tea for Christmas

I was permitted an early Christmas present from Andrew & was so delighted with it that I'm devoting pictures & an entry to it.


Busted out the Brown Betty teapot for this one! I love the beautiful way that the tea is wrapped. The paper around the tea has gold crowns on it, which I am thrilled to be able to use to make cards or other crafty things with. Two mornings in a row I've enjoyed English Breakfast tea, and I'm looking forward to having more today as I attack some reading I've been meaning to do. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Tea with Jane Austen, and some plays from my former drama instructor in college.
Thank you Andrew for the gift of British tea! You know me so well, know how much I am enthralled with England, with good tea & you truly take delight in watching me enjoy these things. And how that puts me in mind of God's love...what enjoyment he feels when I'm enjoying what he's given me, but deeper... How I come alive when I'm delighting in Jesus, truly.
Don't mind me, just processing some things.
I enjoy so much more what I've been given, simple as they may be, when I'm on track.

the brownies were good & a risk taken

Martha Stewart's pumpkin swirl brownies turned out alright, even though my oven cooks too hot, the edges of the brownies were singed & the the brownies on inside middle of the pan were liquidy when the timer went off. The lingering taste of cayenne after eating a brownie is really pleasant.
I took a risk today. See, I make cards & envelopes out of papers I collect from magazines, wrapping paper, brochures, etc., and the church I work at was having a craft fair today...so I decided to be brave & purchase a table to experimentally sell my wares. It was so fun! My friend Jenni agreed to share the table with me to sell her own unique rings, headbands, bracelets, necklaces, and "rosette" brooches. Our powers combined made for a more fun experiment & good company. We didn't make a ton of money, barely covering our costs, but the experience was fun & I'm considering the next brave step...dreaming of Etsy & a business like Painted White in my future.
Here's a picture of part of our table. Jenni's on the right.

musique de notre première année

Whoo! Who's that babe playing the bass with the long hair? Answer: my husband when he was in the hardcore band Weeping Prophetic in Arkansas...oh to have known him then...

Musique de notre première année. Music of our first year. Carla Harding, a favorite Brit blogger of mine, has this tradition every year of listing her favorite books/movies/music she's discovered throughout the year. I thought it'd be a good idea to remember the soundtrack of music of Andrew's and my first year of marriage. Here's what it'd sound like:

Above the Golden State
Michael Bublé
Damien Rice
burn PATTERN (Andrew's former band)
Josiah James
Jason Upton
Diaspora (Andrew & his friend Andrew's sideproject band)
Frank Sinatra
John Mayer
Jack Johnson
Coldplay (Viva La Vida)
Thrice
Dustin Kensrue
Nat King Cole (Christmas)
Chicago (Christmas)
Bing Crosby (Christmas)
Sara Groves (Christmas)
Kutless (worship album)
Matt Redman
Jeremy Riddle
Bob Marley
Sigur Ros
Sonata Arctica
Sondre Lerche
Michael Jackson
Amos Lee
Liason
Kansas
This Coming Season (friend Josh's band, real good)
Cream
Israel & New Breed
Johnny Cash
Dewey Lybecker
Keith Green
Enter the Worship Circle
Reliant K
Jon Foreman
David Crowder
Phil Wickham

So there you go. Soundtrack of our first year. Now I'm off to attempt making pumpkin swirl brownies, before the weekend gets real busy!