Beautiful People || July Addition || Becca's Characters

Oh my goodness gracious! 

In two hours it won't be July anymore and I promised myself I'd do this one after I missed the last one.

So, here we go.

I'd like to introduce Cecile Bellerose, the heroine in my retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

She looks rather tired doesn't she? Quite like myself right now....
Via Pinterest

It is for the Five Enchanted Roses contest, not that I believe I'll even finish it in time... but it is a very interesting writing prompt. 

1) What’s their favourite food? (Bonus: favourite flavor of chocolate!) 
Cream Puffs, she has a weakness for cream puffs. :) She also likes dark chocolate.

2) What do they absolutely hate?
Shallow people fluttering around; flattering and gossiping about each other. She hates how so many people she knows are just pretty shells and inside there is absolutely nothing.

3) What do they enjoy learning about? 
People, real people who did things that mattered. She loves the Bible and how God uses such everyday people for extraordinary things.

4) Who is the most influential person in their life? 
Her mother. She was always calm and kind in any situation, thinking ahead and very practical. Now that she has passed, Cecile sees how unbalanced her family has become, and she tries to fill that role.

5) What is their childhood fear? 
Monsters in the dark.

6) What is something they have always secretly dreamed of doing, but thought impossible? 
 Cecile has been surrounded by a whirl of high society, high-class "friends" and high expectations for her future: marry money and continue the cycle. She wishes for a quiet life, a large garden and a true love.

7) What is something they are impractically afraid of? 
Monsters in the dark. Yeah that's cheating, but I really want to go to bed.  :)

8) Are they a night owl or morning person? 
Morning. Which make the late night balls all the more intolerable in her eyes.

9) Do they say everything that pops into their head, or leave a lot unsaid? 
It depends on who she's with. She speaks freely with her brother and used to have long talks with her mother, but keeps her thoughts to herself otherwise.

10) What are their nervous habits?
She watches, silently, and just observes. It really bugs her older sister.

Yay! I can go to bed now.

 Good bye July, hello August. 

Beautiful People || July Edition || Bethany's Characters

I love my novel Long Road From Canaan, I really do, but there's something fun and satisfying about writing short stories. Just a little something you can write in a couple days or a week or two,  go back and edit and tweak, and then finish.

Maybe this is simply because I've never finished a full length novel. But I do like to write short stories, and the character I'm going to introduce today is from one I'm getting ready to publish.

A novelette might actually be a better term for it, because it's about 16,000 words. I'm going to try an e-book format called Snippet, which I learned about from Go Teen Writers. There's just a few more things to do, but hopefully I'll be sending it in for the Snippet review process soon.

What Thou Need'st

Synopsis:

Kendall Thatcher, a dutiful squire, thinks he's seen the worst of his master, the irascible Prince Bartholomew. However, things can indeed get worse; much worse.

When the Prince runs away, a princess from a neighboring kingdom vanishes, a dragon takes up residence in an abandoned castle, and two kingdoms near the brink of war; all this can be resolved only when Kendall and the Prince discover "what thou need'st"

  I'm going to do this month's questions about Ruth, who is somewhat of a side character, but a favorite of mine. 

Ruth becomes a close friend to one of the main characters, and has been really fun to write. 

via Pinterest

1) What’s their favorite food? (Bonus: favorite flavor of chocolate!) 
   Ruth's favorite food is her aunt's raspberry tarts. She's never had chocolate, as its a rare thing in the medieval world, but she would probably like white chocolate best.

2) What do they absolutely hate?
Secrets. She doesn't like keeping them, and she greatly dislikes when other people keep them from her. Maybe hate is too strong a word, but she isn't really the kind of person to hate anything. This doesn't come out so much in this story, but more so in the sequel. Oh yes, I'm already thinking of a sequel!

3) What do they enjoy learning about? 
Anything her father will teach her. Her father is a scribe in their little village, copying manuscripts and writing and reading letters for people. He taught her to read, and now she reads whatever she can get her hands on, which isn't much for a poor peasant girl. She also loves learning about cooking and knitting.

4) Who is the most influential person in their life? 
Her father. Ruth's mother died a few years before the story takes place, but Ruth and her father have always been very close.

5) What is their childhood fear? 
Ruth had a very pleasant childhood, although her family was poor, so, I honestly can't think of anything for this one!

6) What is something they have always secretly dreamed of doing, but thought impossible?
 She has always wanted to live in a castle. 

7) What is something they are impractically afraid of? 
Frogs. She thinks they are nasty, slimy, despicable creatures.

8) Are they a night owl or morning person?
A morning person.

9) Do they say everything that pops into their head, or leave a lot unsaid? 
She is pretty quick to speak, and loves asking questions.

10) What are their nervous habits?
When Ruth is nervous, she tends to babble and stumble over her words.

And that's all! I'll let Ruth sign off with a quote from the story.

"I am sorry, my aunt is calling. I have to go," Ruth said with a smile of farewell, and dashed off.

Baby Bunny Birthday

It's Baby Bunny's one week birthday!

