Lana Austin: Motif

Tiffany’s Sends You a Love Note: Part III In A Series

2012-02-08T19:53:00.001-08:00

I think the Tiffany’s blue box is one of the most romantic things in the world!!! So, I thought it’d make a perfect pre-Valentine’s little love note to you all at Susan's Tablescape Thursday, My Romantic Home & French Country Cottage!

This is the 3rd and final part of this series where I’ve re-utilized the same silver chargers, white plates and silverware for three different tablescapes.

This week I changed out the glasses for my new aqua bubble glass ones! LOVE!! SCREAM!!! I got them after Christmas on super sale and I LOVE THEM! I can’t wait to do many more tablescapes with them as they are my favorite color.

I also changed out the napkins from the silver to the white and the napkin rings from the silver to the aqua ones that I scored for less than a dollar a piece at Old Time Pottery.

I also incorporated the aqua tulle and little Tiffany’s boxes that I got a couple of years ago for Alexandra’s Sweet 16 Party. (that party featured the Tiffany blue color and chocolate brown and it was a dessert party and we had candy favors in the adorable little boxes!).

The beautiful coral/peachy pink roses as the centerpiece were from Alexandra’s most recent show she was in and I thought they were a truly beautiful contrast to all the blue.

I really wish I had those inexpensive slipcovers for my gold parsons-like chairs right now that I saw on ETSY. Maybe I should go buy them?!?!!

I hope you enjoy this. It’s far prettier in real life…I wish you could see it in person. it’s like the flowers are floating on top of this cloud of aqua mist and the boxes against the white are truly gorgeous!

This week is the week that I’m going to go visit all of my blog friends. I’m sorry I’ve been mostly absent with only being able to get to a few folks’ sites, but after we got back from Christmas Thomas got sick, then I got sick, then Alex started all of her new show/audition stuff, then Kate just had oral surgery…..man, this is all humbling without my wonderful husband, Tom.

Please say a prayer for him this week as he’s about to travel and that’s the most dangerous part.

I pray that YOU ALL are wonderful and aren’t too cold. It’s been amazingly warm and them amazingly cold back and forth here with surreal weather changes!

Love, Hugs, Blessings & Tiffany’s Blue Joy,

Lana

Part II In A Series

2012-02-02T10:47:00.001-08:00

Here’s the second part in my series. I’ve utilized everything from last week, but have incorporated one of my Italian linens…and…drumroll…one of my favorite pieces of all time: THE BOWL.

No, really…whenever we move we don’t trust the bowl to the movers. We move it in a box titled “THE BOWL.”

That would be the cut glass crystal piece sitting on top of a vintage punch bowl stand. THE BOWL means so much to us because it was given as a wedding present from Tom’s paternal grandparents. They are incredibly precious to me.

And while the stunning beauty of the ebullient cut glass facets appeals to me immensely, it’s the fact that this bowl was theirs that means so much to me.

AND…it was made by Poppop’s father before he died from the Spanish flu way back when. What history this bowl represents!

With my wintery silvered ice and snow table theme, I thought it would be amazing as a centerpiece!!!

Please pray for Mommom and Poppop, and Tom’s parents as they have been caring for them. They have not been doing well at all. I love them with all my heart and I hope nothing happens to them while Tom is deployed to Afghanistan because…well, I know you can imagine how dreadful that would be. It would be dreadful at ANY time, but with Tom unable to come home, it would be worse. He loves his grandparents tremendously.

I’m so proud of my in-laws for taking such good care of Mommom and Poppop. I saw my own parents give the same kind of love and commitment to my grandparents and it’s astonishing how difficult it is. They’re all heroes to me for taking such exquisite care of their loved ones.

I’m excited about the next installation in this series because I incorporate my favorite color: aquamarine!!!

As always, I am thrilled to share this with the very special people--my true friends and "internet family," at Between Naps on the Porch's Tablescape Thursday.

Love/hugs/blessings,
Lana

Silverscape

2012-01-24T19:32:00.001-08:00

I never want to wish my life away. I know that every single second is a blessing. If I wish my life away until Tom comes home in October and I don’t embrace every moment until then, I will miss utterly precious and priceless time with my children. They all change every day, so swiftly. Cliché, but true.

So, I’m going to embrace the icy, sometimes savage, aspects of January. The gray tones. I’m going to focus on the beauty of it, the crystal white snowflakes, the silvery ice, the quiet of it all.

This tablescape is just the first part in a series of three. In my never ending quest to show that you don’t have to spend a lot of money or time to tablescape, I’m going to incorporate different elements with some of my table mainstays, my glorious white “workhorse” dishes, and create three different tablescapes quickly, easily and INEXPENSIVELY.

I will share this joyfully with my wonderful friends at Tablescape Thursday, French Country Cottage and My Romantic Home.

That being said, I want to point out a couple of the new things: I bought only two of the square silver chargers from Pier 1 because even with 15% they were still so stinkin’ expensive. I put them at the heads of the table. I incorporated some super inexpensive round chargers, in a woven like form, for the rest of the table. They were $1 a piece at Tuesday Morning.

I’m so in love with the vintage Italian silver spoons. They remind me of Napoli and our time living in Italy. So dainty.

I’m also in love with the silver fleur de lis napkin rings. They’re from Paris and my best friend, Kent, gave them to me! She’s an even bigger Francophile than I am! She lived there in college (French was one of her majors!) and has visited often.

I also love my pewter napkins, another Tuesday Morning find!

And at the very bottom you’ll see yet another Tuesday Morning (I should buy stock in that store!) find. They were 50% off after Christmas…and while they are definitely “winter” swans, they seem more January to me than Christmas. I was just experimenting with some different color editing on those and some wonky canted shots. You know me…crazy artist that I am.

My photos here are all experiments. Shooting with no flash/different ISO settings. These are still a little darker than I’d wished/a little grainier than I’d prefer, but all in all a decent experiment.

I learn from my mistakes even more than from my successes with my camera! LIFE LESSON METAPHOR ALERT!!!

I SO wish I had time to take the photography class I’d been planning to take as my “special project” while Tom is gone.

Well, I’ve written a lengthy tome. Here are some more photos:

Love/Hugs/Blessings & Silverscape Joy,

Lana

More Waterfront Grandeur Pt. I

2012-01-23T22:01:00.001-08:00

Thank you so very much for the wonderfully kind compliments you gave in reference to my in-law’s waterfront property in Edenton, North Carolina. We spent a lovely Christmas there and my MIL’s professional interior designer aesthetic prowess fantastically buttresses the inherent beauty of their home that possesses pristine views of the Albemarle Sound.

I’ve been promising more photos, so this is just to get your started. I have many more. It’s a stunning home, very large…but all of the gorgeous design details make it comfortably elegant. It embraces you when you’re there; it never engulfs.

The photos above and below could easily be some more of the door shots I took while living in Italy in 2011—ya’ll know I loved me some good door knob/knocker shots.

But, alas…this fantastic detailing IS ON THEIR REFRIGERATOR! Seriously, folks!

The scale of the front doors is large…but it’s perfect. And the door hardware is appropriately scaled for the doors—substantial, glorious and timeless.

PLEASE NOTE: Ya’ll please take note of the subtle “x” embellishment—you’ll see that motif incorporated in several other places in future posts.

Please excuse me while I include some more Christmas photos of my kids for Tom, who is still in Afghanistan and will be until October of this year.

The photo below is of Grandaddy with my just-turned-six-year-old, Thomas. They were building Legos together. My son was in “rare form” over Christmas. Whew…nothing like having your kids wait until they get to the in-laws, with their dad not able to help discipline, to be “cantankerous.” Perhaps I shouldn’t have cut out his naps 3 days before we traveled to North Carolina?

Above: I love these three kids of mine and feel so blessed to be their mother. They are my joy!!!

Below: Thomas on Christmas morning. Yes, Tom, if you’re reading this—I DID cut his hair soon after this. Yes, dear, it’s a little shaggy in this photo!!!

This photo below of Kate-Elizabeth, my 8-year-old, cracks me up.

Her expression says: PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS ALMOST OVER!!!!

This is a floral arrangement in an awesome metal urn/pedestal on the landing that leads to the upstairs. It reminds me SO MUCH of Aidan Gray (spelling?). I love AG!

Below: I’m in love with this trumpeting angel in the urn on the front porch. There were two of these, although my photo only highlights one. I love the natural greenery, too.

I love the myriad textures/attention to detail. There are a ton of pieces with nailhead trim….my favorite rustic lux detail!!!

More nailhead trim on a beautiful leather chair below.

This leather chair has the most DIVINE silver detailing!!! I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS CHAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m sure my MIL got a great deal for this amazing piece, too. As a professional interior designer, she has access to pieces we “regular folks” don’t have. Some people think that they will have to spend and lose a ton of money if they hire a professional interior designer, but in reality interior designers save money in the long run. They have access to a profusion of choices, many at a discount, and because of their keen eye/experience/training, they save us from costly mistakes. If you are interested in hiring my MIL, please send me an email or leave a comment and I’ll pass on her info. She is very experienced and I have long been proud of her talent.

And then there’s the chair below! ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!!

The next few pictures highlight one of my favorite Christmas decorations. Such EYE CANDY and SO FESTIVE FOR CHRISTMAS!!!

And…that’s just the beginning. Please check back in for more!

And thank you so much to my dear blog friends who noticed my absence (that’d be YOU Grammy Goodwill—you are so awesome!) and sent me messages. I’m okay….have just been overwhelmed by all of the homeschooling/house things in Tom’s absence/Alexandra’s college auditions/shows, etc.

It’s very humbling being, in essence, an absent mom. I’d certainly appreciate your prayers…but even more so, please pray for my daughter, Alexandra. She has been invited to audition at some truly fantastic colleges/conservatories and we’re praying for acceptance and scholarships to the place that is perfect for her so that she may live out her gifts and bless others as she has been blessed.

