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Eye Wonder by Monat, now officially one of my must-have products. Middle pic is my eyebrows with no make up. Last pic i added a little brow filler. I'm needing less and less. Msg me if you want to know more about Monat! They are known for restoring hair, my hair is definitely growing in thicker, but it's still fine and frizzy. Stay tuned! I'm very honest about what works and what doesn't.
L A N E 🚴♀️ E N D S
{Meaning here on this sofa you can sit for a spell and do nothing!}
One reason I shop small/local/thrifted is for the sheer artistry of something special. Sure, this brass lamp is Target and the coffee table is Wayfair. But the bicycle sign is old and real, the vase is unusual, the side tables are solid wood with original hardware.
If you're local (Twin Cities) and you're in the market for authentic home goods, come with me to Junk Bonanza on September 26-28. Early Bird tix will get you in the door at 8 a.m. on the first day, and are good for all three days ($25 online, $30 at the door). Otherwise, the daily tix are only $10. Regular times are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This show is a local treasure, designers fly in from all over the country to source furniture and art. Come and be amazed. And maybe I'll see you there!
See Stories for some of my favorite finds from over the years. I am such a fan!
What's the best deal or cool thing that you ever bought? Free counts, too!
Have a blessed and restful day, my friends!
Xoxo
~Take my moments
And my days
Let them flow
In ceaseless praise~
I spy littles on the living room floor...it's amazing how I can shoot around the kids when I'm styling! And truly, the people are the main thing, even though for a decorator they're the wild card. These are the days! Let them flow in ceaseless praise! [Remind me of this at 4 p.m. when I am ALL WORN DOWN BY THE MESS AND THE NOISE]. Since school has started I'm back in the swing of things for consults and design. Free initial consult for the month of September, if you live in the Twin Cities area! (Link in bio or dm me). Have a beautiful Friday my friends.
Xoxo
~Take my moments
And my days
Let them flow
In ceaseless praise~
I spy littles on the living room floor...it's amazing how I can shoot around the kids when I'm styling! And truly, the people are the main thing, even though for a decorator they're the wild card. These are the days! Let them flow in ceaseless praise! [Remind me of this at 4 p.m. when I am ALL WORN DOWN BY THE MESS AND THE NOISE].
Since school has started I'm back in the swing of things for consults and design. Free initial consult for the month of September, if you live in the Twin Cities area!
(Link in bio or dm me).
Have a beautiful Friday my friends.
Xoxo
The porch was very good to us this year, even though the little green tree frog thought it was a port-a-potty.
The most golden moments were when we were reading together/alone, or lighting sparklers, or watching Isaac fly his drone, and a pair of geese - sometimes a gaggle of geese - would swoop down upon the pond, landing in a cacophony of splashed water.
It feels like praise, like all the creatures Praise Him, glory pouring forth from all sides, from the sky and the birds and the water and the trees, bringing sparks of joy to this summer that was full of sorrow.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
[What is topping your gratitude list today? I'll put mine in comments]
Xoxo
T O D A Y
🍇Our youngest daughter's birthday (first time in her life she's been away on her birthday. It's fine, I'm fine).
🍇Our little boy starts first grade
🍇Mama has a few precious hours to spend however I like!
{Bless all the teachers extra today. WE LOVE YOU.}
What do you do with a bit of free time? Do you like to schedule something, or leave it wide open to adventure?
Well here we are. The last day of what I realize now, was a very hard summer. The summer started with a Great Loss, and while the grief has settled down for most of us, there are ripple effects that are so painful. I often take care of my little niece and nephew. Let me tell you. Their little world is not easy. The days with them are not simple right now.
And in addition to the loss, we had a full, loud busy house. If you know me, you know I like a quiet, empty, peaceful house. Unless it's Christmas or a birthday or any special family event. But normal day to day, I love quiet.
So I say Goodbye, summer. You were full of tears (and laughter), messes (and beauty), hard work (and some rest). You held a lot. I feel like Jesus entrusted me with a big task, and in some ways I fell short. I can't believe, honestly, what He expects of me sometimes. It's somewhat affirming, that He actually thinks I am up for this.
Do you ever feel that way? That you are not actually cut out for the life you've been given?
~You hem me in
Behind and before
You have placed your hand upon me~
{The song running through my head this morning}
Xoxo
As the days unfold
hold your breath to see -
Life is a mystery.
And joy, it is severe,
when the way is rough and steep
The LORD will make your days complete.
{Garrels, "Benediction"}
Hold the child, look into his eyes, walk in the meadow, climb the hill, taste the apple, laugh from your belly, run with all your might, read all the truest books, lie down in green grass, let yourself be fully beloved.
