31 Things I Love (That You Might Love, Too)

Based on extensive research--namely, scrolling Facebook--I've figured out that this "take the challenge of writing about the same subject every day in October" thing is, in fact, a Thing. I think it's officially called 31 Days.

But this is not that Thing.

I do love to make blog lists, though (which is why most of my blog posts are lists). I was mulling over a "things I'm thankful for" list, but I'm sure that's been done or is being done or both. As well it should be. I've also been thinking about a "favorite faith-building resources" post, and I still might get to that at some point. 

But in the interest of 1)doing something on this blog every day of October and 2)thinking about things I'm thankful for, I settled on this list of loves. Which would be totally self-indulgent except that I'm hoping you might end up loving something on this list, too. 

(Although it goes without saying, I want to say it anyway: this is a list of mere things. My affection for these does not in any way compare with the heart-wrenching, soul-changing love I have for my family.)

Since this isn't a 31 Days project, I figure I can set this up any way I want. And the way I want is just to add to this post-in-progress every day this month and put the daily "thing" up on Facebook and Pinterest. By the time we get to October 31st, I'll have a complete list...and maybe you'll have a few new things you love, too.

(Which reminds me: what do you already love? Please share! It could be something that will change my life but I don't even KNOW about it yet!)

1. "October," by Eric Whitacre

I already put this autumnal anthem on my "What I'm Hoping to Do This Fall" post, but I can't think of a better #1 item for a love-list that's set this month. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Play it in the background of whatever else you're doing, and it will make your whole day better. 

"October is my favorite month. Something about the crisp autumn air and the subtle change in light always makes me a little sentimental, and as I started to sketch I felt that same quiet beauty in the writing. The simple, pastoral melodies and subsequent harmonies are inspired by the great English Romantics (Vaughn Williams, Elgar) as I felt that this style was also perfectly suited to capture the natural and pastoral soul of the season." (Eric Whitacre)

2. Cozy, fuzzy sheets on the bed. Goodbye, crisp cotton of spring and summer; hello, sleeping in a hug. These Berkshire Bedding Microloft sheets are supposed to be "the new alternative to flannel"--warmer, softer, and more breathable. The bad news about them is that they

make getting out of bed at least 200% more painful. But they making getting into and being in bed (already two of life all-time great pleasures), about 1000% more wonderful.

***Bonus love related to #2 + tie-in to #1: "Sleep" by Eric Whitacre. The most gorgeous grown-up lullaby.



3. Maple Apple Cinnamon Muffins

 Need muffin therapy?
Click here to print the recipe.

4. Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing, by Sally Lloyd-Jones. 

I'm saving Lloyd-Jones' brilliant Jesus Storybook Bible for another list, but her "gorgeous and innovative collection of 101 simple-yet-profound thoughts on faith" is one of our family's dearest treasures. For children but absolutely not just for children, this lovely book is full of wisdom and inspiration. For instance...

"Did you know that leaves aren't really green? They only seem that way. Each leaf contains chlorophyll--the green color that captures light and turn ti into food for the trees. It's this green that hides the leaf's true color. In the autumn, trees produce less chlorophyll, the green fades, and so the leaves show their true colors--blazing reds, yellows, and golds! The leaves were always those brilliant colors--we just couldn't see them. And the Bible says you can't see all you really are either. But one day, when God mends His broken world once and for all, you'll be all He made you to be-and then your true colors will come shining through." ("True Colors," from Thoughts To Make Your Heart Sing, by Sally Lloyd-Jones)

5. Deliberate gratitude.

6. Saigon cinnamon. Sweeter and more aromatic than the supermarket or dollar-store version, this cinnamon upgrade is worth tracking down just for the pleasure of inhaling its spicy scent. I've ordered it from King Arthur Flour (they call theirs Vietnamese cinnamon), but I also loved what I got from Amazon for about a third the price. Take your pick, but get your hands on some before you get much further into fall and winter baking. This is what the holidays smell like.

7. Tree of Life necklace. My gifted and talented friend Heather, owner of Treasure Trove Jewelry (TTJJewelry on Etsy), put up a picture of this gorgeous piece on Facebook a few months ago, and my sister commented that she loved it. I ordered one for her for her birthday, and when she opened it at a family party, I commented that I loved it, too. A few weeks later, when I got in the car after church, a box with this necklace--my necklace--was sitting on the front seat. The preface to this story is this: 1)my sweet husband and I met 22 years ago at the back of the sanctuary of the same church we still attend; 2)Heather and her family also attend this church; 3)after I remarked on how much I loved the necklace, my husband secretly ordered one from Heather; 4)when he gave it to me, he told me it was a slightly belated "happy day-we-met 22nd anniversary" gift. And the moral of the story as I told it to the middle- and high-school girls in my Sunday School class? Go to church, meet a nice guy, then he buys you jewelry. Love it..and him.