Love/Hugs/Blessings,

Lana

Rose Medallion: Family Heirlooms

2012-01-11T12:04:00.001-08:00

When visiting Tom’s parents’ stunningly beautiful waterfront home in Edenton, (what a perfectly applicable name!) North Carolina, Grand-Ma-Ma let me play with some more of her divine dishes. These are true heirlooms as they were passed down to Mom-Mom (Tom’s paternal grandmother) and she has been giving various pieces to Tom’s parents over the years. This is the famous Rose Medallion pattern and it is uniquely vibrant.

Since I’d already shown some of the family silver pieces, I decided to use a more rustic, yet still elegant, flatware group.

The faux suede leaf placemat is such fun!

There are a profusion of diverse shapes and accoutrement in this collection.

And below is one of the beautiful Waterford crystal pieces.

I love this smaller glass piece with delicate leaf etchings that perfectly echo the placemat motif.

I loved incorporating the pale green napkin into the white scalloped edge one for a delightful fullness.

The last picture shows an utterly fabulous design juxtaposition of the real tortoise shell against the Rose Medallion piece so graciously displayed. Fantastic eye candy!!!

Here’s a teeny tiny bit of info on Rose Medallion I gleaned from the Internet (www.arantiques.com):

Rose Medallion is a Chinese ceramic made in the 1800s and 1900s as an export pottery, and both “newer” and “older” versions exist. Its design features very colorful weavings of flowers, , birds, butterflies, and people. Most Rose Medallion features different “panels” of art on the piece in which people are alternated with other creatures and flowers in scenes. Traditionally, there are four medallions with one central rose medallion. Yet, there is a wide variety of patterns and forms in rose medallion; therefore; you cannot think of rose medallion as a “matching set” or as matching at all.

Before I go I want to show you another photo or two of their home.

Ya’ll have been so incredibly kind and complimentary about the Austins’ waterfront homestead and I promise many more photos—I’ve been having trouble with my computer AND am insanely busy here with all of Alexandra’s audition stuff, etc.,

BUT…more Edenton pics are forthcoming.

I showed you a picture of these FANTASTIC red leather chair in another photo before (with the gorgeous cowhide rug in front), but I’m showing this angle because of the fabric. No, that’s not wallpaper with the pheasants…it’s fabric. Grand-Ma-Ma used a truly gorgeous fabric on the walls in the library!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!

And check out this curtain rod. I think this is in the dining room. Every detail in this photo is brilliant—the molding, the curtain rod, the fabric, the wall color. Perfection!!!

Grand-Ma-Ma is a professional interior designer for a reason!

She rocks!!!

The photo above (with Aunt Teresa and Uncle Matt) gives just a hint of the scale of the great room. It is truly great!!! I was standing in the middle of the great room looking up (fantastic coffered ceiling…and painted no less—great attention to detail—the darker color helps the gargantuan space/scale seem more intimate) and the huge dining room is below the balcony.

The portrait you see on the left is my daughter, Kate-Elizabeth (Alexandra is obscured on the right). Out of site in the photo/below the portraits is the baby grand piano.

One of the things I LOVE about the balcony is that she has turned the walls behind it into a portrait gallery of family photos…some are very old and are priceless family pieces.

And, finally…some more shots from the back yard of the water. I love the flag they put up on their dock. I love to see it billowing in the breeze and more than once it brought tears to my eyes as I thought of my husband in Afghanistan and the freedom for which we fight.

All of those emotions are encapsulated in that tremendously powerful image of the flag.

As always, I’m thrilled to share this with BNOTP’s Tablescape Thursday, French Country Cottage and My Romantic Home!!!

Love/Hugs/Blessings & Family Heirloom JOY,

Lana

Doily Love

2012-01-04T14:45:00.001-08:00

I had to share some of the doily love. This was just an expansion of the Christmas tablescape I did with the vintage linens and jewelry as napkin rings. I removed the table runner and incorporated some of my Italian and French doilies! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! In a few weeks I’ll be using a doily on a mason jar to create a Valentine’s Day candle holder. I can’t wait!

I have much more to share from the Austin’s house on the water at Christmas, but haven’t had time to edit the photos since we got back from our whirlwind 10 day trip! But first, I'll share this post with y'all at Tablescape Thursday, My Romantic Home and French Country Cottage!

I'm excited to catch up on everyone’s blogs!

MARLIS & SARAH: Thank you for the kind comments/questions about the placemats in my last post. My mother-in-law actually made those and they match the gorgeous Santa coat she made for a HUGE St. Nick that greets visitors in their foyer! I promise pictures soon! I don’t think I got a photo of it, but there’s actually a table runner in the same fabric as the placemats and Santa coat…BUT WITH FEATHER TRIM!!!! OOH LA LA!!!

A very late MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! I pray God’s richest blessings upon each of you!!!!

Love/Hugs/Blessings & Doily Love,

Lana

Christmas On The Water

2011-12-27T14:08:00.001-08:00

The Austins’ beautiful house in Edenton, North Carolina is on the water. Jaw-droppingly beautifuly, it sits perfectly on the Intracoastal Waterway. There is such natural splendor right outside the door, through every window…AND inside the house as well. It’s difficult to imagine something pretty enough to be able to compete with the water view, but Grand-Ma-Ma’s professional interior designer skills vault the decor to a new echelon worthy of the gorgeous outdoor context.

I can't wait to share all of this with my friends at BNOTP'S Tablescape Thursday, French Country Cottage and My Romantic Home along with the fantastic photographers at Sweet Shot Tuesday.

They know that I love to tablescape, so not only did they give me two fabulous coffee table books centered on the subject, but they also let me “play” with their dishes for the big Christmas dinner.

Oh, I adored the crystal, the family silver, the heirloom linens.

The photo below is looking from the HUMONGOUS dining room (my photos don’t do it justice!) that opens directly onto the great room

I can take no credit for the divine centerpiece in all its festive glory—that was Grand-Ma-Ma.

We dined on a heavenly meal on Christmas evening and our Uncle Jerry and Aunt Marilyn were delightful dinner companions.

The adorable little glass mug above was what we chose for the little ones. They’re still beautiful, but a wee bit more kid-friendly than the formal Waterford crystal!

The chandelier and medallion in the dining room are TO DIE FOR.

I’m absolutely in love with this silver centerpiece.

The photo above is of the library. That’s my favorite room in the house (though it’s hard to choose) and is a ‘tease’ for the rest of the tour I’ll give in the next few days!

Love/hugs/blessings & WATERFRONT CHRISTMAS JOY,

Lana

Do You Want to See My Kids?

2011-12-26T21:45:00.001-08:00

Above is a picture of my three kids with their grandparents at an incredibly charming soda shop in Edenton, North Carolina.

These are not all perfect photos…but I hope that you will indulge me. Many of these are simply to lift the spirits of my husband, Tom, who had to spend Christmas in Kabul, Afghanistan away from his family. And several of these are far from perfect…there are crazy expressions, silly action shots, some stains on dresses…if I were trying to only show “the best,” I’d incorporate only the “perfect” photos or I’d SUPER EDIT them.

But my kids, the frenetic whirling balls of dazzling light that they are, are ACTIVE and REAL. I want Tom to see their silliness.

So…Hello My Dear Husband. Merry Christmas and We Love and Miss You and Are So Proud of You for Serving This Year in Afghanistan. You Are in Our Constant Prayers!!!

We spent Christmas with Tom’s family in North Carolina. Edenton is a picturesque town on the coast and the Austins have a truly beautiful home on an incredible waterfront lot on the Intracoastal Waterway. My mother-in-law,, Julie Austin, is a fabulous interior designer, so their home is such a dazzling visual feast! She made it truly magical for Christmas! Tom’s brother, Matt, and sister-in-law, Teresa, hosted us half-way on our journey and helped drive us the rest of the way to North Carolina. That’s my daughter, Alexandra, above and on the left below with her “Aunt Reesa” on the right.

One of the super fun things the Austins did was to take one of the photos of Tom from the big patriotic farewell ceremony before he boarded the plane for Afghanistan and had it blown up almost life-size! My kids and I loved it and have had so much fun taking pictures with “him.”

Thomas recently turned six and has the most adorable missing tooth!!! It makes me smile every time I see him smile with that big gap in his front teeth!!!

Some of these photos have some red eye still in them because I didn’t notice until the photos were enlarged for the blog just now. I wanted to get this post out quickly for Tom, however, so you’re seeing the largely unedited versions.

I love a profusion of things about my kids…but what I love perhaps the most is their true zeal for life…this unbridled enthusiasm, fantastic expression and joy that bubbles up and out of them all of the time! Such energy! Such creativity! Such FUN!!! They are a hoot and a half.

I feel so blessed and grateful to God for the blessing of these three children and of my handsome husband! I love them all very much…beyond words!!!

A VERY Merry Christmas to you all! I’ll be back on Wednesday with a tour of the Austins’ home and a tablescape from Christmas dinner!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & Christmas JOY,

Lana

Belgian Angel Wing

2011-12-17T13:31:00.001-08:00

An antique Belgian angel wing, an antique Italian angel wing, antique corbels, glass candle holders I gave my aunt when she was dying that mean the world to me, a chicken wire candle holder, my IKEA white vase filled with fresh berries from my yard…amidst some burlap. These are my gloriously rustic elements….hopefully converging to make a RUSTIC LUX (my favorite design aesthetic!!!) Christmas vignette.

I had originally bought the antique angel wings for my ETSY shop, EUROPEAN VINTAGE, when I was living in Italy/traveling Europe earlier this year, but…I SIMPLY COULD NOT PART WITH THEM. They created an “instant collection” of wooden angel wings and now I’m on a mission to find more.

I. AM. IN. LOVE.

And putting them all together in this Crevecourian Melting Pot….a Magical Melange of international ingredients…allowed me to test my new camera. I have soooo much to learn….I played around with manual mode, the light settings of course, and utilized some of the basic composition techniques I learned from some of my drawing classes in college.

This is a RUSTIC LUX STILL LIFE!!!

I am joyfully sharing this with The Nester, Metamorphosis Monday, My Romantic Home, French Country Cottage, Tabletop Tuesday AND Vintage Friday.

