My Birthday

This week was my birthday.... it was a great time. My husband bought me the roses and a gift card for an hour long facial and massage. My good friend Julie bought me this cake and a gift card....(I had this cake for breakfast, so I am running on 220 right now :0)  Thanks Julie :)

My Mom and Dad got me this vintage card, it is so cute.

And these vintage  dish towels..... for some reason one of them didn't upload.

After this one there is a towel that say Food and she is serving him....

My Mother in law and Aunt in law got me this book from Cracker Barrel, this book is really neat. It has a little bit of information on every subject that pertains to homesteading. From gardening to bee keeping to soap making to animal raising.  I really like this book and would recommend it. They had to drive an hour to get it...It was sold out in our area..Thanks ladies....:)

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

If You Would Be A Good Christian

If you would be a good Christian, there is but one way, you must live wholly unto God; and if you would live wholly unto God, you must live according to the wisdom that comes from God; you must act according to right judgments of the nature and value of things; you must live in the  exercise of holy and heavenly affections and use all the gifts of God to His praise and glory.  -- William Law

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

Welcome To The Porch

Well, I thought I would share my front porch with you, it is small and not at all glamorous but I love to sit out on the porch. In the morning its cool and the sun comes up at the back of the house so its shady. In the evening after the sun is past a certain point it is shady again and I like to sit out and listen to the birds and watch the squirrels.....or Levi ride his skateboard or bike.

This is the Front of our ranch style home, my parents built this house. We bought it from them in 2009. I grew up on this property.

This wicker set I got at a thrift store. The skirt and the cover on the cushions are actually crib sheets and a crib dust ruffle, that I picked up at goodwill. I fell in love with these crib sheets and they were only 1.99 for each piece.  I had no idea what I was going to use them for...then the light bulb came on. I love it when that happens:)

My favorite chair...

Our front door, it is solid wood and we just had it  refinished.

Lastly my concrete chicken... I got this at an antique store. She is so cute.... Well,that's  my little front porch......

 Until We Meet Again,
Amy Jo

A Chair Make Over

A few months ago I went to Goodwill on one of my early morning trips, When I happened upon the ugliest, yet cutest chair.....

Now I warned you! It is ugly yet cute.....I thought to myself it is so small and comfortable, maybe I can transform it. For 14.99 if it doesn't work out I can suffer the loss...

I went on ebay and found these darling curtains for 20.00. I bought them to recover the chair. I have to admit though when they arrived I was having a hard time thinking about cutting them. They were in mint condition. But at last  the chair prevailed and I cut them.....

I painted the chair first. Then I recovered the cushions. Next I took off the old skirt and replicated it, using the curtain fabric.  Lastly I took an old slip that had came apart and used the bottom of it to make a longer skirt... I just love the way it turned out.

 So here it is! The ugly, now cute chair.... What do you think?

Until We Meet Again,
Amy Jo

My New Tote Purse!!

I am so excited I finished my project... I saw this over at Bella's Rose Cottage and had to give it a try... So....

I went to Michael's and got this bag...

And then I bought this graphic off etsy and printed it and ironed it on...

I found the lace ribbon and flower at Joann Fabrics...

Then I hand sewed the lace on and then the ribbon....

I put the flower on with a safety pin, then I hand sewed the vintage earring on... I got the pair at Goodwill for .99 cents.

Wa-La a beautiful bag, that was so fun to make. I will be making another one this weekend, my daughter put her order in :)!

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

A Thought On Modesty

Let a single intention to please God prescribe both what clothing you shall buy, and the manner wherein it shall be made, and how you shall put on and wear it. To express the same thing in other words: Let all you do, in this respect, be so done that you may offer it to God, a sacrifice acceptable through Christ Jesus; so that, consequently, it may increase your reward and brighten your crown in heaven. And so it will do, if it be agreeable to Christian humility, seriousness, and charity.  -- John Wesley

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

God, give each true good woman

God, give each true, good woman
Her own, small house to keep --
No heart should ache with longing--
No hurt should go to deep--
Guard her age-old desire--
A house to love and sweep.

Give her a man beside her.
A kind man -- and a true--
And let them work together
And love-- a lifetime through.
And let her mother children
As gentle women do.

