Blog Redesign and Throwback Month!

Hello lovely readers!!

Were you a little worried,

when you first arrived at this blog page, thinking perhaps you had taken a wrong turn in ciber space?

Let me assure you, things may look a little different around here, but you did indeed

reach the same Gladness of Heart blog that you have {hopefully} come to know and love!

I decided it was time to update the look of the place,

make it more my own and move away from the pre-fabricated blog header and background.

What do you think?!

 {Seriously, please tell me!}

I still have a few little things to tweak here and there,

but for the most part, I love the new look!

Moving on to the next order of business:

In a stroke of irony, following on the heals of a new blog design,

I am dubbing September Throwback Month here on Gladness of Heart!

I will take you on a blast from the past with projects that I did before my blogging days,

and some that just got lost in the craziness of life and were never shared with you!
You know the type, I call them MIA projects- they happened, but then in the line
of blogging duty, they fell behind the schedule and just didn't happen.

If you are looking for a theme to blog to this month, I welcome you to join me!

This is a great excuse to show off some of your projects that you might

otherwise be a bit embarrassed to post because it was so long ago since you did them.

So what do you say, do you think you'll join me for a Throwback Month?
I hope to see you around!

Host a Clothing Swap Party!

Whoo!

What better way to clean our your closet than to have a fashion show 

with your good friends and get some new digs in return?!

That is just what three of my lady friends and myself did last Saturday

when I hosted what will most likely become an annual (seasonal?!) event!

I hosted a Clothing Swap Party!

If you haven't heard about clothing swaps, let me fill you in.

A clothing swap is like shopping your friends' closet.

Everyone brings an agreed minimum amount of items,

that can include clothes, accessories, shoes etc. that are in good, clean condition.

Our group agreed upon at least 10 pieces, and we kept it to clothing and accessories.

To make things easier, I recommend hanging up your clothing items.

We all pitched in and organized the clothes by tops, skirts, pants, and jackety-things (a new term we invented) and it made it go really quickly!

TIP:

I would recommend marking your hangers by tying a colored ribbon on them,

or putting a piece of colored tape around it, to avoid mix ups with other swappers.

After the clothes were all organized this is how I chose to proceed.

Instead of going at it all at the same time, we took turns, each lady drawing a number to determine what order we would 'shop' in.

But before we started shopping, we got to look over the items,

and each lady was given an equal amount of stickers that she could use to mark the pieces 

she wanted.

 When your turn came around, you were allowed to pick 3 pieces.

If two ladies had marked or 'claimed' the same item, we just did a little fashion show,

and had each one try on the piece, to see which it fit better.

 There really were no problems in this area, everyone was very gracious.

Once everyone had about three turns each, 

we just went in and picked through the leftovers together.

It was really relaxed, we simply asked, "Does anyone mind if I take piece," or "is anyone else interested in this?" and it worked out very smoothly.

Everyone ended up with several pieces that they really liked and looked great on them.

One thing I did notice that I found interesting was that on at least two occasions,

someone tried on a piece that they really weren't sure about, but when they modeled 

it in front of the others, they received a wonderful response that they hadn't expected!

It was a lot of fun and everyone agreed that we need to do it again

I ended up with a pretty intimate group, only four ladies including myself,

and I was worried there wouldn't be enough items to generate a good mix to choose from,

but it ended up working out great! Everyone brought more than 10 pieces, which helped a lot.

 

 Since it was a ladies get together,

I used it as a excuse to try out a new Pinterest recipe, and a special girly one at that!

I made these French Vanilla Cappuccino Cupcakes!

They turned out pretty good, although I would make a few adjustments in the future.

 

So there you have it, ladies get together with new clothes and dessert!

 I call that a triple win!

Have any of you been to a clothing swap? 

Anxious to host one?

I hope this gives you a great idea for a ladies night out!

Vote for a Cause, Make a Difference

Ok,

I'm just gonna come right out and say that I have a little fire burning under my bum today,

and I decided to set out and try to do something about it.

Here is the story.

Those of you who have been with me very long know that I have a heart

for India. Well, I try to put my money where my mouth is a support works

in that country, and one way that I do that is by giving to India Partners,

a Christ centered organization that aims at "partnering with the people of India in ministry by cultivating relationships, sharing resources, and encouraging self-sufficiency through the compassion and wisdom of Jesus Christ."

Today I read an email from India Partners and

learned that they have entered a photo contest hosted by Global Giving.

which will give $1,000 to the non-profit organization who's picture wins first place.

Such a great idea, and I was happy to cast my vote and support them.

And then I saw it.

 The organizations that are currently in top place

are not ones that are aimed at saving orphans,

providing a better education for children overseas, or funding urgent medical needs.

No.

