So Sew Organized

If I showed you this picture and said, "I visited here last week!" where would you guess I had been? Would you believe me if I said I never left Nova Scotia?? That is right, on our mini-vacation last week (just a couple of days away before school started for the kids) we went to the other side of the province to visit another pastor's family...and managed to get some beach time in the process! We visited the island of Lockeport, on the southeast shore of Nova Scotia. Here it is identified by a green arrow: Just to give you an idea, the blue arrow shows approximately where I live. The drive over to Lockeport (following that red line) was a two hour drive. We were able to spend a couple of hours at Crescent Beach. We had no idea we were going to get to experience a sandy beach! Made me miss my time in Florida! Despite being only 60-ish degrees, the kids still got in to enjoy the waves. On our side of the province , the waves in the Bay of Fundy aren't very exciting. But...

It is no secret that I love me some coffee. I mean, it even made its way into my profile, for pete's sake! Most of the time I prefer to hover over a mug of something steamy, but during the summer months I also enjoy an iced coffee from time to time. I shared my method of creating my homemade iced coffee perfection with you before, but decided to try a new method last month! I borrowed the idea from Mandi over at Life...your way, who had posted her iced coffee method a while ago. Well, I half borrowed it. I kinda deviated from the plan a little. Here is how mine went down: Per Mandi's instructions, I put 1/4 cup of grounds in 1 cup of water and let it sit overnight. At first I thought 1/4 cup seemed like a lot, but come to find out that isn't too much more than what I would use to make a normal cup of coffee, anyway! A french press would have made this method a whole lot smoother, but I don't have one, so I improvised. Instead of straining through cheesecloth, I just ...

On Monday, I posted a review of the book “Words That Hurt, Words That Heal” by Carole Mayhall. (There is also a pretty sweet giveaway at the end of that post , so hurry over there to enter if you haven’t already!) This book, which I read recently as part of my personal devotions, sparked a lot more thoughts and changes on my part than I could cover in a simple book review. I’m excited to address some of those thoughts today and gain some insight from you in an area that I am still working on improving. Chapter 1 of this book briefly addressed the area of encouragement . The author spoke of a brief conversation with her husband, in passing him on the stairs, that changed the outlook of the day for both of them. She speaks of talking with a well-known author who encouraged those around her. A neighbor encouraged her with some rolls and a simple note. Perhaps the most challenging was this man’s quote: “I don’t think I’ve had more than twenty minutes with Bob...and those have been in two...

I like to change things up in my personal devotions from time to time. Some might do the same routine day in and day out, year after year, but I like to add variety and look at different scriptures from a new perspective. One way I do that is to occasionally work through a devotional book that focuses on one particular theme of scriptures. A couple weeks ago I chose Words That Hurt, Words That Heal by Carole Mayhall off my shelf. I had read this for college years ago, but I’ll admit that was a more superficial reading. This time I wanted to dig into the truths of this book and really glean what I could about my speech. The topic of a Christian’s speech - particularly mine - has been an ongoing study for me for years as I am visited with different passages, books or sermons on the subject. This book brought some other things out that convicted me of my speaking to others! It is a short book, only 10 chapters, but packed with truths and practical suggestions to help us tame th...

Ready to see more of Nova Scotia? Last week I took you on a virtual tour of Forgotten Memories and gave you a taste of the neat shops we have in our area. Today I have another one for you, highlighting some of the things that caught my eye and just generally encouraging you to stop by! Come and visit Atlantic Heirlooms! Right off the bat I stopped to enjoy this little guy on the porch. Sitting on an antique desk (whyohwhy didn't I get a picture of the whole desk????) I couldn't get over how cute he was with those flowers. He would totally be great for Hot Chocolate, too...I've never seen another like it! Once I went inside, you know what caught my eye first...these unique dishes! I've never seen a set with this orange tint to them. The tag read, "Normandie 'Bouquet & Lattice' 1933-1940." The set of 47 pieces was $495. What a neat set this would be to own! I absolutely LOVE that the plates are divided! :) These old rolling pins and the crock made a...