The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Between Seasons Luncheon

Good morning, sweet friends! I had a post about adoption in the works for this week but since an adoption post requires more thought than my usual posts about recipes or cleaning, I'll need a little longer to finish it. So instead, I'll go ahead and share some photos from a little "grandmother luncheon" my daughter and I hosted last Saturday. Each year, we like to have our children help with something special for Grandparent's Day! This year my daughter and I prepared a girly luncheon just for the grandmothers while my husband and son took my dad to a downtown restaurant overlooking the river which serves the ultimate "guy food"--burgers, wings, fries, etc. It can be hard to plan a ... Read more

Cook by the Book: Mahogany Chicken

Labor Day is coming up this weekend so for my "Cook by the Book" challenge this week I decided to feature none other than something off the grill: Mahogany Chicken from Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Grilling! This is a cookbook the kids and I gave my husband for Father's Day one year. He has used it many times, but I have not so I decided to flip through and get some inspiration for a good grilled chicken dish! Really, they had me at the word "mahogany" based on the idea of the color alone. The thought of a mahogany glaze made my mouth water, just imagining the tasty components that might go into it to produce a rich reddish-brown sauce! I skimmed through the ingredient list and had all ... Read more

Back-to-School Tea

Friday afternoon we had a few neighbor friends over for an after-school snack--a sort of "teatime" except I didn't call it that in front of my son and our tea was enjoyed iced rather than hot, perfect for our warm summer afternoon. This was really easy to throw together! When you have stuff in your stash to work with--tablecloths, paper goods, ribbon, baskets, trays, etc.--a simple table can come together without any prep or purchases. The chambray cloth was a hand-me-down from a friend. I made the red checked topper when my girls were little (I use that thing all the time). The green napkins were leftover in my party box, the ribbon and pencils were on hand, and I always keep apples ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: A Week in Waco

Happy Saturday! This post is coming to you a little late in the morning because I'm typing as we're heading home from Waco! We got to visit our daughter and son-in-law this week in their new hometown, and it was soooo good to see them! We enjoyed several fun activities with the newlyweds who gave us a tour of the town. Having more than just a few snapshots to share this week, I put them in collages so this post wouldn't be so long. OK, here goes! Magnolia Silos I'll begin with the one everyone is expecting from Waco: Magnolia! I've posted on this attraction before, so I didn't take as many photos of the property this time (Be sure and check out my Silos post from last spring!). The ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: This and That

Hello, friends! I have a few snapshots to share this week but without any kind of theme like I sometimes do. Just some of this, some of that. I'm going to begin with the highlight of our week which was time with our small group! Graduation Fiesta Our small group met at our house this week to reconvene after our summer break and honor one of our sweet girls who's been a precious friend to my girls and graduated high school this past May! We celebrated with a belated graduation meal--a taco bar! Many in our group have been traveling this summer so it was so good to have the whole gang back together. I found some cute cactus paper goods, a pinata, and a cactus garland at Target, ... Read more

Snapshot Saturday: A Picture a Day

Welcome to the weekend! For my snapshots today, I decided to choose one pic from each day this past week. So, here goes! Saturday: Sorghum Fields We drove into the city last Saturday to run some errands and grab some lunch. After a day in the city, I'm always ready to head back home to the country. The drive home is so picturesque and relaxing! Riding past cow pastures and fields of corn, cotton, and soybean help me decompress from the busyness of the city. Last Saturday we noticed a new crop in our area this year that we haven't seen around here before: sorghum! ***** Sunday: Two-Year Old Nursery My daughter and I had the 2-year olds for Sunday morning worship and ... Read more

Fluff the Nest Friday: The Great Summer Cleanout and the One Year Rule.

Happy Friday, friends! The kids and I have been chipping away at our summer cleanout list and we follow one simple rule. A year after my husband and I were married, I cleaned out our whole house--all 1292 square feet of it--and was shocked at how much we'd accumulated in that little house in just a year's time. I then made up the "One Year Rule" which I still follow. If we haven't used it or worn it in the last year, it has to go! Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule like my wedding dress, the children's keepsakes, special china and dishes, etc. But I'm talking about the stuff that is supposed to be the everyday stuff that just isn't getting used like the kitchen gadget we ... Read more

Ladies’ Day Out

Yesterday was the first day of a fresh new month--Hello, August! --and my girl and I got to do something fun! My friend, Missy over at The Woods at Whippoorhill, and I have been trying to plan a day just to sit down and discuss a couple of new projects we'll be working on together this year, so we decided we'd make a day of it and meet up in a lovely little historic downtown about 45 minutes away. Our daughters joined us too! Our first stop was a tea and coffee room that had such a fun chic boho decor! I mean, every light fixture, table, cabinet, chair, handle, knob--you name it--were unique and lovely. But the beverages were the showstoppers! Oh. My. We all enjoyed our ... Read more