The most championed causes in the lead right now are those that

aim to save abandoned birds, and street dogs.

This made me sad.

And then, very angry.

I love animals, y'all, and it does make me sad when they are mistreated.

But they are just that.

Animals.

I believe people are infinitely more valuable and important!

We are created in the image of God and have eternal destinies.

There should be no contest!

For me, this contest isn't so much about the actual photos,

but about the organization that the photo will support. 

This is the photo entered by India Partners.

By voting for India Partners, you help an orphan in India, like this girl, receive an education.

 If you feel the same as I,

please go VOTE for India Partners,

a reputable Christian based organization that is doing a good work,

and make your voice heard that people are more valuable than animals. 

All you have to do is go to the link above that says "go vote",

enter you email address, then wait for the confirmation email that will make your vote count.

The deadline for voting is August 29th!

And that is all.

Such a very little thing can make a big difference.

You could make a difference between $1,000 being thrown away on rescuing birds,

like the ones that sadly fly into our windshields every now and then, or by providing a better life

and education to a precious, orphaned child...a human being who has a calling and destiny.

Your vote stresses the importance of Christ's love to children.

Thank you for reading my little rant.

And thank you in advance on behalf of India Partners, for your vote!

Liebster Award

Lookie, lookie...I was twice nominated for the Liebster Blogger Award!

I really feel I should be getting a terrible blogger award y'all, instead of this.

I mean, I disappeared for about four months with no word.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure that falls under the terrible blogger distinction.

BUT...I will graciously accept these awards and try to get up on my blogging horse.
Actually, just as a little heads up, I am in the throes of redesigning my blog,
so get ready for an overhaul and face lift sometime in the future!

I also have some completed refashions (finally!) that I just need to
take 'after' pictures of, then I can share them with you!

Yep. Good things are coming!

Back to the present.
Or rather the past.

My first nomination came from the sweet McKenna over at Cherishing My Role.
Here are her questions and my answers to them.

1. (Hardest Question Ever) How would you describe yourself?
Creative, caring, passionate, stubborn, quietly opinionated,
intuitive, funny, cautious, curious, a dreamer, better one on one.

2. How would you describe your sense of fashion?
 Color. Always color.
Some days I'm elegant and retro, other days bright and boho.
I wear what is pretty and what makes me feel happy-- I don't limit
that to a certain style or era, because I love so many different ones.
But flowey things always make it into my closet.
Free, fun and colorful.

3. Favorite musical artist ever (Aren't these questions easy?)
 Ever? Ever?! Oh, why so hard?!
I'll make it somewhat simplified...my favorite instrument is the piano,
so I'm a sucker for a piece that tickles the ivory keys.
Like my fashion sense, I love (almost) all genres and types of music,
it depends on the mood I'm in and what I am doing at the time.

4. Favorite Snack?
 Salsa with fresh cilantro!!!!!!
And sharp cheddar cheese.
But not together.

5. What is your favorite non-fiction book?
 Works of C.S. Lewis

6. Favorite fiction book?
  Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers

7. What is your favorite historical era fashion-wise and why?
 Probably the 50's or 70's.
I love the fit and flair dresses of the 50's, the colors and prints are all so cute!
The 70's has some really cute dresses and styles that were long and loose and flowing,
and I love those so much!

8. Tea or coffee?
Chia Tea Latte. :)

9. What are your thoughts on the mismatched sock epidemic?
 My theory is this. The washer and dryer are sort of like a mechanical cow....
they share the same stomach...one drinks the water, and the other...eats the socks.
I know, I know. It makes no sense.
But neither does one sock always disappearing!!

10. What Bible verses have jumped out at you recently?
 Deuteronomy 30:19a "This day...I have set before you life and death..."
Each day, we have a choice...over and over in numerous areas,
to choose life or death. Do I choose to say this and bring death
to this person's dreams, or death to this relationship?
Do I choose to do such and such that will be healthier and bring life into my body?
I think we have so many opportunities in our day to day life
that we can choose a path of life, growth, goodness,
or death, stuntedness, laziness etc.
The choice is before us each day, and we need to be conscious that it is ours to make.

11. Where in the world would you travel to if you could?
 India!

 

My second nomination came from my fellow Refashion Runway contestant from
last year, Magda over at House of Estrela.
Here were her quarries to me.


1. What's your main inspiration when it comes to sewing?
I get a lot of inspiration from sites like BurdaStyle and Modcloth...
I love the style of clothes that Modcloth offers, and I get inspired to sew my own versions,
as I usually don't have the money to spend on their items.
I stay up to date on the newest pattern releases from BurdaStyle,
and they are a great source of inspiration!
And fashion in general...I'm not a very trendy person, but I pick things here and there
that I like that are popular and try to incorporate them into my sewing.

