{Love That Never Fails}

My Wedding Day
A few months back, my fellow blogger, Robyn (Jersey Girl) shared a list of her plans in her youth that she was able to say, “Check, check, and check” to.  {Click here for her story}  Well…
My life didn’t go exactly like pLaNnEd.  My check off list in high school/college included:
  1. Get married right out of college.
  2. Have four or five children before age 30 (3 boys and 1 or 2 girls and in that order).

Hey, I’m a planner and that’s what planners do!   Well, man’s mind plans his way, but it’s the Lord’s purpose that will PrEvAiL!   And my plans were obviously not God’s purpose.

So there I found myself single and 30-SoMeThInG.  (I didn’t get married until I was 35.)  What’s a girl to do?  I can actually say that I was very content being single.  Did I want to get married, absolutely, but I really did enjoy all the luxuries of single-hood.  It wasn’t always easy and at times it was lonely, but I was content.

If you find yourself in the single stage of life and wish you had a significant other, here’s some input that may help:

  • Enjoy the FrEeDoM of single-hood.  You get to call all the shots!
  • Develop yourself as a person.  Become a person of MoRaL ChArAcTeR that a future spouse would find attractive.
  • PrAy for God’s direction regarding finding the right person and the grace to help you through!
  • Do all those things that you’ve been wanting to do, but that may be difficult to do once you’re married.  (I was able to visit family in Asia, which may not have been possible as a married person.)
  • Cultivate close relationships with family and friends.  Develop close friendships with other singles.
  • Get yourself in a position of FiNaNciaL freedom.
  • Focus on your career and/or professional life.  Maybe it is time to venture out and take a risk in starting the business/career you’ve been dreaming about.

Fortunately, after the long wait, I was blessed with a WoNderFuL husband.  He’s funny, caring, generous, laid back, and fun to be around.  I loved my life as a single person and I love my life now.  I’m sure to many, my life now may look boring.  My idea of a great evening is hanging out, At HoMe, with my family and friends!  It may not seem exciting to some, but I’m very CoNtEnT and happy.  And I’m not going to MeSs WiTh “HaPpY”!

So, if you’re single and wishing you were not, hang in there.  This song is dedicated to you and anyone, for that matter, married or single, looking for love that never fails.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

;) Robynn

Your Love Never Fails Lyrics

Nothing can separate

Even if I ran away

Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes

But You have new mercies for me everyday

Your love never fails

Chorus: You stay the same through the ages

Your love never changes

There maybe pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage

I don’t have to be afraid

Because I know that You love me

Your love never fails

Verse 2: The wind is strong and the water’s deep

But I’m not alone in these open seas

Cause Your love never fails

The chasm is far too wide

I never thought I’d reach the other side

But Your love never fails

Bridge: You make all things work together for my good

{Crazy In Love}

CrAzY In LoVe.

That describes God and His love for us.  As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches, I am excited to introduce a video series that I am going to be sharing called, “Crazy In Love”.  This series contains 22 daily videos ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.  Each day will focus on an aspect of GoD’s love for us.  You can watch the 1st video at the end of this post.  The remaining videos can be seen on our “Suede Sofa Unplugged” blog.  www.suedesofaunplugged.com

Switching gears…

Here’s an idea for Valentine’s Day sweets.  Serve up heart-shaped, frosted sugar cookies, by placing them in a square {like the 1st picture}, but add the letters “L”, “O”, “V”, “E” to the hearts.  Pile the cookies on top of each other for a plate full of cookies!

Hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

:)

Robynn~

{Valentine’s Day Popcorn Balls}

Here is a twist on popcorn balls!

My dad would make these popcorn balls on a cold, winter night as the family was hanging out together.  He would whip them up in no time flat!  They were such a treat!!  Here is his recipe.  I’ve just added Valentine’s Day conversation hearts.  Enjoy!!

{Popcorn Balls}

Ingredients:

  • 2 batches of popped popcorn
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 bag marshmallows
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Prepare 2 batches of popcorn according to directions on package.  Place popcorn in a large bowl.  Melt butter & marshmallows.  Add sugar & vanilla.  Pour over popcorn.  Stir together.  {Optional:  Add 1 cup of conversation hearts, red hots, etc.}  Allow to cool slightly.  Butter hands and form into popcorn balls.

