hurricane sandy......{how to help}

 {photo credit}

we were very fortunate to have been spared from the ill effects of what's being referred to as "the perfect storm" but many others here on the east coast didn't fare as well.

there are several ways to help including a quick & easy text to the red cross....

text the word redcross to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the relief efforts.

i pray for comfort and strength to those suffering loss and for speed, wisdom and compassion to those helping in the clean up and restoration work.

inspiration....{pumpkin party decor}

you might have noticed the lack of halloween party posts on this party planning blog
honestly, i'm torn.
i'm not a huge fan given the origins of the holiday
but i love little man's excitement when he gets to go trick-o-treating.
(he missed last year due to a freak snow storm and i'm hoping hurricane sandy doesn't end up with the same results!)

anyway, if you're on the fence like me, it doesn't mean you have to forgo a celebration
instead of ghosts and goblins, i choose to focus on the pumpkins!
pumpkins were made for more than just carvings and pie......
here are a few practical ways to incorporate pumpkins into your celebration decor......

 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

what are your plans for halloween? do you celebrate? how do you decorate?

life as planned........

this past weekend was a bit of a challenge.
i had expected a little bit of stress.
my brother was scheduled for surgery - removal of cancerous tumors.
shortly after his diagnosis, God brought me to a place of peace.
but still.......it's surgery, right?

plan: tumors removed, cancer all gone.
actual: surgeons unable to remove this rare tumor.

okay.
there's still hope.
there is treatment with successful outcomes.

while at the hospital with my family, i get a text from my husband
"dad is in the hospital"

my father-in-law will undergo bypass surgery in his leg to improve circulation.

okay.
relatively routine surgery, quick rehab.

at home, i phone my other brother to tell him about surgery outcome on brother #1.
he tells me he has mesothelioma.

okay......
really, God?
okay. there is treatment. it was caught early.

running errands with the family.
someone steals little man's DS.
uughhhh.............

and now, as i type, we await hurricane sandy.
lives lost thus far: 65
dubbed "...the largest threat to human life (Connecticut) has experienced in anyone's lifetime." by our governor.

so i trust.
and i pray.
and i have faith.

 via wallbling

as a jesus-girl, i'm not guaranteed a life full of sunshine and daisies.
what i am guaranteed is a God who loves me, who has a plan for me, who is with me always.
no matter what.

real life......{i am who i am}

i've been taking some steps to really organize, fine tune and grow this business of mine.
following the advice of gussy, i began to create an editorial calendar for this here blog.
editorial calendars are nifty tools that keep us on track, accountable to ourselves and inspire some creative, long term planning.
according to said calendar, i'm supposed to share a new design today.
BUT....gussy also said to keep things flexible. so that's just what i'm doing.
i've got some thoughts and feelings swirling around in my head so i thought i'd share them with you to see if we can't sort 'em out and make some sense of them.

this blog is brand spankin new.
my old blog had started to grow. but instead of just keeping with that one, i started a new one.
why? i'm not entirely certain. yes, my business has gone in a different direction.
but why not just rename that one?
i may have had the vague idea of keeping two blogs. not really doable for me but who knows what i was thinking.
anyway..... i'm viewing this as an opportunity to do better with this blog.
better what, exactly? better how?
better content? perhaps. honestly, i really don't see much difference yet between the two.
better direction? yes, please.
better community? perhaps better isn't the right word. closer would be a more accurate description.

 {source}

i think what it boils down to is my motivation and intention.
what was my motivation then? and what is my motivation now?
and what do i mean by "intention"?
"intentional" was my word for the year two years ago.
i thought i'd moved on.
we're taught to look forward. keep moving, keep growing......
but even after we've grown, we still sometimes have to come back to the same lessons.
relearn them. or maybe rework what we've already learned to fit into new circumstances.
and that's okay. more than okay, it's smart.
so i plan to be intentional with this blog.
intentional in the decisions i make as a wife, as a mom, as a business owner and - more importantly - as a jesus girl.
decisions made specifically to support, enhance and represent who i am in those roles.