2. What do you like to sew the most?
 I do more refashion sewing than pattern sewing right now,
and that varies based on what I find. I probably refashion more tops
because I need more to go with all of the skirts I have in my closet!

3. How did you learn to sew?
 I taught myself with the help of my mom.
She tried teaching me many times, but it took a determined decision on my part
that I was going to make myself learn this skill, for it to finally click.
I research and learn new techniques from sewing blogs otherwise.

4. Have you taught anyone else to sew in your life?
 Sort of, yes!
My little sister wanted to make a fun pillow for her bed,
so I taught her how to measure, cut, and iron her pieces and then sew them together!
She was pretty content with it, and hasn't really wanted to sew since...but the initial groundwork was laid!

5. What are you working on at the moment?
 Actually, I just finished a blouse refashion, and I haven't quite decided what to work on next.
I think I will end up taking in a couple pairs of trousers to make them 'skinny' next.

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers,

as a way to recognize them and widen their audience.

1.  Each nominee must link back the person who nominated them.
2.  Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
3.  Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award who have less than 200 followers.
4. Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
5. Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Soo....

I'm gonna do something a little unorthodox and NOT select my nominees right now.

I'm pretty sure that all of the bloggers I follow currently have received this award 

and have passed it on already, so it would just be redundant to nominate them again.

Therefore I have decided to put my nominees on hold until I discover them...

I have a few lists of blogger directories that I have been meaning to peruse,

so I'll save up my little blog award love and pass it on in the future!

In the meantime,

thank you to both of you lovely ladies for the nomination,

and to those of you who actually stuck around to the end of this post.

You are great. :)

Animal Babies!

Animal babies!

Need I say more?!

Everyone knows spring brings babies,

and we saw the proof of that here on our little country acres this spring and early summer.

I'm gonna make a confession right here and now...
these pictures....I kind of took them like...almost a month ago.
But I'm too lazy to go take new ones (AND it is reallllyyyy hot outside, so I know you'll forgive me).
Besides these are SO cute!
Just know, all the babies are growing up!

Say hello to this little cutie!!

This adorable pup was a a stray that some of our town friends

found wandering about.

After asking around and putting up posters that sat for a week without response,

we decided she was a drop off, so we got to keep her!!

We don't know what breed she is, her coloring looks similar to a German Shepherd, but she has small paws and a curly tail.

We *do* know this much... she is 100% adorableness!

Case in point.

She loves eating the garden plants and cooling off in the damp dirt.

I told her she really shouldn't be doing that....

...and this is the face I got.

Those eyes!!

*Melts*

Her name you ask?

After changing numerous times over the course of three weeks...

Pepper...Pipper...Princess...Paddy...and those were just the ones we tried out,

we finally stuck with Lucy.

What do you think?

Did we make a good choice?

Let's move on to some of our more furrier editions.

Our first batch of kittens were 'The Wild Ones', given the name

because their mom was the daughter of a stray wild cat that adopted us.

I give you Miss Fluffykins.

She is the only long haired fluffy kit in the bunch.

And as you can see, my sister's favorite.

The two boys we named (respectively) Milo and Otis.

Childhood memories anyone?

Yeah, yeah, I know Otis was a dog...and Milo should have been the orange cat.

Well...it was a cute idea, and my memory just slipped a little and I got the names mixed up.

Still stinkin' cute if you ask me. 

Otis, occasionally called Cheese Puff, is my little brother's buddy.

And the mild mannered, tummy rub lovin' Milo is my baby.

He will just lay in your hand, on his back, while you stroke his tummy.

So sweet!

Lucy wasn't quite sure what to think about the fur balls with legs.

She got used to them and would tease them mercilessly.

In sad honesty, just a couple days ago while we were gone for the weekend, 

she got a little too rough and friendly and we lost one of our little kitties from the later bunch. :(

No fun.

Now we are being extra careful to watch her and train her to leave them be.

The later batch here was from one of our favorite momma kitties, Buttons.

She birthed five kittens, one didn't make it, and was left with these four, now three.

Not long after, Wild Momma Cat up and left, so Buttons adopted

the three Wild Kids as her own, with a little help from the Kitten Relocation Services...aka,

concerned kids of the house.

The kittens from right to left we named Callie, Zeus, Daisy and Percy.

Zeus is my favorite from this batch.

I love them in this early, baby tiger, folded back ear stage!!

That should give you your cute fix for the day!

By the way...want a kitten?

Here is to the dog days of summer.

Smuggled Identity, Short Film

Some of you are familiar with my brother's YouTube channel,

and are aware that they make short skits and films.

If not, you can read this post as well as this one, to get in the know.

