thoughtful thursday.

i have had the enormous pleasure of reading this summer. i think god has been giving me an opportunity to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes before the babe comes. what a joy!

two books that have been hugely influential on how i am framing this next season have been margin by richard swenson, and bread & wine by shauna niequist.

margin suggests that we live the moments of our lives right up against the next moments - leaving no space for rest or play or unscheduled 'interruption' but that in actuality, the margin is where god has space to show up and move within our lives. if we are living without margin we are unable to grasp the grace-times the father has waiting for us. if we are always rushing to the next thing we aren't able to stop for a chat on the street with a neighbour, or meet a friend for a spontaneous coffee. we aren't able to rest well or to play well. we are late and 'too busy' and tired. and we lose the space for grace in our lives. further, we lose the space for showing grace to others.

bread and wine is a fabulous you-must-read-this-book-right-now collection of stories about food and faith. about gathering together around a table, breaking bread, sharing wine, doing what jesus did with his friends in the upper room, and engaging in community. on our holiday le boy and i reflected that one thing we have not done as much of in the last six months is open our home and fill our table with friends and food. and while there are good reasons for this - namely the small soul joining our family in november - it has felt a more empty season in our home and is something we hope to press into more as we go forward.

and so what have i done as i think about making space for grace? how do i make space for the sacred around in our lives, around our table, living intentionally in community and being available for the spirit to use me in unexpected ways? how can i live a less busy, more intentional life? i'm sure i'll be puzzling this through for many, many years to come. i imagine this is an area where i might always struggle. but i know what i'd like my life to look like - i know that this is how i'd like to live.

starting.

what is it about a new year?

every blog i read, i find myself nodding along to - yes, it's true. we love a new start don't we? a year is stretching out in front of us and we're unsure of what it holds and how it will end up, but it holds so much potential doesn't it? so much possibility. so much life.

tomorrow le boy and i are a taking advantage of an unexpected day-off and spending some time planning our year. we'll do this individually and together. together we'll focus on what we'd like to achieve as a couple, how we want to handle our finances and where we'd like to travel.

individually, it will be well, personal to each. for me, i'm hoping to create a small journal for 2013 where i can assess my intentions monthly and keep track of things such as books i read, crafts i make, places we travel, memorable incidents, memory work i undertake.

additionally, i'm hoping to use this resource from simplemom.net to set intentions for 2013. and to use the seven signs of spiritual life, ideally, i'll go through this quarterly so that i can assess where i'm at spiritually and grow in my relationship with jesus this year.

i've made a printable so that i can keep it in the back of my 2013 journal, ready to hand.

Seven Signs of Spiritual Life by Brie B-D

this comes originally from a sermon by our worship pastor matt southcombe at st michael's southfields.

finally, i'm challenging myself to undertake the three marriage habits.

i'll check back in soon with a recap on our day-away. so looking forward to this!

pantry.

what to do in a kitchen with no space? we have about 5 cupboards in our teensy kitchen. and both food and dishes for cooking and eating, to store. so how to fix this?

we've put up a couple corner shelves, painted white to match the walls, and we're using glass jars.

to keep from mixing up the sugar and salt, icing sugar and flour and the different types of flour i use, i printed cute labels found on pinterest onto sticker paper (seriously, the most useful stationery item i own!). this was an inexpensive project, gets us away from using plastic to store food in and prettied up the kitchen! all with the added bonus of random food no longer falling on our heads when we open the cupboard doors!

Source: sissyprint.blogspot.com via Brie on Pinterest

i love the look, the old-time feel and the ease of it all. the kitchen is 100% more functional! which makes me one happy lady! 

glass jars from ikea, variety of sizes: £0.90 - £2.69

sticker paper: free

corner shelves (4 total) : £4/shelf

Total cost for new pantry: £30

baby blessings.

i'll start by saying - we're NOT pregnant. we don't intend to be for a while. but as it turns out, everyone around us, is pregnant. i've lost count, and really this makes me extremely happy. i get to knit super cute baby items, i get to hold and play with new babies, i get to give the babies back. someday, someone will hand a baby back to me, just not soon!

