40. Plant a Hydrangea Bush and Beauty War

Number 40 on my random summer Bound for Beauty List (http://revealthebeauty.blogspot.com/2011/06/bound-for-beauty-summer-list.html)  was to plant a hydrangea bush.  We bought a beautiful Proven Winners green hydrangea bush, and yesterday we found a spot for it.  Right next to our front stoop.  Right now it looks like this (no blooms):

 But, next summer, it should start producing blooms like this:

flickr, wht_wolf9653

I'm ready for them now.  But waiting will make them even more beautiful.  So, at this point, I have at least a handful of people regularly checking in to this blog.  And, with all the lists of things you have set to do in your life, you may be asking why this list is really that special.  Yes, yes. 

I have really struggled to become who I am today, a person who, ultimately, feels beautiful inside. 

But, the truth is, I feel more confident in saying it in this specific moment (I am beautiful!) because I've showered, I have on my comfortable work-out shorts that don't pull and tug at the areas I've gained a little cushioning, and I got a new hair cut yesterday that I like. 

I just took the following steps to get ready for an ordinary day.  I'm not doing anything glamorous today.  But, these are the steps I took to feel beautiful today:
1.  Wake up, feel ugly when my husband walks in and gives me a kiss and secretly wish I looked cuter in the morning for him like some girls do.
2.  Get up, with just a t-shirt on and confront two different mirrors and evaluate my tan lines I got sitting outside two days ago, and look at my face and evaluate the new acne along my jaw line
3.  Shower: Color Conserve conditioner, whitening toothpaste, scented bodywash, Venus razor, Dove soap, St. Ives Apricot Scrub face wash, St. Ives lotion.
4.  Start the primping process (at this point, I've evaluated the blackheads on my nose, felt sad about my weight, pinched the skin on my back that never used to be there, looked at my tan line again) by putting on Secret deodorant, estee lauder idealist face serum, eye cream, aveda tinted moisturizer, Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, green eye liner, Physician's Formula bronzer, Covergirl blush on the apples of my cheeks, Loreal eye shadow, Maybelline mascara).
5.  Then the hair: comb it through, Aveda Scalp Remedy, Aveda Phomollient, Biolage gel, Aveda Smooth Effects on the ends.  Blow dry hair with round brush, Sheer Blonde hair spray.
6.  Look in the mirror, once my make-up/hair is done and THEN, think, "Well, actually I sort of have a 1950's pin-up model body... a little more curvy, even though my chest is so small, but I could have be seen as sexy in another era..."
7.  Put on my undergarments, think, "I really need a new push-up bra, maybe I'll go today..." and put on the gray t-shirt with my work-out shorts that my husband once called me "sexy" in, so I feel good putting it on.

And then, I sat down to write this post.  My point is: it's not really okay that I didn't feel beautiful until after I went through my DAILY (read: I do this every. single. day.) routine.  I've been poked and prodded my whole life because I take so long to get ready.  What's the truth?  Yes, I like quiet time to myself in the morning.  But, couldn't that be spent blogging?  Walking?  Praying?  Writing?  Reading?  Why has this "beauty" routine taken over so much time/energy/power in my life?

Would I feel beautiful without this routine, that creates a mask (a "natural" looking one, but still...)?  I know that I'm beautiful.  I have a beautiful heart.  I'm an encourager.  I'm an artist.  I'm a worshiper.  I'm a scribe.  I'm a good wife.  I'm a good friend.  I'm a good teacher.  But I do not feel beautiful unless I have gone through this routine.

To counter this issue, this problem, I plant things that are truly beautiful without striving.  I write poems that are genuine and vulnerable, that I hope with help someone else into hope.  I host people and make a home for people to feel comfortable within, to escape worries.  I make pretty little things for the people I love.  I style thoughtful events.  I search antique shops for forgotten treasures.  I sing a song with a voice that is solely a gift.  So, today (as part of my list), to fight my war of false beauty, which we are all in, I will look at my hydrangea bush.  I will gaze upon it and breathe in ONE little piece of real beauty, and realize I'm probably more like that plant when I'm without concealer, in my pjs, looking out the window, aware of no one looking at me, with no mirrors.  I mean, a hydrangea never looks in the mirror... I bet more blooms come that way.