Please check out my older posts for my Vintage Jewelry and Venetian Ball Christmas Décor!

Love/hugs/blessings & Belgian Angel Wing JOY,

Lana

PS The large Belgian angel wing is one I found in delightful Brussels. The smaller Italian angel wing is one I found at the famous Arezzo Antique Market…Arezzo is probably my favorite city in the world. We were so blessed when my eldest daughter, Alexandra, was able to study with the Oberlin Conservatory in Italy program in Arezzo there this summer and we came to visit her. We loved it so much we came back for an ETSY buying trip later. I HIGHLY recommend Arezzo and Brussels!!!!

Demijohn Christmas Tree

2011-12-15T12:12:00.001-08:00

Sometimes simplicity is the very essence of grandeur…a subtle grandeur, but grandeur nonetheless. And these demijohns, procured during my magical time living in Italy this year, are the epitome of simplicity.

With some fresh seasonal berries cut from my front yard…it’s “Instant Christmas.”

I’m in love with these demijohns. A special shout-out goes to my dear friend, Jennifer Darby, to whom I owe immense gratitude for her friendship, love…and my demijohns! (I have a couple of these for sale in my ETSY shop, too!)

I’m joyfully sharing this post with The Thrifty Décor Chick and The Nester!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & Italian Demijohn Christmas Tree JOY,

Lana

Venetian Ball & French Crystal Christmas Tree

2011-12-13T20:20:00.001-08:00

I knew when we moved to Italy in February of this year that I was going to search out some glorious, authentic masks to create a Venetian Ball Christmas tree!! And I’m thrilled with the results! I also added some antique French & Italian chandelier crystals for more shimmering, multi-faceted BLING!!! (I sell these in my ETSY store, EUROPEAN VINTAGE).

I am THRILLED to share this with everyone at the

Thrifty Décor Chick & The Nester!

Please check out my last few posts, too, to see some more Christmas decor!

My computer is cantankerous, so I will be the soul of brevity. Please check back soon for more details about this post.

Since my husband is serving in Afghanistan right now (he's a Naval Officer in the Reserves on a year tour there--he'll be back in October 2012) I wanted to incorporate a couple pics of my two youngest kids! They're such fun! I'll have some of Alexandra, my eldest, soon, too!

One of the things I love about my Christmas decor is that it's cohesive...it correlates directly with my other year-round decor in the library/my office. My mother made a wonderful tree skirt out of the same fabric that I utilized on my "inspiration" boards and for a table topper.

I LOVE PAISLEY!!!

Love, Hugs, Blessings & Venetian Ball & French Crystal JOY,

Lana

French & Italian Vintage Linen Extravaganza Pt. II

2011-12-06T12:03:00.001-08:00

Greetings, Ya’ll!!! Welcome to everyone coming over from Layla’s/TLC’s, my bestest pals at BNOTP’s Tablescape Thursday, My Romantic Home, Vintage Friday and French Country Cottage!

This is Pt. II of my French & Italian Vintage Linen Extravaganza, so I hope you’ll scroll just a little lower to read part 1.

I hope you will enjoy basking in the crystal, white, silver, gold and amber glow of this table strewn with vintage treasures.

Every time I pass this shimmering tablescape, it twinkles at me as if a TOUCH OF MAGIC is JUMPING OFF the TABLE to TICKLE MY SOUL with EBULLIENT LIGHT & LAUGHTER!!!

It really is MAGIC to me!!!

The highlight of my table is part of my beloved collection of vintage linens from my time this year living in Italy. I loved, loved, LOVED traveling to various cities within the Italia Bella (Florence, Arezzo, Naples, Caserta, Nola, Rome, Capri, Sorrento, etc.) and also journeying forth to France and Belgium.

Oh, the treasures I was so blessed to find! Not to be selfish, but I did need to keep some of these beauties for my family…to remember our magical journey…but I’ve also incorporated many into my cute little ETSY shop, EUROPEAN VINTAGE! Please stop by for a visit:

I’M HOSTING A 50% OFF CHRISTMAS SALE!!!!

But, I’m not posting this to hype my ETSY store…I just want to share the WINTER WONDERLAND OF VINTAGE DELIGHT that I created on my table! I had so much fun and my daughters helped me, too. I LOVED THAT!!!

I always think it’s funny seeing my distorted, Carnival Fun House reflection in the ornaments!

AND YES!!!!

I finally got a new camera after my wonderful PENTAX was stolen on our journey back to the States.

I miss my PENTAX (after months living in Europe and taking it everywhere, it felt like an extension of my hand…REALLY! I LOVED IT!!!), but I’m enjoying learning how to use my new Canon Rebel T3i. I think that’s the name of it…it’s the one with 18 megapixels, which is why these images are still so clear even though I’ve blown them up SUPER SIZE for the blog.

Gotta love that.

The best thing about the camera, though, is the light capacity. We had horrific thunderstorms yesterday and everything was SUPER DARK. Although the images still have a slightly amber cast due to the lights I turned on, for the most part the photos are still crisp and clear EVEN WITHOUT THE FLASH!

I got this fantastic new camera on super sale, of course, and I highly recommend it for ease of use. I jumped right in and took real photos the first day I got it AND I AM TECHNICALLY ILLITERATE!!!

I can’t wait to take Christmas photos of the kids next week with this new fabulous toy! I’m so grateful to be able to get it!

All my love to you!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & French & Italian Vintage Linen JOY,

Lana

French & Italian Vintage Linen Extravaganza PART I

2011-12-05T20:09:00.001-08:00

Even if I had all the money in the world, I’d still utilize these STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS vintage jewelry pieces….brooches, earrings and bracelets: OH MY!!! I got them for a super price in a “junk jewelry” lot on EBAY. You might remember how I utilized some of the autumnal-colored pieces from the same lot in my fall craft project. I’ll be using even more of these divinely blingy pieces for several “jewelry wreaths” next week, too.

And this super easy craft is one I’m going to share with Centsational Girl and the table as a totality I’m going to share with BNOTP’s Tablescape Thursday, the holiday extravaganza at The Lettered Cottage, My Romantic Home, Vintage Friday and French Country Cottage!

After you procure your gorgeous faux gems, all you have to do is pick out the napkin ring to which you want to attach them and either hot glue them, wrap them around or pin them on if they’re earrings.

I used a super simple white napkin ring that I got on sale (of course!) at Pier 1 a couple of years ago as the base, but you could use just about anything…even plain ribbon!!! Seriously, folk…even plain ribbon would work!

Most of the pieces I used for this craft were clip-on earrings, so I was able to just clip them to the white napkin rings…which is awesome because I can then switch them out as I need.

I’m thinking about adding some of these vintage beauties (I got oodles of them!) to my ETSY shop, European Vintage. Although all of my items at EV are currently from Italy, France and Belgium (for those who don’t know, we lived there for the majority of 2011), a few choice vintage pieces like these gorgeous pieces would be a nice addition, even with an “across the pond pedigree.”

My time living in Italy was amazing for many reasons, but the stunningly beautiful linens I was able to find, at equally stunning prices, in France, Italy and Belgium…well, to say it made me do the happy dance is a vast understatement.

Pared with some more of my vintage jewelry bling to enhance my basic napkin rings, I’ve tried to set a table that despite its monochromatic scheme, is popping with rich texture and elegant glitz…a winter wonderland of vintage pizazz!!!

I’m thrilled to share this with Layla/TLC and friends! I will, of course, share this with Susan's BNOTP's Tablescape Thursday.

I have many of these same vintage linens for truly reasonable prices at my ETSY shop, EUROPEAN VINTAGE!

And, my friend, the fabulous Rhoda from Southern Hospitality, is going to be hosting a giveaway on her blog soon for a gift certificate to my store and I’ve started a 50% off Christmas sale as well. I hope you can stop by for a visit!!!

You truly can have a beautiful table and still be thrifty. Vintage linens are a wonderful way to add vivid, original personality and history to your table for not a lot of money.

These hand-done pieces are just gorgeous.

So, despite the fact that I used the exact same “work-horse” white dishes and “the world’s cheapest white flatware” as my last tablescape (minus the red dishes), with the addition of the vintage linens, some apothecary jars I already had around the house (I’ll show those in a separate post), and some new “bling” from my stock of junk jewelry that I bought for SUPER CHEAP in a lot on EBAY, the table is fresh, new….blingy and vintagy (I just made that a word!) and so beautiful I may never take it down.

I double wrapped my napkins to give it extra OOMPH! and the outer napkin is so delicate that it’s almost diaphanous and gives it an almost ethereal quality!

I am in love with the cutwork on some of these European linens. STUNNING!!!

I’m a sucker for vintage pieces. Not just for the fab price…

But for the HISTORY they evoke!!!

I’ll try to post PART II of this French & Italian Vintage Linen Extravaganza later tonight! Thank you SO MUCH for stopping by!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & Vintage French & Italian Linen Joy,

Lana

Vintage Bling Christmas

2011-12-04T18:19:00.001-08:00

Most of the pieces I used for this craft were clip-on earrings, so I was able to just clip them to the white napkin rings…which is awesome because I can then switch them out as I need.

Another super fun, inexpensive and easy element to this table design was the incorporation of the ornaments. I just put them around all the dishes/the centerpiece (which is just a simple grouping of large candles) and voila! It’s Christmas. This design, without the ornaments, would work great for Valentine’s Day, too with the pristine white and vivid red contrasting sooooo nicely!!!

And this little birdie above is my “touch of whimsy.” I love seeing him perched there, with his glittery festive feathers!

I love the array of these spangled jewels…every single one is so unique…every single one possesses a specific history and I always love to imagine what the background of each is.

Who owned this? Did she wear it to a fancy party or to church? Was it a gift from a loved one, or a beguiling bobble she bought just for herself because the shimmering facets sang to her???

I’m going to be doing an all-white, blinged out Christmas fairytale design tomorrow, so please check back in!

Oh….and I just want to say thank you for being my bloggie friends. I’ve met THE KINDEST and MOST GIFTED folks in blogland.