8. BarkTHINS Snacking Chocolate. I've been looking over this list and have noticed a disturbing lack of chocolate. Well, I'm fixing that right quick with this entry. I find these addictive chocolate shards at my local grocery store--which is saying something because I live in a "city" that doesn't even have an Olive Garden. My point is that these are readily available, fair-trade, non-GMO, and entirely beneficial to mental health. Looking for a fall tie-in? Try the Pumpkin Seed version.

9. This mum from my mom.

10. Our road in autumn.

11. Lovely Thanksgiving ornamentation. Naturally, if you're seeing any kind of craft on Guilty Chocoholic Mama, it's going to come from someone else. This one comes from The Deliberate Mom Jennifer...and as a Canadian, she's already put her banner to use. Those of us on U.S. soil have a few more weeks to get ours together. Either way, if you're looking for a beautiful, autumnal DIY deco project, check out Jennifer's post "How to Make a Gorgeous Thanksgiving Banner." I'm going to attempt this in preparation for hosting my in-laws for the great feast, so it goes without saying that intercessory prayer would be appreciated. At least I know I've got my pumpkin pie recipe down.

12. Moms' wisdom-for-all-seasons. Next up: course curriculum for a PhD in Maternal Studies.

13. Big-sister/little-sister Homecoming photo op. 

When you're a young mom in the grocery store, and older moms look at your baby and tell you, "It goes by so fast...in a moment, she'll be all grown up," this is one of the moments they're talking about.

14. October nights. As in..."Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves. We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!" (Humbert Wolfe, and no, I'd never heard of him until now. But I love this quote. So a list of Things I Love seemed like a good place to put it.) 

15. Our barn quilt square.
So our old farmhouse came with an old stone house/spring house/milk house that's one of my favorite features of the place. What was once a large window on the back had been covered over with a square of sheet metal. Which had not bothered me, but was, apparently, driving my mother to distraction. When barn quilt squares started showing up on (appropriately enough) barns in our area, she told me she was having one painted for me to replace the hated metal square, and I picked a "star mosaic" pattern. My parents took our actual house paint to the artist for an exact match, and now the much-maligned piece of metal is history. Note that we didn't put this on our barn...these pieces can be sized to fit pretty much any structure. Wander around these links for a while to find everything you'll ever want to know about barn quilt squares, including how to make your own if you're a crafty type.

16. Apple-butter aroma therapy. Thanks to my

Photo credit: Cooking Light/
Becky Luigart-Stayner; Cindy Barr

mama for reminding me how much I love the smell of simmering apple butter. Load this honey-infused, overnight version from Cooking Light into your slow-cooker before you go to bed, and wake up to apple-y comfort.

17. Apple pie. I've made Nancy Baggett's "Favorite Deep-Dish Apple Pie" from The All-American Dessert Book for a few years now, but for a recipe that my blogging friend Karen says tastes just like her grandma's, see "What I'm Hoping to Do This Fall," item #7.

18. "Come Alive (Dry Bones)." This Lauren Daigle song is a new all-time favorite in our house. If you haven't read the story behind the song in a while--or, ever--check it out here. 

19. Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte shower gel from Bath and Body Works. Okay, thus far, I think I've done pretty well not to load this list with pumpkin this and pumpkin that. But it's time to give in, and this is the way to do it.

20. Frozen Cathedral, by John Mackey. Contemporary American composer John Mackey was asked by John Locke, Director of Bands at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, to write a concert closer for a 2013 performance of the school's Wind Ensemble. Mackey thought, "I can do that." Locke asked him to make the piece so powerful that, when it was over, the audience would immediately stand to its feet. Mackey thought, "I can do that." Locke asked Mackey to dedicate the piece in honor of Locke's late son. And Mackey thought, "I can't do that." Ultimately, Mackey's wife guided him toward the idea of mountains--which Locke's son had loved--being a sacred place for some people. Thus Frozen Cathedral was born, written, and given its world premiere on March 22, 2013. This is not just music, and the 15 minutes it will take you to listen to it are worth it for the journey from darkness into light.