*cue the fireworks and confetti*

Ummm... yeah, that's a hollyhock. 

We have affectionately nicknamed him (we refer to Baby as a him, but we don't know for sure) Khan (from Star Trek), because each time we peek in on him, he freaks out, jumping all over and squeaking.

We imagine him saying: 

Can't you see the resemblance? Maybe it's just the teeth. :)

He does not like to be disturbed. He quite enjoys his peace and quiet with no brothers and sisters to bother him.

We even made a pie for this occasion, though, Khan can't enjoy it with us. :)

It's raspberry, picked fresh today from a friend's patch.

 Yesterday, after processing some cherries that had been chilling in the fridge, Becca decided we should make pie.

I found a recipe here, at The Candid Appetite , for a cherry pie with an almond crust.

Now, cherry and almond is one of my most favorite flavor combos in the world, so it was a quick decision to choose this recipe.

Let's just say it was so delicious, we had to make another one today, and Khan's birthday made a nice excuse. :)

The only thing was, we didn't have anymore cherries, so we decided to try it with raspberries.

It's rather rustic, but with a scoop of homemade vanilla or chocolate chip ice cream = Delicious!

Glad All Over

I've been on a Dave Clark Five kick recently, so that song is stuck in my head. Did you know they started their group to raise money for their football (american= soccer) team, and nearly surpassed the Beatles in popularity?
Surprisingly, Dave Clark isn't the main singer of the group; Mike Smith is.
 Dave Clark started the group, managed it, and played the drums.

But enough of my random trivia. :)

However,  "Glad All Over" serves as a pretty good post title, as Becca and I are both very glad that Sarah Jane had a healthy litter on Tuesday!

Her grand total of kits is...

One.

Yep, just one.

It was quite surprising, but everything else seems normal and both kit and mama are doing wonderfully.

I guess it will be a spoiled little bunny, getting all of Mama's attention and lots of hugs from us. :)

We also have a long overdo Liebster Award from Paige to post about, so onto that next!

Thanks Paige!

As usual, Becca's answers will be blue and mine (Bethany's) will be purple.

1) What is the long term goal for your blog?
To keep sharing what we are doing with friends and family.
Ditto :)

2) What have you enjoyed the most about blogging so far?
Meeting so many like minded young ladies.
Ditto :)

3) Peanut butter + chocolate or mint + chocolate?
Hmmm...Peanut butter + chocolate
mint + chocolate = Yummy!!

4) For your birthday, would you rather have your mom or sister 

cook you special meal or go out to eat?

Oh, that's hard! Maybe, going out to eat. Then no one has to wash dishes!

I'll have to agree and skip the dishes. :)

5) Series or stand alone books?
I don't know if I can choose! 
Oh dear! Both, both favorites! :0

6) What version of the Bible do you prefer?

We use a few different versions in our house; New International Version, New King James Version, and English Standard Version, so it's difficult to say. Most of what I've memorized from the Bible is NIV, but for just reading and studying, I really like my NKJV study Bible.
I really like the ESV.

7) Do you journal your studies in scripture?

I should, since I've been journaling more, but not really. If I have my Bible time in the evening, then I'll write down a verse or two that stood out to me.

Ummm... no.
  I like the idea of journaling but I am terrible at actually taking the time to do it.

8) If you were to host a period costume event, what era would it be?
Victorian would be fun; a big victorian ball.
Oh yes! yes yes yes! We could dance the polka :)

9) Do you spend your day in bare feet, socks, or shoes?
Barefoot in the summer, otherwise, socks.
Ditto :)

10) If you could have a gift card to any clothing store, including online, what would it be for?
Modcloth. I love their vintage inspired styles!
Either Modcloth or eShakti.

11) If I were to visit you in your hometown, what would be the first place you'd want me to see?
Well... there's not much to see in our little town. 

You could come to our house. 

Eleven random facts about Bethany:

1) I like making up my own crochet patterns. 
 2) I want to learn how to play the lute.  
3) I greatly dislike mushrooms. 
  4) Before our family decided to homeschool, I went to kindergarten twice.   
5) Sometimes my eyes look more green than brown.  
 6) I have a bad habit of starting a book before finishing another. 
This goes for both reading and writing.  
 7) My middle name is Paige.  
 8) My favorite classic book is North and South.  
 9) I love random historical facts. 
10) Ten is my Doctor. ;) 
11) I have the same personality type as MacGyver.

Eleven random facts about Becca:
1) I was afraid of getting contacts, but now I love them! 
2) I have a wedding dress in my closet. 
3) I have a pet monarch caterpillar named Rudy.
 4) I was in kindergarden for two weeks. 
5) I love to make movies (but it's hard to find the time and people to be in them.) 
6) I sing whenever I can. 
7) I am a perfectionist. 
8) I don't like Jello, but I love gummy bears/worms. 
9) I love to make people laugh :) 
10) He's mine too ;) 
11) I am the smoothie maker. 