Master Bedroom Makeover {Robynn}

My family and I had lived in our house for about 1 year when we were asked if we would be willing to have our house on our town’s HoLiDaY HoMes ToUr.  Up to that time I really didn’t know what kind of style I wanted for our master bedroom, so I really didn’t do much with it.  There was no ThEmE, no cohesiveness, no inspiration.  But once we agreed to place our home on the tour I was motivated to do something.  So, out came my magazines {I had not yet discovered PiNtErEsT} and I began scanning the pages to find the style that fit us best.  One thing we enjoy from time to time is to stay in a nice hotel.  So, that was the “FeeL” I was going for.   Here’s the before pictures of my bedroom.  Not a huge disaster, but definitely had no “WoW!” factor.

{Before #1}

{Before #2}

{Before #3}  I liked having these photos on this wall, but I really needed the space for my dresser, so the photos had to be moved.

{After #1}  One of first things I did was to add a rug which helped define the space.  A rug-on-a-rug may seem odd, but this one works especially with the BaSkEt WeAvE design and jute texture of the area rug.  I also added curtains and placed the rods as high up as possible.  This gives the feel of a taller ceiling.

The inspiration for the curtains came from a magazine picture that I ripped out and then tried to duplicate.  Believe it or not, they were made from drop cloths that I got from Sherwin Williams {I bought the heaviest weight they had as I wanted them to have a “starchy, stand up on their own” look.}  However, you can get the drop cloths in a much lesser weight if you want yours to have more of a “just hanging” look.

{After #2}  MiRrOrS add depth to any room.

 

{After #3}

That’s ChiCkY our yellow lab.

These pillows came from HoMe GoOdS.  I just picked beige ones that I liked.

Lighting is a great mood setter!  It gives AmBiAnCe and a sense of warmth.

Blank wall in bathroom.

I originally wanted to find one large mirror, but after looking for over a year I settled on four smaller ones.

Pictures from a wall were moved to my closet for a constant reminder of my girls when they were babies.  I’ll never tire of seeing their PrEcIoUs faces!  Closet #1

Closet #2

The throw fabric came from Wal-Mart.

For the duvet {the cover for my down} I purchased 400 thread count sheets from Wal-Mart.  My mother-in-law sewed them together  like a big pillow slip.  The down was placed inside and voila!  They are SuPeR-SoFt!

These plates came from Home Goods {Marshalls}

 Laying out the plates for the blank wall above my bed.  The hardware used to hang the plates came from Michael’s {I bet Hobby Lobby would have them also}.

That’s one blank wall!

Hardware to hang plates.  Super-easy to hang!!

Place this plate holder around plate’s edges.

Finally a focal point!

These mirrors for the wall behind the bathtub came from Wal-Mart for a little under $10/ea.

Make sure you tape them really good.

I used white spray paint and then I used paper towels to wipe the paint giving them a distressed look.

Hope you EnJoYeD the tour!

:) Robynn~

Here’s a video of the space.  {I give a few more details on the transformation.}

Conversation Etiquette For Kids {& Adults Too!}

I’m not exactly sure where I picked this up.  {Thinking it may have been in James Dobson’s book “Bringing Up Girls”.} 

Anyway, I love it and wanted to share it with you.

Teaching children conversation EtiQueTte, can be analogous to playing “catch”.  In order for this game to be fun and to continue both players need to participate.

When someone talks to us, say for example they ask, “Hello, how are you?”  They are throwing the “conversation ball” in our CoUrT.  It is then our turn to throw the ball back to them for the “game” to continue.  If we just say, “I’m fine.”  We have not thrown the ball back to them and the game ends.  However, for the conversation to continue it is important that we send the ball back with an EnGaGiNg statement or question such as, “I’m doing find.  I especially love the beautiful weather we are having.”  This statement encourages the other person to continue the conversation.  Another example would be someone asking us, “So how old are you?”  When we answer, “I am 9.”  we are holding the ball.  However, adding, “But I turn 10 in just 2 months and then I’m going to take piano lessons.”  We invite and EnCouRaGe the other person to throw the ball back to us.