21. Giving Thanksgiving its due. I don't want to talk about Christmas right now, but not because I'm anti-Christmas. I'm just very pro-Thanksgiving, and I don't like to brush past it as something that needs to be done and cleared out of the way to make room for the next thing. A season for everything, a season for everything...

22. The Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning. "[God] is not moody or capricious; He knows no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance toward us: He loves us. He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners. False gods--the gods of human manufacturing--despise sinners, but the Father of Jesus loves all, no matter what they do. But of course this is almost too incredible for us to accept. Nevertheless...through no merit of ours, but by His mercy, we have been restored to a right relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of His beloved son. This the Good News, the gospel of grace."

23. Falling for Rapunzel, by Leah Wilcox. In the category, "Children's Books That I, Personally, Prefer To Goodnight Moon."

24. Crackling wick candles. Like having a campfire right in your living room. Without the mess or, you know, the fire department.

25. Cheater Apple Cinnamon Pancakes. 
The cheat is a "complete" pancake mix. Yes, I'm that kind of mom. The apple and cinnamon are apple cider in the pancakes and applesauce in the topping and (wait for it) cinnamon in the batter. Here are the specs if you want to make a batch yourself.

Apple Cinnamon Vanilla Pancakes 
(Click here to print this if you're old-fashioned like me that way.)

2 cups complete pancake mix (I like Krusteez Heart Healthy "Light and Fluffy" Buttermilk Complete)
3/4 cup apple cider (a little less for thicker pancakes, a little more for thinner)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (see #6 on this list)
1 teaspoon vanilla
vegetable oil for frying

Topping:
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Blend pancake mix, cider, cinnamon, and vanilla just until no more dry mix shows up. Lumps are your friend. Cook in a well-oiled skillet until golden on both sides. For the topping, mix the applesauce and syrup and heat for a few seconds in the microwave until warm. Spoon over the pancakes. Savor the cheat. 

26. The Triple Chocolate Bread over at Southern Krazed. Seriously. I made some earlier today, and if I ever quit eating it tonight, I can go to bed. So I can get up and have more FOR BREAKFAST. Made with cocoa powder, almond milk, and coconut oil, this is health food in my book.

27. This quote from C.S. Lewis. Also, every quote from C.S. Lewis. 

28. The power of music to say what can't be said any other way. 

29. My Contigo no-spill (really!) travel coffee mug. Brilliant.

30. Sugar-free French vanilla creamer. To go in my coffee. That goes in my Contigo no-spill coffee mug that really doesn't spill. Yes, I know this fake food is evil. I don't care. I love it.

31. The best version EVER of "Itsy Bitsy Spider." By Go Fish (motto: "music for kids that doesn't drive parents crazy").

Thanks so much for letting me share some of what I love with you!
If anyone needs me, I'll be sipping my coffee with vanilla creamer, 
listening to all this music, and eating apple pie by the glow 
of my crackling candle before I climb into my fuzzy-sheeted bed.
Or, at least, I'll be wishing I was doing all that.

Two of the Most Encouraging Words Another Mom Ever Said to Me

A few weeks ago, I told a mom friend I was hosting a sleepover. I confessed to her that I rarely let my daughters have them because I always get all worked up about what the girls will do and where they'll sleep and if, heaven help me, EVERYONE IS HAVING A GOOD TIME.

"I don't do them, either," she told me.

Later that same day, I told another mom my daughters were making dinner that night--something they'd never done before in spite of being a tween and teen because I'm a control-freak, neat-freak mom who never cooked with her kids.

"I don't cook with mine, either," she told me.

I. Don't.

Who knew two little words could be so freeing and uplifting? 

Sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by moms who do. They do spectacular birthday parties and they do homemade hummus in Bento Boxes for school lunches and they do craft projects every day of the week and they do...everything. With their kids and for their kids. Which is great for them if they love it and if it charges up their mom spirits. I don't begrudge them their doing.

But I just...don't.

I don't do and haven't done and won't do so many things. And the other day, my friends showed me that I'm not the only mom who doesn't. Which felt like a gift. 

In case it feels like gift to someone else, here are a few other things I don't.

I don't have it all together.
I don't make my girls make their own lunches.
I don't make my girls make their beds before school.
I don't do Pinterest-inspired parties.
I don't like everything that goes with being a mom. 
I don't know what I'm doing a lot of the time even though I've been at this a long time.
I don't make my kids do enough chores.
I don't limit desserts to "special occasions."
I don't switch my daughters' schedules to "school time" while it's still August just so they'll be used to getting up early when September rolls around.
I don't have this all figured out.
I don't...

