Book Review- Southern Lady: Gracious Spaces

I always look forward to Tuesday afternoons. In the short two hours between teaching piano lessons and my evening activities at church, I grab a quick bite to eat, and then sit somewhere comfy with a good book. This is a habit I began when I was in the midst of the homework-every-spare-moment phase of college, but I grew to love the study time (particularly on warm days, sitting curled up in my car with the windows rolled down and a beautiful tree with sun-filled leaves to look at). 

Now that my college days are over, I have found the old routine quite relaxing, especially since I now get to study whatever I want, with no deadlines or grades to worry about! For example, right now I have been getting books from my local library about interior design, which is how I stumbled across the lovely little book Southern Lady: Gracious Spaces by Phyllis Hoffman.

 I had initially planned to scan quickly through the book, taking notes here or there as needed, but as I read the first few pages, I realized this was going to be a serious note-taking book. In fact, when I got to the back and saw all the helpful questions on the design worksheets, I decided to go online to Amazon.com and order myself a copy! (click here to find it!) 

In her opening remarks, the authoress points out that home should be a refuge where one can find rest and solitude. She encourages her readers to begin with what they love and gild the room with love, not just things. One of my favorite quotes from the book is "If you love something, wallpaper your life with it." When I read that, I was immediately caused to stop and think about the ways in which I was doing this as I have collected things for my eventual home, and it brought to mind some ideas of ways in which I could incorporate more of what I enjoy into my design schemes as I collect things now. 

Case in point: Staffordshire dogs... You know those often-creepy-but-classic china dogs that grace the fireplace mantles of so many English-style homes? Well, I think some of the homes I spent time in as a child must have had some, because I have always thought it would be nice to own some. I have always felt at home in English country-style rooms, and so with wallpapering one's life with what I love in mind, I saved a search on Staffordshire china dogs on eBay and I am currently waiting for just the right deal on just the right china dogs (of the non-creepy variety). 

 

But back to the book... 

There are many practical ideas and lots of good information for the beginner who knows nothing about organization or design, (i.e., people like me!) but the authoress does make a point to bring out the fact that beauty has a purpose in a home, and practicality and beauty need to walk hand-in-hand if a home is to be a place of refuge and rest. Let's face it, if a space is practical, but you hate everything in it, how restful can it be? 

Another topic the authoress touches on is hospitality. This is where I came across my other favorite quote from the book: "Opening our homes to others is a pleasure, and an opportunity to make another feel comforted and cared for." Seeing hospitality as a way to comfort and care for others really resonated with me. I'm a serving others sort of person... I secretly think I would have enjoyed waiting tables if teaching hadn't worked out... and to see hospitality as a way to serve down to the smallest details makes it much more of a priority to me. 

There is so much more in this book, but I want you all to have something to discover for yourselves when you read it, so I won't tell any more. :) I do heartily recommend the book as worth a read, though! 

A Stationary Place

Last week, my Sunday School teacher was teaching about the cloudy pillar and how it was used by God to guide His people. One of the applications he made resonated with me, and I thought perhaps you might benefit from it as I did.

In bringing some practical principles from the manner of God's leading the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land, my teacher stated an obvious fact which I had never really thought about: Some times, God led the Israelites to a place for the purpose of staying awhile. These stationary places were always for a purpose, and the parallel can be aptly made to God's leading in our lives.

Though the manner of God's leading is different for us than for the Israelites (I haven't seen any cloudy pillars around lately), the fact of His leading is nevertheless the same. Just like the Israelites, sometimes God leads us to places in life where we are to pitch our tents and stay awhile.

I think I am in one of those stationary places, and have been for a little while, and for the most part I am enjoying the benefits and blessings of this stage of life, but just like with any stage of life, some days it's just hard.

It was in the aftermath of one of those particularly hard days that the statement about stationary places came to mind. It made me stop and acknowledge that yes, I was struggling, not with the place I'm camped in, but the fact that I'm still here with no change in sight.

