge to find a way to wear it up each day. I occasionally remind myself that I love having long hair by wearing it down from time to time.
I love the little heart-shaped, fabric covered buttons at the sleeves. It’s a good shirt.
Well, tons of stuff to do today! It’s bright and wonderful here today! I even have a window open! Little Annie sleeps close by on the purple chair. My to-do list has been dented severely this morning. It’s a good day!
I wanted to share with you some Vintage Magic that is right in downtown Hillsborough, North Carolina. Have you heard of Hillsborough? If not, you might want to look it up somewhere and see all the Revolutionary War history that resides in little historic Hillsborough. Anyway, they have a great little shop called Vintage Revival. Here are some WONDERful pictures from my Christmas shopping visit there.
Every room was magic! Dine with me here?
The bright silver was reflecting every little twinkling light!
You know this was one of my favorite little spots, right? Yeah? I love it! I really want to make a vintage dressing table area for My Princess of the Universe.
What do you think of the colors on the wall. The light blue and the brown in the CHICKIE print? I like it! I do!
And the very GIRLIE GIRL chandeliers! Oh my! I want one or two or ten.
NOEL. NEST. JOY. Yeah. JOY JOY JOY. Every corner was brightly lit and there was MERRY music playing.
Love the old cabinet and the YELLOW color there. Ahhhh. Bring me color! The vibrant WHITE of JOY. The REDS of LOVE. Every SHADE! The BLUE of CONTENTED CALM. The OLD YELLOWS and GREENS of TIMES PAST where the spirit of our ancestors still teach us things! COLOR ME HAPPY!
Bright lights? Pink? Crystals? Be still my heart! I am in love!
Now, dear readers, you know it would not be right if I did not share my G.W. Boutique finds and maybe a thought about hair.
“Petticoat” 3.00. Cotton skirt 3.00. White blouse 3.00. Flower pin made from a silk flower.
Sometimes I want a high ponytail, or even just a ponytail, but if you have long hair you know how hard this can be! The weight of your hair pulls the ponytail down. And the hair hanging down gets tangled up!
Maybe I can describe this.
Pull the hair up high like you are going to put it in a ponytail.
Twist it around tight as if you were going to put in a bun, going around only one time.
When you get the hair around one full time and back at the top of the “bun”, reach your hand through the bun (loop of hair) from the outside and pull the long rope of hair through.
Pull tight and pin the bun part all around the sides with bobby pins.
This keeps the hair up high enough to not get so tangled on the back of your shirt all day. It will stay up!
As I work this morning, I am thinking of the timeline/goals for THE ALICE TREE, for those who are joining me! We have to read the book, you know! Or at least parts of it!! Today I will put together a SCHEDULE. The TREE needs to be up by the end of the second week of JANUARY 2012 so we can enjoy it! Because you know in February we will have a Valentine Tree.
Will you walk with me? Remember when we used to take our little walks through The Little Wild Garden? Ahh, those days are days of the past. But it is okay. I have a place for us to walk, and I think you’ll like it. The land is not mine, but is any land really mine? It is on the periphery of the apartment complex. There are beautiful colors this time of year. Muted, yes. Dull, no!
And a girl can always array herself in bright colors, which will stand out all the more against a backdrop of nature’s winter pallette.
Another fun 3 dollar dress!
All that’s left of what once was, perhaps even prettier than before.
The other day while out shopping, I saw a quotation that stopped me and caused me to pause for a moment.
“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will not themselves be realized.” ~Daniel Burnham
I will add to this myself by saying that if you do make big plans, you must surround yourself with people who share your vision, or your plans will never be realized at all. Not even the smallest parts.
The life blood of the plant is gone, but the delicate frame stands on. It will crumble during winter and be replaced by new life!
I love the tiny bit of red. Actually, I adore the colors in this picture and can see a future kitchen with these colors. Can you? I am sure that as my life unfolds, you will get to see all the details. I hope you will still be walking with me!
Grass. A field of weeds and wild flowers. Trees beyond. Who would guess that a very busy highway is hidden in the midst of the trees!
Also love these colors! I can see just a very tiny touch of this green in my new home as well. New home. I believe.
I was so tempted to venture into the woods and do yet more exploring, but these woods are not mine and I did not want to tempt any neighbors or property owners to be upset with me!
So beautiful! These tiny blue-gray berries entice me to stand and admire. Yet another color I can see in my future. Don’t you think!?
I hope each of you have wonderful winter holidays! Enjoy time with family! Take joy!
Sometimes I like for my hair to be up really neatly. But sometimes I like a messy up~do. Just wish I could do it better! It can take a LOT of effort to make something look messy and good at the same time. Isn’t that crazy!! That we would spend time to look messy?
Hey, the chopsticks don’t even match! I know it’s not SUCH a messy hairstyle, but it’s not too neat either!
This second bun is not meant to be messy but more casual, I guess. I think it’s another sort of anime bun. For Karate? Yes?
For more hairstyles, we have quite a few pages on our homeschool blog.
I kept thinking about Grandma Jewel’s hair all swept to the side. While I won’t be sporting any bright red lipstick, I decided to get a bejeweled (no pun intended) hairpin and sweep my hair over to the side.
Somehow I got carried away in Gimp and ended up with a bird on my shoulder and my shop name blaring across the front. I just have way too much fun with a computer.