How sweet are these days the Lord gives us.
What makes you feel most alive? I bet it's not Netflix or shopping. Just saying. 💛
Have a beautiful day, my friends.
Big sky + country road + all of life ahead
Childhood is wonder
Do you have a summer memory that's especially sweet? I loved the simple moments, like walking to the mailbox in late afternoon.
Wildflowers and sunshine to welcome the day! My only plan for fall decor (till I bring in pumpkins) is to add golden accents here and there. How about you? Are you changing up your house yet?
Have a beautiful week my friends.
Raise my hands
Paint my spirit gold
And bow my head
Keep my heart slow
{Mumford}
On my heart today: sadness over going to church without my sidekick || praying hard for .co's little girl || pondering the narrow way that leads to life as described in the recent podcast.
Paint my spirit gold, lead me in the way everlasting, for You are Life, and in Your light we see light.
[Still giving away these crookneck summer squash, any takers?]
Praying you all have a slow-heart, golden day.
Xoxo
Today is a good, prayed-for, dream-come-true day. Then why can't I stop crying? I think it got hard the minute I realized that we wouldn't see her on her birthday. This is entirely wrong. And all the memories come flooding back, of having her in the wee hours of the morning, in a peaceful dim room, it was so calm and quiet. That delivery was my first with an epidural, so there was no screaming or pulling of [my husband's] hair. Just us and our beautiful newborn, she was peaceful from the very beginning.
And then, so many pictures of her entire childhood flood my mind. How she watched her brothers and sister, with her big serious brown eyes. How she babbled as a toddler, loudly! It's the only time she was ever loud. The Little House years, we fully embraced that world. Home schooling after I had Malachi, she was really self motivated so all it did was make my life easier. It's not that every day has been perfect or every year easy. But all together, they make a golden chain of golden days.
And I will never be ready for it to end. The thing about having babies is, their childhood is your youth. And when their childhood ends, in a way, your youth ends (except it was different with Malachi, since I was older). So they grow you up.
She grew me up in so many ways.
I'm so grateful. Sobbing hard. But grateful.
Cosmos flowers + new LED porch lights. Because our electric bill is shocking, and my hubs blames the porch lights.
😜🤩
Anyone else surprised by your electric bill this summer? How 'bout that grocery bill? Sometimes I just wanna live off the land and off grid!
Have a beautiful Wednesday, my friends!
Xoxo
I had to crop the floor here, because I had washed it by dragging a clean damp cloth over it with my foot, and all the swipe marks showed. Because that's how I roll. I clean fast and furious. The motto is, Get Er Done.
{Original pic in Stories}
The morning is fresh and bright, the birds singing as if it was still June and everything beginning anew, but summer is waning and the chill in the air tells us that autumn is moving closer. August always seems to sneak up on us.
Are you a Summer person or a Fall person? Seems like no one is Both.
Blessings on your Monday my friends.
Xoxo
A tea party, with real china and actual teacups, and the dearest friends who have gone through fire and lived to tell about it, and a happy bride who is looking forward to a lovely fresh season.
He makes everything beautiful in His time, that is a for sure promise, but hard to hold onto sometimes, when the days are dark.
Are you still using your wedding gifts? Which gift had the best longevity? For us it's this white china, and a vintage crock, and a wooden caddy. That sure doesn't sound like much. But kind of makes sense, since I like to hunt for housewares.
Blessings on your Sabbath!
Xoxo
Blue ceiling || watercolor by Julia || vintage nightstands
This is my little sanctuary and the room in my home where I can breathe the best. Do you have a place like that?
He restores my soul, and I am ever grateful.
The rainbow reminds us that His promises stand forever.
We are on vacation and I'm not sure I want to come home. It's cool and sunny and beautiful here in northern Minnesota. I love being away with just the four of us. We eat simple meals, and we hike a lot, which is another phrase for going on dangerous walks. And we sit on rocky beaches, watching the incredible lake. This is our time to be alone, together. It's so healing.
🌸🦋🌸
{And when I get home I'll want to be entirely alone and not talk to anyone for a few days....are you guys like that, too? All this Togetherness begets Isolation. I'll be locked in the closet, if you're wondering.}
Now tell me your favorite vacation spot!
In the garden, alone, just birds doing their thing and butterflies living their best life (all three days of it, full-on glory), and the sky shifting into new watercolors every few minutes, all of it a movable feast of beauty. Summer pouring along, sand through my fingers. I am never really alone these days, but sometimes in the garden I find that I can draw a deeper breath. That pure air that I notice when I have time alone, but am not lonely.
I am one who too easily idolizes privacy, but I will take these rare private moments as gifts from my Father who loves me and has never let me have things exactly as I would wish them to be.