This thought was discouraging at first, but then the Holy Spirit tugged on my heart, reminding me that there can be no joy in following unless I am surrendered to the wisdom of God's guidance.

Imagine the absurdity of going to a country you had never been before, joining a tour group, and spending the whole time saying to your neighbors: "I don't know about this route... I mean, I 've never been here before, but I'm sure we should have taken that road over there... it looks far more suitable to me."

Yet, that's exactly the absurdity of my inward bemoaning of my stationary place. I was behaving just like a little child, impatiently tugging at her parent's sleeve and saying, "Come on, let's go!"

That gentle call to surrender prompted me to humbly acknowledge that God is my Guide, and I can trust His leading, however long His loving hand might require me to stay still.

I must admit that my long talk with the Lord about this didn't change the circumstances that had made the day so difficult, and it still felt hard, but at the same time, I could take those feelings to God and rest in the peace of knowing that this was what God in His infinite and loving wisdom had chosen for me, and that, dear reader, has made all the difference.

After all...

There is no true joy without surrender.

New Beginnings, Slow Transitions, and a Long, Straight Pathway

If you look at my blog posts, you will notice that it has been over four years since my last post. In that four years, I ramped up my college classes, finishing my degree just after beginning my school year with my 9^th class of elementary students. It has been an intense, busy, but oddly enjoyable long haul, and at first I had worried about integrating back into “real life” without homework taking up every spare moment. (Honestly, that hasn’t been as big a deal as I expected.) 

It has been so long since I began college, taking classes online during the summers, and occasionally during the schoolyear as well, that now it’s done, I feel like I am standing at the threshold of a new beginning. All these years I have been holding my breath, as it were, waiting to finish preparing and find what it is that God wants me to do. Now that my schooling is done, it’s time to stop waiting and start doing all those things I have been saying I would do “when I’m done with school”. So, in the light of New Beginnings, I am going to be posting on my blogs again.

Slow Transitions: Not only am I on the threshold of new beginnings, I am also newly embarked upon my thirtieth year. One aspect of turning thirty has been an increased awareness that I will at some point have to set up a home of my own, and I have slowly begun the process of looking through the things I have accumulated, and seeing what I might still need and what I already have (and what I might have but not actually want). 

A result of this has been a new hobby, which has spurred me on to learn more about dishes, especially the lovely blue and white Spode dishes I have begun collecting. (Because, if I have to eventually live by myself, I can at least have pretty dishes to eat off of!) 😊

In light of this new hobby, I will be beginning a new blog, which will be primarily about Spode dishes, although I may from time to time feature other brands of vintage dishes. This new blog is essentially a way to vent my newfound knowledge and to cast a vision for the appreciation of old-fashioned things. Come and see! www.thewindinthewillowware.blogspot.com

 

Now, I’ve never been one to melt into a puddle of emotional goo over my age, and I’m not about to start now, but turning thirty has made me stop and evaluate where I’m at and what it is that God wants me to do with my thirty-year-old self. 

That’s where the Long, Straight, Pathway comes in. All this time I’ve been looking forward to finishing one phase of life so that I could do what I was “really meant to do”. However, if I take a moment to stop and look around me, I seem to already be doing exactly what I am “supposed” to do. My path doesn’t have to change because I reach a milestone, and I don’t have to follow society’s expectations of what I should be and do. In Christ, I am free to be content with His chosen pathway for me, even though it does at times seem to stretch out endless and unchanging far into the distance.

  

After all, what right have I to demand to know what’s miles further down the road if I refuse to walk the stretch right before my feet? So here I am at thirty: walking, trusting, finding comfort and peace in being exactly where God has chosen for me to be.

Cooking for One: Tacos

The schoolyear has officially begun, and I found myself once again cooking for one as I made tacos for my school lunches this week. I have given myself a budget of $40 a month for my lunches and snacks. I had hoped to make it $20, but since I'm trying to eat more protien than carbs, (this week I'm splurging with the tacos) the price of meat and cheese made me re-think.