I wish you all the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of holidays….truly…from the bottom of my heart!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & Vintage Bling Joy,

Lana

Vintage Ornaments

2011-12-01T18:53:00.001-08:00

I. AM. IN. LOVE.

With the vintage ornaments I purchased for a song on EBAY. They are stunning…truly stunning! The details are fabulous! So delicate! I can only imagine the story behind each of these obviously hand-crafted gems!

Some remind me of the ones my Mama bought in Germany eons ago and still uses on her tree to this day! And so many of this collection came in delicious pinks and blues and greens…PERFECT for my daughter’s room. I have them mixed in with some of the newer ornaments I bought for my daughter and they fit in seamlessly!

They are TIMELESS!!! CLASSIC!!!

I’ll be sharing MUCH more of this Paris themed collection (including beautiful items from my flea market trip to The City of Light in August when I went shopping for my EUROPEAN VINTAGE store) and room soon, so please…ya’ll come on back, ya hear?

I’ll be sharing this with BNOTP’s Met Monday, Pink Saturday at How Sweet The Sound, My Romantic Home & French Country Cottage & The Nester!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & VINTAGE ORNAMENT JOY,

Lana

Pumpkinorama

2011-11-30T14:44:00.001-08:00

So the whole world has moved on to Christmas décor…but I’m determined to get all the mileage possible out of my pumpkins…so here’s a PUMPKINORAMA before I start sharing the Christmas infused designs.

I LOVE my glitzy white pumpkins and my vividly hued plush pumpkins! I decided to try them all together for a HUGE PUMPKINORAMA look.

Yes, I keep repeating PUMPKINORAMA!

When you say it out loud it just feels joyful!

So, all together: PUMPKINORAMA!

See….JOY!

Thanks everyone, especially my pals at the lovely Susan’s BNOTP’s Tablescape Thursday, for putting up with my attempts at humor! I’m determined to keep smiling no matter what!

PUMPKINORAMA!!!

Well, anyway…I’ve been on this mission to re-utilize some basic elements every week in my tablescape—the rustic placemats and flatware, and this week, also my workhorse white dishes.

But with all the pumpkins and some autumnal-colored Christmas ornaments utilized as napkin rings…the table looks brand new again!

I decided to use all white dishes and napkins to off-set all the bling and bursting color…at first in my head I didn’t know if it would work.

I’ll be doing an ALL WHITE Christmas ‘scape soon….but I LOVE how the profusion of hues contrasts so well with the basic white elements…it’s as if all that color needed something to tone it down…LITERALLY!

I’ll write much more about this next week, but I got to meet another blog friend who is now an In Real Life friend like Rhoda. The gorgeous Bonnie from Living With Thanksgiving came to visit the day after Thanksgiving and we had a truly wonderful visit! She and her family are gorgeous and just so kind! What a blessing! She even brought me a gorgeous poinsettia (pictures forthcoming soon!).

I finally got to SKYPE Tom in Afghanistan yesterday. It was so beautiful to be able to see him. He’s doing okay. Tired from working 12 or more hours a day 7 days a week…but it’s a war. No time for breaks, though he does get to go to chapel on Sundays.

Thanks to everyone who continues to pray for him! He (and I do, too!) appreciate it so much.

On other news: I finally ordered a new DSLR camera since I have still not found my “baby.” Maybe once the new one arrives I’ll find the old one—isn’t that how this works?

Until then, here are some photos with my little point and shoot.

Here’s a great example of why light is so important in photography: The photo above is grainy/has an amber cast that isn’t supposed to be there because I was focusing on the part of the dishes that were away from the light source/window.

The photo below is focused on the side that is being lovingly draped by the sun.

Amazingly crisp image, even with the little point and shoot I’m having to use until my new camera arrives, with all that glorious natural light dancing atop my “pretties.”

As always…I know there’s a metaphor there.

I pray that you all had an truly beautiful Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all my family and friends…and I have some amazing friends in you folks that I’ve met through blogging! You are AWESOME!!!

My three kids had Thanksgiving at my wonderful Sunday School teacher’s house since I was down with a horrific sinus infection.

Don’t worry…I’m not depressed. I miss my husband, but I’m doing okay. Just the normal “yukkies” for this time of year that I get from my children when they bring it home from church, etc.

For Christmas we’ll be at the in-laws in North Carolina. I’m hoping to see my blog friend, Tee, from Browne Eyed Belle, while I’m there. If you’re in NC and you’d like to try to meet, just leave me a comment or send me an email!

Well, I’ve been more verbose (just a fancy word for my being long-winded! HA!) than normal!

I pray that you all have a fantastic rest of the week/weekend!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & PUMPKINORAMA JOY,

Lana

PS I'll be sharing this with the awesome folks at French Country Cottage and My Romantic Home!

Same Song…Different Verse

2011-11-21T19:29:00.001-08:00

Oh, the aquamarine shades PLAY SO NICELY with the chocolate browns and creams! LOVE this color combo!

Same placemats, chargers, flatware, napkins, burlap runner and iron candleholder. Different plates, glasses, candles & napkin rings.

And would you believe those glasses are plastic? All are items I’ve had for years, but I’ve never put them together like this.

I utilized the “base” items from last week and then incorporated all the aquamarine.

This week I’ll probably switch out a few more things for Thanksgiving and share that with you at the next BNOTP’s Tablescape Thursday.

Speaking of Thanksgiving…I have so much to be thankful for: My salvation, family/friends, a beautiful home, a career I love.

And I’m thankful for all my bloggie family/friends, too! Ya’ll are just AMAZING!

I’m thankful to all our troops/clandestine service members serving overseas!

I’m thankful for a sense of humor…I love my kids’ laughter and imaginations!!!

I’m so thankful to still be in love after 19 years of marriage to my handsome husband! If you’re reading this from Afghanistan: I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND AM PROUD OF YOU! THANK YOU FOR SERVING!

I pray that you all have a blessed and safe and a truly JOYFUL Thanksgiving.

Love/hugs/blessings & aquamarine dish joy,

Lana

Textural Allure: A Tactile Rustic Lux & Pics of My Kids, Too!!!

2011-11-16T19:15:00.001-08:00

I love texture any time of year, especially when working with neutrals as in this tablescape; however, when fall’s blustery winds come whippin’ around, multiple textures, even if some are rough, seem to envelop me when I look at them. This table features oodles and oodles of texture, from the rough burlap, twine and placemats, to the oh-so-velvety suede (faux, of course, but they feel SOOOOOO good!!!) napkins and the smooth grandeur of the glass pieces—I love the myriad textures that are a cornucopia for the tactile senses!!!

As you can tell by the photos, I still haven’t found my good camera…which means my Christmas/Valentine’s Day/Birthday AND Mother’s Day presents this year are going to be a new camera!!!

Oh, God bless the wonderful hearts of ya’ll who have said my photos are still wonderful even without the “good” camera. It would’ve helped if we had had some good weather the past couple of days instead of nasty gray clouds and rain. Light really changes photographs!!! But, I offer you my meager best.

Of course I still tried to do some groovy close-ups to highlight the abundance of textures.

Most of the things on this table are several years old. Even if I had all the money in the world, I would still re-use these little lovelies. Of course, I’m not a bazillionaire…so I HAVE to re-use things again and again…luckily, I LOVE them and I love to incorporate a few new elements, putting some pieces in a new context, to shake it all up and help me see things anew.

So, no, you really don’t have to have big bucks to tablescape. I’ll be using these glorious placemats (found on super sale at Pier 1, as always!!!) in multiple ways in the coming weeks as an example of how a few things can drastically change the look of your table, even while maintaining some key basic elements!

I know my friends/pros at BNOTP's Tablescape Thursday don't need to know this, but if you're new to tablescaping, it might be good info!

The transferware, while I wish was antique/vintage, is just from Tuesday Morning a few years ago at the least expensive prices I’d ever seen there. I LOVE these pieces, though. They only had the salad/dessert plates and the pitchers, but that was JUST FINE, YESIREE BOB!!!

That cut the cost way down…and I used my “workhorse” basic white dishes, but the whole table looks fresh with the other dishes as a focal point.

I’ve had these napkin rings for years and years and years! They add a touch of glamour and bling to an otherwise VERY rustic and “country” table. I LOVE country with a bit of bling!

You other dishaholics out there…you know who you are (HA!), know just what I mean when I say these close-up shots that show all the subtle textures and undulations and colors of the dishes make my heart go pitter-patter!!! LOVE!!!

Ya’ll are so sweet and keep asking to see more of the house—I promise more shots soon…I have to clean it first!

But here’s a shot up that shows the interesting ceiling treatment/custom paint we incorporated in the dining room.

AMAZING texture with the burlap (even if it does shed like the dickens) and the antiqued metal candleholder!

These are some placecards I made a couple of years ago for Thanksgiving and kept to re-use. SUPER CHEAP. I just cut out scrapbook paper (love the French script pattern) with the special edging scissors to give it some ZING!!! and then I drew initials of the folks coming to dinner in crayon.

I’m so silly and did some traditional things….like a “J” for Jesus….did any of ya’ll ever do that at holidays, set a place for Jesus?

I LOVE that after I punched a hole in the paper, I wrapped it around the glasses with twine. MORE TANTALIZING TEXTURE!!!

RUSTIC LUX DIVINE!!!

And they can make AWESOME napkin rings, too!!!!

The “C” here is for C. S. Lewis. He’s one of my “dream” dinner companions, so I set a space for him, too!

And…for Daddy and the Grandparents…we have pics (these were taken yesterday morning, I think???!?!?) of 2 of the kids, Kate-Elizabeth and Thomas. These were actually taken for my homeschool piece I’m working on, but with the table all set in the background, I thought I’d include them here, too!!!

WE MISS AND LOVE YOU DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kate is sending you big hugs in the photo below!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If ya’ll want sources, just please leave me a comment/or shoot me an email and I’ll incorporate them!!!

I'm also sharing this with the awesome folks at: French Country Cottage and My Romantic Home!!!