Beauty in a Summer Mantel.

Use all of your favorite items (and some random items that don't look good unless their with other stuff) and create a grouping.  Grouping in odds numbers helps a moment look more chic and less posed. 

Just trust your instincts!  Play with the "moment" until you like it.  Try walking into another room for a few minutes and re-entering the space to evaluate.  Remember, your home is your view for a lot of your time.  So it IS worth it to push yourself a bit and be creative with what's in front of your face all the live long day.  We couldn't quite get this moment to work, until I brought in another item with scale (the cream wrought iron mail organizer) and balanced the grouping.  I love the canvas piece just off center.  It says "bloom" in the prettiest leaf green.

We have also just added a few pieces of birch wood logs inside the actual fireplace.  When silver birch (the tree of our neighbor conveniently reached over our yard in a precarious way) is fresh, it has a lovely green cast.  Perfect!

I wish your summer popsicles and fireflies...

May you have eyes to see the beauty. --Meg Tess

The beauty of a sick girl on a Monday in the summertime.

When you're a teacher, and you get the summer off (I know, I know, don't hate), it's a true luxury.  But not always in ways you think of.  You think of not having things to grade.  You think of staying up late.  But, you know those days when you wake up sick and you realize, "Dude.  It's way easier for me to go work feeling junky instead of making arrangements for me to miss work?" 

Well, today, I woke up and I had a fever and a swollen tonsil.  [Also, I've never had a swollen tonsil before.  What's the deal?] 

And guess what I did?

I went back to sleep.  And then, when I woke up hours later, I texted Trevor from upstairs to tell him I was sicky, and he brought me a tray of feverish-girl goodies (he's really nice, BTW).  This tray of happy included many things.  Things like tea, with cream and sugar.  And a new Better Homes and Gardens magazine.  And toast and jelly.  And black cherry sody (soda).  And advil.  And the sun was shining in the window and I could see the plants of my window boxes over the ledge.  And I felt really really crappy (fevers=bad), but still joyful. 

I eventually got up, showered, made myself feel better by putting on a summer sun dress and deodorant.  I think feeling better had to do more with prayer and ibuprofen, not the dress.  But, this morning, when I got to stay in bed when I was sick, was beautiful. 

{AND, it's 11:15pm right now and I am not feeling guilty about missing my school year 9:30pm bed time.  HaHA!}

May you have eyes to see the beauty in your world. --Meg Tess

Happy Birthday, Husby!

For the husby's b-day, I surprised him with an unexpected drop-in by his best friend Dee.  I also brought home a cake from Whole Foods that was perfect because of Trev's love of cheeseburgers (and cake)!  The first picture really captures one of his signature facial expressions.  I'm glad to have it on file.  He really is a great man and a great husband.  I'm perpetually blessed.  He is beautiful.

These cakes were on sale around Memorial Day, and I knew I would order a mini one for a cute b-day surprise.  (On a healthy living update, we had TURKEY burgers, also from Whole Foods, for dinner.  Trev actually consumed a turkey burger with olives in it, with avocado on top.  Soon he'll like salad!  A girl can hope...)

May you have eyes to see the beauty.  --Meg Tess

30. Go to Sweet Maple Cafe

One of my close friends told me about a place her husby took her for her birthday breakfast where she got lemon pancakes with raspberry topping.  When I made my "Oh My Gosh" face, she suggested we all go there, one of her favorite places, together.  This is why the outing to Sweet Maple Cafe made my summer Bound for Beauty List (http://revealthebeauty.blogspot.com/2011/06/bound-for-beauty-summer-list.html). 

I am so glad we went.  We got more familiarized with the Pilsen/UIC area of the city, which is where our church's amazing Flame of Love Conference took place this past weekend.  I haven't had to use any of the new park and pay parking stations on my trips into the city lately (luck), so we learned how to work that contraption as well. 