Friday and the morning has been beautiful. Even though I am all kinds of weepy just thinking about my baby girl going off to college. If you have a baby, hold them and cuddle them and look into their big eyes. Seize the day!
So I'm going to go find my tiny and be so thankful I have him. That's what my college roommate just reminded me as she encouraged me via text. 💙
Have a wonderful weekend my friends! If your weather is awful, come to Minnesota. It's 61° warming up to mid 70s, we are in the sweet spot here.
"Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." {Jesus, as he was about to leave his friends and return to heaven}.
No one will take away your joy.
Such a good, good word.
~The One who has called us
is more powerful
than all of the uncertainty
we're facing~
{B. Goff}
Maybe someone needs to hear that this morning. I know I do. Every day brings new uncertainties.
Also I'll take book recs....not that I have time to read much. When do you take time to read? I just read for a few minutes before falling asleep. So nothing scary! Just tell me your very top favorite non-frightening book. Thanks luvs.
Xoxo
This might be the last peony pic. Maybe. No promises.
Yesterday was busy and we all went in every direction. I'm hoping for more quiet time today, time to just be together.
What's on your Slow-Sunday agenda?
s a t u r d a y
There's a new freshness in the air, but I am in denial that summer will ever really end.
Here's to simple quiet weekends, clean sheets, wildflowers, and games after supper.
(We've been playing Sushi-Go, Nertz, and Yahtzee. What's your favorite game?)
Xoxo
~When it's all been said and done
All my treasures will mean nothing
Only what I've done for love's reward
Will stand the test of time~
{A beloved song by Robin Mark, have you heard this one?}
As summer keeps flying by, and we continue to walk in step with grief, and fresh joys and sorrows keep arising, I hope I can live by these words. It's not always easy.
I have not had time to thrift or shop lately, but I'm hankering to redo the shelf styling here. What would you do? More black? Different pottery? Shoot me your ideas!
Blessings on your day, beloveds.
Xoxo
~Your beauty and love
chase after me
every day
of my life~
{Psalm 23, The Message}
To shake things up if the house looks boring, try adding a vintage chair! Chairs are like sculpture, plus you need them anyway. They might as well be special.
Sources are tagged. Have a beautiful day, my friends.
Xoxo
Icees at the zoo!
~in this ever-moving world
there is still
a place for you~
{Morgan Harper Nichols}
I love this line so much. We are meant to take up space, to have a voice, to be visible.
Something happened yesterday that made me want to shrink myself down and be completely silent. It took hours to shake. Not an easy way to end the weekend. It takes courage to toss our hat into that ring, right?
How about you? Are you a hat-tosser, or a soul who tends to hold back?
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Xoxo
I'm about to place my order...this one really is too good to pass up! Ends tonight at midnight! Msg me if you want to place an order, or if you need help signing up!
We've been talking about Pipe Dreams lately, around our house. Real-life, attainable dreams that could actually come true. It feels vulnerable to share them. But it also feels hopeful. Mine have to do with design, and story-telling. I'll maybe share more in Comments. Want to share yours?
Happy Rest day friends. I hope the day reminds you of how good the Maker of your dreams, really is!
Xoxo
Most beautiful night of the year
With qualifying order, you can get these products at prices I've never seen before. This is a great time to sign up as a VIP or MP. I jumped right in as MP, because my hair needed serious help, and i wanted products at the best price i could get. Since January, I've only had to reorder one item (the hair spray). These products heal hair and last for ages!
Oh hey there Saturday hey....
Yesterday we had all our kids here, except for the one who is busy being a doctor, and Malachi is convinced that Krista is here for a long visit. He didn't want to lock the door last night, he was sure she was coming home! The kid is getting used to having all his sibs around. It sure makes life fun. Not sure what Malachi will think when August rolls around, a brother and a sister move out, and school starts. It will be a sad, hard time!
Have a blessed weekend my friends. Anyone else think that this summer is going too fast?
When the timothy grass waves in the wind on a summer afternoon. Life is beautiful.
Grass withers
Flowers fade
Only the Word
Lasts forever
Have a beautiful Friday! Any fun weekend plans?
My firstborn
Natalie is giving away a dry shampoo! The Champ is a top seller for Monat, take the quiz and be entered for the giveaway!https://hairquiz.monatglobal.com/3497100/nataliesagert/ca
~All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.~
{Leo Tolstoy}
(Not sponsored, i just want to support a new biz that helps victims of domestic abuse. I'm guessing we all know at least one victim. Perhaps we are the victim.)
Foto is of my adorable sister Joanie! Did you think this was me? 😍💗
Watching some skillz
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