and so, i'm always stuck with a little conundrum - what to get the wee babe? there are a ton of cute things out there, but i can make stuff. and i like making stuff. and i like that it's fast. baby knitting, is so so so fast. i love it. in fact, i've been pre-baby knitting. the other night le boy asked who the latest item on my needles was for, and i said, i don't know, but there will be someone. the littleness of it all is super cute. and the quickness of it all is super gratifying. plus, i love knowing that new babes are wearing something made with a little bit of love.

i found this darling printable on the 'on to baby' site - the follow on site from the weddingchicks - we used wedding chicks for all our stationery at the wedding and i LOVED it. as a cute little gift i made booties with some matching note cards. one of which i used as our card, and a few others for them to use as notes from the babe.

the bootie pattern can be found here.

lately.

it was a weekend of projects and friends and relaxing and it was wonderful. all of my photos are of half-finished things, so not yet ready to post.

but i wouldn't leave you empty handed.

on saturday after i had spent time painting and sewing and cleaning and organising, le boy was tasked with dinner. he pulled a ziploc bag out of the freezer and asked if this was the spaghetti sauce? i glanced up from what i was doing and said, oh yes! umm, just kidding. i talked myself out of a meltdown - it wasn't the end of the world, but man was a hungry and a little annoyed, it all got better with food, even if it was inventive!

now, i know this has happened to all of us, and i know you're saying, brie, come on, a sharpie would solve this. but now, where's the fun in that? so to avoid eating brisket over pasta for a second time (although, actually, it was pretty good!) i've downloaded, printed and cut out these freezer labels. courtesy of our favourite, martha.

i used a few sheets of sticker paper and voila! amazing.

i'll be back later in the week with an update on our kitchen organisation project. it also involves labels and food storage. and a printable!

for now, download, print off and keep these handy in the kitchen. save your marriage, save yourself.

eighteen::newlywed::homekeeping

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

the grocery budget is the line item that seems to have the most variance in our lives. some weeks it's enormous, others, not so much. the grocery stores in the UK don't really have weekly fliers which i suppose is good for the environment, but really, is bad for meal planning on a budget. that being said, there are some items which are consistently good deals: whole fresh chickens (3 for £10), ground beef/mince (2.1 kg for £10), or fish that is 'reduced' read: needs to sell today...but can be most definitely frozen for later.

the freezer is filled with bits - soups to be eaten, ends of vegetables that never get served but can be added to casseroles and soups (broccoli stems for instance), homemade spaghetti sauce, meat that was on special, overripe bananas for muffins and stock.

this week i'm exploring the world of baking bread at home. i'm tweaking a recipe i've found online and had two (!) good successes with - will definitely post more as things are ironed out. this week alone we've saved over £8 on bread. turns out flour and yeast? pretty inexpensive!

this week's meal plan looked like so:

• saturday: homemade fishcakes & creamed spinach (recipe coming very soon)
• sunday: pumpkin parmesan pasta using pumpkins in place of butternut squash from this recipe - the thanksgiving centrepiece is slowly being demolished...yum! 
• monday: soup made on saturday and homemade bread with a small cheese board
• tuesday: le boy is out this evening, i'm polishing off the soup (with bread freshly baked this morning)
• wednesday: we're doing an alpha course at our new church (dinner's included!) - if you're interested in exploring the christian faith, or brushing up on the basics, this is the course for you - click here for the international website.
• thursday: vegetarian lasagna - will report back 
• friday: dinner at friends. 

meal planner download.

fourteen::newlywed::homemaking

::: to see all 31 days of posts please click here :::

so i was writing an email to my sister, a.b.barton, detailing my plans for saturday. le boy is helping a friend move and i have the day to myself (blissful!)

here are a list of things that i'm hoping to maybe accomplish?

envelope pillow cases for our living room - the current pillows don't seem to work well with the emerging colour scheme...

Source: freshlypickedblog.com via Brie on Pinterest

but if i'm honest, i'll be a little bit more lazy, i probably won't cut out the three separate pieces - perhaps my own 'lazy' tutorial is on the way?

stenciling the feature wall...