This activity can be practiced simply by grabbing a ball and playing the “Conversation Game”.  The person with the ball asks a question or makes a statement to one of the other players and then passes the ball to them.   The person with the ball can only pass the ball when they ask a question or make an engaging statement.

Even children at young ages can learn the ArT of conversation!  Hopefully this little game can help in that endeavor!!

:)

Robynn~

Hidden “Live-It List” question:

What is the most important item on your “Live-It List”?  {Consider this, but you don’t necessarily have to answer this part of the question in your comment:  Is time to “rip it like a bandaid” and get this item completed so that you either have it checked of once & for all OR you are actually “Living-It”?}

Have Fun with Photos

Until recently I was the kind of mom who took my kids to the local portrait studio for nearly every and any occasion I could come up with to have their picture taken.  To give you a visual of what went down on my last visit,  just picture my four-year old son jumping off a lego table, my two-year old niece crying because she wanted to sit in the chair that my daughter was sitting in, and my two-year old daughter not cooperating because I was too busy wrangling my son off the obstacle course he had created out of the furniture to be paying any bit of attention to her needs.  My sister and I left the studio with the three kids an hour later physically and mentally exhausted with no pictures to show for our effort.

Inspiration for this photo came from a friend who did a search on Pinterest!

Shortly after that debacle of a visit to the portrait studio my parents bought my husband and I a new camera for Christmas.  I decided that I was going to start taking more candid shots of my kids and family instead of trying to always get the PeRfEcT shot.  It has been a LeArNiNg experience, but it is a lot of fun!

Candid at dancing school

Suede Sofa Challenge…

Get your cameras out and get snapping!  We would LOVE to see what our readers come up with for fun and exciting photos from across the globe!  Email us your photos with your name, city, and state or city and country.  All photos will be shared in a special post on Friday, March 30th titled, Fun Photo Friday!

Email your photos to:

suedesofa@yahoo.com

Put “Fun Photo Friday” in the subject line of your email

Have fun!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

DIY Door Headboard

Remember this fall when I did a bedroom makover in one afternoon?  See my blog post BEDROOM MAKEOVER.  Well, my husband and I finally got around to making the door an official headboard.  Check out how we did it!

First, I took off the hardware & Doug cut one end of the door off to make each side the same length.
Then we measured the 1x4 that will be used for the top of the headboard. This will be the LAST piece that we add because it will hide the brackets that help secure the headboard to the wall.
We added this simple trim on the face & sides of the door. The angles weren't too hard to cut. Pretty easy with the help of a miter saw!
To secure the bottom of theheadboard, we took a 2x3 and drilled it into the wall. We sat the door on top of the 2x3 & screwed them together. For the top, we attached these brackets to the back of the door and then screwed the top of the bracket into the wall.
To finish, we nailed the 1x4 to the very top, that way it covers up the brackets we just screwed into the wall!!
I forgot to take a picture of how I distressed the headboard. I painted the entire door white and then took a dark brown paint and went around all of the corners with a small brush. At times, I painted in random spots and then wiped it off with a paper towel to give it a worn, smudged look! No sanding involved to get it to look this way! Can't beat it!
My bedroom is complete! YaY!!

Big thanks to “my man” for helping me complete this project!

~Lara

{Just Swallow}

Remember being a kid and your mom giving you NaStY tasting MeDiciNe?  The only thing you wanted to do was spit it out!  Well, that is a lot how taking correction can be.  Whether it is from your spouse, a friend, your boss, {or God}, we really don’t like to be told we need to make a ChAnGe.  However, a lot of times they are right {God is always right}.  And although it can be HuMbLiNg, taking correction to heart can be like taking medicine.  Incredibly hard to swallow, but the very thing that can fix the internal problem.  Truth about ourselves can hurt.  But it can also bring growth and FrEeDoM.

So next time you are faced with correction, take a deep breath, put your pride aside, and just SwAlloW.

:)

Robynn~