Re-purposing old furniture into a vegetable “Victory” garden

May 8, 2016May 9, 2016 / Rachel / 5 Comments

I’m impulsive and driven by nature. Once I get an idea in my head about something I want or need to do, it won’t leave my brain until it’s either in my hands or it’s done. We’ve recently undergone (and are still undergoing) a lot of changes to the house we bought six months ago. We’ve painted the place, gutted and rebuilt the front porch (which is now beautiful and needs to be shared on my blog), demoed out our deck and finished off the privacy fence, and our outbuilding is currently being re-sided with fiber cement board.

Demoing the old, rotten deck was great, but it left us with a problem – what do we do with the 16’x16’ patch of dirt where the deck used to be?

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Bright Star on Broadway

April 24, 2016 / Rachel / 1 Comment

I have a new obsession. Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s Bright Star, which is currently running on Broadway. I’m a lifelong lover of bluegrass thanks to my dad, and I got to see Steve, Edie, and Steep Canyon Rangers in concert a few years ago in Indianapolis. It was ahhhhhh-mazing. I’d heard a few snippets of the music from the show, but the cast was on the Today show this past week and performed one of the songs from the show.

I am now 1000000% hooked and can’t wait for the original cast recording to be released this Friday, 4/29. I haven’t been this gaga over a musical since RENT. I’m also planning a quick in-and-out trip to NYC so that I can see this show! I HAVE TO SEE THIS SHOW!

Learn more about this gorgeous show here, and listen to the cast recording here!

Finished my sewing project (and a small update)!

April 2, 2016April 2, 2016 / Rachel / Leave a comment

I found pretty jewel-toned fabrics squares with the Star of David on them over on Amazon, and I knew I just had to buy them. Once they arrived, it took me a while to come up with a pattern, but I’m happy to say that my sewing project is now complete. I made this mini runner to sit beneath my Shabbat candlesticks. I sewed the pieces together by hand, and then quilted in five Stars of David – one big in the center and four small in each of the corner pieces. I’m really happy with the way it turned out!

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Let this indoor girl OUT!

March 20, 2016March 20, 2016 / Rachel / 2 Comments

As Jack Dawson described Rose DeWitt-Bukater, I, too, am an “indoor girl.” Historically, if I had to choose an outdoor activity versus an indoor one, especially in the heat of summer, I would always choose the activity that let me sit in the air conditioning and avoid mosquito bites.

I vividly remember our brief, brief foray into camping a few years ago. We were living in our little rental house in Acton, Indiana and we suddenly (and inexplicably, now that I think about it) decided that we were “camping people,” so we went out and bought all the stuff, and I mean all the stuff. Tent. Sleeping bags. Lanterns. Matches. Bug zappers. Bug spray. Bug netting. Collapsible camp table. Everything we could possibly need for a night of tent sleeping in our own backyard.

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Unforgettable Tunes Tuesday

March 8, 2016March 7, 2016 / Rachel / 1 Comment

Music owns me. Nothing lets me lose myself like a powerful song. As a writer, I can often envision entire scenes in my head between my characters just because of a melody or refrain. Music soothes my soul or revs me up or inspires me or becomes a companion when I need it. Simply put, I love music.

I’m also still very new to Judaism, and attending Shabbat services on Friday night or Saturday morning means that I’m about to be immersed in Hebrew for an hour or two. Continue reading →

Mountain View Monday

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 / Rachel / 3 Comments

I have about twenty different blog entries in my head and very little time to actually get them down, but I wanted to post these pictures for what I’m dubbing Mountain View Monday. I bought my first DSLR camera – a Canon EOS Rebel T5. It came with two telephoto lenses, and I’m finally getting to take pictures that capture the beauty of this region. Still trying to figure all the settings out, but check out these views! (For reference, these mountains are about 15- 20 miles away from where the pictures were shot.) More to come!

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Learning Shabbat

February 6, 2016February 6, 2016 / Rachel / 9 Comments

I’m five weeks into my “official” study of Judaism (official because I’m under the tutelage of a rabbi) and every single week, I learn something new or discover something about myself and my own beliefs that tells me I’m on the right path.

My biggest realization, thus far, is two-fold: 1) I’m completely falling in love with Shabbat; and, 2) Shabbat preparation is challenging.

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Terrarium rejuvination

January 21, 2016February 7, 2016 / Rachel / Leave a comment

I’ve had two terrariums for the past several years, but the moss keeps dying. The fact that I can’t even keep moss alive isn’t a surprise to me, but it’s still frustrating. Last time my terrariums died, I lived in Indy and had to order moss off Etsy. I rebuilt the terrariums with North Carolina moss and documented it here. Now that the NC moss has bit the dust, it was time to restore them again. Lucky for me, I now live in a state where moss covers everything that doesn’t move. Literally.