Source: dreamhomediy.com via Brie on Pinterest

but using a slightly different pattern.

printing off and hanging up photos on our walls from the wedding...

creating a slip cover for the plastic bin cum coffee table, which actually works really well, just looks a little ugly...

creating new drapes out of dropcloths...

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Kate on Pinterest

so it's an ambitious list - i'm also adding in grocery shopping, meal planning and a cupboard inventory - it's pantry meals this week!

Source: briebarton.blogspot.com via Brie on Pinterest

Source: briebarton.blogspot.com via Brie on Pinterest

along with a long-needed, long-distance skype date to colorado. it'll be a full day. i won't accomplish everything. but some of it will get done. and other bits will wait for later. i'm cool with that.

joyful hope.

at the moment we are a one income family. le boy is between contracts. we're hoping for the next contract. we're hoping for a change. and yet, we are being changed. changed by the hoping.

isn't hoping really expectant waiting? isn't hoping really faithful patience? isn't hoping really trusting god?

and in this waiting and patience and trust we're being re-formed. we're depending on his daily mercies, his grace, his provision. our routines are changing. where previously we might have gone out for dinner, we're staying in and making it special. where previously we might have taken in a movie, we're enjoying reading and chatting. where previously we'd have gotten cable, we're utilising on-demand from the bbc. and these changes, they are small, but they are because of the hoping. they are because we are trying to be good stewards of what's been entrusted to us. and honestly, if you asked us? they're pretty great. it's changing the way we are living. it's changing our perspective of need and want. it's encouraging us to spend time investing in our marriage, in friendships, in life. and ultimately, it's become a very joy-filled time. this hoping, this complete dependence on the lord, it is all joy. because we are choosing to hope, we are also choosing joy.

to print: right click & 'save image as'

i've started the goodmorninggirls.org study of 1 John - if you haven't joined, there's still time to catch up! and it's ingenious, the book is studied, verse by verse, over the course of the autumn. and apparently god was looking for me to dig deep into 1 John, seeing as our fellowship group is also studying 1 John! the printable above, is one of my favourite verses and i do believe is a verse that perfectly sums up this season in our lives.

inventory.

as promised from last week - printables for pantry and freezer inventories!

there are lots of these flying around the internet, but i adjusted mine to suit our needs (your needs too?) it's my goal to be a little bit more aware of what's in the cupboards/freezer and use up what we've got. on the docket this weekend is tomato sauce, to be used in the future for spaghetti, pizza and anything else that requires tomato sauce for the base.

we've also got an early morning grocery shop planned on saturday in order to make our friends' wedding blessing midday. and i'm investigating sabbath-keeping. so we're thinking up some ways to experience the joy of creation and all that is offered through purposeful rest and engagement.

happy friday!

pantry inventory :: to print ~ right click on image and 'save as'

freezer inventory :: to print ~ right click on image and 'save as;

find the matching meal planner & grocery list here.

planning.

i'm sticking to some of my intentions this month. namely i'm meal planning. i might have become slightly obsessive. i just can't help it. it is such a weight off my mind to know that dinner has been planned, we have the requisite food in the house, the recipe is already in the kitchen and dinner can be thrown together quickly! i love cooking, i'm not a huge fan of thinking about what to cook while i'm under pressure...

so i used pinterest to find a variety of meal planners/grocery lists. this might as well be a pretty process right? but most planners were for moms planning breakfast, lunch and dinner, and included snacks. now, i'm all for snacks, but really breakfasts at our house are easy: cereal, toast, maybe eggs... lunches for me are 99% of the time leftovers, and snacks: fruit and nuts...so dinners are all that stress me out right now. also i prefer to think about the number of meals we'll have this week, not the exact days they'll be consumed. so if i come home and we would much prefer fish over beef, we change it up.

so i made my own. it's also my first printable! yippee! i'll make some matching freezer/cupboard inventories in the future...i'm still getting the hang of this thing :)

it's a meal planner on one side, grocery list on the other. i've been having HUGE success with rachealraymag.com  for recipe ideas and the beginnings of meal plans. seriously, we've only had one so-so meal in two weeks - that's a pretty good run! and they are fast and healthy :)

to download, click and print :)