And guess what the special was!?  The lemon pancakes with raspberry topping!  Two of my favorite flavors combined to make the best breakfast every!  I also had the Monterrey homefries (I heart bacon, I heart potatoes, and that day, I hearted jalapenos).  It was lovely, and I enjoyed the meal much more because I was with three of my favorite people (the husby is one of the three, don't worry!)

I heartily recommend the restaurant for it's old fashioned knobby kitchen chairs that help you feel like you're at grandmas, the capable sassafras staff that keep things moving without making you feel rushed, the quality of food (the lemon was light and the raspberry not too sweet), and the location (easy to access, open parking).  I hope you'll try it when you're in town.  Their website is www.sweetmaplecafe.com.  They are located at 1339 W. Taylor in Chicago.

May you have eyes to see the beauty.  -- Meg Tess

9&11: Buy flowers for gardening, and plant window boxes

At the beginning of summer, I made a list of things to reveal beauty.  Here it is, for your reference: http://revealthebeauty.blogspot.com/2011/06/bound-for-beauty-summer-list.html. 

Last week, we bought the plants we would use, and then last Monday we planted the window boxes!  The plants we chose for our five window boxes were impatiens, coleus, geraniums, potato vine, spikes, and asparagus fern.  Here is our front stoop, with the flowers waiting for their new homes:

Because our house is a classic salt box colonial with white siding and black and gray accents, we decided to go with the classic green/red/white color scheme.  It was an interesting process, since the upstairs windows are too high to plant from a ladder.  We had to create a working spot with a huge tarp inside the house for the upstairs windows.  It was a boots on/boots off situation:

One great tip we heard, and implemented, was using a "filler" before adding potting soil.  We chose an option we are really happy with!  We went to a Mailboxes Etc. and bought three large bags of biodegradable mailing filler (often called "peanuts").  We filled 1/3 of the boxes with this material before adding potting soil.  Another note: important to always use potting soil when filling containers.  It has a lighter more fertilized make-up that helps your plants.  We also chose a "moisture control" version, which is supposed to hold the water in the containers.

I layered potting soil in, added plants one by one, following the same pattern for each box.  Remember to push the plants out of their containers by squeezing the plastic on the bottom.  And, before placing the plants, tear and loosen the roots so they will have an easier time expanding and growing into their new container!  I filled in holes with more soil using a small shovel tool, and waited until sunset to water.  Tah-dah!

I've always wanted window boxes!  Dream realized.  Next step: having someone remove the roots of the bushes we cut down, adding soil, moving the hostas from the side of the house to the front, planting grasses and a hydrangea bush... and adding mulch.  Oh boy.  Better take another moment to celebrate what we've done so far, before feeling overwhelmed:

I wish you eyes to see beauty in your world! --Meg Tess

5. Meet Evangeline Cadia

My dear friend Janell and her husband Tim welcomed Evangeline Cadia to the world in February, and yesterday I finally met her!  She is very thoughtful, easy-going (prolly from her mom), has a very sweet disposition, and her whole aura is beautiful.  Here she is taking a summer cat nap in her stroller while we dined on really (really really) good Mediterranean food in Indianapolis. 

She's so chic.  I realized, again, that I'm ready to be a mom when I helped put her in her little bath towel after her bath. Speaking of motherhood (the mysterious scary adventure many of my friends have begun), Janell is such a great mom.  I knew she would be, and it was delightful to see her in action.  New life is beautiful.  Evangeline's face is heart-shaped and her chubby cheeks are so pronounced in a profile, you almost miss them in real time because they'll be gone so soon.  I'll have to visit again so I don't miss it.  I continue to be completely taken by the footy pj's that have the mary jane shoes as part of the foot design.  I want my own pair.

I couldn't resist bringing her a little outfit (thanks, Target!).  And, I used my new craft carrier (called a "painter's kit" on sale at Pottery Barn right now) to give it a bow on my way out the door.  Bows make everything better.  I prefer them to wrapping, lately. 

