Just another day at work....

So, North Point hosts a conference called Drive which is a chance for churches from across the world to come together and share ideas that work in leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. 591 churches were represented and over 2400 people were in attendance!

Part of the conference included having fun at church.  That's right....FUN.  So this session was on Tuesday afternoon and the entire service was like a huge surprise party complete with a choreographed dance mob, party hats and horns, a mariachis band, family feud, ipad giveaways...you get the idea.  It was AWESOME but the above shows the biggest surprise of all.  Brian Littrell from the Back Street Boys made a surprise appearance and it was a HIT!

Enjoy the back stage warm up and then the actual surprise on stage!  Have I mentioned I love my job?  Thanks North Point for proving that church can be relevant, exciting and FUN!

ahhhhh, lighting

Lamps...they make an impact.  Don't believe me? 

Dual floor lamps-different and I like it.

Imagine this room without the lamps. Not even
the same. Impact.

Art Deco'ish lamps

Brass and black-handsome, classic

Unexpected color in a traditional space

Check out these links here, here, here and here for table lamps that might need to impact your home.  For the full selection try this.

images by Google Images via HouseBeautiful, Coastal Living and the following blogs: Adobe Love, The Old Post Road, A Home in the Making.

Didn't see it but....

heard the service today at church was awesome.  All I heard was:  P.O.W., shark attack and forgiveness. I could have my wires terribly crossed but I'll be tuning in here at 6:00 just to see.  Just FYI: series is called Life Apps and last week was really good too!  Go here to listen.

Our Sunday has been super busy but in wonderful ways.  Jane spent all morning playing with new and old friends at church and learning that Jesus wants to be her friend forever. I spent it with amazing volunteers who take great care of the Kindergarteners that come through our doors every Sunday and truly treat these kids like they are their own! After church,  Jane went to Ella Bea's birthday party and spent a couple of hours relishing being a little girl and tonight we top it all off with TBW coming home!

God is good.

oh, spring...you are so bittersweet.

Days like this:

Motivate me to try and create that:

Until something like this:

Has me calling someone like that:

Doing it yourself is overrated.  Hello, Lawn South!

Happy, snake-free Spring, all!

Is it wrong...

to want a sofa that's the equivalent of a mattress?  Seriously, I looked at the measurements and the depth of this sofa is deeper than the depth of Jane's mattress on her twin bed.

I don't care. I just imagine curling up on this thing and RELAXING!  And for those of you that want to ponder the measurements for yourself, here you go:

93" long, 46"deep, 25" tall. Did I mentioned it's slipcovered?  Hello, user friendly!

crate and barrel.com
currently on sale for $1609, act now!

I fancy myself a visionary....

Okay, true enough, a real visionary would have seen this coming but if I WAS a visionary TBW informs me I'd be in good company.

Seems Bid Daddy also fancies himself a visionary, a fashion visionary that is.  Greg tells me that BD was styling Timberlands long before Hip Hop personalities could even tie their shoes (or not).

He also credits himself responsible for the resurgence of the turtleneck back in the 90's

and making moonboots a staple in the 80's (if raised in the south, just move past the moonboot
statement).

For all of these iconic fashion statements, Big Daddy, we say, "hats off!"

Now, back to me.  During my last outing to the fabric store I cut a swatch of this

 with plans to bring the dark hole

oh, my. this room needs attention, STAT!

back to the light.

Well, well, well.  Seems Ballard Designs also thought this fabric was a keeper and they're using it as one of their "go to" fabrics for pillows and upholstery in the new spring catalog.

Felicity Spa Fabric

Actual fabric not included in pic but these are the pillows they'll cover.

Oh, Ballard, thank you for making my life easier.  No buying fabric, no finding someone to sew pillows, no deliberation between the 22" and the 26" square, no search for pillow inserts....just one call, that's all.

To all of the visionaries out there, have a good one and thanks for all you do! : )

Images via google pics and ballarddesigns.com

Supper's Ready!

I love any recipe that includes ingredients that won't go "bad" before their time and doesn't require a lot of pre-planning.  Well, I have got two recipes that cover both bases and are received warmly in this household.

The first one comes from one of those Kraft Food and Family magazines.  I used to get these for free when we first moved into our house.  Oh, to have them return!  Non-intimidating ingredients, straightforward directions and meals my family enjoys...it's a win.

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast tenders, thawed
2 Tbsp Taco Bell taco seasoning mix
2 Tbsp  flour
1 cup frozen corn (i'm generous with the corn)
1.5 cups chunky salsa
1 cup chicken broth.

Coat the strips with the flour and taco seasoning. (I do this right in the slow cooker) Mix remaining ingredients together in your slow cooker and turn it on high for 3-4 hours.

I put mine on top of brown rice and top with cheese and green onions.

Easy Breezy.

The second recipe is from my neighbor, Patti.  This is another easy one that can be prepped and ready in 30 minutes.

Shrimp and Feta Bake

olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic ( I use the minced garlic from a jar)
2 14oz cans of diced tomatoes
1lb large raw shrimp (cue gasp: I buy the bag of peeled, tail on frozen shrimp at the grocery store-not 1 complaint)
1 cup crumbled feta
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 box long grain wild rice or saffron rice    

Use just enough olive oil to brown garlic.  Once brown, add the tomatoes and boil until slightly thickened.  (I'm not a huge tomato fan so I add a pinch of sugar as anything in my world tends to be better with sugar!) Add thawed shrimp and lemon juice to mixture and cook until shrimp are just pink.  Sprinkle feta on top and remove from stove top and place under the broiler to soften the feta.

Serve on top of your choice of rice and done.  Serve a green salad with it and your husband will wonder how you do it all!

Kerry, I can see you making this shrimp and feta dish for a group of your "professor-type" friends and being a HIT! Just a simple mention is all I ask.

Have a great weekend, all.