Friday Faves

freckles on her nose, Sloane on Father's Day

* Quote of the Week: "Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent." ~ Steve Martin

* Blogspiration: Plan Some Summer Fun with Apartment Therapy

* Song of the Week: A Prayer for Grace album by Morgan Harper Nichols

* Images of the Week: Magenta on Flickr by Gray Days and Coffee

* A Poem of a Post: The Memory of Worn Things by Christine Hiester

* In Case You Missed It: Something Cheering

* To Make You Think: Eliminating Unnecessary Decisions from One Little Minutes

* Some Things I Love: Jeffrey, Jane Austen, audiobooks, Amazon Prime, rainy mornings, lots of white molding, glass doorknobs, Anthropologie windows, paper lanterns, home libraries, composition notebooks, the fact that today is the last day of summer school

Happy weekend, friends.

Friday Faves

 cell phone photo from an evening walk

*In Case You Missed It: L'Heure Bleue

*Pinspiration: Vingettes by Emma Duckworth Styling

*For When You're Blue: 101 ways to cheer yourself on YesandYes

*Favorite Moment This Week: When Sloane looked at me and said, "You know how most teenagers don't get along with their moms?  This is why we do.  We sit and eat ice cream and watch movies together."

*Blogspiration: Penelope Loves Lists

*Great Read: The Blue Bedroom by Rosamund Pilcher is a perfect summer read.

*Image of the Week: Hydrangea Heaven by Chris Hawes

*A Song: "Blues Live" by Wynton Marsalis 

*Things I Love: iPhones, my new glasses, big rings, Instagram, Sloane getting her braces off, blog reading, only one week left of summer school, good vacation plans, great scissors, TJ Maxx, polka dots, weekends...

*A Wish: May your summer nights be long and sweet; full of fireflies and the sounds of children's laughter.

Friday Faves

from a recent photoshoot

* Quote of the Week: "You're only given a little spark of madness.  You mustn't lose it." ~ Robin Williams

* Blogspiration: Jacob Jolibois

* Song of the Week: Spring, Spring, Spring perfect for today, at least in Missouri

* Images of the Week: Last Hair Standing by John Wilhelm

* To Make You Giggle: Honest Slogans

* Read of the Week: Fairy Tale Girl by Susan Branch

* PINspiration: Caught Reading, curated by Relyn Lawson (me)

* Some Things I Love: the sound of rain on a tin roof, reading books out loud, decorating classrooms, laughing, making plans for a no-plans weekend, visiting art museums, touring botanical gardens, watching fish in a big tank, photographing children, marking things off my to do list...

Happy weekend, friends.

Friday Faves

* Word Nerdiness:  Do We Talk Funny? by NPR

* Great Read: If you love memoir and art, you will love My Favorite Things by Maira Kalman.  

* Happiest Moment: When I accepted the offer to become the new library media specialist at my school.

* Something to Make: The link is broken to these homemade cards, but the picture will give you lots of inspiration.  All you need is a scanner and some pencils.

* Terrific Tips: 100 Things To Do When You Are Upset by Gala Darling

* Images of the Week: 212/365 by Kent McDonald

* Anticipating: Jeffrey's birthday weekend next week.  We have so many fun adventures planned. 

* A Song: "Till There Was You" by The Beatles

* Quote of the Week: "With mirth and laughter, let old wrinkles come." ~W. Shakespeare

* PINspiration: All About Amore by Artifact Uprising

* To Make You Think: "Carry Your Own Weather" by Steven Covey

* In Case You Missed It: A Prayer for my Daughter

Friday Faves

Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Missouri

* Quote of the Week: "Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."  ~ Winston Churchill

* Something to Buy: Don't you love it?

*Images of the week: The Poetry of Dying Tupils by Chelsea Fuss

* To Combat Stress: 101 Frugal Ways to Relax 

* To Make You Think: Someday by the Minimalists

* To Make You Laugh: click here

  * In Case You Missed It: The Key To Living Artfully

 * Some Things I Love: fresh flowers all over the house, unexpected dinners with girlfriends, pedicures, BIG rings, piles of bracelets, my glasses, prescription sunglasses too, spell check, orange popsicles, Fudruckers, blood orange gelato, unscheduled weekends, Silver Dollar City, dogwoods just beginning to bloom, making summer travel plans

Happy weekend, friends.

Friday Faves

at student on Dr. Seuss Day

* It's a Small World: What Kids Around the World Eat for Breakfast

* Terrific Tips: How to Save Money Without Hating Your Life by Sarah VonBargen

* Image of the Week: "Bouquet" by Danielle Ruppel

* Quote of the Week: "You don’t have to be in People magazine to change the world for the better.  You just have to do the best you can with the talents and opportunities you’ve been given, and spend your life trying to help other people also do their best and be joyful in their service." - Orson Scott Card

* Song of the Week: Gaelynn Lee, Tiny Desk Concert Winner

* Bookish Thoughts: for Jane Austen fans

* Film Fancies: "Bat Eyes"

* BLOGspiration: Bella Grace blog

* In Case You Missed It: Man Alive! Moments

Happy Weekend, friends. 

Friday Faves

example for making masks at City Museum, St. Louis, Missouri

* Quote of the Week: "Don't avoid doing wrong because you fear the consequences.  Avoid doing wrong because it interferes with you enjoying God." ~ Lecrae

* Simply Amazing: Marble Machine

* Song of the Week: 500 Miles by the Proclaimers (makes me want to yell along)

* Images of the Week: Under the Tower by Shannon

* To  Make You Think:  Great Moms Don't All Have to Look Alike by Joyfully Weary

* In Case You Missed It: Saturday Afternoon 

* Something Interesting: because I love random oddness

* Some Things I Love: weekends with family, getting lots accomplished even during hard weeks at work, writing contests for my students, helping friends, thoughtful gestures, my iPhone and posts like this one, that Jeffrey spent a large part of his spring break repainting my bathroom cabinets just to please me, listening to Sloane play her clarinet, how excited my students were when I introduced our biography reading unit...