Give her a shelf for dishes,
And a shining box for bread,
A white cloth for her table,
And a white spread for her bed.
A shaded lamp at nightfall,
And a row of books much read.

God, let her work with laughter,
And let her rest with sleep;
No life can truly offer
A peace more sure and deep--
God, give each true good woman
Her own small house to keep.
--Grace Noel Crowell

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

A Quote On Feminine Dress

Why do women want to dress like men when they're fortunate enough to be women? Why lose femininity, which is one of our greatest charms? We get more accomplished by being charming than we we would by flaunting around in pants and smoking. I'm very fond of men, I think they are wonderful creatures. I love them dearly. But I don't want to look like one. When women gave up there long skirts, they made a grave error........ -- Tasha Tudor

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

A Week In Feminine Dress

The Modest Mom is having a link up and it is all about "She Wears Skirts". I thought I would participate... I kept forgetting though to have someone take pictures. So....it isn't quite a week :)

This whole outfit is second hand. I love floral skirts!!

This top has 3 layers,  an undershirt, an over shirt and an over sweater. This black floral skirt I have had for years, it came from The Dress Barn.

This is a New Creation skirt with a Target shirt, I bought the shirt on the clearance rack. After looking at this picture, maybe it isn't the most flattering. LOL

This outfit is a Goodwill outfit. I bought the top, the skirt, and the necklace all at Goodwill.

This is myself, my sister my aunt and my mom. We were having a "girls day"! I love these little sweaters I have these in a variety of colors. They add modesty to tank tops and sleeveless shirts you may not feel comfortable wearing. P.S. Here is the link to view the blog! http://www.themodestmomblog.com/

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

Shopping for a Bargain

I am a huge fan of Dave Ramsey and Jim Sammons. They teach on debt free living and honoring God with your finances.  Over the past 3 years we have done a major overhaul to the way we view our finances and the way we use every penny God entrusts to us. We still struggle with some principles, but we can testify that it is way easier on the conscience when you do not have huge bills looming over your head and you can know you are doing everything in your power to follow God's principles. With that said,on to my story....

Our couch was not doing so well, it had a few holes from wear and it wasn't even to old. We had only had it 4 years. (We bought it new, before our money makeover) So my husband gave me a budget and said find some new furniture.... I could have bought a new sofa with the money he allotted, but I decided to start looking for used. I looked for several months. I looked at used furniture stores and I watched Craigslist everyday or two. Finally the deal came up that I had been waiting on!

For four hundred dollars we bought this sofa, coffee table, end table,

this chaise chair lounger,

TV armoir,

fireplace screen,

and this picture!! We were so happy with our purchase. The picture and the fireplace screen I am relisting on craigslist, because it isn't my style. So Lord willing, we will actually get some of  our money back and we will have spent less money! The neatest part is the lounge chair is in the exact fabric of the chair we already had so it is still a matching set! Yay, bargain shopping!

Until We Meet Again,
Amy Jo

Weekend Update

Friday night we had a mother daughter tea at a friends house. This is all the daughters. My daughter is on the far left. We watched a DVD that I bought from Vision Forum. It is called The Monstrous Regiment of Women. It is excellent. It is all about feminism and what it has done to our culture. I would highly recommend this for every woman and man.

Friends

On Saturday Fed Ex delivered Levi's curriculum for next year.

It took me quiet a while to go through it all and make sure everything on the packing slip was there. This is a wonderful curriculum. He is going into 3rd grade and he will be learning biology, anatomy, taxonomy, American history 1, creation vs evolution, and much more. We are very excited about our year. We used Sonlight for Kindergarten and He still pulls out the science books from time to time.



While I was doing that my dear husband took Levi bass fishing. They caught enough for a delicious meal.



 On Sunday after church we went to the Silver Spurs Rodeo. This is my daughter, son, and Elizabeth (cousin).

We had a lot of fun watching all of the bull riding barrel racing, and the broncing horses.  Well, this was our weekend. What did you do this weekend?