The kit is quite fabulous, and the husby is okay with me leaving wrapping supplies out now.  (yay!)  I will put OTHER craft stuff in my craft closet, which I'm determined to create.  Stay tuned.  I will be sharing some inspiration images first.



14. Have Makayla Over

Makayla is the daughter of a close friend of mine.  She has the most outgoing personality, and the most adult taste in food!  They are moving to Arizona, and Makayla has started her own "KayKay Show" that she records on her mom's camera.  We were her second guests!  I can't wait to see who she books on her show in Arizona...  (We can't wait to visit.)

I made us "adult grilled cheese."  I used products from Trader Joe's to make delicious sourdough basil tomato grilled cheese with proscuitto-wrapped mozzerella.  The cheese comes in a nice little roll.  I sliced the cheese and layered it with fresh basil leaves and fresh cherry tomatoes (red and yellow) that had been cut in half and pressed a little with the side of my knive to flatten them a bit.  I buttered the outside of the bread and cooked in a non-stick pan.  The cheese melted really well, and Makayla ate every bite!

We also made impromptu cereal treat pops (see images below).  We used a basic rice crispy treat recipe and instead used Trader Joe's Strawberry Yogurt O's and chocolate covered sunflower seeds. 

1. Heat on low: four cups of mini marshmallows and three tablespoons of butter (Be patient, it will ment and you don't want to burn it!). 

2. Once it has a fluffy consistency and the marshmallows are melted, add in four cups of cereal and chocolate covered sunflower seeds. 

3.  Mix and turn with a buttered spatula until all of the marshmallow mixture is mixed evenly with the cereal. 

4.  Pour the mix in a bown lined with wax paper.  Let sit for five minutes (this makes it easier to work with). 

5.  Butter your hands (yes, do it).  Shape the mix into golf-ball sized balls and insert popsicle stick before you give it a final sqeeze to condense the mixture.

6.  Lay pops on a piece of wax paper.

7.  Let harden for an hour or more.  Enjoy!



Bound for Beauty Summer List

Years ago, in a session with my awesome counselor, she told me to rip up my new year's resolution lists.  I had been keeping them for years.  I would start my year by making a long (really long) list of things I wanted to do/become.  Well, this lady is smart.  Perfectionists don't need lists, they need to LOWER expectations.  After years of lowering expectations and being more gentle with myself, I've decided to make a list of things that will reveal or create beauty to fight the perfectionism.  My regimine of blogging every day will bring more light into my fight against false beauty.  I'm ready to dig in: why is beauty so important to me?  What's the big deal?  Well, through my ONE BEAUTY BLOG A DAY list, I'll show you.
Here it is!  I'm a teacher, and there are exactly 68 days of summer break left.  Will it work out that I do one each day?  (Nope.)  I hope so!