{source}

and speaking of my business, i realized that i can't really be intentional with my business OR my blog if i don't really know it's purpose.
so i took a moment to jot down a few thoughts....

bonhomieEVENTS & bonhomieDESIGN statement of purpose:

to promote attainable, creative design for home, life and events; to celebrate the joy in life; to assist in creating celebrations reflecting that joy; to design and share what speaks to my heart.

a little broad? maybe.
but that's where i am.
this is where God is calling me to be.
so i want to be here with intention.

inspiration.....{red, black and white - save the dates}

i've just begun working with the sweetest bride who's chosen scarlet + black + white for her wedding colors.
i'm really enjoying coming up with design & decor ideas and i can't wait for our first official planning meeting

first things first.........save-the-date cards.
everyone has gotten so busy these days that "save-the-dates" have become standard practice - even for children's birthday parties!!

i complied a few designs for my bride so i can get some idea of direction she'd like to go (i'm in love with the few ideas she's shared with me so far - this wedding is going to be so much fun!)

via 1, 2, 3, 4

via 1, 2, 3, 4

do you have a favorite? which one would you choose?

fab finds...{fresh pastry stand}

fresh pastry stand.
i stumbled across this shop quite by accident but i'm so glad i did. not quite sure how i've missed them since they've been getting some wonderful publicity BUT better late than never!!!
with the holiday season coming up quickly, i've had my eye out for unique additions to the table for entertaining.
check these out:

wonderfully ecclectic pieces that would look brilliant on the thanksgiving table!

and how perfect would this candle be, incorporated into the table decor i mentioned last week! her shop contains all kinds of unusually fabulous beeswax candles.

so go visit fresh pastry stand on etsy and drool over each and every piece that needs to make it's way to your home :-)

what's happenin'.....

here's my round-up of lovely/helpful/funny/touching items found on this world wide web this week:

do you have a favorite fall go-to recipe? this one is awesome. and perfect if you need something for an oktoberfest potluck!

i've mentioned maggie's 31 days series before but this post really hit home. if we can't present our businesses professionally, how can we expect others to take us seriously??

how i loved this post and this post. these women truly have a heart for God. seriously, i can't even begin to tell you how they've touched my heart - and not for the first time!

remember the app i mentioned a few weeks ago? sadly, i've had to uninstall it because my computer was draaaaaging....but here's one that hasn't let me down yet. SUPER easy keeping up with my favorite blogs :-)

have you found any links to love this past week? want us to share some love on your link? leave a comment!

week in review.....

i honestly have no idea where this week went.
i know i was busy, busy, busy but i have no idea what i did!
obviously, i did not spend my time taking pictures because i've only got a few to share today.......

last weekend's lead worship seminar was AWESOME! paul baloche has a terrific sense of humor. AND we were lucky enough to hear audrey assad worship live! daddy & little man carved his jack-o-lantern - and little man came up with the design!!! my favorite magazine came this week....and this little guy loves to have his picture taken :-)

this is one of the roads leading to our house. i complain sometimes - growing up a city girl, i occasionally miss everything within arms reach. but seriously, how beautiful is this?? and i got to visit one of those things i miss: ikea!

what have you been up to this week?

i'm linking up with life rearranged. go take a peek....i'm sure there are others with much more interesting photos ;-)

into the great unknown........

  (click here for this free printable)

i've been thinking about this post for days now.
i'm still not certain i have the words to explain the way i've been feeling.

God is moving in me. working in me. growing me and changing me and pushing me.
and it's scary, y'all. but exciting at the same time - maybe like what others say about riding a roller coaster (notice i said "others". cuz i am not the one)
so, like that but LARGER.BIGGER.
and also full of JOY.

i may have shared a time or two on my other blog about my musical history.
i used to be "a singer" of sorts........
i sang in front of people, sometimes got paid for it and nobody 'booed' me off the stage so yeah, i guess i was a singer.
like a whole lotta others, i first sang in church.
5 years old with my first solo - crazy!
my mom's mantra was "sing, kirstie, sing" :-)
i never thought i was good enough to really do anything with it.
i'm never gonna be a superstar and i've got no problem with that.

anyway, suffice it to say, i love music. i love singing.
but never am i more moved, more in love, more...........myself.....than when i'm musically praising God.
i didn't do a whole lot of that in the past. i was away from the church - and God - for quite some time.
and even after my return, i was what you might call a timid vocalist. actually always have been.
but something there seems to be..........different.
and i know it's only because of HIM.

as i've gotten into the scripture, as i've gotten closer to God, a funny thing has been happening.
i'm feeling Him closer to me :-)
obviously, He's been there the whole time.
waiting.
and now it's my time.
time to let Him use me and move in me and grow me and change me.....
and i'm lovin it :-)
i'm becoming bold in Christ. stepping out into areas i thought were closed to me.
and i'm finding that they're only closed if God says so.
i don't know where He's taking me and ya know what???
i don't much care! cuz i know that wherever it is, it's gonna be great!

my mom brought me to Christ.
and now, she's with Christ.
but i can still hear her.........."sing, kirstie, sing"

is there an area of your life where you're feeling uncertain? or are you maybe, like me, venturing out into parts unknown? leave a comment - or don't - either way, i'm praying for you!