Love/hugs/blessings to you all & TEXTURAL JOY,

Lana

Belgian Style & Spillin’ The Beans On My Secret Life

2011-11-14T20:13:00.001-08:00

Ooooohhhh….there’s so much to tell you. Where do I begin? Well, first off: I need to definitely get back to sharing more of my photos from our time living in Italy & traveling around Europe. I don’t think I’ve posted any pictures from Belgium yet…so here ya go!!!

I’m going to be expounding, at length (ya’ll know how chatty I can get!), about Belgian style.

But let me preface all future writing on the subject with this: I sometimes abhor myself for even considering jumping on a “trend.” I do NOT want to embrace a trend just because it’s a trend. I am a classic kind of gal. I want to stay true to my innate loves and instincts.

But what happens if my intrinsic taste coincides with a mammoth trend-of-the-moment? Well….that’s just gonna happen sometimes and I’m going to stay true to myself and keep loving what I love, even if a million folks suddenly love it, too.

Does anyone remember that Barbara Mandrell song, “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool?”

HA! I’m DATING MYSELF!!!

Well, I was IN LOVE WITH BELGIAN STYLE WHEN IT WASN’T COOL! I’ve always been a huge advocate of the Rustic Lux style—and Belgian style fits right in with that aesthetic paradigm!

But more on that later…now I’m going to DISH SOME SECRETS ABOUT MYSELF!

The wonderful & lovely (And have ya’ll seen her HOUSE! It’s gorgeous!) Shenita of Embellishments by SLR was so very kind to give me The Versatile Blogger Award!!! I’m too ignorant to know how to put up the little button thingie, but I’ll figure it out—Tom helped me when Brown Eyed Belle gave me an award before. I’m SO TECHNICALLY ILLITERATE!

The rules of this award are to thank (and I do thank you lovely Shenita!) & link back to her, to tell seven things about myself, and to award other folks. I can’t remember how many…but I’m going to go with at least 5…probably MORE.

So, here’s the DISH:

1. I was an orphan/in and out of foster care until miraculously adopted a couple weeks shy of my 6th birthday—born & raised in rural Kentucky.

2. I’m a poet/creative writer and not just a journalist. People have actually given me awards/scholarships for my poetry/fiction and I received my M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing with an emphasis on Poetry. I have been SO BLESSED to have studied with some of the most gifted writers in America, including Jennifer Atkinson, Eric Pankey, Steve Scafidi & Pulitzer Prize-Winner Claudia Emerson.

I have an article coming out in a few months that’s an interview with two of my favorite poets, R. T. Smith & Steve Scafidi.

*****IF YOU THINK YOU DON’T LIKE POETRY, THAT’S JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVEN’T FOUND THE RIGHT POET/GENRE YET! Please tell me what things you’re interested in and I can recommend a poet that will move you and make you smile or?????

3. I’m also a singer/songwriter. Well, I *was* a singer…it’s been a few years since I’ve performed professionally. The songwriter part is really just an extension of the poet/journalist part, so I don’t know if that counts.

I was asked to be part of an amazing indie record label about a decade ago & my first (and only thus far) CD came out (a Christian/folk/alternative/gospel mélange) in 2006.

God opened amazing doors and I was so lucky & blessed to be able to work with some of the most amazing musicians, including Grammy & Dove-award winning producers/musicians, etc. and I loved to make people smile through music.

I still write for other people and some day I’m going to do a stripped down, folksy/bluegrass/gospel hybrid CD.

Just because I’m 40 DOES NOT MEAN I’M DEAD. I can still sing. I can’t tour as much because I’m a mom to 3 super fun & busy kids & I homeschool…but I’m still a musician at heart. When I direct musicals for Ars Nova Productions, I’m in hog heaven…I love encouraging the next generation in their musical/theatrical endeavors!!! I still can’t believe people pay me to write/sing/direct. I’m grateful!

I thought about recording some things while Tom is gone to Afghanistan as one of my “projects.” Everyone keeps telling me I need to keep busy, but not just taking care of the kids, and that I need PROJECTS. I want to take an online photography class, too, since I love photography so much.

There just aren’t enough hours in the day. Cliché. But OH SO TRUE!

4. My favorite poet is Robert Penn Warren. He won the Pulitzer for fiction, but his poetry MAKES MY SOUL SING!!!

5. We want to adopt some day. I was so blessed to be adopted & we want to return that blessing.

6. I’m very klutzy. Is that even how you spell it? It looks weird when I just typed it.

7. I met my husband doing musical theatre in college. We’ve loved to collaborate on various productions since then and I frequently direct children’s musicals for local production companies & I’m on staff at Ars Nova Productions as a director & occasional instructor of creative writing/drama. I LOVE TEACHING KIDS & ENCOURAGING THEM IN THE ARTS!!!! But I think I wrote about that already…well, it’s worth repeating—ARS NOVA RULES!!!! I LOVE my boss, Dr. Beazley, and all of the amazing youth/kids/adults there…I LOVE THEM ALL!!!

8. I am broken-hearted by mean people. I know some folks think I’m overly Pollyanna, and heaven knows I have my dark rain cloud moments & extreme sadness & angst & major anxiety, but I STILL choose to focus on the positive & I will always try my hardest to be kind. I do not EVER want to be a MEAN GIRL/WOMAN & I truly wish that everyone in the world would ASSUME THE BEST in everyone else. Why are women so mean to each other????

9. I love animals, but am still in mourning over the death of my Anatolian Shepherd, Gabby. We got another wonderful dog, Maggie, but we had to find another home for her because by the time we’d adopted her, she’d learned really, really bad habits/was biting the kids/neighbors & even after professional training she was still too afraid of the kids. That broke my heart into a million pieces, having her go to another home. So, I’m waiting until my heart is healed & Tom is home to get more pets.

10. My favorite 80s Pop song is “Don’t You Forget About Me” from The Breakfast Club. My favorite Hymn is “Come Ye Sinners.” I’m going to have to write a whole other post about all the music I love, so I’ll just stop with those two.

11. I’m afraid of heights. REALLY afraid of heights.

12. I love TOILE!!!

13. Sometimes (most of the time) I’m an airhead….God humbles me every day. I was always in the gifted programs/AP classes/little Mensa geek child, but I am still pretty much lame most of the time—no common sense/only “book smart.”

Just call me Stupidly Cerebral. Yes, that’s an OXYMORON. That’s me.

14. I consider it the greatest honor that God has ever given me to be married to Tom and to be the mother of Alexandra (just turned 18), Kate-Elizabeth (8 1/2) & Thomas (just turned 6).

I gave you probably way more info than you needed/wanted/over the required amount. But you know what? Life is short. I want to be REAL & TRANSPARENT!

And now I’d like to find secrets out about….errrr….I mean…..give this award to:

Amy At The Avery House

because Amy is an amazing mom/photographer/small business owner/Christian teacher…and blog friend. I met her on Edie’s page and she’s like a long-lost sister. Her sweetness just JUMPS out.

Marlis at Creative Journeys

because anyone who has been to Marlis’ page knows her huge talent and heart…creative journeys, indeed!!! She has become a true friend to me!! I think she does amazing things with TEXTURES in her tablescapes…and NATURAL elements…and I love her love of monograms!! I love ‘em, too!!!!

Sarah at Hyacinths for the Soul

because…like Marlis…well, ditto everything I said on Marlis. Sarah is just one of those huge-hearted and gifted tablescapers that I always felt I KNEW, ya know? So gifted…so kind…instant family.

Edie at Life In Grace

because she was my earliest cheerleader to start a blog…she was my first follower or thereabouts and has really encouraged me as a homeschooling mom. I applaud her commitment to Christ after the horrific house fire. And because she has zany/kaleidoscope color style AND is a C.S. Lewis admirer, too!!

Grammy Goodwill

because she is a teacher, a grandmother, shops at Goodwill (sounds like her bio!), has the most adorable granddaughter, loves Virginia and is funny and kind and generous with her wonderful comments that make my day!

Alycia at Tablescapes atTable 21

because I am in awe of her taste and décor and her Belief and she writes wonderful comments that lift my spirit. I want to go visit her and be her tablescape assistant…she ROCKS tablescaping!!!

Tee at Browne Eyed Belle

because she’s another sister to me with her Christ-love, Southern Belle mentality, her love for her “boys,” her gorgeous design work (she should go pro!) and her sense of humor. She gave me my first blog award and I’m finally giving her one back!!! She is so deserving! SOUL SISTAH!!!

Yvonne at Stone Gable

because…well, need I say more? Amazing inspiration every week…and not just the tablescapes and menus….when I wasn’t able to get to a service in Italy on Sundays, I always went to her site for the Scriptures.

Polly at Bliss and Bumps

because….like Amy, I “met” Polly through Edie. This is another wonder woman, super woman Mom. And she’s adopting, too!!! Her farmhouse is amazing…but her energy/her love for Jesus and her kids/family…WOW!!!

Bonnie at Living With Thanksgiving

is one of those talented Christian women that I felt was like family the first time I went to her site. I was SO THRILLED to find out she lives not too far away and I hope to have her over some time around Thanksgiving! She’s elegant (such a beautiful home/tablescapes/décor) and faithful and is a world traveler and mom…I respect her!!!

Cherry Kay at Entertaining Women

is another amazing tablescaper that makes me want to travel to her house and be her assistant. I’ve already learned tons from her…and she’s another Christ-follower who gives glory to God for EVERYTHING…and she has an amazingly gifted daughter with the voice of an angel!!!

Christine at Christine’s Home and Travel Adventures

because I want to be part of her family! She never stops…always on some amazing trip (and taking her grandkids at that!) or having a dinner party or girls night in party! She has exquisite taste and mixes this fantastic convergence of styles and décor and it just works so wonderfully! I bet she’s a fantastic cook, too…I see those recipes and gain 10 lbs just a lookin’!!!