But, here's what I do. 

I do love, love, love my girls. 
I do enjoy them.
I do delight in them. 
I do cherish them.
I do love spending time with them.
I do pray for them and with them.
I do talk to them.
I do listen to them.
I do treasure them.
I do want so much joy and satisfaction for them.

One of my all-time favorite quotes is this one from Jill Briscoe: "There is an art of leaving things undone so that the greater thing can be done."

What I don't do--what I leave undone--frees up my time and energy and passion and enthusiasm for what I do do--the greater thing. 

And the value of that is something I don't have any doubts about.

If you are a mom who sometimes doesn't do, know that you are not alone. I don't, either.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *  
Have you got a don't of your own, mama? Please...do tell!
My thanks to BlogHer for putting this up as a featured post.
For more very honest don't-do's, click over to this post at Mom Babble.
Gratefully shared at Works for Me Wednesday.

Our Old House: A Home-Improvement Series for the DIY-Distressed

Hello, mama! Have you seen those blogs with stunning pictures of home makeovers and craft projects so brilliant you hit the pin button the minute you lay eyes on them? This is not that blog. But I've decided to do a DIY series anyway, because one of my heart's desires is to encourage other moms by being honest about my, er, "areas of lesser giftedness." What's that? You don't care what color we painted the walls...you just want some chocolate? Done. I promise I'll tack a recipe (or at least a link to one) onto every post in the series.

How We Turned a Playroom into a Hangout Lounge
Plus: Chocolate & More Chocolate S'mores Cookies* 

Our Michigan farmhouse has a Michigan basement--which is code for "a great place to hunker down in the event of a tornado but not somewhere you want to spend time otherwise."

In lieu of a subterranean lounge space, my girls have what on "House Hunters" would be called a "bonus room." (Which is code for "we can ask more money for this house.") It's attached to my older daughter's bedroom, and we used to refer to it as "the playroom" in the days when my girls had playdates. 

Now that my tween and teen daughters "hang out" rather than play, the playroom has become (wait for it) the hangout room.

Here are the tools and techniques we used to morph this room into a space "on fleek**" enough that my daughters will deign to take their friends there. 

1. This is no place for beige. The neutral eggshell/cream/ivory/ecru paint that came with the house in this room was so out, I can't even talk about it. Limey green is in, with orange and purple accents. Honestly, I love these colors and am thrilled I've got a room to use them in and interior-design clients who want me to do it. 

2. An attention-grabbing wall. It looks like all the other walls in the room, but it's actually a giant magnetic field! We painted one of the shorter walls with magnetic primer before slapping on the

lime topcoat. The girls hang pictures from magnetic clips and spell out

messages using a magnetic letter set and generally impress their guests with the fact that stuff apparently sticks to this wall of its own free will. We could have painted over this magic primer with chalkboard paint for a one-two magnetic chalkboard punch, but our walls are plastered and textured...too rough for writing. 

I. Love. This. Wall. But if we were doing it again, I'd only give part of it the powers of attraction. This primer is not cheap, and you really need several thin coats for optimum stick-to-it-ness. Maybe I'll add a redo to my ongoing list of "Things I Might Do When My Girls Are Out On Their Own." Or not. I never did get around to doing even half of the items on my list of "Things I Might Do When the Girls Are in School Full-Time." 

3. Fun and functional seating. Specifically: butterfly chair + inflatable chair + futon. I know futons get a bad rap, but ours works perfectly in this space. It's casual but sturdy, and it quickly converts to a place to sleep when the hang-out room gets used for slumber parties. (Can I still call them that?) If you're thinking of getting one, make sure the mattress is at least five inches deep and decent, not some foam wafer (which is why futons have gotten that bad rap, I think).

4. Creative and cooperative photo displays. If you're a returning visitor to this blog (thank you! bless you!), you might be having a moment of confusion and, possibly, panic. Is that a CRAFT? Is that from PINTEREST? What is going ON here? Fear not, cherished reader. Yes, it is both...but my daughters did it. (See "The Fruits of Your Labors" in "7 Reasons I Love Being the Mom of a Teenager.") All I did was screw in the hooks at either end of each strand of coated poly-something twine. Here's a tip about those screws I learned from my dad: don't get out the drill for something like this. Just find a nail slightly smaller in circumference than the screw you're using, and pound it in a little ways to make your starter hole. Then twist in your screw manually. Voila! No power tool needed. (Now, I know all you DIY-divas out there are probably saying, "Um, hello?! I keep my rechargable screw driver in my back pocket at all times for this kind of thing." Or, "Um, hello?! I learned this tip at the home-improvement station in kindergarten!" Please see "DIY Distressed" in the title of this series.) The girls found adorable jumbo clothespins at the craft store, and the whole set-up is charming and easy to change out. As a bonus, it cost about $5 total in supplies.