Happy weekend, friends.

Friday Faves

steeple, Pleasant Grove, Missouri

* Quote of the Week: "Now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." ~ John Steinbeck

* Film Fancies: The Bridge

* People Really Are Amazing: happy pictures from 2015

* Song of the Week: You Were Never Mine by Delbert McClinton

* Images of the Week: Meditation by Charlotte Hedman

* Bookish Thoughts: Book lover Stereotypes

* To Make You Smile: Rockaboogie Tap Dance

* In Case You Missed It: The Way That Children Teach Us

* Some Things I Love: three day weekends, mini road trips with friends, pomme frites, pretty new blouses, the happy way a dog always greets you, freshly vacuumed floors, spring

Friday Faves

Let It Snow, student art

* Quote of the Week: "Worry is a misuse of the imagination." ~ Dan Zadra

* Song of the Week: Memphis Soul Song by Uncle Kracker 

* Pinspiration: make// paper + crafts curated by Jones Design Company

* Something To Try: Make a Love List by Courtney Carver

* Blogspiration: Emmatree by d smith kaich jones

* Useful Information: Ten Creative Ways to Declutter Your Home by Joshua Becker

* In Memorium: Harper Lee died this morning, and I feel sad.  To Kill a Mockingbird is the only perfect book I have ever read.  Jeffrey and I love it so much that if we'd have had a second daughter, her name would have been Harper.  Thank you, Ms. Lee for the gift Atticus, Scout, Jem, Dill, and Boo Radley have been to me and to generations of Americans. 

* Anticipating: Faith Ringgold at my favorite spot in the Ozarks

* To Make You Think: Imagine a World Without Photography by Rachel Sturtz

* In Case You Missed It: Still Laughing

* Some Things I Love: 65 degree days in February, spring fever, wind, three weeks to spring break, parent teacher conferences and getting to share with parents all that's great about their child, little girls in pig tails, dinner with out of town family, tulips, IKEA, road trips, work trips with friends, this book

Happy weekend, friends.  

Friday Faves

Reposting an old favorite: The Road Ahead

* A Favorite YouTube Channel: Living BIG in a Tiny House

* Something to Buy: Urbanears Plattan headphones

* Song of the Week: You Send Me by Sam Cooke

* Something to Read: Chasers of the Light by Tyler Knott Gregson

* I'm Grateful For: This was a week of quiet contentment.  There were no standout moments, but the week was full of family time.  Isn't that the greatest gift of all?    

* ARTspiration: Fictionalized Landscapes, by j.frede

  * In Case You Missed It: M is For... by me

* Some Things I Love:   weekend family time, long walks, YouTube, bookstagrammers, the new watch I got for Christmas, sending postcards, receiving postcards, Glacier National Park, dreaming of retiring and working at Disney, the way that winter evenings are perfect for rereading old favorites, listening in on impromptu jam sessions, fresh flowers, laughing... 

Happy weekend, friends.  

Friday Faves

January weather

* Film Fancies: The Most Beautiful Thing

* I've Got a Thing For: harmonicas

* Song of the Week: Bluestone Alley; This gorgeous music was composed by Congfei Wei for Piano Tiles2

* Book Love:  The Book Thief, my review

* Anticipating: a quiet weekend at home, letting Sloane rest and recover from her recent concussion

* To Make You Think: Why I'm Doing Something I Don't Like Doing Today by Jon Acuff

  * In Case You Missed It: Twenty One Years

* Some Things I Love: Wasabi almonds, orthodontists and the smiles they make, the new Shutterfly calendar I just made of some of my favorite images, when my class is piled up reading, thoughtful friends, tidiness, intentionality, Flair pens, weekends...

Happy weekend, friends.

Friday Faves

photographing light in the oddest places

* A Song: "Amazing Grace" by Alaska Reid

* Things I Love: snow days you can plan for, getting stuff done, the gallery wall in my laundry room, typography, bifocals with no line, big rings, lots of bangle bracelets, Milkyway Dark Minis, the feel of freshly shaved legs, kissing, kids who are glad to be back to school, morning tutoring sessions complete with breakfast snacks...

* To Make You Laugh: Chicago's Magical Piano

* Story Corp: Are you familiar with the Story Corp project?  I love it!  Here is Sloane's interview of me, in case you've been dying to hear my voice. ;O)

* Quote of the Week: "Nothing is so necessary for man as the company of intelligent women."  ~ Leo Tolstoy

* Images of the Week: Castello di Padernello by Goethe58

* Pinspiration: Wisdom: Intentional Parenting curated by me

* In Case You Missed It: Of Plums and Delight

Happy weekend, friends.

Friday Faves

my most liked nine of 2016 on Instagram

* Quote of the Week: "Once a year, go someplace you've never been." ~ Dalai Lama

* Song of the Week: an old favorite, The World Is New by Save Ferris

* Pinspiration: Blur is Beautiful curated by Robin Laws

* Blogspiration: Hulaseventy, another old favorite 

* Useful Information: How to Never Kill a Houseplant Again on Apartment Therapy

* Images of the Week: animal print shop by Sharon Montrose

* I can Relate: Book Nerd Problems by Epic Read

* To Listen: Unfurl, by Meghan Genge

* In Case You Missed It: I'm Still It

Happy new year, friends.