Beauty and the Beastcase

One of my favorite pieces of furniture ever--quite possibly my most favorite piece of furniture ever--is this big grand beautiful "Beauty and the Beast" bookcase that we bought over ten years ago when we lived in Iowa. It's a gorgeous piece with its elegant crown moldings, solid mahogany wood, ladder and rail, and recessed lighting. The bottom doors open up and contain more shelving storage, so in addition to being an elegant beauty (and kind of a beast as far as size goes--get it? 😉), this bookcase holds a lot and is extremely functional.   

Similar to the beautiful four-poster mahogany bed that I had planned to keep forever (along with my husband 😒), I thought this bookcase would always be in my life. But I started to see the writing on the wall with the impending divorce and the subsequent necessity of moving to a smaller place, which I'm now getting ready to do. The drawback of this bookcase is that it doesn't fit in most homes. It's not going to fit in my new one, unless maybe I don't use the bottom drawers (it comes in two pieces), but even then it would take up a lot of space, and space is going to be at a premium there. I've considered putting it in storage in case I'm able to get a house in the future that can hold it, but again, is it worth it to do that? Part of me says yes, but the more practical side says no, it's time to let it go. So unless I get struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration about how or why to keep my beloved Beauty and the Beast bookcase in the next few weeks, I'm planning to part ways with it and sell next month. 😟 I'm going to miss it so much. 

It holds my collection of vintage Nancy Drews...

...my collection of classics (which is way bigger than this BTW)...

...my tribute to England and Paris, two places that I very much want to visit (side note, my DNA proves that England is a significant part of my genetic makeup and is therefore part of my very soul)...

....and sweet motherhood knick-knacks like these...

It's me and the boys for both of these owl things! What great flea market finds these were.

I had to clean out, pare down, and stage this shelf for selling the same way that I staged the office bookshelves. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

This is one of my favorite spots, a little owl habitat!

The coordination of colors between the picture plaque and the two books next to it pleased me greatly. 😁

Without the ladder

As promised in yesterday's post (I know you've been waiting eagerly for this 😄), here are all of the books that I removed from my collection and donated. They're books I either never read and am finally ready to admit that I'll probably never read, or books that I read once and don't feel a strong desire to read again.

I think I did pretty well at culling my collection!

I took pictures of two of the books I was "re-homing" because they reminded me so much of specific time periods in my life, which is one of the reasons I've held on to books--for the memories they elicit when I look at them.

This is the book I was reading during my honeymoon to Prince Edward Island. A thrilling, easygoing read for a honeymoon, I know. 😂🤷

This is from when I was a young mom of young kids and had plenty of disposable income from my husband's well-paying job. I was indeed "living the posh mom life"! It was fun while it lasted! 😆

This bookshelf fits so perfectly in this family room, and it fit perfectly in our Iowa house too. It's been a beautiful backdrop for our family life for over a decade. I will miss its presence in my home and in my life, and I sincerely hope it will end up in a beautiful, happy home that deserves it!

Ode to My Office!

 Last month I had to get the house ready to put on the market, which entailed cleaning things out and doing the dreaded staging (i.e., making it look like generic people/robots live here). My bookshelves were literally one of the biggest things that I needed to tackle with this task. In the office are four big floor-to-ceiling built-in shelves that were full of books. One of the reasons the office is my favorite room in the house is because of this wall of shelves. It's my very own version of the Beauty and the Beast library! 

My unstaged shelves in all their natural glory

This is the room that I'm going to miss the most when we move in six weeks (!!!). Besides my bedroom (since it's where I sleep), the office is the place in the house where I spend the most time, mostly on the computer doing editing work, e-mail, blogging, and so many other computer-related tasks. It's a cheerful, happy place no matter what I'm doing. I love it and I'm going to miss it so much! 

Bright and sunny, especially in the afternoon

I think they're well-organized and uncluttered, but my real estate agent said that half the contents needed to be removed for white space. 😭

The opposite wall

I had my mom take my picture in front of my wonderful wall of books before I started cleaning them out. 

I will treasure this picture always! 😍💕

And here I give you my cleaned-out and staged bookshelves with a little more white space.

The middle shelves were still a little book-heavy, especially on the right side. It was my small act of rebellion. 😉

There's always room for Christ (in more ways than one). 🤍

I kept my mystery series together and my Agatha Christies and Ruth Wares. I love this section of my edited shelves! 

My collection of antique books, and a very pretty picture of tulips.

At night, the recessed lighting gives off a nice warm glow. It truly is a cozy, happy space at all times of the day (or night).

An office selfie at the computer desk. I love you office! 🥰

In tomorrow's post, I'll show the stacks of books that I sent off to new homes after cleaning out the office shelves and my treasured grand bookcase in the family room, which is one of my favorite pieces of furniture ever. Stay tuned!

Easter 2023

 It was our last Easter in the house and possibly John's last Easter at home with us, since next year he'll probably still be at college on Easter, and for the two years after that he'll be on his mission, and then back to college again after that. Sunrise, sunset. 😭

I love traditions and the boys still enjoy them, so we had Easter baskets and an egg hunt in the house on Sunday morning, and we made Resurrection rolls (and bacon!) for breakfast before going to church.

John's basket was mostly candy (since he's eating normally again now that wrestling is done) and money (which he's in desperate need of).

Sam's basket was mostly chocolate--Mr. Beast bars and a chocolate bunny, and some money. (He's not as poor as John, although still pretty poor.)