1.       Visit shops in uptown Naperville

2.        Walk the Naperville Riverwalk

3.        Walk the Naperville Prairie Trail {where does it start?!}

4.        Exercise every other day

5.        Meet Evangeline Cadia

6.        Create my craft closet

7.        Re-design/Re-focus blog

8.        Help Sue design her wedding

9.        Buy plants for gardening

10.   Go to West Side Story

11.    Plant flower boxes

12.    Hang curtains in family room and guest bedroom

13.    Create an original turkey burger recipe

14.    Have Makayla over

15.   Bring treats to the neighbors

16.    Bake and ice a layer cake

17.   Have a Fourth of July Freedom Party

18.    Fix antique leaf desk and laquer it to put it outside

19.    Collect old wood chairs at garage sales and ad to al fresco dining area outside

20.    Go to Door County

21.    Have an al fresco soiree

22.    Write a poem

23.    Write a song with Trev

24.    Write a story

25.    Create frame montage in stairwell

26.    Create a chalkboard wall

27.    Visit Grandma Elaine

28.    Clean the porch windows

29.    Make collaborative list of recommended books

30.    Go to Sweet Maple Café

31.    Read A Thousand Splendid Suns out loud with husby

32.    Go to the beach

33.    Get a sassy haircut

34.   Make homemade birthday and anniversary cards

35.   Go to 7 Eleven on 7/11 for our anniversary

36.    Get training to become a better journalism teacher

37.    Create a substantial ipod list of songs I actually like

38.    Get a facial

39.    Go for a bike ride

40.   Plant a hydrangea bush

41.    Get a crazy good salad from Whole Foods

42.    Go to Ravinia

43.    Go to a taping of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me

44.   Go to Nadeau Furniture

45.   Learn to play the guitar

46.    Take a picnic

47.    Style Trevor’s Office

48.    Hang the huge sample Crate and Barrel print

49.    Enjoy our church’s Flame of Love conference

50.    Work a shift at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC)

51 through 68.  Teach Summer School (this counts for 18 days!)

I'm bound for beauty!  Happy Summer!

Adding to the Beauty: Li'l Sis and Lemon Yellow, S+K

It's official, my sister is engaged!  [so so SO happy for the new family of V to be].  And she's already chosen a color scheme.  All of my blog-perusing and magazine reading have had a yellow/gray filter in preparation for the styling of her big day!  Her new initials will be SV [cool].  I knew I wanted to style the little lunch their parents had for them when they returned from their trip to the west coast, but I didn't know QUITE how it was going to come together.  Here's the BEFORE shot (disorganized, a plethora of gray/yellow+yellow/gray possibilities).

The details really came together, inspired by the cute summery flag-topped drink stirrers I made from trimmed kabob skewers (bamboo) and assorted card stock grade paper in grays and yellows that were on sale at Michael's (there's no shame in a sale!  My momma taught me right!).  I added a stirrer to each water glass, and then added extras to the mini-centerpieces I created.  I went big on fresh/natural/fun because that is my sister's style.  Her style is a bit more contemporary and geometric than my own, so it was good practice.  The triangle shape of the flags and the color scheme balance nicely.  I used all different V's on my acrylic stamp set and yellow and gray ink to create some nice monagrams.  I really love her new last name.  I used stick-on gold-hued gem stones and mini letter stamps to create the S+K.  I couldn't help but add a little of my feminine style by tying a bit of yellow tulle around the sticks.

I added fresh REAL lemons to a small pot glazed in a pretty gray and poked in some fresh sunshine-colored mums [event note: wait until you get to your location to add water to flowers if possible].  I put a little mum plant in a smaller bright yellow planter.  I mixed up the texture by nesting both with some silvery metalic tissue paper from Target.

My best "find" was this adorable reversable accordian ribbon picture holder.  It's meant to use as a display for pictures (you would just tuck in loose photos).  But I used it to create a little congratulations montage in the middle of the table.

I knew I wanted to make them a little lemon yellow scrappy photo album where they can add pictures as they walk through their engagement together [planning tends to take over the normal every day excitement of living in general, as opposed to being wedding-nazis who forget the point-- been there, done that].  So, I completed that with a sense of accomplishment because I really want them to feel loved by little touches.  Here are some of my favorite details from the photo album:

{styling tip: choose a few elements but repeat in a whimsical way.  Use a few stamps but alternate the parts of the stamp you use so it looks familiar but new on every page.  And don't be afraid to create more consistency by using the same papers but in new creative unexpected ways (no need to use high grade Archiver's paper for every page!).  The target paper napkins I used to make an easy table runner is the same stuff I used to crumple and pin here and there in the photo album.  (Oh yes, I did...)  I did the same with the silvery tissue paper.  I used it in the plants and as backgrounds to pages in the book.  I used the same font of stamps throughout, and I added the same little yellow gems throughout.  Now when they look at the book, they'll remember the little flag stirrers and centerpieces for years to come.}

It's always an honor to style a little surprising celebration, but it's even MORE joyful when it's for your sister, who you love, and want happiness for so so much.  Congratulations, S+K!