Since much of what I needed to make the tacos and the meat roll-ups (balogna slathered with cream cheese, rolled up and held together with a prezel stick) were staples that could be used again later in the month, I had a hard time keeping track of what I was spending for the week. I found a very helpful budget tracker app that enabled me to keep track of what I had spent for the month, and what I still had left.

When I was done making the tacos this morning, I realized that there was enough of everything to make another whole week's worth of food, so I put all the extra ingredients into a large plastic bag, which I labeled and froze.

Now, instead of eating tacos for two weeks straight, I can save money and time next month!

High Protein Granola

When it comes to breakfasts, I'm notoriously lazy if I'm only cooking for me. Since school is out for the summer, I decided to see if I could make this typically carb-laden breakfast food more balanced. After looking up some recipies on Pinterest, I found out how much dry material I was aiming for, and the correct ratio of wet ingredients, and then I looked around the kitchen and started throwing things in my measuring cup. I figured out the protien/carb amounts as I went and was able to make the carbs and protein even.

Homemade Granola

3/4c. Pumpkin seeds (shelled)
1/2c. Sunflower seeds (shelled)
2/3c. Almonds
2/3c. Chopped Walnuts
1/3c Rolled Oats
1T. Honey
1/4c. Oil
1/2c. Peanut or Almond Butter

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix honey, peanut butter, and oil together and microwave for about 10 seconds or until warm. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake until brown (about 20 minutes).

Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup

Sniffles and coughs have invaded our house thus weekend, so I decided to make chicken soup. I have heard that onion and garlic are immune-boosting foods, so I put in as much as I thought my family could stand. When I went to buy the chicken, there was only one chicken breast that was the right size, so I bought some chicken sausage, too, which turned out to be a really yummy addition! Then I added avocado at the end, and that made it even more yummy! This may have been the most delicious (and healthy) soup I have ever made!

Chicken Soup
1 medium chicken breast
1 lb. chicken sausage (or another chicken breast)
1 onion
4 (or more) cloves of garlic
4 ribs of celery
4c chicken stock, (or enough to cover the meat while it cooks)
1/2 Avocado per bowl (add just before devouring)

Dump all ingredients into a soup pot and boil until the meat is cooked and the vegtables are mushy. I added all the ingredients in whole or in large pieces, and when it was all cooked, I shredded the meats in our KitchenAid mixer and used our immersion blender (a very useful thrift store find!) to take care of the veggies. This made the soup very creamy, and it was pretty quick to make. If you do not have an immersion blender or a KitchenAid, the soup may not be as creamy, but it will still taste yummy!

Chicken Alfredo

Tonight I made a delicious low-carb version of my homemade pasta alfredo, which I have been missing lately. Basically, I substituted chicken for the pasta and served it over fresh spinach.

It turned out looking like this:

Mommy liked it, and so did I! The sauce gave the dish a "comfort food" feel, while the spinach added freshness and did not become slimy at all. It was also fairly fast to make. If one was in a hurry, It would be possible to use store-bought sauce, but homemade is always yummier.

Low-Carb Chicken Alfredo

Three chicken breasts, cut into small-ish pieces to cook quicker

4Tbsp. Butter
4Tbsp. Flour
2c. Milk

1tsp. dried Basil
1tsp. onion powder
1tsp. garlic powder
1c. Shredded Parmesan
1c. Shredded Mozzerella

Salt and pepper to taste. (I use lots of pepper)

1 bag fresh Spinach

Start cooking the chicken however you choose. (I fried it, and it took about as long as the sauce did to cook.)

Melt butter in a saucepan, then add flour and stir constantly until the mixture bubbles. Add milk extremely slowly, stirring well between each addition. Add seasonings and cook over medium heat until the sauce begins to thicken. (Don't forget to check the chicken!)

When sauce reaches desired thickness, add cheese and stir well. By now, your chicken should be done cooking as well, so you're all set!

Serve over fresh Spinach and enjoy!