My basket had some of my favorite chocolates and the next Amelia Peabody book I want to read. The Easter Bunny knows me well. Imagine that! 😄

Hunting for eggs!

Assessing the spoils

An Easter selfie

It was a bit of a sad Easter because of the reasons in the first paragraph but more especially because Bentwood was dying and passed away that day. There was also an unfortunate rift in my family that was happening. I also had to take down all of my Easter decorations a few days later to get the house ready for selling. There was a lot going on and there was a lot on my mind. Yet despite all of that, I still felt the peace and quiet joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to my life, not just on special days like Easter, but every day; whether it's in the background or the forefront, it's always there, a comforting and reassuring presence in my life. I believe that every adversity and problem we experience in this life is a stepping stone and a growth experience that can help lead us back to Heavenly Father and Jesus. The eternal perspective changes everything, and it's another reason that I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ.

Bentwood's Last Days

 Exactly one month ago today, on April 9th, our sweet cat Bentwood passed away. It happened on Easter Sunday, a significant and comforting day for life and death and the ultimate victory of life over death. 

In addition to it happening on Easter, another tender mercy was that Bentwood's passing happened in the way that I prayed for it to happen--peacefully and naturally at home. He went on his own and I didn't have to make the hard choice of putting him down (I've still never had to do that with any of my pets). And although he must have felt uncomfortable, he didn't seem to be in much pain, either. 

I found out a month earlier that he had lymphoma, and the vet thought he only had a few weeks to maybe a few months to live, so I knew it was coming. I'm so thankful that I knew in advance so that I could spend extra time with him and be extra gentle and loving and attentive. Bentwood deserved all of the best. He was in our family for 18 years and has always been the sweetest cat. We got him when John was only a year old and when we still had my dog from high school. He's been with us for all of our pets: Christy, Brody, Yogi, Boo Boo, and Violet. His loss has made our home feel different, a little emptier and quieter, like something is missing (because it is).  

I miss his meow and his easygoing, affectionate personality and his limping walk and his soft silky fur and the sound of his "paw steps" walking across the floor. I miss our weekly brushing session and I miss startling him awake (because I'm a tease like that) and I miss picking him up and holding him and cuddling with him. I'll miss him until I see him again, and I fully believe that I will see him again and that we'll be together forever. He's in a good place with all of the above-mentioned pets (except for Violet of course since she's still earthbound). I like to imagine him running around outside in perpetually perfect weather, playing with his friends and eating and sleeping to his heart's content. I know that I'll be with him again someday.

This was a few days before he died. He had gotten very thin and frail.

I took these following pictures the day before he passed away, when he was laying around resting a lot. His body was slowly shutting down. He stopped eating a couple of days before he went. I held him and carried him outside and sat with him and cried and nuzzled his soft head and told him how much I loved him and how wonderful he was. I hope he went on to the next phase of existence knowing how loved he was by his family here on Earth.

I miss his unique, "bent" paws (hence the name the shelter he came from gave him).

I miss his beautiful silky-soft white and gray fur. I miss the feel of it under my fingers and palms.

Bentwood passed away in the afternoon when there was family at the house for Easter. I wish I'd been holding him when it happened, but I was upstairs busy with them. I found him shortly after he crossed over, stretched out on his favorite blanket. His body was still warm. My mom and Jennifer were there and they were so good about helping me with his burial. We wrapped his body up in his favorite blanket (with his head uncovered but nestled on the blanket because the claustrophobe in me couldn't let his head be covered up) and I had a perfectly sized storage container for his coffin. The boys had helped dig his grave earlier that afternoon when we knew his time was close. They got to say goodbye before they went to their dad's. 

We buried him in a peaceful, pretty spot in the side yard, near where he liked to explore when we'd take him outside on supervised visits.

I marked his grave with one of the big geode rocks that Sam wasn't keeping. (You can't really see it here.)

Someday, on the morning of the first Resurrection, this will be the case for all of those who have passed away, including (I believe) animals. Because of Jesus Christ, every tomb is temporary.

I'm so thankful for the special place Bentwood had in my life and in the lives of my children, who grew up with him from the time they were babies. He lived a good 19-20 years before it was his time to go. He was such a wonderful, steadfast companion to us, and I eagerly look forward to our reunion one day. 🐈🐾🤍

General Conference Weekend!

 April started out with, as usual, General Conference. It's a wonderful way to start a new month and welcome in the new spring season each year with spiritual rest, renewal, rejuvenation, and motivation. 

It was our last Conference in this house, so I made sure to take pictures. Which I would have done anyway, but I was extra mindful of it. 😄

John and Violet napped for part of the time. What a shock!

Being the motherly mother that I am, I bundled my boy up in a blanket, just like old times.  

Conference selfie! I wasn't wearing foundation so my skin was shiny. Or maybe it was just the extra-angelic glow of the Spirit shining out from my complexion as I drank in the spiritual nourishment from the speakers and music. 😉 

Saturday evening session

I make cinnamon rolls for breakfast on the Sunday morning of Conference weekend. Here was Sam enjoying his. 😋

Sam was really good about taking notes during the Sunday morning session. I was very impressed. He's following in my footsteps, and I love it! 😁

John, on the other hand, didn't take a single note. What he did take was another nap for part of the time, this time while Grandma massaged his back. 

My notetaking buddy had something mischievous in mind, but I didn't let him carry it out. I wanted to keep the peace!

Some of my notes

Wrestling match between sessions.

It was a good last Conference weekend in this house. I'm thankful that wherever I go and wherever I live, General Conference and the guidance of the Lord's prophet will always be there. 🤍