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THINGS I LOVE | Sleep Lines

Sleep lines. Really? Yes really!

You know the ones. The lines that usually show up after a good nights sleep or an amazing nap. The ones that are visible proof that you were lucky enough to be able to stay in bed those five extra minutes, snuggled up warm and tight under your favorite blanket. The lines that show you are blessed to even have that warm bed to snuggle up in.

Buried under my favorite blankets I awoke to find this morning I was covered in them. They lovely funny little lines covering your arms, tummy and if you really know how to snuggle up to your favorite blanket, you may get lucky enough to find them on your neck… I wish I could write that my sleep lines came from a great nights sleep, but not the case in the Beck house last night.

I can say however, that they came from an awesome much-needed-well-deserved, mid morning nap. I can also say, I have an amazing husband who this morning graciously stumbled out of bed to make a bottle. A husband who then climbed back into bed to cuddle his favorite girls before whisking away the one who likes to party at 4:00 am. (and it sure wasn’t me) so I could get a little rest. A husband who knows exactly what I need in the mornings, even before being asked, from pulling a baby-all-nighter. A husband who makes the perfect funny Daddy voice to coax out laughter and softly closes the door so I can drift off to sleep with only a light noise of a jingling duck being pounded on the floor verses the loud whap whap it could have been. A husband who embraces all of the little quarks that have began to make up our family dynamics, as un-dynamic as it may appear. The husband who puts on his snow boots and runs to the grocery store when I awake from my sleep line creating nap, because dinner on the first night of real snow just wouldn’t be complete without baked potato soup and cheddar bay biscuits… but of course we don’t have everything to make it….

Loving sleep lines is not just about loving the actual lines. It is about loving all of the wonderful things that come with life that allow those sleep lines to emerge. So when you look at my blog over that last two/three weeks and there hasn’t been anything posted, it is because I have been blessed to have sleep lines… Because I have been able to step back from my little slice of the Internet world to actually really enjoy the holidays. Because I can say with honesty that making Christmas Eve’s dinner fell higher on my list than posting a family picture on the blog.

So I say with complete honesty and an open heart, close down your computer. Take a look around you at the beauty surrounding you. Dig out your comfy sweats and slippers. Find your favorite blanket and snuggle up. Really enjoy your last few days reflecting on the year and dream about what you want to do in the next one. Curl up with a wonderful book, crawl back into bed and snuggle that favorite blanket, heck bundle up and make a snow man. Who cares, just do something, anything that will fill your heart.

With a full heart, covered in sleep lines, and more in love with my husband and little family then ever before… I say Happy Holidays to you, your loved ones, your friends and families. Thank you all for an AMAZING year. I cannot wait to see you all back in 2011!

All my love and thankfulness,

Melissa

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Mandy - Adorable picture! I love that thought, its so true how lucky we are for the little things in life. We REALLY do need to get our little ones together! And sometime I want to do some family pictures that Id love you to do fo us. Talk soon!

Ashley - That is the BEST photo of your family I have seen yet! Melissa you look fabulous!! And your daughter gets more beautiful and cute every time I see her! You are so lucky. I love your post even more and could not agree with it more. I love sleep lines too! Those little things, special things you just captured are what so many of us with our busy lives don’t take the time to see. We all could learn a valuable lesson here from you, take a minute, if only a minute, and notice something small that makes you smile and capture it forever in your memories. Share it with people that make you smile, because someone somewhere will stop to take notice of those sleep lines! Thanks for that excellent post, it truly brought a tear to my eyes. Have a great New Year you guys!!

THINGS I LOVE | Wine Charms

Holiday dinner parties.

It is the time of year when we all either get to or have to go to at least a few.

Jake and I began a tradition last year of hosting a big Thanksgiving potluck at our home for some of our friends, where we have just started being able to use all of our awesome serving dishes and wine glasses. Although we use them quite often just for us, there is something a little grander about other people being able to enjoy them as well. However after typing that, I realize people probably don’t really enjoy our serving dishes or wine glasses, but I am still going to pretend that you guys do.

As I was carefully placing all of the beaded (glittery/pine cone/pumpkin) twine festiveness that I was using as runners for the tables, spending too much thought on the placement of the candles and leaves, the dishes were being set by Jake. It really did look pretty, and I don’t even have a single picture from the entire night.

I began to set the glasses. Every other setting, wine, beer, wine, beer… Then I realize great, we don’t have any wine charms! With ten wine glass guests, I found myself rummaging through my trusty craft bin. Ten separate snips of colored ribbon later, viola! wine charms!(??)  At the risk of it being corny I tied each little colored ribbon into a curly display, attempting to pass them off as thought out festiveness. Of course non of our wonderful friends said a single thing, good or bad.