In other news, I have not said anything, but two weeks ago tonight I spent the evening in a cardiac bed in the ER. PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) dotted the rhythm strip. Lots of them. Lots of tears. Lots of stress. Numb hands. Anxiety. And lab work showing a low potassium.
Do not underestimate the power of stress. I am not sure what happened. I am going to believe that my body is not going haywire, but that I diuresed myself free of potassium with too much caffeine two days prior, which was likely helped along by running on the treadmilll, and oh yeah, it’s been about 100 degrees.
I was given potassium. And Ativan. I have been eating lots of potassium rich foods, resting more, and today I made some potassium broth with this recipe:
There have been a few times that these palpitations have come back. It’s scary, but the doctor assured me that my heart looks fine on x-ray and EKG, while he gently patted my arm and said that the amount of stress I was under was surely a large part of this.
Anyway, I am running after joy. Don’t try to catch me! But you can run with me if you want to!
I was leafing through an old Victoria the other day. I love my Victoria magazines, and every time I think to get rid of them, I think again. Anyway, this hair style caught my eye: the neatness of it and the flower at the side.
And it’s not even a long hair thing. Her hair looks like it might be short. It’s the “romantic” of it. It is the neatness and the coolness and the sophistication of it.
So I set off for the craft table (way across on the other side of the apartment) and started pulling out flowers.
Not quite the same. Not as elegant. But I think that a ribbon with a couple or three flowers hot-glued in place turned out okay! I was happy. I felt quite Victorian. And that, folks, will come in very handy for when I go to England to become a nanny.
Anyway, enough about that.
Now, are you ready for what was in the Goodwill when it screamed out my name? Are you sure? Are you sitting down?
Well, are you?
Are you sure?
There was nothing with flowers, really, but there was something bigger and better!
Lately I had almost given up on finding a sofa for the long half wall in the apartment. I wanted one long enough and firm enough that either of my two oldest boys could sleep on when they came to spend the night. But everything was too expensive. I knew I’d have to wait. And then I kept thinking that if I did find something it would be too big to get in the van.
You won’t be believing this, but the one and only Goodwill I went into yesterday (a different one from the one with the farm table) had this sitting in the back of the store.
Almost as soon as I saw it, I could tell it was a sectional. It was clean. Oh, very clean. It was firm. It was nice. It was $26.99.
WHAT?
I think the reason it was donated and the reason it was so low in price was because of a large tear along the seam of one of the cushions. But it’s along a seam. Anyone who sews knows that that might be repaired! I can probably stitch it up. But since I am covering everything with flowers anyway, why could I not cover it with a large quilt? A yellow, creamy white, and lavender quilt fit over it perfectly. The quilt is king size if that gives you an idea of the size of this sofa. The magic of it was that I could carry it home in pieces. The other magic was that this is the Goodwill closest to my home. Five minutes? Maybe?
I am so grateful. What would life be without little (and sometimes big) surprises to look forward to?
There’s nothing that gets me in the mood to make my house and myself look pretty (well, a girl can try) like a Victoria magazine. I’ve been flipping through some June Victoria magazines this morning and now I am totally in the mood to clean the house from top to bottom, getting every little thing just right, and then I’ll sit down with some herbal tea and just enjoy. (Like I said before, a girl can dream!)
This morning I stepped outside to see if I could catch a bladder campion bloom that was open, and I did! The books say that they only bloom in the evening or overcast weather. I’ll be watching to see if that’s true of my little flowers. The sun is bright at this point and while the bloom is still there, it’s withered on the ends.
Yesterday I was looking for new hairstyles and found a bunch of videos on YouTube that I totally enjoyed! They are by a very lively lady named Torrin. If you want to visit her hair videos, you can go here: Torrin’s Page. Enjoy.
I think the infinity bun turned out great. Since I love using only hairsticks to keep my hair up, this is a perfect and easy style for summer. Keeps you cool, easy to do, looks romantic with wonderful white summer dresses.
Here’s sort of a different view for you. Sorry it’s so dark. My hair is rather dark, so it’s sometimes hard to get a picture that shows detail.
As far as summering up the wardrobe, I tried to talk myself into staying away from “GW Boutique” for awhile, but it was calling loudly to me and I found a ton of lovely summer things this week, including a new white summer dress for about $4.00. (“New” is a matter of opinion.)
Here’s a little closer-up view, so that maybe you can see some detail of the dress. It’s a twirly fun dress that zips of the back, so it fits nicely and looks sweet, if I do say so myself.
I must get busy doing my Victorian-esque cleaning and dressing-up fun today.
I am the mother of four delightful children: a 23-year-old son, a 20-year-old son, a 17-year-old son, and a bright and bubbly 13-year-old daughter. I share an apartment home with my 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter. My little home on the internet is called Rose Cottage because of my love for gardening, roses, and all things romantic and Victorian. Welcome.
I'm a North Carolina girl and I love sharing North Carolina links and information. I do medical transcription from home. My hobbies include making sweet little dolls from clay who are named and have their own stories to tell. I also make old-fashioned brooches. These are for sale in my Etsy shop.
For 13 years continuously, I homeschooled some or all of our four children, but the time came that our homeschool had to be closed. It was the end of a beautiful chapter in my life. I will always be a strong supporter of homeschooling and I will continue to review books and maintain my homeschool website, The Healthy Homeschool.
To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony.
William Henry Channing
1810-1884
What You Do
Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.
I want honest feedback!
for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
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