5. A nod to the past. My husband's parent got this clock for our oldest daughter when she was just a baby. They brought it back from Italy, having purchased it for their beloved first-and-only (at the time) grandchild from an Italian clockmaker. It is from the playroom days, but it fits the color scheme and the space and has sentimental value, so it stays. If my girls ever mention its removal, I tell them it's "quirky" and to embrace the nostalgia.

6. Snacks. Eventually, everything comes back to food in this house. But in the play-to-hangout-room transition, these, too, have matured. Goodbye, Goldfish crackers. Hello, Chocolate & More Chocolate S'mores Cookies.*

Other hang-out must-haves we threw in the room include a colorful five-head lamp, the requisite TV/DVD combo, a giant hand-me-down dresser with tons of storage, and my personal fave: this trash can. $6 at Big Lots, and it completely echoes the color scheme. 

All of this comes together to accomplish my real goal: to create a place right here in our house where my girls want to hang out. Because I like having them home with me. And also because if there's a tornado, we've got the perfect basement to go to.

*Chocolate & More Chocolate S'mores Cookies (Yup, you can print this.)

Heads up, mama! This dough needs to chill at least an hour, so plan ahead. Yes, I know that's a pain. But it will be worth it. Also worth it: getting ahold of some parchment paper to line your cookie sheets. I've even found this at the dollar store, although cheap parchment tends to be a one-and-done deal, whereas I've reused better stuff many times over.

1 box chocolate cake mix (with the incredible shrinking cake-mix "thing" I've found at my grocery store, the mix I used was about 15 ounces...if you like a soft cookie, use one with pudding in the mix)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup oil (be generous here if your cake mix is more than 15 ounces)
2 eggs
9-12 large marshmallows
3 whole sheets graham crackers

1. Cut marshmallows in half width-wise. Put them in the freezer until further notice.

2. Combine the cake mix and the chocolate chips.

3. In a small bowl or 1-cup glass measure, whisk together the oil and eggs.

4. Dump the oil/egg mixture on top of the cake mix and stir just until you don't see any more dry cake mix.

5. Cover and chill at least an hour or up to several hours. Did you cut and freeze your marshmallows? If not, do it now.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cookie sheets with parchment as advised above. Or, if absolutely necessary, butter them like crazy or spray very generously with nonstick cooking spray.

7. Put the graham cracker sheets in a small plastic storage bag and take out any frustrations you've got by banging them into very fine crumbs. Dump the crumbs into a small bowl.

8. Scoop out two-tablespoons globs of dough and line them up on your cookie sheet, 9 to a sheet. (Only prep and bake one sheet at a time.) When you've got your globs all lined up, get your marshmallows out of the freezer. Press and flatten out a dough glob a little, put a marshmallow half in the center, then form the dough around the marshmallow, encasing it completely. Use a little extra dough if you need it...you want your marshmallow all tucked in. Repeat with the remaining dough blobs you've already portioned out. Return remaining marshmallows to freezer and dough to refrigerator.

9. Roll and coat each marshmallow/cookie dough package in graham cracker crumbs...don't be skimpy here. If you run out of crumbs, beat up some more.

10. Place marshmallow/cookie dough/graham cracker packages on the lined/greased/sprayed cookie sheet and bake for 6-9 minutes, or just until puffed and slightly cracked.

 11. Cool on cookie sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes before using a spatula to remove cookies to the rack to cool completely. Or to a plate to eat immediately.

12. Makes 16-24 cookies, depending on various factors...whether you're pro- or anti-raw cookie dough, how big your "2 tablespoon" blobs are, that sort of thing. Store airtight if storage is something you actually end up eating.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *
**Not familiar with this newish entry into the tween/teen lexicon? See "8 Things Moms of Young Daughters Have to Look Forward To (Really)," point #2.

Other posts that would have been in this series except that I put them up before I started the series: 

• "Six Layers of Love (Or: Confessions of a DIY-Challenged Mom and What Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Bars Have to Do With Any of It)" 
• "How To Trick a Closet Into Thinking It's a Bedroom"

What inspired idea do you have to make this hangout room even better? 
Tell me about it...but please do keep in mind that #idkhowtodiy.