Jacqueline at Purple Chocolat Home

because everything on her blog looks like a magazine…..AND YET SHE IS SO HUMBLE AND KIND and takes the time to comment on my little blog. She’s a real tablescape inspiration…and her cooking….and that PIZZA OVEN! Really, ya’ll…have YOU CHECKED OUT HER PIZZA OVEN???? I featured it before I left for Italy and it still has a special place in my heart!

and…last…but not least (and I’ll be featuring a whole post on Vanna soon—I was SO LUCKY TO WIN HER GIVEAWAY AND IT JUST CAME A FEW DAYS AGO AND I’M SOOOOO THRILLED!!!!! THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH, VANNA!!!)

Vanna at lvroftiques

because she has this fantastic European style (she has wonderful chandeliers EVEN IN HER CLOSETS!!!), and I especially love the French Country essence. She has remarkable Flea Market Finds…..and things from all over the world…tres chic!!! (I couldn’t get the tres to have the accent on it…sorry!) The eye candy is mesmerizing over at her blog! And she recently had a giveaway AND I WON! MY FIRST!!! I got it a few days ago and I LOVE IT!!!! THANK YOU!!!

Well, this might be my longest post EVER. If you have read to this point…thank you for your patience

Love/hugs/blessings,

Lana

An Open Letter to My Husband & His Fellow Soldiers In Afghanistan

2011-11-11T17:21:00.001-08:00

Dear Tom,

I know my blog-reading family/friends will understand why I’m hijacking this space to write a post just to you, though they are more than welcome to read it, too; and, I even encourage them reading it as they have all been so supportive of your mission and have been praying for you.

I am eternally grateful for their kindness and support.

Happy Veterans Day (though that reads like the lamest thing EVER…how can “Happy Veterans Day” possibly articulate our gratitude for the gargantuan task to which you have given yourselves???) to you and the fellow men and women serving with you in Afghanistan and all around the world.

I am so thankful for your sacrifices, and for the sacrifices of all who have gone before and served our great country, who have tried to perpetuate freedom. This is a blessing that I dare not take for granted.

We have tied many yellow ribbons on the tree in front of our house. No, it’s not an oak tree and it’s a pretty puny little tree in actuality, but the sentiment behind it is sincere and deep.

Alexandra, Kate-Elizabeth, Thomas and I, along with some neighbors and Sunday School friends, each tied a ribbon on to let you all know that we are thinking of you.

We thank you.

I love you from the bottom of my heart, beyond mere words as I could never verbally fully convey what you mean to me, but at the very least know that I treasure you.

I know, as best as I can know and empathize from my comfy chair sitting in my comfy rec room at my big, comfy computer in my even bigger comfy house, that this past month has not been easy for you, nor will the coming months this year that you will be gone.

I pray that you are safe. I pray that you know that you are loved.

And I pray that can keep your spirits and health high as you endeavor to contribute your wonderful, brilliant mind as an intelligence analyst in support of a mission that you have committed yourself to fulfilling.

We are all profoundly grateful to you and your fellow soldiers.

Please hug David for me and all of the men and women I met in South Carolina.

Please tell them thank you for me and show them this little beribboned tree, this tiny gesture that is a simple outpouring of gratitude from my heart and soul.

Love always,

Lana

Afghanistan

2011-11-09T16:59:00.001-08:00

We actually got to see Tom one last time, briefly, before he flew out officially to Afghanistan. WARNING: Some of these photos may break your heart.

He left on October 10th and went to training in Mississippi and then onto South Carolina at various military bases. Insane…really…insane training that if I thought too hard about it (the explosive devices, the humvee roll-over simulator, the convoy ambush training, etc.) would be the catalyst for even more sleepless nights than I already have. Insane in that they *need* to have that kind of training. Tom’s been a naval officer in one form or another (full-time for years and now as a reservist) since he graduated and has done tons and tons of deployments and training…but those were on the ship. This is on the ground. In the middle of a war. A whole new ballgame.

But then the call came from Tom saying that they were going to have a patriotic send-off in Columbia, South Carolina if we could make it.

Could we make it? Is he crazy? Of COURSE we could make it. What’s an 8 hour drive if you get to see your husband/father one more time, unexpectedly, before he’s actually “in-country.” Which, by the way, he is officially in Afghanistan, now, after flying from South Carolina to New York to Germany to Kuwait and then to Kabul, which is where his main duty station will be, though he’ll be traveling some as he leads various teams in other locations.

What you’re seeing here is the big farewell that the military and various volunteers hosted for the service members and their family/friends who could make it.

I felt SOOOOOO BAD for those who had no family there, so of course I hugged and thanked all of them as if they were my own family, too!!!

Since gaining 19lbs about 10 months ago (before Italy) and only losing 3 of it so far, AND being “travel weary and worn,” you know that my first instinct was to not allow these photos to be taken and then not to put them up in super large size on the blog for the whole world to see me at my exhausted, teary & thick (my 8 year old says: Mommy, you’re not fat…just a little “thick.” HA!) worst…

BUT….this is MY HUSBAND. MY FAMILY! At one of the most important moments of our lives. So, TO HECK WITH VANITY. Thus, here are some pictures of all of us together!!!

I THANK GOD for the blessing of being able to see my handsome husband one more time, for having our family all together one more time, and I was determined to document this profound occasion. (Though, don’t ya know, I still haven’t found my DSLR?)

We’re all patriotic through and through and ever so dorky, so…we all wore something with red.

I must say, Thomas is looking rather peaked here, too…that’s because he’s just 2 hours away from starting to have the stomach flu.

All.

The.

Way.

For 3.5 Hrs.

To Georgia.

Poor Little Guy.

I am so very grateful for the folks who put this event together. The servicemen really needed and deserved it, especially those who didn’t have family who could come and visit. They provided tons of food and gifts and hugs and cheers and flags and…it can’t compare with the sacrifices the military makes, but it was surely awesome.

At the end of about 45 minutes we all lined up outside amidst the flags, which were, of course, billowing so perfectly in the wind that decided to descend upon us, and each service member walked down amongst the cheers/clapping/handshakes, etc. One other mom and I hugged every single one of them.

How could I not?

Tom was just about last. I love this man with my whole heart…with my total being. I am so grateful for the joy of our marriage and family. I’m so thankful that earlier in the week, prior to the farewell ceremony, that he could take a few hours off from training to go to dinner with us and for us to take the kids to the local zoo. Those are indelibly etched into my memory, those extra precious moments together that we had not anticipated.

And then they boarded the plane.

You know there was part of me, if I’m being completely honest, that wanted to SCREAM and go running and physically stop him from getting on that plane.

I still can’t believe it’s only been one month so far without him and 11 more to go. I don’t want to live a year without my best friend.

I don’t want to worry night and day about his safety.

But you know how I feel about this. SOMEONE has to do this. So, it’s Tom. So, it’s OUR FAMILY, because WE ARE DOING THIS TOGETHER.

We are not saints. I am not always brave. Sometimes I cry.

They gave us a “Dang It Doll” to beat on when we were frustrated…and it’s already missing its eyes and most of its hair

But we will make it. We will be grateful for all our blessings amidst this trial.

I’ll tablescape again

I’ll finish the post I’m doing after I won a blog award and I’m going to spill my guts about all my inner most secrets and then name some other awesome folks to win the next blog awards.

I’m going to continue homeschooling.

I’m going to continue being a journalist and musician.

I’m going to continue going to church and trying to help orphans.

I’m going to watch Once Upon a Time on Hulu.

I’m going to help my daughter with all the things she’s got to do to apply to/audition to all these music conservatories.

I’m going to start exercising again now that the steroids helped get the massive swelling in my joints back down so I can lose those aforementioned extra pounds.

I’m going to bake more pies in my Paula Dean red pie dish from Wal-Mart. I love that dish! Where’s the butter, ya’ll?

I WILL PRAY!!!

And, of course, I’ll visit all of your amazing blogs again.

As you can tell, it’s been an eventful past couple of weeks.

Please don’t forget to honor your Veterans on this upcoming Patriotic Holiday!!!

Please pray for them every day if you can!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & PATRIOTIC JOY,

Lana

I Refuse To Relinquish The Vivid

2011-10-18T20:08:00.001-07:00

Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOO much to all the amazing people who commented on my last post about 9/11/Tom’s deployment. Tom thanked you, too, in a little note he left on the blog in case you missed it. I have no words to thank you, just please know that my gratitude is true and deep. I will try to respond to everyone—it’s just been an extremely busy week & a 1/2—and that’s a vast understatement.

So, I have no new tablescape for you…just pics of one I did right before we left Italy.

I refuse to relinquish the vivid.

I, of course, love the all-white freshness and have utilized a pale monochromatic flair myself quite often…but I still am in love with the intense COLOR of these plates and the tablecloth.

The last time I used the plates/cloth, I had a dark blue charger underneath to correlate with the deep, cobalt blue center of the Italian plates.

This time, I drew out the aqua shades that were dancing around the plate.

YES—they DANCE around the plate, all swirly and frenetically fun!!!

So, I pulled out some inexpensive aquamarine placemats and juice cups. It is very simple…and yet it EXPLODES WITH COLOR and VITALITY!!!

It makes me happy.

This shot makes me a tiny bit sad because I can see the beautiful columns that led up the marble stairs to our sweet little yellow casa when we lived in Italy. We’ve been home several weeks now and I’m so INTENSELY glad to be back here for Tom’s year-long deployment…but I miss Italy, too.

Luckily, I have a TON of photos to edit and continue to share with you and ignite my own memory of our magical time living in Lago Patria and traveling all over the glorious country di Italia.

So, you ask me how I’m doing. I don’t have an exact answer for that. I’m doing the best I can. I miss my husband, but I’m so busy homeschooling the younger two and getting Alexandra to all of her college pre-auditions, etc. and I’m still unpacking (and trying to find MY CAMERA!!! ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! I’m going to have to claim it soon as lost and go through that process if I don’t find it in a couple of days!) and so everything is going a million miles an hour.

And my eldest wrecked my Toyota Avalon—she’s okay—so we just took that in tonight to get fixed.

My Mama always used to say, “When it rains, it pours.”