Quench Not The Spirit

Do not Quench the Spirit. Ephesians 5:19

It is a simple command in our Bible. I found this list of things that could possibly extinguish the Holy Spirit:

• Love of the world
• Anger, malice, revenge, unkind and unholy temper, hard thoughts, envy, censorious spirit, harsh language, uncharitable judgement.
• Worldliness
• Vanity, pride, love of dress.
• Idle conversation
• Selfish ambition, rise in world for purely selfish reasons.
• Indulging in an improper train of thought.
• Doubt.
• Indifference.
• Drawing attention to self.
• Indulging carnal lusts and affections.
• Minding earthly things.
• Disobeying the Word of God.
• Neglecting to do good.
• Doing evil
• Not being willing to be and do what the Father chose, seeking solutions apart from his leading, treating Him with indifference, disregarding His teachings, ignoring His presence, rejecting His promptings, nullifying His power in your life, taking matters into your own hands, failing to completely yield to him
• Resisting truth.
• Grumbling, complaining, murmuring
• Procrastination
• Yielding to temptation
• Refusing to make confession
• To proud to confess to wrong doing
• Resenting reproof when it is needed and deserved
• Indulging a spirit of laziness
• Resisting holiness.

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo



A Man And A Maid

When a man asks a maid
And she says she'll be his
It's the man's fondest hope
She'll stay just as she is;
But the maid, a soon as she's married,
Has drafted a plan
For complete alterations
To  make on her man.
A maid, to a man, is a vision ethereal--
A man, to a maid, is a piece of material.

Burge Buzzele

May we always remember that our husbands are made by God and given as the head of our home. Let's except him and not try to change him into what we think he should be. 

Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church;

Until We Again,

Amy Jo

Aunt Ruth's Favorite White Cake

Last night we had a little family gathering for my Mother-in-law's birthday. I made this simple cake and I thought it was good. It uses a box mix and a homemade icing. The icing is very light and not overly sweet.

Ingredients for Cake:

1 package white cake mix

1 1/4 cps water

3 eggs

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
• Combine cake mix, water, eggs and oil in large bowl. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla and almond extract; mix until well blended. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpicks inserted into centers come out clean.

Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Next prepare the creamy white frosting.

Creamy White Frosting

• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in bowl until creamy. Add powdered sugar; beat until fluffy. Blend in vanilla.

Combine milk and flour in medium saucepan; cook and stir over low heat until thickened. Cool. When cool add flour mixture to butter mixture. Beat until thick and smooth.

It is definitely not perfect, but it was good!

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

Oh For the Love of Aprons!

As a child I grew up watching Leave it to Beaver, Andy Griffith and The Waltons. The Waltons was my favorite show. I remember thinking how there life was perfect. Shouldn't every mother and grandmother be in the kitchen wearing aprons and cooking and baking for their children?  I loved how the women looked so feminine all of the time, even when doing hard work. They just threw on an apron and went to work. I love aprons. I think everyone of them has a tale to tell. I collect them and use them. When I find one,  I like to think about the woman who sewed it and create my own vision of that person. I have quite a collection of aprons. My mom even bought me a book on aprons. It is called the Apron Book. This book is really great.

In the book the writer says " How did aprons go from being an indispensable part of a woman's workday wardrobe to an American icon to a sweet scrap of collectible nostalgia to one of the hottest sew-crafting trends going? The short answer is that unlike other clothing trends, the apron has always had a basic job to do. No amount of progress or technological advancement or fickle fashion tastes can change the fact that an apron has always been the best, most commonsensical  means of covering up and protecting our clothes from grime."

This apron is my favorite one, out of the the many that I have. It is made from bark cloth and has a towel sewed on it. As you can see it gets a lot of use. My Mom bought this for me for my 30th birthday.(several years ago:) There are so many wonderful aprons out there. You can pick them up at antique stores, thrift stores, and yard sales. The general price range in our area is anywhere from $5.00 to $65.00. This is a relatively cheap collectible and it is so fun to collect.  They are such a neat part of homemaking history!

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo

How to Be a Good Wife

I found some tips in a 1950's high school home economics book, on how to be a good wife. This is so cute and I thought I would share these ideas with you.

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home, and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take fifteen minutes to rest so that you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair, and be fresh looking. He has been with a lot of work weary people. His boring day may need a lift.
• Clear away clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, papers, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.
• Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.
• Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he is late for dinner. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest that he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak  in a low, soft, soothing, and pleasant voice.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.
• Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other pleasant entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to unwind and relax.

So there you have it... How do you measure up to the 1950's house wife? I think I need a little work:)

Until We Meet Again,

Amy Jo