 

I remind you of them because today I am excited to announce the release 

of our latest project and short film,

Smuggled Identity

 

 

 

Filmed this past spring, I was excited to have my first major, speaking role in this project!

Not only that, but I was brought on board with script writing and editing.

I'm pretty proud of the little work, comparatively, that I was able to contribute.

It was a lot of fun, and helped me better understand the world of filming

that these boys have set their sites on.

 

To date, this is the biggest undertaking they have tackled!

In total, it took about six days of filming, only two of which I was part of,

and countless hours of editing!

 

All around, we really enjoyed making this film!

My brothers were able to work out the fight choreography with friends, 

throw each other around the house, and in general just enjoy playing heroes and villains.

For me, it was fun to explore the emotions of being a bad guy.

I tried to take it seriously, and really put some effort into my performance.

 

What do you think?

Would Loki be proud?!

 I hope you enjoy!

There and Back!

Hello all!

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, haven't they?

Can you feel an absent-blogger explanation coming?

I dropped a little hint as to my recent where abouts in this short post,

but in case you didn't catch it...I am {somewhat} recently returned from a week long stay in Tennessee!

About one year ago,

my dear friend Atlanta was swept off her feet and consequently all the way to Tennessee

when she married.

I was blessed to attend the wedding,

but didn't get the chance to see their home.

However, upon the arrival of her baby girl in February

I had good reason and great excuse to make a trip to see them!

I tagged along with Atlanta's brother Cim and sister Aspen

who were also making the trip to meet their new niece.

Here is Auntie Aspen holding sweet, sweet baby Marian!

Honestly,

this little darling is one of the cutest babies I've ever seen!

So, ok, it is my friend's baby...I don't think that makes me prejudice...much.

A bed-full of ladies admiring the baby!

Marian will be a pro at this picture taking thing...

T O E S!!!

She was modelling a new dress, and doing a darling job of it, no?

Aside from the beautiful baby,

there was of course, some breathtakingly beautiful nature to explore.

Ahhh...wandering these lovely woods was utterly and truly refreshing...for this northern girl,

it was like being home. Trees and water bring life back into my soul.

Can you see the little trickle of a stream, just there, meandering its way through the forest floor?

I found this verdant, mossy growth to be most intriguing.

 

 Here is a close up....

it reminded me of tiny tropical trees or something of the sort.

And here we have a log specimen covered in fairy like stepping stones

made of paper thin, mushroom like growths.

This also warranted a closer look.

Ahhh...trees...I just love getting lost in a forest.

So, funny story.

Notice the spattering of trees here that still have their dried, dead leaves intact?

I inquired as to what type they were, but received no satisfactory answer.

Then, lo and behold while further indulging myself in Jane Austen-esque films

after returning home (a past time with Atlanta) I received the answer!

I learned from Mr. Plumbtree aka Tom Hiddleston, in Miss Austen Regrets 

that these must be Beech trees.
I had to marvel when I heard him spout off this little offhanded information
in an awkward scene of the movie. Funny how little things come together.
"Fascinating subject, botony."
{You can see clips from this movie here,
including the very last scene with the beech tree reference.}

Anyway, back to the greenery...

More adorable moss to document.

A nice walk by the creek, just at sunset, does a heart good.

Slightly infatuated with water...don't mind me.

I just love how this gnarly, moss riddled tree hangs over the bank.

Do you see this?!

Doesn't this look just like the flower from Horton Hears a Who?!

I'm not sure what these are, other than they are a type of seed pod-thingy that grows on trees,

they had all fallen off and there was a generous smattering of them everywhere.

Sadly,

 I had not my camera with me the day we saw the most beautiful scenery of all, I was quite heartbroken.

It was Sunday, see? And I thought, silly me, that, one needn't bring a camera along...it was only going to be church, then home again, right?

Big. fat. wrong.

We saw waterfalls...waterfalls you guys!!

Ohhh, it was thrilling...waterfalls are among my favorite things in the worlds,

and these particular falls were nestled deep in the craggy, wooded back roads.

There were steep, towering rock walls to one side, complete with tiny cave holes,

and an ever expanding forest on the other, with the river weaving its way in between.

There were wild daffodils, old abandoned houses, valleys and hills.

 I ran about like a school girl at Christmas, and kept muttering thanks and awe

to God for the beauty He created. 

It was one of those times when it almost hurts, the beauty and wonder of it all.

So, the moral of this story.

Always. Always. Bring your camera.

Did you enjoy this little walk through the countryside?

Well tomorrow,

I'll take you 'round on a little excursion of Franklin, Tennessee.

See you then!

{For LOTS more pictures of sweet Marian and Tennessee scenery,

you can see things through Aspen's point of view in this post!

Including a few pictures of the falls, 

courtesy of Atlanta, who had pictures from a previous visit.}