Well, my dear friends, it’s A-RAININ’ SOMETHIN’ FIERCE!!!

My health, thankfully, is holding together, though I’m back at the Dr. on Friday for the regular thyroid check & the regular joint check. Dealing with two diseases (Ehlers Danlos—a connective tissue disorder that affects my joints severely) and a difficult, hard-to-treat version of hypothyroidism that’s pituitary-based…well, those two things converging are definite challenges.

It’s very humbling sometimes.

But I’m still joyful. My kids are all healthy. I’ve gotten to talk to Tom several times. We live in a beautiful home. We have a great church/friends/family…and I have TABLESCAPING!!!

YUP!! It brings me joy and is a much-needed distraction!!!!

I look forward to visitin’ with everyone this week!!!! So, of course I’ll be sharing this with the fabulous Susan and her family of tablescapers at BNOTP along with French Country Cottage, My Romantic Home and Savvy Southern Style!!!

If I owe you an email or blog visit, please don’t give up on me yet!

Love/hugs/blessings & Vivid Color Joy,

Lana

(Back in the USA!)

My Husband Didn’t Die On September 11th

2011-10-09T17:19:00.001-07:00

43 Minutes. Only 43 minutes between life and death. Maybe it was slightly more or a tiny bit less, but for whatever reason, my memory has clung to that specific number.

Memory, in the face of tragedy, fractures things—trauma acts as a bizarre prism through which the light of memory is broken and refracted into myriad versions, different facets. And for me, as a journalist and poet whose paradigm is frequently that of sensory detail, I remember acutely the colors, sounds, tastes, smells and tactile feelings of that day.

But time? It’s more nebulous. I know, though, I’m close in my memory—I’ve gone over it with Tom. So, I believe it was 43 minutes. If my husband, an intelligence analyst for the Navy, had left 43 minutes earlier and arrived at his destination, the Navy Command Center office at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001, he would be gone. Every single person, our friends, in the office he went to all the time passed away. And he was going there that morning, too.

In one of those bizarre twists, the Naval Intelligence section was newly renovated and they had recently moved offices. They were still renovating a portion of the Pentagon, so potentially hundreds more would have died had the area not been worked on.

But it started with distorted voices, anguished voices on my answering machine.

I had been upstairs getting clothes for the day for my daughter, Alexandra, who was seven at the time. I came downstairs to find the answering machine blinking. Within the first second of hearing Tom’s mother’s quivering voice I knew that something unimaginable had happened—I just didn’t know the massive scale yet.

“Lana, please tell me that Tommy is alive.”

I had no idea what she was talking about but I knew there was such distinct horror in her voice that this was real. Her voice was beyond just “the crying” hoarseness with the undulating highs and lows of someone trying to get words out through tears.

If ever there was a dichotomy to a person’s voice, it was in Tom’s mother’s that morning. There were the lower tones, almost whispered—thin wisps of language—spoken so softly, as if she was afraid that by virtue of saying them her fear would be reality.

But there were also the higher tones—a contained shrieking, terror barely held in-- of the out-of-control panic rising from her throat, from her soul, that reminded me of a wounded animal dying.

Or of a mother mourning her child.

In that single second before the next message played, in my mind I saw my husband dead—maybe on the side of the road, maybe of a heart attack or…I didn’t even have time to question how she would know something catastrophic was wrong with my husband before I did before the machine beeped and the next message played.

It was Tom.

Another duality—a cognitive dissonance of pure joy and pure terror concurrently running through my veins—ensued.

I knew he was alive but I was starting then to understand the scale of the deathly havoc that was unleashed upon the United States.

How can such joy and grief live together, side-by-side?

He said, in a rushed, but firm way, that he was alive, the Pentagon had been attacked and he would try to make it home.

He didn’t sound panicked, nor was he crying, but his words were thrown out of his mouth harshly—the harshness of shock, of trying to protect our family, the hardness of fear, of dismay while trying to be the strong man who knew we were at war and everyone's lives were irrevocably changed.

His harsh words punched me. They punched my ears. They punched my mind. They punctured my heart.

I picked up the phone to try to reach him, but the phones had already gone into the infinite busy signal. Another sound of what felt like the end of the world. I felt helpless. I knew then that we were under attack. We were at war. Communication had started to break down. I didn’t know if it was because so many people were trying to get calls to and from our area or if the enemy, an enemy I didn’t even know the name of yet, had succeeded in wiping out our central communication system.

I desperately wanted to hear my husband’s voice again. And I couldn’t. Again, I was helpless.

I called his Mother, but in all honesty, I don’t remember the conversation. I told her he was alive.

It was all I could give her and it had to be enough.

I then ran to the radio and turned it on and then went to the computer.

OH-MY-DEAR-GOD-IN-HEAVEN.

The Pentagon, the Twin Towers. All those people. Those iconic American buildings. And it only got worse as the news came in of the Towers collapsing. The pictures/film of people jumping from the buildings.

I kept the radio on and started cleaning.

Yes, I started cleaning. I knew people would start to come over to see about Tom and having this rush of adrenaline, terror-based chemicals pushing through my system with an exaggerated flight or fight response and unable to do either, I had to do SOMETHING.

My daughter sat at the table working on homeschool and listening to the radio. I’d told her that her Daddy was alive. But we both knew we wouldn’t believe he was truly safe until he came through the door.

By that time tons and tons and tons of fighter jets were zooming overhead. I wanted to cheer and I wanted to scream. The sound of all those jets and helicopters so close overhead shook the ground, swooshing past so quickly I could feel the swooshing in my head.

I remember wondering if the people in the Pentagon and World Trade Center had heard the same swooshing sound and felt the same ground shaking before…BEFORE.

We lived just a few miles from Dulles Airport and only about 30 miles from the Pentagon, so there was a constant whir of military flights overhead. It didn’t let up for days upon days.

My daughter, unbeknownst to me, wrote mid-morning that people had died at the Pentagon and she was waiting for her Daddy to come home so she would know that he was alive. I kept that paper. I found it later that evening and comprehended for the first time that despite her calm exterior, she, too, was worried that her daddy wouldn’t make it home.

We were in a war zone.

We honestly didn’t know if another attack was coming and we feared the worst. My friend, Michelle Malek, came over and I told her, when I first opened up the door, that he’d managed to get a call out before the phones went dead. The brief second before she heard he was safe, I knew she was fearing the worst from me—that either I knew he was dead, or maybe even worse, didn’t know if he was dead or alive.

I'd always read that you could see terror and deathly dread on someone's face, but with Michelle there was the moment of epiphany comprehending the reality of it--seeing it "written all over her face."

I wondered what my face betrayed, what primal fear and angst was readily visible.

I can’t imagine being one of the people who didn’t know if their loved one was dead or not. I know that my instinct would’ve been to get in the car and drive to get there. Even when I knew Tom was alive, I still wanted to get in the car and drive to help find people. To give blood. To do SOMETHING. But the news kept saying to stay home--the traffic was even more of the massive quagmire than it normally was. And I knew it might take Tom far more than the normal hour to get home.

So I did something that seems even more bizarre now than cleaning.

Michelle and I went outside to my front porch. I was still shaking, but we sat and talked about the weather. I can still close my eyes and see the color of everything from that crisp, almost fall day. It was spectacularly beautiful. The sky was an intense blue, an almost unreal blue. The air smelled of fall. The leaves were beginning to do their autumnal shifting into vibrancy.

Michelle and I stated the obvious—life as we knew it would never, ever be the same. How unreal to sit on my front porch with my friend talking concurrently about the amazing weather and wondering which of our friends were dead.

Wondering if any of us would live to see tomorrow.

After she left, I could no longer keep myself in the house waiting for Tom. I drove my daughter to our church. Many other people were there. They had the same instinct. We prayed. We walked around. We kept trying the phones. I had early on let them know that Tom was alive and trying to get back home and then I went silent. We were all wordless for a long time.

We then went back home. I have no words to describe the endless hours of waiting for my husband to return. I honestly couldn’t trust that he was still alive, that another plane wouldn’t come crashing down, that a bomb wouldn’t go off, that…I wouldn’t believe he was safe until he arrived. I know I tried to be a good mother and distract Alexandra by talking about her birthday, which was the next day.

She had to ask me if she would still have a birthday. I told her yes…that we had even more of a responsibility to celebrate life and America and freedom and family and love and all things good and thank God for the blessing of her life, of all life, on her birthday. It was our duty. But I know my words were mechanical at best, incoherent, deranged even, at worst.

And then Tom was home. Hours and hours past his initial phone call. I thanked God again, but still felt sick to my stomach about all of the destruction and lives lost and at that point I didn’t even know just how many lives were lost.

When the phones came back, the calls poured in. But not just our friends and family wanting to know that Tom was alive. We also had members of Tom’s team calling us.

They were calling to report that they were still alive.

The next day we received more specific news of the Pentagon crash—we knew for certain the area hit worst was the area that Tom was going to that day. We knew that many of his friends were already declared dead or missing.

One by one, the list of dead friends grew. One of the most painful was Lt. Commander Vince Tolbert, who worked in naval intelligence with my husband. He was one of the last ones we received word on and while we waited, I prayed so hard that they would miraculously find him still alive.

I kept saying a prayerful mantra: please let one be alive--please let one be alive.

Please let just one still be alive.

We had only recently been at a Navy party with Vince and his beautiful family. He had three little kids, including the beautiful Brittany, a seven-year-old with cerebral palsy who was still this incredibly active and vibrant little girl that Vince helped ride a go-cart. His beautiful wife, Shari…I’d already thrown up so much and there wasn’t anything left for me to throw up when the word finally came that Vince had died and I kept seeing Shari and Brittany’s faces, but my whole body dry- heaved.

Vince was only 39 years old. He had three little kids. One was only 18 months old.

Later I would be beyond angry over the honoring of our fallen. Yes, they most definitely deserved to be honored, but where was the honor, the support, the thank yous, the prayers WHEN THEY WERE STILL ALIVE? He’d proudly served his country. Vince was a hero every single day of his life, both to his country and to his family.