it's beginning to look a lot like........

just kidding!!
it's not even HALLOWEEN and here i am bothering you about christmas!
but y'all, i am having so.much.fun designing these christmas cards!!
a few more new designs............

the hard part for me is gonna be deciding which one to send!!!
okay, i promise i won't bug you anymore....
much :-)

do you send out christmas cards? when do you start choosing your cards?

inspiration....{fall tables}

do you do a lot of entertaining in the fall and winter months?
aside from thanksgiving, it's pretty quiet here.
and, since our thanksgiving usually included more guests than there is room, tablescapes and place settings aren't the norm.
but a girl can dream, right?
here are a few ideas i've had my eye on - simple, inexpensive and stylish :-)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

how will you be decorating your table this season?

what's happenin'

haven't had a whole lotta time on the 'webs this past week......been busy with these:

christmas cards!! my favorite design (so far) with more to come :-)

i saw this super-easy DIY growth chart. love.

and i'm really thinking that this mint-chocolate lip gloss may be part of the christmas gift baskets this year....

really proud of what hubby's been up to lately....

i have fallen in love with this dress but can't find it anywhere.....

considering a membership here....thoughts?

so how 'bout you. find anything good lately?

week in review

it's that time of the week again!
ya know, i've begun to accept the fact that, despite the level of sophistication of my camera, talent behind the lens is not a skill i possess.
my photos are not "sit-up-and-take-notice" kinda shots. they usually don't include an "aww, isn't she/he/it cute" shot.
but that's okay.
i'm enjoying looking back on moments from the past week - good and bad.
and i'm happy that i'm capturing just a little bit of my life - and the life of my family - so some day, far away from now, we can look back and say "i remember that"

happy little man at his annual check up - doesn't look like a kid with strep, does he?? and he LOVES ridin in daddy's work truck! this finished fall mantle makes me smile. and so does progress made on my little list of goals :-)

strep throat did not keep us from having a little fall-fun during the holiday weekend. nor did it prevent us from potentially infecting random strangers (don't judge!)

we made an attempt at creating some DIY window clings - not an epic fail but close enough ;-) beautiful fall days, leaf piles AND a few finished christmas card designs in the shoppe (see goal list above!)

i am immensely excited to be attending a Paul Baloche Leadworship Workshop. I really feel that God may be growing me in this area but I'm not yet ready to talk about it....soon, I promise :-)

so what are you up to this weekend?

linking up here:

thankful............

the husband and i are currently participating in a "30 day church challenge" small group. it's purpose is to grow and strengthen the community within our church and to help those participating to "reach our God-given potential."

as i was reading yesterday, i was struck by this sentence:

"an ungrateful heart cannot truly worship, because a worshipful life is a grateful life."

i like to think that i'm grateful.
i thank God each day and night and in-between for my family.
i thank Him for our blessings.
i try to praise Him through the tears and through the pain.

but then i really started to think..........there is SO MUCH MORE to be grateful for.
honestly..... to name every.single.reason. there is for each one of us to be praising God would take until the end of our time here on earth.
and even then, we'd miss something

i decided to challenge myself.
each day, i want to come up with 10 different reasons to be grateful. and i'm sharing my first day with you!

1.  the change of seasons - each one allows me to view with awe the beauty and majesty He has created.
2. i'm so very thankful for the shereadstruth bible study and this small group i'm participating in - it's amazing how GOD works two seemingly different focuses of study together to teach me and lead me on His path.
3. this period of waiting that God has placed me in - it's giving me an opportunity to seek Him without distraction.
4. though painful and uncomfortable, i'm IMMENSELY grateful for this period of growth and change - i'm excited to see where God is leading me
5. my relationship with my mother - good, bad & ugly - i've been able to recognize the mistakes i made and avoid making the same mistakes in other relationships
6. our shallow well - running out of water several times a week is helping me to become more disciplined and organized in my housekeeping routine
7. i complain often about the shortcomings of our home. but if we lived anywhere else, i would be unable to do what i do now
8. i'm thankful for the people God is placing in my life - people i can learn from, people i can teach, people i can laugh with and cry with
9. this world wide web - the many opportunities to connect with others of like mind and heart
10. my insecure heart - it's causing me to seek God, become secure in Him and hold onto the truth of His word.

in an effort to grow this little community, i'm linking up for creating community. won't you join us?

inspiration.....{neutrals}

for many people, fall = warm colors.....
burgandys, russets, greens....

me, i'm drawn to the neutrals.
not all will agree but these colors evoke a feeling of warmth as well