So this put me on a mission. Find wine charms. You maybe thinking, yes, wine charms… they are everywhere! Pick some and be done with it. I can say my husband would agree with you. But did I want just any old wine charms to adorn my favorite friends holiday drinks? Ohhhhh no. They had to be fun and cute. Fit into our decor, set a tone, be classic… Wine charms can do all this?? The ones I fell in love with can.

These. I LOVE these wine charms! They are made from authentic vintage typewriter keys. How fun is that?

Okay maybe they can’t save the world, keep me from burning the rolls, or even keep someone from dropping the yams on the floor next year. But they sure look great. I found these on, yep, you guessed it Etsy. The time sucking, spend all day looking and drooling over everything site. I think I can maybe spend/waste just as much time on Etsy as Facebook. It’s a love hate relationship. Speaking of, are we Facebook friends or are you a fan yet???

Check out Teresa DeLeen. She is the one who makes my new favorite wine charms.

***These are not my images. They are from Teresa Deleen and her Etsy site shop.***

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Kelsey Park - I thought your curly ribbons were very cute and innovative 😉 but these really are adorable and so unique! Good find!

PERSEVERANCE & ESPRESSO

It was 12:04 pm. I stumbled my way to the kitchen looking for an afternoon pick me up… I reach for the almost empty bag, rummaged through the fridge and then hit the on button. With my mug ready, the smell of fresh Starbucks coffee beans grind into a fine powder and the water began to steam. With the caramel, chocolate and vanilla syrup standing by, I was only minutes away from what was to become my own personal little piece of heaven.

Or so I thought…

I begin to hear sputtering on a step that should sound like that ‘little piece of heaven’ pouring into the espresso mug. Looking over I realize that my lightly packed freshly ground coffee beans are just that… Lightly packed. Dang it! Instead of a delishious cup of yumminess, I have a watered down murky little cup of sludge.

I pause… Annoyed but I can see the reward. All that is standing between myself and my cup of love is a dose of correctly tamping the grounds. I can do this. I do, do this! All the time, so what’s the problem today…?

Okay. Round two. Grind beans. Pack. Hit button. Listen for steam. Wait for the light… Waiting… Waiting… Hit one shot button. Vola! Allllllmost there. WAIT. That’s not right either. Apparently I got a little carried away on packing and tamping this time around. Too tight=another sludgy mess.

COME ON! (And yes, I most definalty hollered this out loud.) I slowly am beginning to realize that the coffee gods are not on my side today. Note to self: As annoyed as one may become, do not, (and I repeat do not) get mad and pull out the handle while still under pressure and full of hot sloppy coffee grinds.

This is what you will get. And let me tell you… This is so much further away than I wanted to be from my mid day, little slice of heaven, cup of love, pick me up! You have got to be kidding me. With the dog at my feet wondering what I was yelling at and Lila staring at me like I am insane, I grab a sponge and begin to soak up the disaster of a mess I have created.

I am beginning to convince myself it has to be this stupid machine, it can’t possibly be operator error… Can it?

Okay. Mr. Espresso. It’s you and me. I re-steam the milk. Because of course, it’s now barely luke warm…

With a look of determination in my eyes, I go back to grinding and tamping. Again.

I WILL get my cup of love. My cup of caramely, chocolatey, vanilla, goodness. And it will be wonderful . It will have an amazing layer of froth. And it will be strong. Because with this, I decide this is it. Sink or swim. This bad boy is going to have two shots in it. It will! Won’t it?

YES. And it does! Finally!!

And it was just that. Wonderful. Was it worth the wait? Debatable, but it was perfect just the same.

So in your days of frustration remember perseverance. Remember what you are waiting for is just around the corner. Remember that you are supposed to dream big. That life is only a big as the pond you allow yourself to live in. And trust that it may take some treading water before you can swim across the ocean.

All this from two failed attempts and a giant mess from brewing a shot of espresso? Maybe. Maybe not. But if this is what I got from my annoying afternoon of failed espresso shot attempts, then bring it on Mr. Espresso. Apparently, today you did give me a cup of heaven and even the mid day pick me up I was hunting for. Possibly in the form of an extra espresso shot, possibly in the form of perseverance. Either way, it made my day.

And for those of you looking to avoid a mess like I had. I found this. Let’s face it, I am new to the art of tamping and espresso making. I obviously need all the help I can get. With that, after reading about the ‘art of tamping’ I bought these. 🙂

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