Tom, after a day when they told him to stay home and he did very little but listen to the radio, stoically sitting for hours upon hours and occasionally talking to those who called in to say they were still alive, was absent. His body was there. But his heart and mind weren't.

We celebrated Alexandra’s birthday the next day by taking her out to dinner. My best friend, Kent, came in with her boyfriend, Frank. After the attacks, their relationship expeditiously moved forward to engagement. When you go through something as devastating as what we were going through, it changes you. If you are together before, you are REALLY together afterwards.

We made a conscious effort to CHOOSE to celebrate life. Amidst horrific death, you cling to the glimmers of hope and blessing. We knew how close Tom had come to dying. We were mourning the loss of friends and feeling a bizarre survivor’s guilt—but we had to forge ahead.

We could not and would not let the evildoers continue to steal from us. They would NOT take any more of our joy and innocence and faith and resilience and hope.

The next day when Tom would make it back home after a shift inhumanly long for him and for us waiting for him to safely return, we went to walk at the Civil War Battlefield in our home city of Manassas, a practice common for us.

It was eerily quiet at dusk and more deer than I had ever encountered came out to greet us, as if they intimately knew the gravity of it all--a gravity so heavy it hung in the air—death was in the mist settling in the gently rolling hills of the Battlefield.

And it was strangely beautiful, all those lovely, delicate deer amidst the silence of Hallowed Ground.

How could such tender loveliness, almost perfection, exist in the same world where crazed men crashed airplanes into buildings and killed thousands of people—how could such precious, gorgeous fragility coincide with such a disgusting massacre?

I walked and walked and walked and could almost hold the paradox of concurrent light and dark in the palm of my hand. I knew other brave warriors had fallen there just like our friends at the Pentagon. It felt simultaneously frightening and appropriate to be there. I was walking in the past and in the future as well as in the present.

But my own body started betraying the peaceful moments, the quiet vigil. I started jumping at every small noise, scaring some of the deer and making them skitter away because I was starting the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder hyper-vigilance that still haunts me to this day.

I know this might sound insane to you, but if you were there when we were during the attacks, if death surrounded you in a way that you never thought imaginable, then you would have feared the same: I kept looking up towards DC. I kept looking for more planes. I kept looking for bombs.

I half-expected to see a bright orange glow on the horizon.

The atomic flash never came, but something almost as horrific did: the funerals.

Tom went to funeral after funeral. At the service for a friend of his from college at Virginia Military Institute, Dave Williams, he was asked by his other college friends to offer condolences to Dave’s wife for the group. When he went up to her, he looked down and saw that her pregnancy was well under way. When he told me that, I had to fight throwing up again.

When we were all able to drive by the Pentagon in later days, it was still smoking. The smell was acrid and permeated everything—so pungent through our car. But I had already imagined I smelled the smoke ever since the initial images came in.

My brain did that crazy synesthesia where one sense morphs into another sense. When I saw the images of the smoke rising from the Pentagon, I somehow smelled it, too. The mind does crazy things when in the middle of trauma.

I asked Tom how Vince and the others had actually died. He told me smoke inhalation.

I kept thinking about the 43 minutes.

I kept thinking about Brittany Tolbert.

I kept thinking about Dave Williams’ unborn child.

And I kept grieving for all the New York City people, too. Loss on such a mammoth scale it was almost incomprehensible. I kept thinking that at least at the Pentagon, because it was a military building, there was a plan in place. There were grief counselors ready. There was a protocol to check in so people would know who was safe and who was missing.

In New York City, there are still so many unaccounted for because the death toll was gargantuan and the attacks there happened against a civilian population unprepared for such a grotesque occurrence.

Not that anyone, even someone in the military, is ever truly prepared for such a horrific occurrence. When I’ve read accounts of people’s memories after Pearl Harbor, there was such shock and dismay amongst the military. Just like in Washington, DC after September 11th.

I have to admit something to you.

I was very selfish. I wanted my husband to stay home. I wanted to run and move far away. I got enraged at Tom when he forgot to call me once and let me know where he was in the days after the attacks. I was afraid. Fear twists people. Fear can bring out your best or your worst.

For a couple of days it brought out my worst. But, as a Christian, and as a Patriot and as a Wife and Mother, I knew I had to come to grips with my fear. I couldn’t let it consume me.

And so I did the opposite: I not only decided to no longer let fear run wild, I decided to choose light, hope and life. In a literal sense.

Tom and I went to get BBQ for our anniversary on October 3rd and we had a life-changing talk. And for the record, people throw around the word life-changing all the time. But there ARE events that are life-changing. September 11th was.

And my conversation with Tom in that little BBQ diner a tiny bit North of Manassas off of Centreville Road that leads right to Dulles where those evil men boarded a plane, forcibly took it over and then flew it into the Pentagon was life changing.

We decided to have more children.

Alexandra had just turned eight on September 12th. We still live with the bittersweet irony of her birthday. We’d always wanted more kids, but I’d had miscarriages and there always seemed to be more than enough time for it to happen “some day.”

But we were only 43 minutes away from losing “some day.”

43 minutes away from losing Tom. 43 minutes away from losing any future Baby Austins. I got pregnant right away. In another of the saddest moments of my life, I lost that baby in December. I re-lived September 11th all over again and with an immense lack of faith, questioned God all over again. How could He have let all those people die? How could He have let our baby die, a baby that was conceived out of love and a commitment to keep on living in the face of horror?

But a few months later we conceived Kate-Elizabeth and she was born in early 2003.

Then Thomas came in 2005. They are my September 11th babies. They will never bring back our friends that died. But they are a constant symbol of love, hope, fortitude and light amidst the darkness.

Not to throw out the trite clichés, but they are TRULY LIGHT AMIDST THE DARKNESS.

I will always choose light. Even if it’s the barest glimmer, just a subtle shimmering far off in the distance. I CHOOSE LIGHT.

That’s what I’m doing right now as my husband prepares to leave for a year-long deployment to Afghanistan tomorrow.

He’s going because it is his duty. He’s going because it’s my duty. He’s going because there is a direct correlation between our country being in Afghanistan and September 11th. He’s going because our friends died. He’s going because people we don’t know died. He’s going because he’s a Christian.

He’s going because somebody has to.

I have, of course, cried over this. Kabul is not a safe place. I can’t imagine being without my very best friend for an entire year. I can’t imagine my kids being without their beloved father, who reads to them every single night before bed, for an entire year.

But Brittany was and is without her father. Shari was and is without her husband.

Because of 43 minutes I’ve had my husband for ten more years.

Sometimes I want to whine and ask God to not force us to make this kind of sacrifice, that I don’t want to be the one to “do the right thing.” I truly have my weak moments.

But as always, I’m going to seek the light. I’m going to seek the Light.

I initially thought about writing this on the 10-year anniversary of September 11th, but finally chose to wait.

I think too many of us have shed a few tears, waved a flag on Memorial Day or the Anniversary and then forgotten.

Those people who died at the Pentagon were heroes, but not just because they passed on September 11th. THEY WERE HEROES EVERY SINGLE DAY!

I do not want to debate with anyone the merits of our military being involved in various locations. I don’t want to debate left or right political philosophy.

I just want to support my husband when he goes to try to help in Afghanistan. Yes, they’re starting to pull more people out of there, but there’s still a need. He’s going to fill that need.

And I’m going to support that. I’m going to pray for him and all of our troops and clandestine people serving throughout the world.

There are still an immense amount of places we’re fighting in. People are dying every day. They have been and they will continue to be making the biggest sacrifice possible for our country, for YOU.

Please don’t forget that. Please, just because you hear about it all the time and have become numb to it, or because you don’t agree with the political system behind it, PLEASE don’t forget your troops.

Do you know someone who is serving? Do you know a family that’s left behind to serve in their own way when their spouse is deployed? Do you know the family of someone who died in the face of brave service? Do you know someone who was injured? Do you know someone who knows someone who is in any of those categories?

If you do, then PLEASE do something. It can be simple. It doesn’t have to take a tremendous amount of time or money.

Please THANK THEM.

Please HELP THEM.

Please DON’T FORGET.

PLEASE CHOOSE THE LIGHT.

***I will share this with my friends at BNOTP's Metamorphosis Monday--I know it's not a home project, but it was truly the biggest change & metamorphosis of my family's life.

A Textural & Inside/Outside Fall Porch

2011-10-06T11:49:00.001-07:00

A big ol’ Alabama HOWDY to all my bloggie friends and all the new folks visiting from Thrifty Decor Chic’s Linky Party!!!

I was shootin’ for 2 things with my fall front porch decor:

1. I wanted to SHOP MY OWN HOUSE and utilize some things that would normally belong inside to cut down on costs (like my big wrought iron candle holder, scrapbook embellishments & designer ribbon). These inside elements can still work outside on a front or back porch if it’s covered, like mine is!

WELL, SLAP MY FANNY & CALL ME SALLY!!!

I saved a TON of MOOLAH by using what I had and that candleholder added some real visual interest in bringing in a different height and texture to the front porch. And speaking of TEXTURE…

2. I also wanted to incorporate tons of TEXTURE. It provides visual interest and is JUST PLAIN OL’ FUN! Seriously….TEXTURE SCREAMS FALL to me with the pumpkins and their awesome stems, the grapevine wreath, the corn stalks, the hay bale & the Spanish Moss…those are some of my RUSTIC elements.

There are also my LUX items (and those who read me know I’m a huge advocate of RUSTIC LUX) with the gilded pumpkins, the glitzy & glam pumpkin embellishments, the copper ribbon with the sequins.

And like with the aforementioned candleholder adding another varying height, I tried to arrange things at various heights.

I used my little hay bale along with my urns and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes!!!

I hope you enjoy my RUSTIC LUX look.

And please forgive my photos as I am still missing my “other baby,” the DSLR and am shooting with my daughter’s little itty bitty camera!!!

Love/hugs/blessings & Textural & Inside/Outside Fall Porch Joy,

Lana (Back From Italy & Home in the Good Ol’ USA)