 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

cocoa, slate, oatmeal, sage........
this says "fall"
this says "cozy"
this says "warm"

what does it say to you? what's your favorite fall palette?

real life...{the times, they are a' changin....}

"the shoppe" is sportin a new name AND new product offerings!
i mentioned before, i'm really enjoying design and not certain where it's going to take me.
rather than trying to pigeonhole myself before i really know the direction God has chosen for me, i've decided to just try my hand at what brings me joy :-)

you may notice that i finally added the nursery prints i previewed before......though a bit different than originally intended. after several design changes, this design - clean and unaltered - is what produced the most consistent print quality.

and i mentioned the personalized note cards over this past weekend. i am SO in love with those colors!! do any of you recognize those designs? i've taken them from my inspired jewelry collection! the graphics continue to speak to me. i designed them so why not use them in print, right? if it works, it works.

i'm working on another couple of prints, suitable for the nursery AND i have a couple ideas for a boy's birthday party printable collection AND i'm giving some serious consideration to a limited collection of holiday cards........my mind is busy, y'all!

so here you have a little more insight into my design thought process and the potential direction of bonhomieDESIGN......

i really hope you stick around to see what's next!!

what's happenin'

 this great big 'ol interweb is full of wonderful stuff, isn't it? but who can keep track of it all?
i thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite links i've found over the past week, catch you up on what i've been doin.....
and maybe you could share some of yours? pretty please?

maggie ALWAYS has the most helpful posts for indie business owners. i'm especially loving this series.

i've been searching for new crockpot recipes. i tried this one (yum) and this one (another yum!). my people loved them both so they get added to the permanent file!

i really, really, really wanna try my hand at these beauties.

i've pinned this more than once (yes, i'm guilty of double - and sometimes even triple - pinning!!!) but never did anything about it until i saw this post. one week into it, i'm feeling less stress and my house and people are thanking me!

and here's my app of the week - SUPER easy to include my iphone pics in blog posts now!!

guess what's new in the shoppe??

personalized note cards! they make me smile :)

happy weekend, y'all!

week in review....

this week flew by. seriously!
and i'm having a hard time accepting the fact that it's already october - yeah, it takes me a bit of time to really settle into something. i'll adjust just in time to move on ;-)

anyway, here's a bit of my week......

last weekend was spent at the iron sharpens iron conference in MA with my sister, time with my godson, and a beautiful car ride home listening to jesus culture (my favorite!)

i came home to find that my wonderful husband and son bought me a new vacuum - just in time to get some (much needed) cleaning done! since october is national breast cancer awareness month, i made a point to schedule my mammogram - all clear and i got to choose a free gift ;-) this week, i sent out what might be one of my last jewelry orders - but i'm okay with it :) and if the school isn't going to start his foreign language training early, i will! doing a little homeschool spanish with the little man!

speaking of the little man, he's becoming quite the little artist! and i am SOOO enjoying my time in ephesians with #shereadstruth - really digging deep and finding new things to hold on to.

it's a holiday weekend and our plan was to travel to upstate NY, hang out with one of my sisters and do all kinds of fall stuff BUUUUUT.....somebody tested positive for strep at their check up this morning! thankfully, we have one of the happiest sick kids know to man. unfortunately, now hubby is complaining of a sore throat, too. apparently, we're in for a low key couple of days.

what are you up to this weekend?

follow me on instagram to check out more of my pics!

linking up here

monograms plus....{local vendor}

i JUST stumbled across monograms plus and i'm so, so happy i did!
new etsy (like YESTERDAY new), maryellen offers custom embroidery.
but not just any custom embroidery...........

she turns artwork into heirlooms!!
absolutely priceless!

freebies..........{fall printables}

hey y'all! seeing how fall is upon us, i've been feeling the need to change up the decor just a little bit.
now, i am really IN.LOVE with my mantle right now but it very obviously says "summer"

i didn't want to change it BUT i'm feeling just a teensy bit motivated because of my recent thrifting find


however, even my cool find wasn't enough.
so i thought i'd do a nice, fall-inspired print.

the mantle thus far...........

love that owl - my thrifting find :-) i'm also very fond of that scale and the "golden wedding" bottle! i need a few more details for it to come together.......i'm thinking some nice, thick, pillar candles.
what do you think?

i couldn't decide on the printables........one turned into three so i decided to share them with you!!

 

click each photo to be taken to the download. each is formatted to print on 8.5x11" paper and designed to fit an 8x10" frame - just cut along the light gray guidelines.

so choose one, choose them all, share them with friends..........have fun!