Happy Things.

Hey y'all!
It's been a rough couple of days at Casa de Estrella, so today I decided to focus on things that make me happy! So, here are 5 things on my table today that are making me smile.

1. Fresh Cut Flowers 

I love fresh cut flowers, but I don't indulge in them enough. Last week, the old fashioned rose bush bloomed as did the two peony bushes! Peonies have always been one of my favorite flowers, and total motivation to have a spring wedding. The old fashioned rose has such a distinct aroma and I am catching whiffs of it from across the room. It's the smaller pink one nestled between the two peonies.  I cut them off and then hand-tied them with some twine that I found on my sister's potting table. I put them in some tap water and I am enjoying them immensely. I'm also keeping a constant watch to make sure that no bugs are crawling out of them...

2. My Homemade iPad Case

My sister made this for me when I first got my iPad and I'm still obsessed with it. She had given me some options of fabric, and naturally, I chose the one with the hedgehogs all over it. She made the pattern herself, and really, let's be honest, I wasn't surprised when she told me that. (This is the woman who made my other sister's wedding dress and all the bridesmaid dresses. She's too creative.) It's slightly padded, but not puffy....if that makes sense. It's like quilted on the inside. So yeah. the colors are happy, and I love hedgehogs, so it kind of makes sense! 

3. Sephora by O.P.I Nail Color

I love this stuff. I bought it three summers ago, and haven't worn it as much as I would like, but when I do wear it, it just makes me feel fancy. The color is "I Only Shop Vintage" and it's a nice "nude" shade. Now, when I say "nude" I don't mean pink...I mean "nude" as in, "it matches MY skin tone." It's not a heavy gold, and it's a bit sparkly. The JCPenny I used to frequent when I lived at home dropped a Sephora in the middle of the store. It was a nice addition, and this is the only thing I ever bought there. You can find this color online. 

4. "The Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas 

I've been reading this book for almost a year. I have one chapter left, and I'm going to be sad to have it all finished. I mean, sure I can read it again. But this book has been a huge reason why my view of marriage has literally been turned upside down. The subtitle is "What if God designed marriage to make us holy, more than to make us happy?" He touches on conflict, forgiveness, prayer, and of course, sex, and how all of these things can lead us not only closer to our spouse, but also closer to the cross. I NEVER highlight or underline books, but this one is littered. It also has a study guide at the back of the book if you decide to dig deeper. I think I'll be using that when I decide to read it again. You can purchase "The Sacred Marriage" on Amazon. 

5. A Lace Table Runner

I have no idea where this lace table runner (that you see in all of the pictures), came from. I wanted a pretty background for my pictures, so I grabbed the first lacy thing I found. I love lace. I didn't used to until I met Lando and started looking at more modern wedding dresses. I think the detailing is super intricate and it makes anything look and feel more classic and flowy. You can often find antique lace at estate sales, or antique stores! 

So these are the things that are making me smile today! Leave a comment and tell me what things cheer you up when you're feeling blue! 

Shine Bright! 

-S. 

"After All This Time?"

Some of you know this, and others of you might drop dead, but I have never read the Harry Potter series. Gasp. Breathe in...breathe out....
I was an extremely gullible child. You know all those Christian Parents who wouldn't let their kids read HP because of the magic? Well, I think my parents didn't let me read them because they assumed I'd probably try to make things levitate, etc..., and get angry when it didn't happen and try to burn down the house. To give a point of reference, I was in 6th grade when the first book came out. So, yeah, I was a little young.

By the time I realized I would survive if I had read them, I decided not too. I don't know why, but I just didn't. I went to college and I was basically the only one in all my friend groups who hadn't read them. But throughout the years, I have seen 4.5 of the movies, so I think that counts for something. I know it's not the same, but at least I'm not completely clueless.
After the last movie was released my News Feed, Pinterest and Twitter timeline were BLOWN UP with all these feelings. I loved how passionate my friends were, but to be honest, it didn't motivate me to read the books.
This past fall, I met a beautiful young woman named Veronica who is a baker, and basically just a really awesome human being. Recently she started to re-read the Harry Potter books and blogging about them in segments.  So, naturally, I thought, Veronica is really nice, and really cool, so I'm going to start reading the books and read her blogs alongside them!

I clearly have not started that. 

And now that JK Rowling has come out and said that she thinks Hermione should have not ended up with Ron, and should have married Harry , I'm over the whole entire thing.

Why in the world would I want to read books with a story line that THE AUTHOR has now regretted? Why would I spend literally over hundreds of hours investing my emotions into to characters, when I know that the author would have written this book a different way? Why couldn't she have just sat on her pile of billions, and silently regretted this? Why?? Millions of HP fans have been devastated, and me?? I'm not even a "fan" per se, and I'm upset enough to write a blog about this!!!

To me, it kills any hope I had of picturing all the cool things that exist in the wonderful wizard-y world. And to be honest, I had no idea that Ron and Hermione ended up together. I knew Harry got with Luna Lovegood (right? Is that right? Hold on...Googling.....) Just kidding, he marries Ginny. I TOTALLY knew that. But I seriously didn't know the Ron-Hermione match. So now I'm just sad, because, what if I wanted them to end up together?? What if I wished Hermione would have stayed single?? My hopes would have been ruined either way.

I'm sure I'll be able to get over this eventually, and I'll read the books, but for now, you'll have to excuse me while I mourn the loss of something I never had in the first place.