Our questions:
1) If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be?
2) Do you ever read more then one book at once?
3) Who is your favorite superhero?
4) If you do daily devotions, do you prefer to do them in the morning, or before bed?
5) What is your favorite day of the week, and why?
6) Smoothies or milkshakes?
7) What is your favorite summer activity?
8) If you could spend a day with a fictional character, who would you spend it with, and what would you do together?
9) Skirts or shorts?
10) Do you have a nickname?
11)What would you name a black baby rabbit? (Really, any suggestions would be great!)

We nominate:

Abbey, Dolls, Books, And Things That Matter.
Eowyn, Captured By The Word
Sereina, Ribbons Down My Back
Jack, However Improbable
Hope, Writing in the Light
Joy, Blogging With Joy Schmidt


Sorry it's not 11 people, but I think 6 is a record for us! If you would rather not do an entire post about it, you are welcome to answer the questions in the comments too.
In fact, any one who wants to answer one or all of our questions in the comments are very welcome to as well.

Mission: Preferably Pastels

by: Bethany

This was a very fun special order, as Carole, our client/customer (is that the right word?) said we could do whatever we liked with the dresser and nightstand"...preferably a pastel, and not pink."

There's quite a range of colors that aren't pink, and finding  one that didn't look too "baby" was a bit tricky. 

We finally settled on this pale turquoise called "Transparent" that complemented the fabric Carole gave us for the chair.

Before:

The dresser sustained some injuries on it's way to our house, but Becca reattached the corner with a strong wood epoxy!

We copied the gold paint along the edges, but used white instead, and spray painted the hardware to match.

After:

I can't quite figure old how old this chair is. I know it's vintage, but I can't find anything quite like it online. The barrel back seems to be a midcentury modern style, so it could be circa 1940-1960, or at least that's my amateur guess.

Before:

The narrow groove where the original fabric was stapled was too small for my staple gun.

So I stapled just a bit higher, and then attached three rows of piping to cover the staples and the edge of the fabric.

After:

Last fall, I did another chair for Carol with the same fabric. These two will be such a cute pair, as their styles are so different, yet they'll match with their white wood and gold/yellow fabric.

Another mission accomplished!

Vacation Treasures

"Mother, Mother, I feel sick. Send for the doctor; quick, quick, quick!"

We grew up playing with old Fisher Price toys at our grandparents' house, and now that we are older, our family has collected a few of those play sets for when we have little kids over.

So when we found this Fisher Price children's hospital in Holland, MI, we knew it was coming home with us.

Our little cousins had a lot of fun playing with it later in our trip.

While we were also in Michigan, we were able to meet a very nice lady, Ann, who is a friend of our grandma's, and a follower of our blog!

She had just finished having a rummage sale, and brought along some things she thought we might like.

This is a beautiful crocheted bed spread. It needs a few repairs, but it's so pretty!

She also had some lovely teacups to add to Becca's collection.

A vintage souvenir teacup from Detroit, MI.

 These two are from our Aunt Barb, and I get to keep one of them to remember our tea time together with her and Ann.

 I think Becca will want the rose one, so I get the blue one! 

Becca found this cradle at a thrift store too. We saw one very similar to it in museum in Massachusetts, though I'm sure this one is just designed to look old.

Aunt Barb took us to lots of fun little shops around Holland, and at the Wooden Shoe Antiques, we found a few more treasures.

One was this candy mold. It is absolutely darling, and now we can make rabbit lollipops!

I also found some books there. 

Postern of Fate stars my most favorite crime solving duo; Tommy and Tuppence. Though, this is their last book, and the now elderly couple can't have adventures like they used to, it was still a fun read.

The Firm of Girdlestone is by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I've only ever read the Sherlock Holmes Stories, so I'm really looking forward to getting into this one.

"Merry x'mas. To Olive, from Mama. 1906", written in the front cover. So sweet!

While staying with our Great Aunt Sally in Massachusetts, we went to Brimfield Flea Market, the largest flea market in the country!

With limited space in our car, we could mostly just ooh and ah over things, but we did find a few treasures to take home.

This reprinted Beatles poster is one of my favorites. I love the font of "the" at the top, and it will be so fun hanging in our room.

A cast iron rabbit.

Some old keys Becca found.

While walking around the flea market we saw a huge dollhouse, unfinished, and only $60 dollars! There are no way we could have brought it home, but it would have been an amazing project. Other dollhouses we saw there were selling for $100+, so it was such a good deal, and we were pretty sad we had to pass it by.

Aunt Sally's bridesmaid dress jumped out of the closet, and it fit Becca almost perfectly, so she let us take it home! 

It's such a cute peach Swiss dot fabric.

We also visited an antique store owned by an uncle of ours.

Becca found this record, but he wouldn't tell her how much it was. Then he said it had a special code on the back that meant it was free. Thanks Uncle Jim!

The Unicorn was the only song we knew on the record by the Irish Rovers, but it's a fun album to add to our collection.

Have you heard that song before? It's pretty silly, but cute.

The Unicorn

So, we have lot's of fun things to remember our vacation by, and we hope you enjoyed seeing a few of them!